Life (And Online Networking) Doesn’t Work Like That…

The more involved and experienced I get with marketing a business online, the more I can see how and why so many people jump on the bandwagon, become disillusioned when it doesn’t work for them and then denounce it as an evil way of doing business.

To an outsider or newbie looking in, it appears that in order to market your business online or attract new clients or sell ebooks or build a popular blog and a huge mailing list, all you need to do is stick up an incredibly long-salesletter-excuse for a website, start a blog & write a few “diggable” posts and hey presto, you’ve sold 50 ebooks for £20 raking in an easy £1,000, you’ve got new clients knocking down your doors and the whole world now knows about you and what you do.

Those of you who’ve tried it, will know it’s just not that easy – despite what some people will still tell you.

There’s an awful lot more involved than jumping in enthusiastically, copying what others have done and expecting the business to start rolling in. And so it is with online networking too…Just like real life, you get out what you put in and you get what you give.

So if you’re starting a new business venture and decide to use the online social networks to promote what you’re doing, expecting huge success quickly – you’re in for a rude awakening. Similarly, if you’ve previously been a lurker on LinkedIn, Ecademy, Facebook, Twitter or other online network and not actively taken part in the community, then don’t expect your network to come running the minute you’ve got something new to promote.

It takes time – as it does in real life – to build relationships, gain trust, build up your reputation and get to know people. Don’t expect it to be any different online.