Element 2: Soaking to Soften

This is a continuation of a series of blogs started on Saturday. It all started when I had a beautiful day of gardening. I reflected back on it and these are the lessons I learned and am applying to my online efforts.

As I reflect back on the "trick" of soaking the ground so I could dig the holes or pull the weeds, I think about true social networking/relationship marketing. Joining up a bunch of social networking sites to spam everyone is not going to do anything but turn people off of your opportunity. I try to avoid this, but I see it everywhere! Instead, join those sites, but then NETWORK. Start conversations & be a part of the discussions going on. Befriend and follow people with similar interests and connect with them on another level.

I will be adding links to social networking sites that pay in the near future. These are great because they usually have a lot of opportunity seekers as members. The no-spamming guidelines still apply, even though it will be more rampant on these sites. Lead by example and do not pick up this nasty habit.

I am on Yahoo Instant Messenger (YIM) and a lot of Work at Home Moms (WAHMs) have "blast groups." What that means is you can click on your blast group and send them an instant message all at the same time. It could be a special you are offering, notification that your blog has been updated, an alert about a contest you are running, etc. The idea is that everyone on that blast list then turns around and copies and sends that message to their entire blast list, and so on.

Lately there have been some complaints in the blasting community that not everyone passes along the blasts. Well, I am guilty of that myself sometimes and there could be many reasons for it that I don't need to get into right here and now. It just got me to thinking that the blasters who are getting upset may not be looking at YIM for the networking tool that it is and should be used as.

Element 4: Watering & tending – I will water the plants on a regular basis in order to see good results.

Thank you for sticking with me on this series! This is element 4 in our series about what gardening has to do with internet marketing.

Today's element, watering and tending, relates to our need to be consistent in our efforts. Do SOMETHING, every day, toward growing your business.

That may include spending time on social networking sites, building relationships (soaking). Other times it will mean pulling the weeds (evaluating what is effective and eliminating what is not).

If you do not water your garden, your plants will die. If you do not pull the weeds once in a while, your garden will become overgrown with them. They will zap the resources that the good plants need and your plants will suffer. In the same way, your business will wither and die if you do not continue to feed and water it. You will become worn out from caring for the weeds that aren't getting you anywhere if you do not stop to evaluate them and remove them once in a while!

I encourage you today to make a daily plan of action. Include how much time you will spend each day with vital tasks such as:

- Advertising. Try to promote each program you are working in at least 10 places per day. At then end of the month, you have roughly 300 posts working for you!). I will be adding a list of free advertising resources to the sidebar soon!

- Social Networking. You may even break it out by each social networking site. This includes sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Yuwie, 6dgr, EziHippo, any NING sites you belong to, etc.

- Follow up with leads. It's so true that there is a fortune in the follow up. Someone you talked to three months ago may be ready to join your program today!.

- Follow up with your team. Love 'em or lose 'em. Some people won't ask for help, assuming you are too busy for them. Make sure they know you are available, even if it's only one hour a day.