George Kao's Blog, page 18
September 1, 2020
You don’t need to prove yourself as an “expert”
It’s ridiculous when someone says they’re “#1” in their field.
“Oh really, by whose standards?” I wonder.
The more we puff our chest, the more imposter syndrome strikes.The need to prove our worth is part of the fixed mindset (ala Carol Dweck) — when our ego is attached to a fixed identity that we should always be excellent, and one of the best. It sometimes makes us feel like a fraud, because nobody is perfect. We feel pain (or avoidance) whenever we don’t live up to that shining standard.
Inste...
August 28, 2020
No more “lead magnets” — back to “email newsletters”
...and keep the newsletters simple.
A common marketing tactic — you’ve probably experienced this — is when you’re forced to give your email address, in order to receive a freebie, such as an e-book, webinar, video series, telesummit, or email course.
Marketers call this a “lead magnet”… and it’s a term that disassociates marketing from relationship-building.
The problem is that it doesn’t even work that well... I built a 10,000-person email list by using a lead magnet of a “free” webinar.
Why do I...
August 27, 2020
Authentic email marketing – Why I don’t recommend “lead magnets”
A common marketing tactic is when you’re forced to give your email address in order to access a freebie, like an e-book, webinar, video series, summit, email course, or “special report”.
Marketers call this a “lead magnet”. What an unfortunate term that dissociates marketing from relationship-building.
The real problem? It doesn’t even work that well.
I built a 10,000-person email list by using a lead magnet of a “free” webinar.
I put “free” in quotes, because your attention is valuable ...
August 25, 2020
Do I ever play hooky?
A reader asked whether I ever “play hooky”… that is, go off my stringent work schedule… to relax or play instead of doing what I had planned to do.
I love this question. It has to do with how we relate to the idea of productivity.The short answer: Yes, I do play hooky. Maybe once every few weeks, I take an afternoon off unexpectedly.
But if we do it very often, then it’s not playing hooky anymore. It would be better called procrastination. We’d eventually feel guilty because our conscience bother...
August 21, 2020
Why I don’t like marketing funnels…
You don’t need a funnel for a successful solopreneur business.
Many solopreneurs are being indoctrinated by digital marketers who sell them on the idea that they need a sales/marketing “funnel”.
A typical funnel works like this:You see an Ad (for example on Facebook or Instagram), or receive an email, and it’s about a wonderful “free” thing… free video series, email course, or an intriguing quiz.
You can only get that “free” thing by giving them your email address. This is known as “the opt-in.”
Yo...
August 18, 2020
Stream a Zoom Meeting to Facebook and/or Youtube
It's convenient to use Zoom to stream to FB Live or YT Live if you want to show a meeting publicly (or privately) and/or share your screen.
In this video I show you how I do a few things:1) Use Zoom to stream a meeting to Facebook Live — whether it’s to a private group, or your public page. You can also stream yourself only, and it’s convenient to use Zoom because you can screenshare if you need to, or use one of Zoom’s virtual backgrounds.
2) Use Zoom to stream to Youtube Live — whether public, ...
August 14, 2020
3 Tips to Get More Engagement on Your Content
“I had been taking it really hard when I didn’t get engagement on my posts, thinking it was a reflection of my value.” — fellow content creator.
Here are 3 things to keep in mind, for what makes content more easy to engage with: Audience, Medium, and Topic. I'll address each one in this post.
It’s Not You. It’s Them.
It makes a big difference whether the right people are seeing your content. If you’re talking to the wrong audience, it doesn’t matter how skillful a communicator you are, they won’t...
August 11, 2020
Do Your Work from an Inner Spark of Joy.
How are you being, as you go about your tasks and your work?
Are you anxious, struggling, and “just want to get it done”?
The quality of your work tends to match the quality of your being.
You have no guarantees of your results — you can only control how you do the work. Therefore, why not work from joy… instead of anxiety, boredom, or frustration?
Your state of being is your top priority, because the only thing you truly can control is your inner life.— -
The quality of your life arises from the ...
August 7, 2020
New Course: Simple Instagram Marketing
Many of my ideal clients use Instagram. Your prospective clients are probably on there, too.
I find that with Instagram it’s quite easy to discover others who match my values.
How do you know whether your ideal clients are on Instagram?
Go to the websites of the people who offer a similar service as you -- do they have a link to their Instagram profile?
You might also ask some of your clients: do they use Instagram?
These interesting stats might help:Instagram has more than 600 Million active users ...
August 4, 2020
Conventional vs. Authentic Business Success
How do we measure the success of an authentic business?
In this post we’ll explore the different success formulas, and how that can inform our priorities and strategies.The basic success formula for a conventional business:
Money
divided by
Effort
In other words:
Make the most amount of money with the least amount of effort.
This means squeezing as much profit as possible out of each customer, and to gain as many customers as possible… all of it done with the least amount of work possible.
With this c...
