NETWORKING WAHM

Archive for May, 2008

Everyone has heard of spam. There are many that do not know what spam can encompass. Spam is unsolicited ads, no matter where those ads are posted or to whom. Your friends and family don’t deserve spam in their inbox. Message boards do not deserve unsolicited ads in inappropriate forums, and your newsletter lists are definitely a bad place to post ad after ad with no content. You may not even understand that you are hurting your business and wasting your time with bad networking techniques that are actually spam.

I’ll start with message boards because that is my biggest pet peeve. I teach people to not click on any links unless they know the user. By knowing, I mean the user has been active on the boards for a little while or you have had direct dialogue with them. Many WAHM’s are especially wary of clicking on links, so you are wasting your time if you haven’t participated in the community yet. None of us can afford the time or expense of being downed by a virus.

Don’t waste your time going from board to board and only posting in the ads forum. The majority of users that are viewing the ads forum are only there to post their own ads. They aren’t very likely to click on your ad. Instead, use your time more wisely and be active on a few boards. Build some relationships with other users and you will see better conversions from your traffic.

I have a “friend” that spams me with email periodically. I get emails about helping this family or that family. Not even people in our area usually. Or I get emails about Mary Kay sales because she is an assistant for a few of them. I was never asked if I’d like to receive these emails and quite frankly I don’t open anything from her anymore. These are unsolicited emails and while she may think they are ok, they actually aren’t. They fill up my inbox and take time out of my day to go through. So ask your friends and family if they’d like updates from you. Don’t alienate those that are closest to you.

Your email list is an iffy place. Yes, they signed up to get updates from you about a subject or company. But you have to watch that you don’t abuse that. Make sure that you are giving them the information that they signed up for and not just constant ads. If they did sign up for updates about your company, then try to put some tips in your newsletter as well. Also be wary of sending out emails too often with just an ad for a company that they did not sign up to hear about. It’s very tempting to email your list about a new company you signed up with or a new affiliate. If they start getting too many emails about subjects they didn’t ask for they are more apt to delete them without opening and unsubscribe from your list. Converting every subscriber is a big key to online business. You don’t want to tick off those that have already shown interest.

Spamming is not just those using hacker software to mass email and post to boards. Many small business owners do it every day and usually just out of ignorance. Don’t be one of them. Use your time productively and wisely. Make good business relationships from the get go and then work on turning them into sales.

Having been online for many years now I’ve witnessed a serious decline in networking. I have a feeling it is because the majority of the online community no longer markets offline as well. This has led to less one-on-one personal contact and the feeling that they must hit as many people each day as possible with their site info. I’m here to explain how networking truly works.

Webster’s Dictionary defines networking as: the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically : the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business. If you notice, nothing in this definition says that you will use communities for nothing more than links to your site.

Exchanging information with other business owners sets you up as an expert in your field. By helping others, you will put yourself and your sites at the front of their mind when they are looking for your products and services. In return, you will be picking the minds of many and getting a lot of useful information to grow your business.

The key is the exchange of information. To effectively network you will need to regularly visit the site. Stopping by only once a month will not build you business relationships. Visit the site a minimum of once a week and make sure to add forum or blog posts and comments that are useful and informative. Do not just add an “I agree” or “thanks for the info” comment so your signature line is on the post. Pull from information you have learned whether from others or through experience and pass this on. By giving useful information you will have more views.

Remember even if you haven’t been online for very long, you have useful information to share. There are others that haven’t even chosen their business yet reading or even those of us that have been on for a long time and simply forgotten some of the simpler things. Share and you shall reap the benefits!

I took over Networking WAHM on March 23, 08.  Networking is the hub of any business on and offline.  WIthout networking there is not word of mouth and fewer referrals.  Thus your advertising costs will have to go up so you can get business.

Networking can take up all of your time, literally.  You can spend all day on message boards, social networks, and chat rooms and find that you didn’t accomplish your daily tasks.  It’s very easy to do if you don’t put a plan in action.

I hope to bring you a great resource of places I and my friends have found to be valuable for networking your business.  If you have someplace you frequent send me an email or leave a comment so I can check it out.  I’m always open to finding new places with quality information and contacts.

To our Success!