Are you awake...?

I witnessed something recently that really had me wondering what people are thinking when they get behind a keyboard.

The conversation was about why a discussion forum shouldn't be used as an article directory. The thing that was so surprising was the number of people who were trying to get some sort of hard and fast definition of an 'article.'

This wouldn't have been all that unusual normally. What made it interesting was that the person who started the discussion is a smart guy, with a fair amount of experience and a genuinely helpful approach to things. Not the sort of person you'd expect to be confused on such a question.

There's a good chance you're making the same mistake this gentleman did.

....

It's a common enough trap. We put labels on things, and then we turn them into techniques, rather than processes. That's how intelligent people become confused about the difference between conversation and publishing.

It creates a lot of problems for folks who fall into it. A lot of people get sucked in by sales letters promising the next great thing. I'm just waiting to see a sales page for...

"The Automagic EasyMoney Machine: A push-button marketing system so simple you don't even have to push the button yourself! We do it for you! You'll be a gazillionaire by this time next Thursday! We promise!"

Feh.

....

Now, I'm all for automation when it saves time and gets the job done right. This email, for example, was set up and scheduled to go out at a certain time to a specific group of people. Including you. Using a hosted solution for this saves me time and lets me get it to a lot more folks than I'd ever be able to if I sent it out one at a time from my desktop.

When you signed up for the newsletter, you got an email with the download link for "Need to Know," without me having to reply to your subscription manually. If I had to do all of those by hand, I'd have no time for anything else.

An automated shopping cart lets you get the products you order as soon as you order them, even if I'm asleep or out fishing when you do. You don't have to wait around on me to get things done.

The key is that, in each of those cases, the output is the same as it would be if I did the work by hand. Just faster.

That's a proper use of automation.

....

One challenge comes when people try to automate human processes in ways that leave out the human element. A perfect example is the response from marketers to Google's use of backlinks in their ranking formula. That's resulted in tons of sites getting thousands of garbage profiles and posts intended for the sole purpose of "dropping a link."

Another is the creation of "article spinners." These things substitute synonyms in what are usually already only marginally readable articles and create dozens, or even hundreds, or versions of the same trash. They then post them to various sites that accept content from outside creators.

Keyword stuffed nonsense, with no value to anyone but the sites they create links to.

I could go on for pages about the ridiculous abuses of automation in marketing, but it boils down to a very simple principle: The automated distribution of unsolicited or contextually-inappropriate marketing messages is destructive.

Most of you, fortunately, don't use such systems. The problem you're experiencing here is related, though.

You've become the automation. You are the robot.

Warning! Warning! Danger, Will Robinson!

....

Consider the discussion of articles vs conversation. That's not a kind of confusion that would ever occur offline. And it hit a particularly intelligent person in this case.

Why?

Labels.

When people slap a label on a thing, they expect it to be consistent. When it's a marketing-related thing, they expect it to be the same every time. They tend to assign a formula to the process, and want to be able to rapidly and easily plug in values for the variables.

They forget what's on the other end of marketing: People.

Link-dropping and other SEO efforts work because they're targeted toward machines. More precisely, toward the algorithyms coded into the software that's run on the machines. As hard as they might try, the people running those search engines have yet to develop a system that actually rates things the way a human would, given all the same data.

People aren't programs.

....

Let's look at a common belief: You have to rank well in Google to do well online.

A lot of people buy that. Those folks tend to adjust their behavior toward that sole purpose. They focus on SEO to the near exclusion of everything else. And, for many, that leads down a road to formulas and keyword counting. They get more concerned with links and page rank than with content and serving their visitors.

The next step is link spamming and article spinning.

But consider: There are businesses that do very well without ever paying any attention to search engine positioning. And lots of us did just fine before there ever was a Google.' How could that be, if Google rank is the key?

SEO is only one way of achieving the real goal: Getting real human beings to view your content. That's obvious, right up to the point at which SEO becomes the goal, rather than the process used to pursue the goal.

Start down that rabbit hole and you may not end up in Wonderland.

....

A more relevant topic for many is the idea of "building a subscriber list."

Now, obviously, I am not going to say that's not one useful way to deliver content. It's how you managed to get this newsletter, after all. And, as far as I know, I wrote the first ever ebook on the subject. (Yes, that was a while back.)

It's one way, but hardly the only way.

There are blogs and RSS feeds, Facebook groups and fan pages, forums and discussion lists, Twitter followers and mastermind groups, teleseminars and chat channels... All filling the same basic purpose: Making one-to-many and many-to-many communication possible.

There are courses and tools out there designed for each of those channels. They tend to teach "techniques" for getting the most from each approach, and they can be very specific in their instructions. I've seen a number of "Twitter marketing" manuals, for example, that tell you what time of day to "tweet," how many conversational comments and retweets should appear for each marketing comment, etc.

I've followed a few of the people who mentioned having bought them. They played the numbers straight down the line, and got nothing as a result.

Does that mean the authors lied? No. Not at all. It means the authors failed to consider an important factor: They know how to speak to people effectively in 140 characters or less. That's a much harder thing to teach then "Do this 6 times, do that twice, and then do this other."

Instead of creating effective communicators, they're building robots.

Tag, Robby. You're it.

....

It's the same with every other channel I just mentioned. Look around and you'll find all sorts of courses and books and articles on what to do to make them work. Most of it will give similar advice. Use this, that and the other technique, this often and with these many words, and you'll get results.

Sorry, folks.

Formula is for infants. Not adult communication.

....

I should point out that the ratios aren't necessarily "wrong." They're just too focused on math, and not enough on people.

Sure, you have to adjust to the channel. Each one has strengths and weaknesses that make them better suited for different types of messages. Just don't get wrapped up in the differences, or the "cutting edge" software you bought to master them.

The thing I see too many people doing is losing the human focus in their dependence on the formula. Whether it's some sort of ratio, or a piece of software that automates things in ways that result in unnatural output, it's easy to get narrowed down to technique.

If you catch yourself doing this, back up. Regroup and restart. Focus on what you have to offer the person who's on the other end of that channel. Are they really getting the message you intend to communicate?

If you find yourself going through the motions, do the same thing. Take a break, and get that picture in your head again of the person on the other end. What are they likely to be doing? What circumstance is brings them to your message? What state of mind are they at this moment?

Talk to them. With them. Not at them.

That's half of the equation. The other half is remembering to keep increasing the value in your offer. Whether it's free content, paid products, whatever. Doesn't matter. Adjust, based on feedback. Listen to your customers. That keeps you fresh.

When you become stale, your audience leaves.

Don't be a robot.

....

If this proves a challenge for you, and it will for some people, there's one relatively sure-fire way to fix it: Look at your own responses to other people's communication.

What works for you, and why?

As you go through the day, be alert for things that grab your attention, engage your mind, or make you feel something beyond casual data collection. Stop and just be aware of that feeling for a few minutes. Just pay attention.

Try it. That one will surprise you. And, until next time...

Klaatu barada nikto!


Paul

PS: Yeah, okay. Probably 6 people will get that last joke. It was worth it.

PS: If you liked this, sign up for my newsletter. That's where it's from. You can sign up at...

TalkBiz News: What you really need to know to succeed online - Online business building newsletter