How do they know you're not a flake?

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Before your "like" or your link gets clicked or your idea gets read, a busy person is going to go through a quick, time-saving mental exercise to figure out if it's worth looking into a little deeper or even considering. 

Since it seems that almost everyone is now connected one way or another, lots of people we don't even know can get through to us with a deluge of noise, and just about everyone worth contacting is starting to become defensive about who and what they spend time glancing at. The message has to pass a few mental screens, like...

• Do I know this person?
• Did someone I trust send them to me? • Are there typos or grammar problems, and does the message look like it came from someone intelligent enough to bother with?
• Are they pestering me with some offer that's going to cost me money?
• Who else is involved with this person?
• Who referred them?
• Does it sound too good to be true?

All of these questions come up in our heads and get asked, even before the idea is analyzed...
Whatever we're trying to get across on Facebook, YouTube, email, text, or phone voice message; it pays to ask ourselves these questions to see how we would respond to the message if it were coming to us. It's like a billboard on the freeway. We've all seen messages that go by so fast and are so hard to figure out that we just ignore them completely and complain that they're wasted advertising.

The last question — Does it sound too good to be true? — is especially hurtful. Overselling is not only foolish because it simply isn't so, but because now, they've heard the quick weight loss or the quick money promises so often that overselling them will do two things: (1) Make sure that they click DELETE without reading anything more and (2) ignore all future messages from you. 

ACTION STEPS:
1. Take a moment to think of all the messages you put out there on Facebook, YouTube, email, text, or phone voice messages. Write them out. Then ask yourself the 7 questions in this article to see how well they pass the test. Adjust them according to the Golden Rule. 

2. Pay attention to how you respond to your email, Facebook, and other messages. What annoys you? What do you delete? Talk to friends and get their reactions too. Then adjust your messages accordingly.

3. Look at the messages you most frequently respond to. Ask yourself why. Keep a selection of the headlines or subject lines of the ones that grab your attention and satisfy you once you read the whole story. Do it like they do.

4. If you're planning an email or Facebook campaign to help grow your business, get to know more about the etiquette and best practices of these powerful marketing vehicles. Find a book at the library. Take an online class. Get yourself some skills so you don't fall into the trap of putting out stuff that turns people off. 

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