Are You Addicted?
Are you addicted to email newsletters and free teleseminars? One of the first things I do with clients is have them go on an email and teleseminar diet. Because if you are like most people, you are spending far too much time dealing with your email overload and teleseminar addiction.
Now why do I call it an addiction?
Because it’s so easy to use reading ezines, email, and listening to free teleseminars as excuses for not doing what you really need to be doing to build a thriving business. I know because I did it, too.
Now to be fair, when you are first getting to know internet marketing there’s value in finding people to follow and taking some time to see what they are talking about and how it’s done. I know I was blown away when I first discovered the world of internet marketing. It was like I could not get enough of it! All of the information was so fresh and new and exciting, and it made it seem like anything was possible. That was about five years ago, and I have to say, internet marketing has been very good to me—LOL!
But like anything else, excess catches up with you and too much creates indigestion and stagnation (remember circulate, don’t stagnate is the key to good health in everything). Add to that a strong tendency to research and learn rather than take action, throw in fear and procrastination, and you’ve got a serious problem—otherwise known as going broke!
So, go on an internet diet. I’m going to give you some criteria to make it easier for you to know what to focus on and why.
(1) Unsubscribe from all but three lists of the people you get the most from following. This will dramatically decrease the amount of email you have to deal with every day. Yes, just pick three. Because you know what, before you know it, you’ll get interested in someone else’s offer, or telesummit or something and you’ll be adding people back in. It’s good to do this kind of a purge every few months (or more often) depending on how bad your addiction is!
(2) Create a folder for group emails in your email client (Outlook, gmail, etc.) and subfolders if you can for each individual business you are following. This will clear your inbox even more and make it so that you can read newsletters and promo emails at a certain time of day or on certain days, rather than having to wade through them to get to email that is specifically addressed to you.
(3) Take time to analyze the email marketing strategies of the people you are following. Notice when they send their ezines, and what type of information they include. How often do they send promotional emails, and what sequencing do they use? How effective are they at capturing your attention and persuading you to take action on their recommendations? Why did you pick this particular person to continue following? How successful are they in their businesses? Are they getting the kind of results from their marketing that you want to get? You want to follow people who are doing well with their marketing. How can you tell? Pay attention—they will let you know!
(4) When you sign up for a free teleseminar or telesummit, unsubscribe from that list right away unless you are genuinely interested in the message of the host. Get the information and get out of there. I know some of my friends and colleagues may kill me for saying that, but it’s really the best thing to do. If you want to continue to learn from that person, that’s one thing. Give yourself a time frame—maybe a month—and see what they have to offer. Then decide. But don’t just hang out on someone’s list that you are not really interested in. No one actually wants you to do that, including the person whose list you are on. Every one of us internet marketers (with integrity) just want people on our lists who want to be there. No hurt feelings, get on, get off, get back on if you want.
(5) Become very selective about which free teleseminars you listen to, choosing only those either (a) of people you just love, or (b) are focused on a specific topic that you know you have a gap in learning that is critical for you to fill right now. Of course if you are interested in taking a program with someone, listen to her or his free promo call to see if you think it’s a fit for you. But be honest with yourself, and be selective.
(6) Once you commit to working with a specific business coach—and you should, you really should if you want to move from being a spectator to a true participant—follow her or him, follow everything he or she does, read their ezine, listen to their teleseminars, study with that person. If you’ve invested in coaching with someone, pay attention to how they do things and talk with him or her about their strategies and which ones are right for you. Do not be promiscuous with your coaching support, going from coach to coach or following lots of people at once—you will get confused and annoyed. Follow your coach, do what she or he tells you to do, don’t argue and don’t resist. And if you can’t give him or her that kind of loyalty, then either you aren’t serious or you have the wrong coach.
