The internet has this unfortunate way of de-humanizing some people.
I guess it is because it is relatively anonymous, in some ways. And the fact that usually the people on the other end aren’t right there in person so people feel protected from the consequences of their actions.
No, I’m not talking today about trolls. 🙂 Although, it is the same thing leading to it.
Internet business has a way of de-humanizing people, too. It is all too easy to fall into this trap of thinking in terms of numbers. How big is your list, how many comments did you get, how many page views per month, conversion rates.
All these numbers, it is easy to forget that we’re dealing with people. People every bit as real as you are.
When I write an email to my list like I am right now, I know it is going out to a lot of people. But, I also know that… you’re real. You’re a person with certain interests, certain things that bother you. You’ve had different experiences in your life that have shaped where you are now and how you look at things. You see things a certain way.
You’re a real person. Just like me. And you are not just another entry in my email list, or another pixel on my analytics graphs. Not to me.
So, along that line….
When is the last time you have actually TALKED to one of your subscribers?
Have you ever done it?
And no, I’m not talking about “talking” via email. While that’s better than nothing, it doesn’t hold a candle to real voice conversation. Via Skype or something. Or even that weird thing called a phone. :-)There is absolutely NO BETTER WAY to really be in tune with what your market needs and wants than to simply talk to them. You can hear them speak in their own words. You can listen to their tone of voice. You can have conversations that are much more in-depth than you’ll EVER get with a survey… or even an email exchange.
Having this conversation isn’t about what you say to that person. It is about what you’ll LEARN. You’re not there to sell them on anything. You’re just there to learn how you can best serve.
This information is invaluable to shaping the blog posts, the content, the lead magnets and the offers you will make in the future.
This is very much a high-leverage activity to grow your business… and that’s why it finds itself here as #13 in our series.
I know it is a one-on-one conversation, and that seems very LOW leverage. But, what you will learn changes the balance entirely and will make you better at your job. It’s that simple.
So, here’s what you do…
Don’t overthink this. Just email your list and tell them you’d like to talk to a few people one-on-one. If you want, you can even offer to help them a little in exchange for their time, but you’re open that you want to know what they’re dealing with and how best you can help. You value what they think!
Schedule a few calls and go for it.
Inside The Lab, we have an Avatar Interview Worksheet with actual questions you can ask. Or you can come up with some on your own. Lab members even have an exact script to use to invite such calls.
But, don’t stress it out or make it a big, formal thing. It’s just a conversation between two people with a mutual interest.
– David
Here’s how I help people every day…
Make everything about managing your site simpler… by having me on your team to help make sure everything goes smoothly. By providing the very best tools, the best hosting and maintaining everything for you… I’ll take care of the mechanics so you can just focus on growth.
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