How to handle "newbie" questions

Of course I can't tell everyone the best way to handle newbie questions, as there is no one size fits all answer.

I can however, share how I do it personally and that is to remember when I was a newbie and asked questions myself. I recall the graciousness I received at that point in my journey and can easily empathize. So out of thankfulness, I answer the best that I can.

I'm of the pass it forward mindset.

Terra

HAHA I thought it was just against me lol!!

Hmmn.. So you are on drugs, Alexa.. Well that explains a few things! (joke )

All jokes aside though, sorry to hear you aren't well.. I didn't know that.
I suspect there are also a lot of others here who have created an internet business due to injury/illness.

I have very similar problems (from a brain injury) and so I tend to gravitate towards business models that require very little interaction with others. For example, writing for Kindle is a great one, whereas blogging and email marketing are less predictable, and may require a lot of responses and interaction at times. Unfortunately, when they do, it often seems to be at the times I am struggling the most, and/or have very low energy.

It's not that I don't want to interact; I just know how unreliable and inconsistent I can be at the moment, so I'm careful not to take on more than I can handle. For me, writing books is still a great way to help others, while staying more or less 'behind the scenes.'

Although there is nothing wrong with a bit (or a lot! ) of trial-and-error, I do think that people need to take things like this into account, and weigh up what their strengths and weaknesses are before committing too heavily to a particular path.

I thought I have done something wrong. :rolleyes:


Thanks Alexa for not interpret the question as burden.

You have help me and many others by explain in the post, and answering our question.

You are a GREAT GURU.

I too sometimes give short replies, but honestly I have no trouble with setting boundaries, as long as I'm polite about it. Not to say that I haven't gotten angry before at certain behaviors, but I try to always control myself, act professionally, and treat people with courtesy.

Blog posts all the way.

When you really know your niche, you know each and every question that they have, but more importantly, you know how to provide value through a step by step (partial) solution.

Plus by sending them to your blog, depending on how you set up your site, you can easily get them on your list half the time from just providing value

I know what it's like to be a newbie looking for solid info and every expert being so unapproachable.

I've recently been receiving more and more e-mails and PMs, asking for help. It's flattering, but it's also extremely time-consuming. I may begin limiting my personalized responses and put up some sort of FAQ on my site for such people. For now though, I answer each and every e-mail/PM with a personalized, detailed reply because I really DO sympathize with the newbies. I've been there and know how it feels.

So far, everyone has been appreciative and I even got a new member out of the deal. But, if any of the seekers were ever rude, demanding or unappreciative, the well would dry up real quick.

I have a new business I'm trying to get off the ground and it's extremely time-consuming. Warriors aren't my market at all. I respond out of sympathy and compassion (having been there and done that) and take quite a bit of time doing it. The endless questions from very green newbies who aren't native English speakers are difficult though. Not only is their English atrocious, their complete, VERY newbie status just makes me sigh. (SO much to learn....)

My current seeker isn't a native English speaker and my answers to his questions led to asking me to re-write his squeeze page. Too bad I don't do copywriting for outside clients anymore -- or that I don't have time for such projects to begin with. I referred him to the WF to look for a copywriter.

But as Tiffany Dow points out on her blog's FAQ for newbies, what may seem simple and quick on the outside really isn't simple and quick at all. Even a simple squeeze page isn't quick. It involves delving into your business, getting to know your niche, your uniqueness in your market, helping you to craft a compelling enticing offer -- and THEN writing a good squeeze page. The writing itself isn't so hard or time-consuming. It's all of the background work that precedes it.

I just don't have the time -- or the inclination -- for it. My own projects are much more interesting.

The courses I learned from are currently off the market, so I guess I need to refer them to my book, which was published in 2010. It will save a LOT of time. I've spent literally around $20K since '06 on my IM education. If they can't buy a $20 book, I can't help them.

Michelle

yes, this is an important one. I went to bed one night and thought, Man I am on email for far too long each day.

I thought when I wake up in the morning I am going to time myself.

To my SHOCK I spend about 80 minutes just on email. YES!! 80 mins. So I had to change this quickly.

80 mins per day, = almost 10 hours per week.

I thought, wow! insane. I could create a whole product in that time!! Instead of emailing.

Tis insane when you think about it like this.

I'm going to be contrary and disagree with you WillR.

Yes, there's a lot of information here. And yes, if you want to get technical about it, all of the information you need to succeed is here. (Well, actually, I'm not so sure about that.)

Google and places like the WF are great resources for finding quick answers to short, simple questions or a needed reference or resource.

The biggest problem with the "Google and the WF have all I need to know" mindset is that it's all just a bunch of jumbled-up puzzle pieces. There's no comprehensive, step-by-step blueprint. You're sort of left to figure it out on your own.

And what's good about the WF is also bad about the WF: ANYONE can answer your questions, regardless of how knowledgeable or experienced, or thorough in their answer they are. So of course, some answers are more valuable than others.

(Too many people post super short answers that leave out more than they give. Worse, some wet-behind-the-ears newbie asks a general question like "How can I make money online?" (a problem in itself) and some "genius" Warrior answers "Article marketing!" It makes me want to SCREAM. Article marketing is a marketing METHOD, NOT a business!!!!)

These kinds of things create real problems.

Also, this mindset ignores the opportunity cost of the time spent searching for info. Business moves at the speed of light these days. By the time you're done finding all of the info (on places like Google and the WF) on your own about something, it's probably obsolete.

It's why I HIGHLY recommend everyone invest in at least one good, comprehensive A-Z IM course. It will save you a LOT of time, money and frustration. It's also much easier to sort the wheat from the chaff when you have a solid foundation in IM. It will create clarity and clarity is an amazing thing in business.

I purchased such an IM marketing course in '08 and it was the best thing I ever did. It pulled me out of all of the hype and confusion of the "make money online!" info out there. It was $1500, but one of the very BEST purchases I ever made.

As with ANY information though, there are ALWAYS going to be follow up questions. An information product or Google doesn't answer individual questions. People do.

So I would argue that people need to do their homework first. THEN feel free to ask questions.

Michelle

I don't get many either, maybe once or twice every 2 weeks but it wasn't always the case. I think it depends where you hang out in the forum. I also NEVER write reviews in the WSO forum for other people's products now. That's just an invitation for people to start contacting you and asking you questions or to review their new WSO. When I stopped doing that the number of contacts dropped big time. It only makes sense. Majority of the newbies are going to be hanging around that WSO forum and its offers.

I guess the way you are going to respond to any questions has a lot to do with how you interpret what the other person is trying to say. With that example you gave I personally don't see how he was trying to insult you or give you "crap", but that is just my interpretation of what was said. To me it sounded like he was only trying to give you a heads up that you had a link going to a blank page and he was asking if your offer was still available because he was excited about using it.

Like you say though, that email for you was probably the "straw that broke the camels back" and that has probably influenced the way you interpreted that email. It's your right to respond anyway you like because that's your prerogative, but lashing out and being abusive or condescending on a personal level is probably not the most professional thing to do. (Not saying you did that BTW)

The bottom line is, if you are the person who put in all the hard work to start and maintain your own business then you can pretty much do and say whatever you want when people want to ask you questions. I just don't see the need to get personal with insults like "I hope you fail" and "you're an idiot" as was said by the person in that 'other thread'. If you are saying that you can't answer personalized questions because it takes up too much of your time, why would you bother to sit there and write a spiteful reply to someone you don't want to help. Ignore them and move on.

Hi Nazbir.Bd

As a newbie myself I have a lot of question to ask.

I like to PM if I have slightly off topic from the thread that I'm reading.

Sometime I don't get any respond, and sometimes I get my answer in detail including link that support they answer.

Love those GURUs that don't mind helping other and they don't even try to sell anything to you.Even if they sell, it might be worth buying.

My 2 cent anyway.