underexposed

So I got an email from a friend asking why I didn’t sign up for her new class. It seemed like just my thing. Was it too expensive? Too cheap? Weak offer? Off the mark?

My answer was E: None of the above.

I hadn’t signed up for her class because I totally forgot about it. Love her dearly, excited about all she does, thrilled when she launched it, but even so, it slipped my mind.

And if I’m her friend, what do you imagine people who know us half as well (or like us half as much) think or feel or recall three minutes later about what we’re selling? How about three weeks later?

Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. A customer needs to see our message 7 to 30 times before they’ll buy our Thing…blah blah blah.

Whatever.

Based on my recent experience, we need to mention it 7 to 30 times in hope that someone sees the message just once.

Because here’s what happened—

I follow my friend on Twitter, we’re friends on Facebook, I subscribe to her weekly email newsletter and read her blog. I’m a fan.

And yet…

– I’m behind on my newsletter reading. Like pretty much everyone else.

– Unless there’s a tweetchat like Karl’s #mktgchat going on, I rarely spend more than 30 minutes on Twitter each day.

– Visiting Facebook = Zero Productivity for me, so I’m rarely at the website to watch the timeline tick by. I add comments via email and send updates from elsewhere.

– It’s been an introspective year so far, so I’m even less aware of my social media ecosystem than usual.

The result: I simply hadn’t seen anything about her class since its launch.

So.

If your class enrollment is lower than expected or few seem interested in your Thing, it could be that you’ve missed the mark, or the price is wrong, or you’re not selling to your Right People. It really could.

But it could also be that your Thing, like me, isn’t getting out enough. ;-)

So before you change the price, rewrite the sales page, or chuck your non-sellin’ ass Thing in the trash, consider that—Right as they are—maybe your People didn’t buy it the first (or second or third) time you mentioned it because they—

• Aren’t watching social media when you’re on it, often, or at all,
• Were on their smartphone/e-reader/tablet and the shopping cart was too small,
• Had an appointment starting in the next minute and promptly forgot about it,
• Bookmarked it and moved on,
• Didn’t have the cash to spare at the time (but they do now),
• Didn’t need your Thing then (but they do now),
• Wanted to think about it.
• Procrastinated.
• Got distracted.
• Got hungry.
• Got taken away by aliens and brought back with the previous 24 hours erased from their brains (it could happen!)

…blah blah blah blah. Right?

***

Their not-buying may not have anything to do with you or your sales page or your price or your Thing.

Anything can happen to keep someone from buying something the first (or second or third) time they see it. And anything often does.

All to say: We improve our chances each time we get our Thing out there, so here’s a checklist for Getting Out More:

Getting Out More

Website

Have I displayed my Thing—
◊ On the home page of my website(s)? Prominently?
◊ In the sidebar of my website so it’s visible on every page? Nearish the top?
◊ Within my About page—likely the most visited page of my site? Nearish the top?
◊ At the bottom of blog posts as a P.S. or within my bio box?
◊ As the centerpiece of a blog post? Or two? Or three?

Feathers on the Wind

Have I mentioned my Thing—
◊ On Facebook today?
◊ On Twitter 3 times today? Throughout the day? (Buffer helps)
◊ In my email newsletter? Prominently?
◊ Appropriately and often where folks in my industry/arena/tribe gather?

Direct Connection

Have I shared my thing—
◊ By emailing a personal invitation to people I believe would enjoy it or benefit from it?
◊ By sending a shout out to family, friends, colleagues, and industry leaders who wouldn’t need it themselves but would show it to folks who would?

Click here for a printable check-offable pin-uppable PDF

— EOL —

Does that help?

Use the buttons below to let me know…

Best of luck!