The enthusiastic online entrepreneur eagerly inserted his flash drive and fired up his macbook when suddenly a pale horse rode in from the depths of cyberspace carrying the 4 plagues of internet marketing death…
Shiny Object Syndrome
Critical Information Overload
Paralysis Analysis
and Technical Hogwash
A long day of work at the J.O.B. has come to an end and he grabs a quick bite to eat then sits at the helm once more on his quest to make some online coin. As he opens his flash drive directory to access his current website project the wicked horseman toils with his sense of better judgment..
“To check thy Gmail or Not to check thy Gmail that is the question… Whether it is nobler of the mind to suffer the slings and arrows that newbie flesh is heir to …by reading emails and being voluntarily sucked into a never ending cavern of email jokes, threads and next big thing promotions… ”
-OR-
“To stand fast and resist the temptation to keep “informed” by diving into his own project and charge forward….”
What to do, what to do? That is the question.
There is no component of your online business more important than your email client and there is no component as equally destructive either.
Think about it… what is typically the first thing we do when we sit at our computers? We check our emails. Consider the powerful emotional clench your email has on you, it can literally set the tone for your entire day.
For example, Day#1
You sit down to work and right away you see that you’ve gotten 4 payment notifications amounting to a couple hunded dollars… You’re excited, you’re motivated, you’re ready to conquer the world.
Adversely, Day#2
You sit down to work and right away you see that you’ve gotten 4 refund notifications or 11 support tickets… ughhh. What kind of day are you having now???
The worst is day #3
You sit down to work and right away you see that you’ve gotten 16 emails from various marketers promoting a huge product launch… You examine them all for the best bonus offer and get sucked into a 2 hour purchase decision that ends up costing you $197. Whats even more destructive is that now you download the product and spend yet another 2 hours tinkering about in yet another direction taking you further and further away from completing that project on your flash drive. Remember that?
The rider on the pale white horse is names EMAIL and he carries the plagues of marketer death,
SOS – Shiny object syndrome – the browbeaten compulsion to purchase the latest and greatest fad. Over and Over and Over again..
CIO – Critical Information overload – the overindulgence in new tactics that only leads to 37 layered windows wallpapering every centimeter of screen space on your monitor burying your project deep underneath. Have you ever started closing windows as you prepare to log off for the night and suddenly rediscovered the project you stated working on 3 hours ago?
PA – Paralysis Analysis – the overwhelmed state of mind precluding you from taking action due to conflicting information or your own literal translation of various marketers differing view points and marketing angles.
TH – Technical Hogwash – the benign gelatinous substance created from liquified neurons after prolonged exposure to lines and lines of html code, marketing blueprints sales letters and generally useless technical jargon.
The pale horse rider carries the plagues that not only spell out but also turn you into a………
SOS-CIO-PA-TH! (get it?)
Avoid the pale horse vice grip by Limiting your email exposure.
Schedule & allocate a set for email check it once a day and thats it.
Avoid opening chain letters and joke mail. If its that important just archive it and check it on weekends.
Install a support desk with an FAQ – direct all customer inquiries there instead.
Create priority labels for important people that will put the emails at the top of your inbox.
Create a “vacation response” that deters senseless emails and directs customers to you support desk.
You should view your email client as a tool and not a distraction. Turn that hinderance toting horseman into your very own pony express. Make him your allie, Domesticate him, Rule him, Control him! Use him to carry your message along on the rest of his stops rather than just leaving everyone else’s at yours.
