George Kao's Blog, page 16
November 13, 2020
Should you sell to the client’s “pain points”?
“From a marketing course I learned how to write my copy by using the hook-story-close model. The teacher showed how important it is to write to ‘the pain of my client’ in the hook part, and that I should even exaggerate the pain, make it like my client is in a dangerous situation (e.g. if you don’t act now, you’ll suffer dire consequences). The idea behind this is ‘The bigger the pain, the quicker the client will buy from you.’” — anonymous newsletter subscriber.
Sadly, this kind of mercenary ma...
November 10, 2020
Separate your Content from your Selling
“Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
This is where so many of us heart-based entrepreneurs fall down: we try to mix our selling with our moments of content generosity. We know it doesn’t feel totally right. We may even sabotage our own efforts.I recommend that we separate our content from our selling.
I’ll start with some context. I’ve observed what may be a 3-phase evolution in the onl...
November 6, 2020
Are you bothering people with your content?
Do you ever feel like you’re bothering people, when you create/share content?
A participant in one of my workshops wrote:
“Consistency of communication is my goal. To hold myself more accountable to this and get over the problem I have with feeling that I am bothering people by sending them content via email or other means, even if they have signed up for my list!!"You have an audience because they want to hear from you:Your Facebook friends are interested in your opinions (believe it or not!)You...
November 5, 2020
Ever feel like you are *bothering* people with your content… adding to the noise?
Are you bothering people with your content?
Do you ever feel like you’re bothering people, when you post your content? One of my students wrote: “Consistency of communication is my goal. To hold myself more accountable to this and get over the problem I have with feeling that I am bothering people by sending them content via email or other means, even if they have signed up for my list!!” Maybe you can relate. I appreciate your sensitivity! It means you’re being thoughtful and courteous a...
October 30, 2020
Authentic Social Media (beware the yearning for validation...)
Most of the time, you do not get as much engagement on social media as you see other people get.
Why is that? Is it because people don’t like you as much?
That’s absolutely not the reason. You need to understand how the algorithm works…When you are browsing the news feeds or home screen of a social media platform, you are only seeing the tiniest percentage of posts that already received more engagement than the average.
In other words, social media only shows you the tip of the iceberg, a few of t...
October 23, 2020
Free vs. Premium Content
Which of your content should be free versus paid?
This is an important question which I will address in the second half of this post.
First, we need to talk about whether content should have a fee attached. For example: online courses.I used to promote the idea that all content should be free because it would (1) help humanity progress faster, (2) help you attract your ideal audience, and (3) make you more creative by easing the pressure in creating your perfect content.
A few years later, I chan...
October 22, 2020
Which of Your Ideas Should Be Free vs. Paid Content?
How to decide what content you should offer for free — versus what to charge for?
Over time my thinking on this has evolved. I initially championed that all content should be free… for its potential to accelerate societal progress, while also building oneself an audience.
While I still believe in the power of free content (and offer it as much as I can!) I now seek to emphasize the vital role of paid content too…
Teachers and Authors Deserve a Livelihood
If you thrive in teaching a...
October 20, 2020
The Rare Gift of Constructive Feedback — for Improving a Business
If there’s a service provider that you respect, and you’d like to give them a gift (without having to spend money) consider doing the following:
Gently and kindly let them know why you are not signing up for their program, service, or product. You read that right. Give them the incredibly helpful gift of feedback.
This kind of message can really improve their marketing, and help them make decisions about what product or service they provide.
Let’s talk about this valuable exercise, from both persp...
October 16, 2020
Create Your Content for 1 Caring Person
Many of the blocks to creating content can be solved by one mindset shift:
Make your content for just 1 person at a time.
Don’t write for “the world”.
Don’t make videos for “your audience.”
That kind of approach can easily cause performance anxiety, which blocks you from showing up consistently... Instead, imagine that you are talking to just 1 person… someone you feel comfortable talking to, someone who loves your ideas.
It might be an ideal client, a kind friend, a supportive colleague, a true fa...
October 13, 2020
My thoughts on "The Social Dilemma" -- Should We Be Using Social Media?
A popular documentary lately is The Social Dilemma. It bashes social media platforms such as Facebook for creating technology addiction and using our data to manipulate us.
Here are my thoughts about it…Yes, Guide Children Well
The one part of the documentary I agreed with the most is that we do need to be careful about how children use social media… just like we guide them in other activities.
For example, we restrict or moderate how much video games they can play. Or what internet websites they ...
