Anatomy of your Online Presence - Part 4: The Mouth

September 26, 2007

This is part 4 of a 13 part series on anatomy of your online presence.

The anatomy of your online presence, the mouth, represents communication.  Not just answering email and phone calls type communication, but creating systems that make your communication more consistent and inclusive.

Talk to anyone that is an expert on sales and they will tell you that following up and following through is where most sales are lost.  Creating a buzz and having people talk about you, link to you and increase your online presence is the same. 

Take this example:  If you got an email from someone and they said how much they enjoy your blog and they ask you a question, you could answer it several ways.

1) Yes (or no)

2) Why would I answer them, I do not have time for that….

3) Thank you so much.  [Answer question] If there is ever anything you would like to see us do…..

Number three is the obvious choice, but are you doing it?  If you have developed your website beyond the basic brochure, and you are adding to it regularly, you will begin to develop a real following.  It will start with a person or two, and depending on how well you feed that flame, it will grow.

Example:  Seth Godin - Seth Godin is a Marketing Guru and author of many great books.  His blog is one of the top marketing blogs and he is always working on a variety of projects, such as www.squidoo.com.  You would think that he would be too busy to respond to the emails he gets (his email is right there on his blog) but I have emailed him at least 10 times and have always gotten a polite and sometimes funny response. - Not long, but personal.  It made me a much bigger fan.

So how do you Be The Mouth and do a better job online?

  1. Respond to people every time you get a chance.  If they comment on your blog, if they buy an eBook from you, if they email you a question, take a few extra seconds to send them a personal response.
  2. Be prepared with stock materials - I have PDF’s that I can attach with my personal message if someone needs some bio information.  I frequently get those requests when I am going to speak.
  3. Reply again a month later - If you have some time, follow up a month or two down the road again.  This always impresses those people that contacted you and then went on with their lives.
  4. Take a moment to return a compliment - If someone emails me, before I respond I frequently look at the domain of the email (the part after the @) and if it is their blog or a website they are actively involved with, I will comment on it if I have something to say.  (If it is terrible, I will just not mention it.)  This shows them you have taken the time to get to know them as well.

But wait, we are not done!

We still have a big problem.  You  cannot possibly communicate with 100’s of people every day using this technique.  And the only realistic way to achieve a big online presence is to have more than a handful of people care about you.

Here are a list of tools that can give you a bigger mouth by helping you communicate to lots of people WITHOUT spamming them.

  • Set up a blog - It is like having your own, text radio station.  This company makes it very easy and is affordable.
  • eNewsletter - Easy eNewsletter and auto-responder tool.  Build a list of people that can and also consider using it to create your own personal list of friends, like I did - click here to see - This smaller list is very powerful because these people have chosen to be my virtual friend.
  • Join online groups - There are too many online group options to list here, but join a targeted group that interests you and PARTICIPATE in the online conversations.  Make sure people know from your comment how to find out more about you.

These are just some of the ways to increase your online presence and increase the volume and reach of your voice.

- Thank You!

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

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Comments

4 Responses to “Anatomy of your Online Presence - Part 4: The Mouth”

  1. Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing Blog - » Do you have a living, breathing web presence? on September 26th, 2007 11:24 am

    [...] Mouth – Are you talking back to people that contact you?? Not following up promptly is a key reason many businesses lose opportunities. [...]

  2. Tom Williams on September 26th, 2007 5:44 pm

    Hi Ron,
    Can’t agree with you more. I set up the blog when I got back from Vegas and have had a lot of hits and try to post about every 5 or 6 days. My blog is at thebusinessofdesign.typepad.com or if you want I’ll email it. Drop me a line.
    Tom

  3. David on September 28th, 2007 12:11 pm

    Great article, Ron. So my “mouth” is important after all?

    David

  4. SOB Business Cafe 10-19-07 - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once. on October 19th, 2007 1:01 pm

    [...] Anatomy of your Online Presence - Part 4: The Mouth [...]

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