I met someone offline who knows ...

Anita · Posted: July 19, 2008, 4:23 am Post subject: I met someone offline who knows ...

Internet Marketing!!!

I couldn't believe it!

Okay, I don't know if anyone else feels the way I do but I know NOONE who knows anything about online marketing, internet marketing, online sales, yadda, yadda, yadda ... none of it.

I used to get a little excited if I heard of someone who had a paypal account but everybody and their brother has at least bought something from Ebay and they're all pretty familiar with Paypal. Heck, my MIL even got a Paypal account a few years ago, lol.

We have a Sunday school that sits in front of our house - actually the yards connect. So, there's a lot of what we call our "neighbors" who are in and out of there on a regular basis. But our "neighbor" spans probably about 5 or 6 miles, lol! (Everybody here goes to this Sunday School except for us - we were members of another church before we moved here.)

Anyway, hubby was out in the yard trying to once again get our pool "un-green" and someone was at the Sunday School. He come over and was talking with him about this new system they put in that requires no chemicals and all that stuff. He said he had tons of stuff at home that he no longer uses and wanted to give it to us.

So eventually they started chit chatting (you know, the thing "guys" don't do but do it for hours ...) Anyway, they start talking about what they do for a living yadda, yadda, yadda ... and this gentleman says he and his wife just started their own home based business Shocked

online. (They sell Shaklee - which is pronounced with a short "A" not a long "A" like I thought, rofl!)

My husband gives the normal response as in yeah, my wife does something online. She works with work at home moms ... lol. He really doesn't have a clue. (Although, he's getting a real lesson in affiliate marketing lately, lol!)

In the meantime I come home from the grocery store and they call me over. Next thing I know, we're sitting across from each other talking about internet marketing and John Reese, auto-responders and lead generators and websites .. and Oh my gosh I was so excited!! (How pathetic is that? LOL!)

Turns out - unfortunately he's "fallen" for quite a few "newbie mistakes" and has lost a good bit of money. He's only been in business for about 5 months now but has lost a good bit of money with almost nothing in return.

He ended up getting signed up to a company that gives him something like 40,000 leads a month for something like $70 a month. Ouch! Then he paid for an automated process that sends out his message automatically to these 40,000 leads. (No offense to him - especially if he reads this - I invited him and his wife over, lol) but we wonder where all this spam comes from? From these companies that sell this crap to poor suspecting newbies that just want to build their business - that's where!!

I mean really - where does this company get 40,000 leads a MONTH!?? And they have how many customers? How many other people are they sending these same leads out to?

Did you ever get a rush of the same spam message from three different people at one time? Yep - there ya go!

He's been sending out these messages for five months now. Yes it takes time for a business to grow but what kind of leads are these that he can send out 40,000 messages a month to supposed "leads" and not get a single visit to his website from it? That's 200,000 supposed people who should be interested in getting something like this AND nothing? Not even one visit???

I was so excited to share my knowledge with him ... mainly to help but also because I'm excited to share something with someone offline - kind of to show "what I've accomplished" and "what I know". Know what I mean? If I show any of my friends or family any ebooks I've written or websites that I've built. Sure, they're nice and say 'hey, that's great' but they don't really "get it". Ya know?

So in return for the chemicals, I gave him a couple of my ebooks to help get him started plus threw out a few tips. (Okay - a lot of tips.) I overwhelmed him a bit a couple of times, lol! But he'll get it - just needs to take it one step at a time. I keep telling him - if I can learn it, anyone can Wink

But I couldn't allow him to continue to waste his precious money on this stuff! So, I had to share some of the RIGHT and EFFECTIVE way to build his online business. And of course - since it was perfect for where he and his wife are, I had to give him a copy of Kickstart Your Online Business which will give him a really quick boost without overwhelming him too much.

It actually worked out to be a good thing for the two of us. This morning he was so surprised at all the information I had given him about building a website that he replied with a "hope you're keeping a tab because I know mentors aren't cheap!" Oops - guess that IS what I'm doing, isn't it? I AM being a mentor! lol!

I've been a mentor to many people over the years - especially here but don't usually get paid for it. Although, I have made a few bucks here and there because they usually end up buying some advertising from me or some of the things that I recommended were using an affiliate link to it wasn't all for free (but certainly no where what a mentor gets paid, lol!)

Anyway ... back to whats being good for the two of us. I told him nope, no tab ... I enjoy doing it. Besides, I can't just sit here and say nothing, ya know? Especially when I know he's loosing money. But, I told him that if he wants someone to take care of his website later, I'd be happy to "be for hire". And he replied that if he goes with one of the ideas I gave him - he will certainly be putting me on his "payroll"! Definitely works for me!

Sooo, I just had to share this. Anyone else know anyone offlline who "gets it"?

Take care,
Anita Razz

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pattygale · Joined: 13 Sep 2004 Posts: 698 Location: Colorado Springs

WOW! That's amazing Anita. I, too, have met very few people in my offline community who 'gets it' ... well, make that actually no one.

When people start asking, "Oh what do you do?" and then I start talking, they get the deer in the headlights look.

So, now I just say, "I help business owners market on the web" and then they start asking me all kinds of questions.

Patty
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BusyMomma · Posted: July 19, 2008, 12:54 pm Post subject:

I so understand the no offline understanding. Hubby is understanding a lot more and even told his lieutenant that I could build him a website (not sure that I ethically can, but that's another story) but I was proud that he threw me out there like that.

My new good friends are going to have me build them a site for their grooming business. Of course I'm going to barter for free grooming for my little girls, BUT THAT IS SO THE GAME!

I'm so tired of seeing local biz's screw everyone over. Yes I live in the Seattle area, but that does not make you a better designer than anywhere else. Sad

What was this post about again? Laughing

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Bev · Posted: July 23, 2008, 3:41 am Post subject:

Oh my gosh, I'm right there with you... most of my friends have email, but they only check it occasionally and NONE of them do anything online businesswise.... They don't visit any message boards, they have never made friends with other women, and they definitely don't have an online business! They just don't get it at all.... it's weird!

Bev
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Anita · Posted: July 23, 2008, 6:40 am Post subject:

It's been so nice. We've been chatting back and forth via email - mainly because I'm helping him / mentoring him with quite a few things. As a matter of fact, I'm going to be building him a "green website". (And I'm not sure who's more excited about that - him or me, rofl!)

He was over again last evening and I was teaching some things about search engine optimization - it's been so much fun. Yeah, call me a geek but it's things I enjoy, it's not just my business and career - it's my hobby too. So it's been great to have someone I can talk to face to face who has the same interests as myself.

Anita Razz

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mommybear · Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 42

Isn't it something to get someone else outside our house excited with what we do Laughing

But no offense, you should be charging him!!!! Give him a program or checklist or whatever a-z kind of thing so he learns the rope with a consultation time in between on a "discount". "neighbor discount" whatever, but start getting paid for your professional service my dear! You are a pro - you know the stuff, he needs the service.

I use to have a neighbor who ask me to buy him milk and prescriptions because he prefer not to drive (he was over 70). I did it a couple of times a week and didn't mind doing it. But then he started to ask me to take his shirts to dry cleaner etc. so i said, hey i could you on my clients list. I explained to him that I do that for a living - as an errand person. He gladly paid me - he was loaded after all, and i have 3 young mouths to feed. So i was doing it until he went to the nursing him. His daughter came, sold the house and went to Paris shopping - she already had tons of money from her husband so didn't need her fathers money which he left her but she said, she needed parisian wardrobe for the season so off she went.

So anyway, i think you should charge him

Laughing

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Anita · Posted: July 24, 2008, 7:59 am Post subject:

Well - I did end up giving him a price to set up his website and get him rolling. I worked out a price to do the initial setup of the site, get the content he has on there and of course a little bit of training and support too.

Yes - I would have loved to do it for free but - especially where we are right now financially since our layoffs - my time online needs to be dedicated to making money. I have to look at it as this ... if I'm working on his site, that's time I could be working on a paying project.

He had absolutely no problem in paying and had already planned on it anyway. I tried giving him the "neighborly discount" but today he stopped by to pay me. He handed me a few bills folded in half. I of course didn't open them up and count them - which now I'm sure he counted on. As he walked out the door, he said, by the way - I re-negotiated our price Wink

. ??? So, I opened up the money and he had paid me more than I had requested.

Super great guy to work with for sure! And really, I have a feeling he's well aware of this ... but compared to what I charged him (and would be happy to get) ... and what it COULD cost him if someone else was doing it ... he's already saving a ton of money. So - even though he paid me more than I asked for, I do still feel good knowing that he is still getting a "neighborly discount".

Anita Razz

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BusyMomma · Posted: July 24, 2008, 9:39 am Post subject:

Which promptly reminds me who my poor mystery hosting account is an email will go to him. lol Life won't be back to normal until Friday here around Mom Chats. Laughing

I'm so proud of you for charging Anita! It stinks that it takes us being at wit's end to charge what we are worth. But whatever makes it happens means it's the right time. Wink

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