My blog where I say what's on my mind. My hope is that it will make some people think. For the rest...hopefully it wasn't a waste of 5 minutes of their time. 
Are You Talking To Yourself?
Posted 9th November 2009 at 11:51 AM by Steven Wagenheim
Did you ever get the feeling that, with all the article writing you do and all the promotion and all the email marketing and yoda, yoda, yoda, you were talking to yourself...that nobody was listening to a word you were saying?
If so, maybe it's because you have nothing worth listening to.
No offense, but did you ever read some of the blogs out there? I'm convinced that these people write because they're bored out of their skulls and have nothing better to do.
They're certainly putting me to sleep.
And then they wonder why they don't make any sales.
Duh!
Look, we all write our little puff pieces, like this one. But for the most part, when I have something to say, I make sure it's something important that marketers care about.
For example, when the FTC came down with all their new guidelines, I jumped on this right away and not only wrote articles on the subject but put together a product to help people comply. Given the seriousness of all this hullabaloo, the articles were widely read AND distributed and the product sold (and is still selling) very well.
When Google came out with their Sidewiki monster, I wrote articles on that as well informing people where they could go to lodge their complaints.
Whenever Ezine Articles makes a policy change or does something people need to know about, especially if they're article writers, I jump on that right away as well. I'm always trying to keep up with what's going on in an effort to keep my readers informed.
I rarely, if ever, talk about my dog or cat. Well, I don't have a dog or cat but if I did, I wouldn't be talking about them. Not that I have anything against dogs or cats because I don't.
Anyway, the point is, if nobody is listening to you, maybe it's because you have nothing to say worth listening to.
Okay, you're probably asking, "How do I know what people want to know about?"
Well, if you're building a list, the easiest way it to...
ASK THEM
I mean for crying out loud. How hard is it to send out an email to your list saying, "Yo, dude. Tell me what you'd like to hear about and I'll write something up."
Surveys are one of the best ways to give people what they want. I mean unless they're yanking your chain when they write back (hey Steve, I wanna learn about underwater pole vaulting) then there is no reason to believe that you won't get some valuable feedback.
Want to know another way to find out what people want to know about?
Look at all the questions posted here on a daily basis.
THAT should give you one HELL of a clue.
And if IM isn't your niche, then go to a forum IN the niche you're interested in. Most of the main ones have a HUGE forum.
If you can't come up with topics to write about, Twitter about or whatever, then you have a serious problem.
People DO care about things, especially if they involve their health, livelihood, entertainment needs, and anything else that YOU yourself wake up to each day that gives you a reason for waking up.
Your prospects are no different from you, not really. We all have the same basic needs and wants. It's the specifics that differ. But even there, people into MMORPG are basically
concerned with one thing...having fun and getting the most of their MMORPG experience.
If you can give them information that will add to their experience, you've captured your audience.
Okay? Don't overcomplicate this process because it's not hard.
It's just like with product creation.
Find out what people want and give it to them.
Now I think I'll go write that article on underwater pole vaulting...glub, glub.
To YOUR Success,
Steven Wagenheim
Visit my blog at Steve Wagenheim's Home Business Blog and read some really great articles on all sorts of topics related to Internet marketing and making money online in general. And I promise...no underwater pole vaulting articles.
If so, maybe it's because you have nothing worth listening to.
No offense, but did you ever read some of the blogs out there? I'm convinced that these people write because they're bored out of their skulls and have nothing better to do.
They're certainly putting me to sleep.
And then they wonder why they don't make any sales.
Duh!
Look, we all write our little puff pieces, like this one. But for the most part, when I have something to say, I make sure it's something important that marketers care about.
For example, when the FTC came down with all their new guidelines, I jumped on this right away and not only wrote articles on the subject but put together a product to help people comply. Given the seriousness of all this hullabaloo, the articles were widely read AND distributed and the product sold (and is still selling) very well.
When Google came out with their Sidewiki monster, I wrote articles on that as well informing people where they could go to lodge their complaints.
Whenever Ezine Articles makes a policy change or does something people need to know about, especially if they're article writers, I jump on that right away as well. I'm always trying to keep up with what's going on in an effort to keep my readers informed.
I rarely, if ever, talk about my dog or cat. Well, I don't have a dog or cat but if I did, I wouldn't be talking about them. Not that I have anything against dogs or cats because I don't.
Anyway, the point is, if nobody is listening to you, maybe it's because you have nothing to say worth listening to.
Okay, you're probably asking, "How do I know what people want to know about?"
Well, if you're building a list, the easiest way it to...
ASK THEM
I mean for crying out loud. How hard is it to send out an email to your list saying, "Yo, dude. Tell me what you'd like to hear about and I'll write something up."
Surveys are one of the best ways to give people what they want. I mean unless they're yanking your chain when they write back (hey Steve, I wanna learn about underwater pole vaulting) then there is no reason to believe that you won't get some valuable feedback.
Want to know another way to find out what people want to know about?
Look at all the questions posted here on a daily basis.
THAT should give you one HELL of a clue.
And if IM isn't your niche, then go to a forum IN the niche you're interested in. Most of the main ones have a HUGE forum.
If you can't come up with topics to write about, Twitter about or whatever, then you have a serious problem.
People DO care about things, especially if they involve their health, livelihood, entertainment needs, and anything else that YOU yourself wake up to each day that gives you a reason for waking up.
Your prospects are no different from you, not really. We all have the same basic needs and wants. It's the specifics that differ. But even there, people into MMORPG are basically
concerned with one thing...having fun and getting the most of their MMORPG experience.
If you can give them information that will add to their experience, you've captured your audience.
Okay? Don't overcomplicate this process because it's not hard.
It's just like with product creation.
Find out what people want and give it to them.
Now I think I'll go write that article on underwater pole vaulting...glub, glub.
To YOUR Success,
Steven Wagenheim
Visit my blog at Steve Wagenheim's Home Business Blog and read some really great articles on all sorts of topics related to Internet marketing and making money online in general. And I promise...no underwater pole vaulting articles.
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