Something interesting I’m seeing lately. Not so much from my clients & readers (you guys get it), but in comments and on Twitter.
People who want to know “how do I get my share of the attention? How can I get more traffic? More links? How do I get big bloggers to pay attention to me?”
In the 80s there was a great TV ad for the financial firm Smith Barney. Actor John Houseman (in a fabulously arrogant and stuffy way), said “We make money the old-fashioned way. We earn it.”
And that’s how you get attention in social media. Not with a trick or a tool or one of those slimy products that gets you thousands of social media followers without doing any work.
You Get Attention by Earning Attention
I completely realize that this is annoying advice! But it’s the only thing I’ve ever seen that works.
Attention comes from creating Cookie Content that’s valuable in and of itself. It comes from thinking obsessively about your audience (read “customers” if you like), about what they want and need. About how to fill in the “holes” in their knowledge, the things others aren’t helping them with.
And sure, while you’re at it, if you’re going to do the work of creating great content, put a terrific headline on it and let all your pals know so they can promote it. But the “great content” part has to come first.
It’s Not (Completely) a Numbers Game
Tricks and games don’t get you real attention. They get you fake attention. Just like buying an email list gets you thousands of addresses no one is using, the social media “shortcut” tools get you accounts, not people. Not relationships. Not engagement.
(If someone’s telling you then can deliver 2,500 Twitter followers for $99, you have to ask yourself just who would be willing to have his attention sold so cheaply?)
Time after time I’ve seen “little guys” like Naomi and I do better with our small group of fans than the “big guys” do with tens of thousands. Even though it seems like you’d be able to move mountains “if you could just reach the audience that those A-Listers have,” it ain’t necessarily so.
Now it’s true that if you use the same organic, one-to-one, earthy-crunchy techniques to reach 10,000 people that you did when your list was 100 people, you’ll scale up. As long as you keep showing an authentic self and creating value, you’re going to be in good shape. But when you take shortcuts with your audience, they start tuning you out. The percentage of folks who are really engaged starts to plummet.
Never Let Yourself Be Intimidated
When I was just starting out, I thought the big bloggers were pretty much on Mount Olympus. And here I was at the bottom, just putting my words together and hoping someone noticed.
Now I hang out a little bit with a few of the guys on Mount Olympus, and it turns out they’re just guys after all! (Guess I should have known that, right?)
They have big subscriber numbers, but that didn’t solve all of their problems. Lots of them are broke. (No, in case you’re curious, Brian is not one of the broke ones.) 🙂
Plenty of them struggle with the same things we do. And they have their own set of issues that aren’t always much fun.
If you are truly connecting with your folks, you’re creating a little village of trust and value around your communication. And you’re going to do nicely. It might be a slow climb to get to fame and riches. But you’re on the right path, and it’s going to pay off for your business as much as it pays off in satisfaction.
Keep the faith!
P.S.
I’ve got email on the brain, so I’ll be writing about it for the next few weeks on Copyblogger. I’d love it, of course, if you swung by and contributed your thoughts in the comments.
Email link works nicely – and great article too – thanks!
Interesting you should mention twitter – for some reason it seems to attract a lot of “get people quick” types (or maybe they’re just more obvious there than in the blogosphere).
~sa
I like being directed to your site. I like your site…and I’m so damn lazy that if I don’t have a link to click, I only read the email!
Hear that, people! Lazy! Like probably some of the other people who sign up for email lists!
Hello, Sonia,
Smart move to point folks to your blog so they can comment! It’s all about the interaction…
I must say that I appreciate your (and Naomi, and others’) perspective on marketing. Helpful rather than smug, joyful rather than mean, solution-focused rather than jingoistic, and above all, irreverent rather than self-aggrandizing.
You’ve got heart, authenticity, and lots ‘o other cool traits that I can identify with much more readily than some of the “A-listers.” You may have fewer followers, but I will wager they 1) relate to what you’re saying, 2) are fiercely loyal, and 3) are much more likely to benefit from your offerings.
Good stuff. Thanks!
Thanks for sending this. I enjoyed it (and love the darling picture). I also love that you are inviting comments and getting more people to your website — an interesting tool to use.
Just so you know, when I read it on my blackberry (using gmail), the link to your site isn’t “live”. Since I usually read all my email from my blackberry, I probably wouldn’t have gotten to the link or I might have forgotten — but fortunately I think you are the bees knees so hurried over so I could read it on my laptop!
All my best! 🙂
Hey, you’re right, it worked. And it is much nicer reading on your site rather than email. Very effective hook Sonia.
I’m getting ready to launch an email newsletter myself so I’m interested in hearing more from you on newsletters.
Thanks for another helpful post!
Starting out is more than a little intimidating and that’s why I read your blog and other stuff. Thanks for giving me the information and confidence to begin my blog (only 3 weeks old), start a twitter presence (only 4 days old) and begin to reach some like-minded people.
I love that you are not one of those “2500 twitter followers for $99” kind of folks. I can’t stand that used car salesman pressure of someone constantly jamming some sales pitch down my throat. I don’t listen to them, have unsubscribed to any feed that acts like that, and in general want nothing to do with them.
Thank you for being different, for showing me that there is a way to develop an audience without being smarmy.
You have always been about quality… and this totally makes sense.
It reminds me of the Multi Level Marketing companies… it is supposed to be an easy pill. But it is only the ones that put REAL work into it that will see it pay off.
Oh my gosh! I wrote a post just this afternoon (it pops tomorrow morning) that’s totally in sync with your “Never Let Yourself Be Intimidated” part of this post. I must have picked up on the prevailing Sonia vibes. (:
Cool, Pace! Can’t wait to see it.
Liz, thanks tons for letting me know. I should put in an unadorned link that could be cut & pasted as well for any weirdness in mobile devices, etc.
Great to hear from you all! So far I like this way of doing things. One person’s emailed me to say she’s not a fan, she prefers to have everything in the in box.
Thank you. I have “attended” hundreds of webinars and/or read hundred of articles. I like you have found that there is no secret formula to creating an Internet presence or gaining trust of web users. As you have so eloquently stated, it is earned attention and respect gained by giving good content and using respected techniques.
Well, you know I agree with all of this 2246%.
You know what breaks my heart? When I have clients coming to me, clutching the lastest ebook they bought on SEO or twitter, and asking me to help them do 101 things at once to make their website a success.
As you’ve noted, it’s very hard to say, “I completely realize that this is annoying advice! But it’s the only thing I’ve ever seen that works. Attention comes from creating Cookie Content that’s valuable in and of itself. ”
It’s really difficult for some to accept that it is that simple and that hard at the same time. Because they are being bombarded by so many ‘get 2500 followers’ type things, and, I think, because they are not really ‘at home’ online themselves so they are always looking to outside advice.
Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough. The point is you are, as always, right on point!
And I like the link to your site 🙂
I love getting mail from you, many people send out news letters, but yours is one I really appreciate:) I will be swinging by to se what you have to say about email… Looking forward to it:)
Thanks so much for the consistently good cookies, Sonia!
Also, thumbs-up for the chance to dance (interact).
Sonia, I like the snippet in email and the rest under the link. For most I’d choose if I were interested enough and go back when I wanted to read the rest if I was. For you, never a question, I’m there. You clearly practice what you (Ahh, you were expecting “preach” weren’t you) teach and do it well.
I’ve learned a lot from you and others and yet I struggle. I believe, as you speak, in the power of relationship and admit I’ve been trapped thinking it’s all about numbers yet who I am is relationship that matters in my life and yours. So, the struggle – think it may have to do with my subject matter, PERSONAL FINANCES, and to make a difference, I persist. . .Danno
Hello;
I really enjoyed reading this “blog”, as I enjoy reading all your blogs. Your earthy wisdom is refreshing ! All the POWER to you
Hi Sonia
I liked the new style of message and agree with your commnets about twitter a friend signed up 4 weeks ago and has not posted a comment or a profile, she now has 100 followers….I guess these people are hoping that she will follow them…great value…not.
Hm, I have to say I’m not sure I like getting half a blogpost in my inbox. I’m subscribed to lots of blogs, over e-mail, and to a few mailinglists, too. I LIKE reading content as e-mail, there is no squinting going on, and I can do it without looking too suspicious to my day-job boss.
If you’re going to communicate by e-mail, communicate by e-mail already. *grumble grumble crankypants*
Also, a lot of blogs are blocked from where I spend most of the day. If Naomi did this, I’d be … well, you know what Naomi would say. Just saying.
I love getting your e-mails and I love getting the column. Great idea. I will continue to read you on a more consistent basis this way. I think you’re great and uplifting. That’s really important!
Thank you, Pam
I’m with Willie on this one. I like having the link so it’s easier to comment, but could you include the entire post as well? I don’t like books that make me flip back and forth between chapters to understand something either… (I’d rather have footnotes than endnotes, she said, dating herself).
Looks like we’re divided on this one.
I can’t make up my mind myself. On one hand, I like being able to read the entire email on my ipod.
On the other hand, I like the interaction of reading it blog-style.
So here’s a suggestion: Why not put the entire newsletter in the Email but include a link to read it as a blog post?
That way, everybody’s happy. Well, except maybe you, Sonia, as it’s extra work. But aren’t we worth it?
PS: How do you have a “private” section on your blog?
Sonia,
You are the only newsletter I read religiously. I always find at least one great morsel of information in your writing, and usually many more. We are in the process of revamping our site to a Web 2.0 community, built in Drupal, and will be using MailChimp for our newsletter. I’m now thinking we should do what you are doing and link back to our site rather than deliver all the content in an email. You rock, Sonia. You are the North Star out there for folks like me who have a lot to learn about marketing on the internet. As soon as I can free up some time, I will be signing up for some of your fee-based content. Keep doing what you’re doing, and I will continue to be a member of your adoring fan club.
Thank you for your energy, insight and knowledge.
I appreciate all your emails and posts.
P.S. Please pray to extinguish firestorms in California.
You may join us at our prayer video on you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVw0NOw1a0Q
thank you for the great work, I am a raving fan
I’m a great fan of yours, Sonia, but I agree with Lexi Rodrigo above. I don’t have broadband and so it takes forever to follow through the link and wait to read the full eletter. I do love getting your posts straight in my email, while I’m having my breakfast at the computer. They cheer me up and enlighten me. I like your style of writing and the pictures you use to head your posts. I print them off and then read, highlight and file them.
I can then access your website when I have some time and catch up, say once or twice a week; for example, while I’m working at my desk. I do realise that I am in the minority not having broadband.
I like the “click over and comment” approach. If, as Lex Rodrigo suggests, you put it all in the email, I for one am very unlikely to click through since I’ve read it all already.
Thanks for the good idea! I’ll also steal (I mean borrow) it for my use and my clients’.
Thanks for this, Sonia.
I’m a new blogger and feeling a bit overwhelmed by how much I have to learn to catch up. There are so many ways to “get attention to your blog quick” but they don’t seem authentic to me.
Your post today has given me the perspective I need to just focus on content and on identifying what I can bring my readers (working moms).
I love this new format, by the way. Your emails are always good, but nice to be able to quickly talk back. Thanks for all you do.
Experience is the greatest teacher. Had I read Sonia’s sage advice (and I’m sure I read similar things) BEFORE I went out and tried all the crazy shortcuts, I probably would have brushed her and others off like a rebellious teen fluffs off his parents. (Hey, I’m 55 and still have that ‘what-do-YOU-know’ attitude. OK, so I’m a slow learner – LOL)
Having HAD all the ‘prodigal son’ experiences, I can truly appreciate people like Sonia and all the folks at Copyblogger that much more.
While the ‘quick-trick’ artists may have gotten my $30, they did NOT get my trust and loyalty, not to mention future business. Heck, they don’t even get into my inbox anymore.
When I was a kid, one of my teachers used to tell me, “Russ, the long way is the short way; and the short way is the long way.” I’ve lived it and experienced the truth for myself.
Now it’s time for me to go out in the world an earn something. Thanks Sonia and the folks at Copyblogger for setting the standard.
Sonia,
Yes, I would so much rather read the larger screen provided by sending us to this webpage ~ much easier on the eyes.
Thanks for the great content.
They’re broke!!! Wha-?
I guess that means there’s room for the rest of us to make the cash. Thanks for the great advice and reassurance, as always.
I like the link from the email to the full article. I wouldn’t have thought of replying to your email–that feels like a one-way conversation. But when you put it on a page like this and invite comments, it becomes a two-way conversation.
What I find the most refreshing about your website and Copyblogger is that it isn’t a “get rich quick” thing. There aren’t any shortcuts. It’s just teaching you to build a business slowly.
I think what i’ve learnt over the last couple of months putting my website together is that you need to grow as your audience grows. I know that if I had a big audience now, I wouldn’t be making the most of it. I don’t have the systems to handle it.
If you grow your systems as your business builds, you are going to make your life easier as your audience gets bigger. Rather than creating a “one off” campaign that isn’t scaleable.
And about Twitter. Why the hell do so many random people end up following me? I don’t understand why they are following me?
Oh yeah, and the web page is great. I’ll follow your posts wherever you want to put them. Great info.
aahhhaaaa! Finally someone said it!
No, there are no shortcuts to almost anything in life… you get what you pay for.
Yes, pretty much anyone can do what we do if they are willing to pay the price. We all make sacrifices to achieve our dreams.
Absolutely give people what they need, not what you think they should have.
Thanks, Sonia — as usual, you are right on target.
Bob
PS Love the new format!
Sonia,
I get so tired of the online “get rich quick schemes.” You definitely believe in providing service for your followers instead of the idea of making a fast buck. Thank you for providing valuable information to us so we can realize there are truly more authentic ways of doing things to make a living.
I have created a special mail folder for saving your mailings; because, I’ll need to read them again. I couldn’t do that today; so, I’ll vote for full message in the email and click for pictures and comments.
btw: I do like the nice big font here.
Sonia, thank you for the content class and for creating a conversation in the comments. I also get my email on a mobile phone, so a simple, clickable link would be appreciated. Your writing is so clear and helpful, even when you say it’s going to be a lot of work, it’s not scary 🙂
Love your content – and I’m already subscribed to your blog. However, like some folk have mentioned above I can’t always switch from email to web so I’d prefer the whole message in the email – (with a link to your blog so that if I can go online right there and then, it’s so easy I’m on the blog without even thinking about it. Talk about wanting the best of both worlds… 😉 )
Hi Sonia,
Thanks for all your good advice. I’m glad that I found you and Brian early in my blogging and could avoid any ideas that this thing would happen quickly and easily.
The thing I’m struggling with is lack of comments. After 6 months I’m still feeling like I’m blogging in a vaccuum! I know people are reading me. Stats are adequate for my market, I’ve been asked to contribute to two rural econ. dev. sites and get a few phone calls and emails asking for advice. Any ideas for how I could get this recalcitrant market I’ve chosen to write for off the dime and commenting??
Great post! It is so true that it takes hard work and great content (and a little dash of patience) to build valuable attention.
Keep up the great work—you’ve got my attention!
@Joanne, try taking a look at this Problogger post, I thought it had some useful ideas to try for posts that attract more comments: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/12/18/13-types-of-posts-that-always-get-lots-of-comments/
Sonia,
I love what you write. You always have a cookie for us.
Lovely. Thanks a lot for your help.
Just came here again to read this again and to let you know I completed this course the end of July although the e/m address is new.
Keep me posted on the new membership site. . .Danno
Entitlemenality is such a killer.
You have to add and deliver value FIRST. Then the rest happens.
Love this concept of cookie content. Who doesn’t like cookies?!?
Sonia,
I always enjoy your posts and learn something with each one. But, going against the tide, I prefer being able to read the whole thing at one go without having to stop and regroup while the page loads. It’s an interruption and I may not bother to click through.
That said, your site is great and the interactive comments are very interesting. For me, I’d like the choice to read the whole post and click through when I’m ready. Good luck with the new format however you decide.
Great post… and you’re right!
The only way to be noticed, in a good way, is having a win-win relationship with your readeres-followers-clients.
Blogging is not that common in Mexico and my blog has been bringing me some good attention and business!
Thanks for the tips Sonia!
Regards from Mexico.
JM
Well, I’m glad to find from reading all these comments that I’m not merely star-struck. Evidently my opinion of your qualities is shared by your other followers. Whew!
I like reading the rest of the story on your blog, once alerted by the email. I never minded reading the whole article on email, but an email reply seemed too intrusive. This form invites interaction.
You’re so right about Twitter followers and their *insert a Naomi word here.* With 30 Day Challenge came a raft of followers, and like a dumb newbie, I followed back. Big mistake. I guess. Is there any use in following people you have nothing in common with? I’ve all ready unfollowed many. Cluttered up the page.
Glad to see you back. Have missed your voice lately.
Good advice, Sonia, and I’d have to say I’ve followed it so far in slowly building my Twitter following to more than 500 and increasing my FB friends (which I use for business-related things) to more than 400.
Before I post, tweet, or write ANYTHING I try to be in the moment as much as possible and think FIRST about my audience — what they need and what I can provide.
This is so relevant at this time in my life. I’m so:
“When I was just starting out, I thought the big bloggers were pretty much on Mount Olympus. And here I was at the bottom, just putting my words together and hoping someone noticed.”
On Twitter I have around 400 followers and sometimes I don’t know if folks are even paying attention! I share a bit of myself and I offer content that I put my all into yet my followers seems to be sending out ad after ad after ad and frankly some I am getting tired of and just want to unfollow them all.
Then there are the 3 or 4 who actually communicate with me. *sigh where are the others?
Michelle
I would think about reversing the date order of comments, to most recent being first. You have a semi ever green page, but as you send it out in your newsletter, people will likely want to see contemporaneous comments.
Great article! Thanks for the “pep” talk and reminding us little people that we just need to focus on helping our loyal customers solve their problems. Offering valuable information to them is key.
The title of this post drew me in. Clicking through to your site is good, I prefer e-mail snippets.
I once served on a non-profit board with the owner of a mid-sized ad agency. He kept preaching that, “The more people do for you, or give to you, the more they feel they owe you.”
It’s something I’ve seen over and over. Once someone takes the plunge to back you or buy your thingies or use your whatevers, the more vested they become. Unless you give them reasons to change their mind, they will continue to support you, because they made that initial buy in. That’s powerful stuff.
You need to have a different approach to these folks, and they need to know you remember and value them or they’ll drift off. But, they want to believe that they made a good choice, just like everyone.
Thanks for the thought provoking posts. Keep it up!
Pretty new look, as always thx for boiling it down to actionable bites.
Sonia, I definitely pay attention when you give advice. You make it sound so simple; of course it takes consistent hard work. But you lay it out in a simple, understandable way. You may be inspiring me to start up my own blog too. I just keep asking myself the consistency question 😉
Good stuff Sonia – and thanks for the encouragement. Like this process too.
My readers have reminded me a couple of times, keep it practical, keep it practical, that’s why we like it. A good reminder about who it’s really for!
By the way, made me laugh when you wrote you had email on the brain. For the stuff I blog, I get brains on the email 🙂
Sonia,
Thanks for the extra treat.
As you say, when you get good content, value and connections –it can never be too much.