With Jonathan Christian (on Twitter @jdgem)
I recall one of my favorite Television shows in the UK was the Antiques Roadshow. People would stand for hours to have their prized possession assessed (that had been in their attic for years) hoping it will make their fortune. It got me thinking about what we have in our hard drive (our modern day attic?) that may or may not have significant value.
What? I’m talking about our email contact list. We so often pride ourselves on the number of contacts we have – but are they of real value? Well, yes and no. Yes in that at some time we came into contact with a business colleague and we became known to each other. But, what’s happened since? If we haven’t kept in touch with them through emails, newsletters or monthly flyers or a even a simple phone call – then can we really call them a ‘live’ contact? In other words, entries in our data base attic only have value if we keep in touch – and that will only happen if they see us as bringing value to them in some way.
Why? We all know this, but so often fail to act upon it. So often we delay staying in touch with people in our data base because we’re not quite ready to go public. Our website may be not quite fully populated with great content. Or our social media sites may be very new and have little traffic, and in a “bravado” business world we often don’t like get in touch until we’re totally “ready.” But – is that really an excuse? The truth is that we’re all learning – and there may be no better way to stay in touch than just by saying hello – and letting people know that we’re still working on our social media program; giving them a progress report – and perhaps even asking for suggestions. Imagine sending a message to your data base that says, “We’ve just embarked on a social media journey – would you join us?” If you did you may find that one of the most surprising attributes of working though social media, is that when you ask for help – you tend to get it, and by the bucket load. I’m the first to admit I was guilty of not keeping in contact but now I’m enjoying making so many new connections, and having a blast!
How? Why not start by sending a message to everyone in your data base – asking them to follow you on Twitter, ‘Like you’ you on Face book and connect with you on LinkedIn. Tell them that you’re brand new to social media, and you’re just trying things out. By admitting that you’re a newbie, you will attract all kinds of help and ideas from social media veterans – and you could be off to a great start while finding a brand new way to get your contacts ‘out of the closet’ and into your active world. Why not?
Tipzntrix: Your task for today (and next week I’m sure) is to update your email contacts. When was the last time you sent out an email only to find the recipient is now longer there? It happens to all of us, regularly. The key is to update your list continuously, as emails bounce back to you. If you haven’t cleaned up your list in a while, this task may seem overwhelming, so start with the A’s and pick a letter each working day. Within a month you’ll have a new, highly valuable, useable list of current connections. In the meantime, keep connecting, liking, following and befriending on social media. Next time I’ll feature how we can use email – without spamming – to help you generate awareness – and position you as an expert in your field.
See you Friday. Jonathan@jdgem.
Please share your idea, comment or request in the space below! [0 responses]
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment