Fear

You’re afraid. You don’t have enough followers or traffic or clients or buyers. You focus on fear instead of your vision, the probability of failure instead of your list of successes, what went wrong versus what went right. You are overwhelmed with online marketing “shoulds” and info and opinions. You aren’t making millions, or hundreds of thousands, or maybe even hundreds. You are paralyzed.

Make a commitment right now to do these three things:

1. Look at what has gone RIGHT in your business (Read Switch. I’m through the first 1/2 and it is brilliant). Do more of that.

2. Look around for someone you can support, cheer on, promote. Take the focus off yourself. Do this for the right reason-because you BELIEVE in someone. The world is big enough for all of us cool, lovely people to win. You don’t have to worry about competition. Stop focusing on numbers.

3. Be consistently yourself. I say this and I suck at practicing it, but those writers/bloggers/online business folks who are REASONABLY consistent (not 15 times per day. Boring!) and entertaining get the attention of others. If you are going to use social media, don’t just link to blog posts, don’t just stick to business. Let people know who you are. The medium is useless otherwise.

Be wary of social media and online marketing sales people. They are everywhere. Unless someone has built a trusting relationship with you, do not give them money for a 2-day seminar on how to sell your e-book or set up an online business! If they knew what they were doing, you would already know them, trust them and long to give them your money. Otherwise ignore.

When you are in the thick of the social media life and you are devotedly following Darren Rowse or Chris Brogan, and you are trying to build your own following, you can feel like all the spots are taken. Try to remember that active social media-lites are a microcosm of the Universe, like going to a small private school. It feels like everyone knows every one and there is no room for you.

There is always room for you and anyone else doing good work for the right reasons.  

Don’t be afraid, grasshoppa! Keep on truckin’.