Need help managing my list.. they're getting pissed off.

Red,

I would just send your list a personal message and exsplain that you are very busy right now and will answer questions as you can, but that for the next 2-4 weeks you are not going to be available.

You are doing nothing wrong by being busy, you are only one person and can only handle and deal with so much and we have all been there, so most people on your list should undestand.

Also, if the people on your list like you and what you have to offer they will wait and be loyal and support you and if not it's their loss.

I hope this helps,

Martin

You run a business. Not a school.

However if you have this many requests for information/help/guidance, there is obviously a big gap in the market that you could capitalise on.

Take a step back and look at the bigger bigger picture than just answering a few PM's.

What do those PM's tell you?

Why are you coaching people for free via email, when you have a business to run? Don't answer the pms if you don't have the time.

You need to place more value on your time Red. It's as simple as that.

I can give you one solution, let them optin to my squeeze page and I'll provide them whatever information they need to have

Is there anyway you can group the questions together and answer them in one shot? Then at the end of the email, politely tell them that you will be taking a break for awhile and will be unavailable to answer any future questions.

That way you can exit the situation in a positive way without giving the list a resentment.

:confused:

You should turn alot of these people PM'ing you into paying clients.

Convert free advice offer into Membership site with private coaching upsell.

One of the absolute WORST things you can do is ignore people.

1. It messes up your image.

2. It loses some trust from the people that you ignore.

Sending them a message explaining the situation is a MUCH better alternative. They'll also appreciate this.

Ex; The emotions go like this.

*Red hasn't responded to my PM in 3 days* (ANGRY)

"Sorry if I haven't gotten back to you guys, I've just been really busy lately with _________. I'll probably be back into it by ________. I hope you guys understand that since I'm providing such a great service that takes so much of my time, for FREE, that it has to be put on the back burner when it comes time to make some money. I have bills to pay to ya know! :p"

*reads PM* (GUILTY)

Again, The best thing you can do is explain the situation.

JaVaun T

well, I don't have much in the way of day to day business operations to run much anymore, so I have the luxury of donating my time a fair bit. That being said, I have some pretty clear terms for things.

1. I always make it clear upfront that I can and do charge for advice. I make a point before I even engage a person to any serious degree to make sure they understand that it is normal for me to charge for my time.

2. I make it clear that if i agree to help, its on my terms and i do take time out to sleep, eat, go to the bathroom and other things. I don't respond immediately and any presumption that i should will end the conversation promptly.

3. I really go by the whole "you can have your service your way good/fast/cheap...pick any 2 mantra." if someone wants good advice on the cheap, then fast and responsive service is something they have to sacrifice.

The key thing i have noticed most over the years is to clearly set any expectations as early as possible in your dialogue. People may not like you for not giving the help for free, but most will sorta understand.

The real problems usually arise when you do spread yourself to thin and end up under-delivering on all your promises to almost everyone...most importantly your paying customers. Remember "you can't please everyone all the time".

You are going to choose. You will either chose to over server your freebie seekers and under serve your real customers or the other way around. You decide. BTW. if you don't DECIDE and make a conscious decision you will end up serving the freebie seekers at the expense of your customers.

What are you doing helping people for free!!!

Seriously, if people get angry with you for being busy doing other things than answering their PMs for free so be it. Can't see how that can ever become your problem.

Seems you feel guilty about not being able to allow people to steal your time. That's insane!

If you can't turn them into paying customers you have to let them go, albeit politely.

Sensible people will understand that you have to make a living and helping them out for free isn't helping you do that.

Make a note of the most common questions that your subscribers have and answer them in some blog posts.

Then simply refer these people to a FAQ section on your blog.

If people are asking you for assistance then they must respect your opinions and this could be an oportunity to recommend some core marketing products through your affiliate links where appropriate.