As someone who has built a solid Email Marketing database (and experienced some interesting situations along the way) and also consults with Small Businesses to develop and implement an Email Marketing campaign, I find this practice to be counter-productive and a possible breach of the CAN-Spam laws.

A possible breach of the CAN-Spam laws? Yes – I am, in effect, being sent unsolicited commercial email – marketing material – from these contacts. I haven’t provided express permission to receive these updates, and they are far from personal levels of contact – some of the updates are incredibly professional newsletters and marketing updates.

Could I argue then, to an ISP or autoresponder provider that these updates are being sent to me without my permission? Yes. Would the ISP and autoresponder provider take action – maybe, if they received enough complaints over a period of time.

Am I going to complain? No, I won’t. I’ll see if I can unsubscribe from the updates and if I can’t and I really object to the material I’m being sent, I’ll disconnect from that contact. Ultimately, I use a separate email address for these connections and deleting email is relatively easy. (This is what I mean about counter-productive for the contact sending the message).

Permission Based Email Marketing

Permission Based Email Marketing, is about gaining the recipients permission to send them information of a commercial nature. Pure and Simple – if you haven’t received their permission, don’t send the material.

The question that is raised, is does connecting on a business or social network like Linked In, imply permission to receive commercial and marketing updates? Does it imply permission to be added to an autoresponder service to receive those updates?

I think not. I believe that by connecting, we are allowing ourselves to explore how we can work together, if at all. It also allows us to expand our contact base and make introductions, if the fit is good…. It’s about networking first, business and sales later.

I get the fact that one way to get to KNOW about your new contact is to receive their email updates – but I would prefer to make that determination myself. I would like to assess what my new contact is really doing and whether their information is relevant to me and will add to my business or personal development.

Even adding people from offline events in this manner should be considered in the same light. When you received their contact details, did you ask them if they wished to receive your updates – or have you just assumed that they would be interested and sent them updates anyway?

Business Reputation

What does this mean for your business repuation, or reputation in general?

I am happy to provide referrals for people, when I believe they have integrity – I’m not likely to refer one of my contacts through to someone that just assumes they add a contact to a mailing list, on the strength of the contact being made.

Think about what your current networking practices are saying about you – and consider how the recipients of your updates feel, when the updates are literally forced upon them and they have to opt-out of receiving them.

Read my next article for practical strategies about connecting on a social or professional network and adding people to your email marketing list.

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham is an online business implemenation expert who helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order. She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relax! You’re In Good Hand – Ask Charly Leetham

Review each of the tips in both of these articles (yes, it WILL take time) but make it a point to check out the websites listed from each of the contributors.  If you like what they are saying, be a great networker and post a comment on their site and tell them what you like!  I guarantee you will be amazed at the results you will receive from this action!  Most important of all – share these tips – tell others where you found them and help spread the word – be proactive – become a Netweaver!

I’m really interested to find out if you have any more to add to this list – feel free to comment below!
To Your Networking Success!

Carol

51.    Give first. (Michael Simmons, Founder of the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour, www.twitter.com/michaeldsimmons)

52.    Get out of the corner, and don’t be afraid to talk, write or tweet with anyone from organizations that have your interest! (Nikki Intschert, Youth Employment Counselor at the Jefferson County Workplace)

53.    Don’t be overly formal with people, just be yourself. (Dusty Logan, SAP Consultant at IBM, dustin.logan@gmail.com)

54.    The networking advice everyone always gets is ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ – but it’s really who knows you and if that person would go to bat for you. (Nicole Waldow, Senior at Clarkson University, waldownl@clarkson.edu)

55.    When blogging or looking at comments on YouTube or other platforms, don’t let haters’ comments effect you, think of the fact that they felt the discussion was important enough to leave their thoughts as a complement. (Kraig Adams, the College Video Student at Buffalo State, www.youtube.com/user/Collegevideostudent)

56.    Take advantage of every opportunity you have to meet new people, and stay in contact with those you meet. (Bryan Fish, President of Wichita State University’s Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs, bryanfish@gmail.com)

57.    Don’t be afraid to go up and introduce yourself, they are only people. (Cory Cain, President of Grand Valley State’s Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization, corymcain@gmail.com)

58.    The key to networking is building and maintaining (emphasis on maintaining) meaningful relationships with people you can help and that can help you advance in life. (Matt Ruby, Business Development Analyst for Northbay Technology, mruby@northbaytechnology.com)

59.    Become known as a powerful resource that people you interact with come to you for answers or help. (Andy Preisendanz, Financial Analyst for Lockheed Martin, preisendanz@gmail.com)

60.    Remember 3 facts or interests about clients and people that you meet. (Brodie Follman, Patent Examiner at United States Patent & Trademark Office & Aspiring Entrepreneur, follmabj@clarkson.edu)

61.    Open yourself up to EVERY networking event; go to them with a smile, and ask questions to everyone you find interesting and even some that you don’t! (Craig Martyn, President of BLMA Models, craig@blmamodels.com)

62.    Touch bases with more of your most helpful contacts on a regular (not necessarily frequent) basis. (Jay Mitchell, wjmr56@frontiernet.net)

63.    Join the social networks online – these are the quickest way to get your name out to many people. (Len Perno, Senior Vice President of The PARX Group, lfp@parxgroup.com)

64.    People love to hear their own name, so when you meet someone, use their name in your conversation. (David Lindoerfer, CEO of InsideOut Services in Washington, D.C., dave@inoutservices.com, www.inoutservices.com)

65.    Don’t ever be too embarrassed to shake the hand of a stranger. (Lydia Mellnitz, Supply Chain Intern for Johnson & Johnson)

66.    Every person you meet, every friend, and every acquaintance can be someone that helps you reach your true potential. (John Botte, Founder of Widget-IT Solutions, www.widget-it.com, admin@widget-it.com)

67.    Right after you meet someone put their name, what they look like, and what they do in your phone. (Jason Schwartz, AngelSoft Community Manager, jason@angelsoft.com, www.twitter.com/jschwa)

68.    Keep short notes so that you keep track of where your relationship with others is at. (Mike Johansson, Founder of Fixitology, http://www.fixitology.com/, www.twitter.com/mikefixs)

69.    Be seen and get known: you have to make yourself visible in order to create a network, so look for interesting events to go to. (Carlos Mesquita, www.twitter.com/carlosmesquita1)

70.    Do not be afraid to contact someone better known than you; do your homework, show you genuinely admire their work, and articulate how you are willing to help/work with them. (Pat Cambron, Online Marketing Strategy for Brand-Yourself, www.brand-yourself.com, www.twitter.com/pcambron, pcambron@gmail.com)

71.    Never talk bad about others. (John Michael Novinski, Engineering Major and Aspiring Entrepreneur at Michigan University, jmnski@umich.edu)

72.    To get an idea of who is in your network, draw a web of everyone you know and keep in contact with old professors, teachers and administrators and also know what you love/are good at and find others with the same interests. (James Brink, Aspiring Entrepreneur, Blogger, Tweeter, Business Man, www.twitter.com/jamesbrink, http://jamesrbrink.blogspot.com/, brinkjr.iem@gmail.com)

73.    Networking is about building many genuinely positive relationships over the course of your career. (Bob Zeik, President of ZSource, Partner in Northbay Technology, zsource@cinci.rr.com)

74.    Listen well, focus on retaining information, and think before you speak; the other person will appreciate your genuine interest. (Daniel Weimer, President of ASME at Bucknell University, drw023@bucknell.edu)

75.    No matter who you’re talking to, or what their background is, you always have common ground with someone; your job is to FIND IT. (Jeff Gaglio, Major Account Manager at Verizon Wireless, jeff.gaglio@verizonwireless.com)

76.    Networking is easier when you know what you are doing, so find a mentor and utilize them. (Ryan “Cremix” Davis, Campus Relations Chair for Engineering & Management Society at Clarkson University, davisrm@clarkson.edu)

77.    Be friendly…you get everything by just smiling and chatting people up; plus, you don’t always know who you’re talking to! (Liz Allison, Senior Consultant at Hitachi Consulting, eallison@hitachiconsulting.com)

78.    Always follow up. (Scott Harman, Marketing Director for International Paper, sh8241@rochester.rr.com)

79.    Be remembered for helpful conversations, and forgotten for forcing your agenda. (Jesse Kanclerz, Internet Marketing Specialist, http://www.jessekanclerz.com/, esse@jessekanclerz.com)

80.    You are NEVER too good for a connection, regardless of how small it may seem…you never know. (David Spinks, Community Manager for Scribnia, blogger http://www.davidspinks.com, www.twitter.com/davidspinks)

81.    Don’t be a douchebag. (John Walker, Process Engineer at Keurig)

82.    Meet everyone you can because you never know who you could work best with. (Mackenzie White, Student at Oswego, www.twitter.com/mackenziewhite)

83.    Treat every human interaction as an opportunity to create a positive mutually beneficial relationship. (Pat Sargent, Aspiring Filmmaker and Entrepreneur,  http://workyourwayupblog.com/, www.twitter.com/PatrickSargent)

84.    When networking online always be real, always be transparent, and always take it to the next level – network & connect in real life! (Charissa Cowart, Social Media Specialist for www.twitter.com/eBillme and On-Air host www.StartupsLIVE.tv, www.twitter.com/charissacowart)

85.    Never prejudge anyone, they may be the person you’re looking for or better yet you may be the person they’re looking for. (Brian Tomkins, is a innovator in the Emerging Leader Community and Multimedia integration, http://www.nextvoice247.com/, www.twitter.com/briantomkins)

86.    Love everyone, trust a few and paddle your own canoe. (Barry Moltz, author of Bounce, www.twitter.com/barrymoltz)

87.    You can’t be valuable to someone until you find out what they need, and the opposite of speaking isn’t waiting, it’s listening. (Gilbert Melott, Founder of Nextvoice247, www.nextvoice247.com, www.twitter.com/nextvoice247)

88.    You’ll be shocked to find out that everyone from your uncle to your dentist knows someone who can bring you closer to your career goals; concretely define what you’re looking for, then systematically talk to the people you usually overlook. (Pete Kistler, Founder & CEO of Brand-Yourself, www.twitter.com/pete_kistler, www.blog.brand-yourself.com)

89.    Make smiling as the air u need to breath, and be always friendly and open-minded and don’t be afraid to give a bit more info about yourself! (Huesne Daglioglu, International Business Student from Germany at Clarkson University, Blogger http://www.clarkson.edu/admission/international/huesne.html, www.twitter.com/huesne_d)

90.    Be yourself and articulate your value proposition. (Jay Maharjan, Consulting Entrepreneur, http://4entrepreneur.net/, http://twitter.com/4entrepreneur)

91.    Take the time and listen to what people need to say. (Veronica Jaegerman, Engineering Student at University of Florida, verojaegerman@gmail.com)

92.   Ask open-ended questions to really open up discussions and show listeners that you are truly interested in them. (Antonio Calabrese, Founder of www.Mouseek.com & www.UofSS.com, www.twitter.com/acalabrese83)

93.    There are no “little people” in networking–don’t be afraid to meet the big hitters–and most importantly, ask lots of questions, or how else will you discover the secret to getting where they are? (Nicole Wilder, Finance Intern for Lockheed Martin MS, wildern@clarkson.edu)

94.    Be honest, be smart about who you network with and make it a two way deal. (John Hedges, President of The Deskset: Affordable Workspace Solutions, http://deskset.net/)

95.    Don’t be afraid of rejection: among all the people who ignore or reject you, you will eventually find someone to play on your team. (Kate O’Flynn O’Brien, Aspiring Med Student at University of Pennsylvania)

96.    I recommend the Bible verse: “He that hath friends must show himself friendly” to all networkers! (Paul Scott, President of Global Manufacturing Solutions, plscott7@yahoo.com)

97.    When meeting new people remember their name. (Walter Erike, SAP Analyst for Tyco)

98.    Be the node that uniquely connects disparate or distant networks. (Louis-Eric Simard)

99.    In a heated moment, it’s best not to put your feelings on the Internet for everyone to read. (Allison Swackhamer, Engineering Student at Rochester Institute of Technology, www.facebook.com/allisonswackhamer)

100.    There is a fine line between cockiness and confidence…make sure you are the latter and not the former. (Bryan Jakovcic, Uvisor Corporation, bryan.jakovcic@uvisor.com)

101.    Help people, don’t use people, and write thank you letters ASAP: within 24 hours, short and sweet. (Karla Fennell, Clarkson University’s Career Center)

Lastly, I’ll over-deliver on my promise and give you tip # 102 (from yours truly): Truly, truly care, be passionate, and go out of your way to help others!

Feel free to reach out to any of the experts above. What’s your favorite tip?

Do you have a really cool story about networking? Please leave your favorite networking story or own additional tips or questions on networking in the comments section below!

listen. learn. share. repeat.™

Peace,

John

#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+

John Exley is an aspiring entrepreneur with a unique background who loves his family and friends more than anything in the world. He is a junior Engineering & Management major and is President of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization at Clarkson University in northern New York. Born in Rochester, NY, his passions include fashion, networking, technology, working out, hustling, and helping others to achieve their dreams!

You can reach John Exley at: exleyja@clarkson.edu or on his cell at: (585) 472-0272.

Follow John Exley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnexley
Connect with John Exley on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jexley
Network with John Exley on LinkedIn: www.linkedin/in/johnexley
Personal Website: www.johnexleyonline.com

Nextvoice247: questions@nextvoice247.com

I’m asking this question not as a networking coach, but as someone who was trying to connect with people within her ‘field’.  I have over 5000 LinkedIn contacts – pretty impressive really – and I decided that I wanted to connect with those contacts who would most appreciate my services.

Following my own advice, I started searching my LinkedIn contacts for people who ‘fit my profile’… I was amazed at the descriptions people targeted themselves with. I think the saddest was ‘Looking for a job’ and the most pitiful ‘over 20K plus connections’.

So here’s my question based on this experience – WHY are you on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook — to name a few?

Sure, it might be to find a job…. but is it really to brag how many connections you have?

Let’s look at my example.  I wanted to connect with my Target Audience and let them know about something I’m doing that may be of interest to them. Really, in the whole scheme of things, I’m going to look at their two or three line bio and make a decision as to whether they are the right connection for me.  Do I really care whether they have 10,000 or so connections?  Nope – absolutely not and I think that 70% of their other contacts don’t care either.

Twitter’s not much better either.  I had 1693 followers, and I was following slightly less than that.  I was following nearly 2000 people.  After rationalizing the people I was following, I have found that I’m actually having conversations with people (albeit conversations in 140 characters or less) and my followers are increasing more uniformly.

So…  what’s the point?  Does it matter if you have 20K + connections – or is it more important that you have 5000 connections who are not just good for business, but improve exponentially?

The ‘connections’ race (as I’m going to term it) is just diluting the good that ‘true’ networking can do.  So here’s my advice to you:

When setting up your profile on a social networking site – think about the type of connection you want to make.  Really! Think about your Target Audience and their buying profile – think about the potential partners that exist and how you can help them.  Then, and only then, start drafting your social network profile.

Share your experiences – what have you found by tweaking your profile – or not…..

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order. She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relax! You’re In Good Hands – Ask Charly Leetham

Larissa Zimmerman - National Financial Fitness

Do you really know the connection between a healthy, mind body and wallet? Larissa Zimmerman from National Financial Fitness does and she shares that with Connie and Charly from Stretch Your Mind And Body on their weekly talk show.

Larissa provides financial education for individuals and businesses – to help them gain control of their life. Larissa promotes, and lives, the concept that when you get your mindset right around your financial situation, your health and wealth follows.

Larissa often receives referrals from Financial Planners – because some people who are seeking financial advise aren’t prepared – and don’t know how to prepare. Larissa provides the basic (and not so basic) financial management skills.

The main reason that Financial Planners send clients to Larissa is because those client don’t know where they are financially, how much they really have coming in the door, how much they spend, what loans they have etc.

Through her training, Larissa is able to help her clients become very clear about their financial position, so that the Financial Planners can help further.

One tool that is used in this training, are ’scenario sheets’, that track what you think you’re earning and spending and give a lot of clarity. As a special offer for our listeners, Larissa offered anyone who emails her from National Financial Fitness and mention they were listening to the call and she will send you the Scenario Sheets (and some info on how to use them).

The question is, what do you – as a small business person – need to know to manage your business? In fact, as an individual, are you managing your personal finances? If you aren’t managing your personal finances, managing your business finances is even more challenging.

Larissa discussed in depth, budgeting – and its importance to the household. In fact, Larissa shared the story of one of her clients – who through setting up a budget, getting her mindset in place and focusing on the positive / enjoyable free activities she could do – went from living on next to nothing to purchasing a positive cash flow investment property in 12 to 18 months.

The point is – that as business owners, we need to have a level of financial education so that we can manage our businesses properly.

So tell me – what are you doing to understand the financial management aspects of your business?

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order. She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relax! You’re In Good Hands – Ask Charly Leetham

I remember hearing once that you should be the ‘general of your army’ and not a soldier (I think it was Mark Hendricks from Internet Success Systems that said that).

I love the phrase and it’s something that I ask myself all the time – am I directing my business, looking strategically and planning (being the General) or am I stuck in the weeds and busy delivering the strategy (being a solider)?

All too often, Small Business owners become the soldiers in their business, and stop acting like the general.

It is very easy for a business person to become so ‘bogged down’ with doing everything for their business, that they lose focus on ensuring that they do the important things that will ensure success.

The main effect of getting bogged down in your business, is that you rarely get anything done WELL.  Sure, you will  get things done – but I’ll guarantee that you are so ’strung out’ that you  just do whatever we can to finish the job.

How often do you review the activities you are undertaking in your business and ensure that you are in fact the General, and not a soldier?

Have you even sat down and worked out the activities that you, as the strategy maker for your business, SHOULD be doing? Have you worked out what you like doing in relation to your business?

If you haven’t worked out what you should be doing and what you like doing – sit down now with a clean piece of paper and start writing.  Create your lists and then use those lists for your planning.

Ask yourself if you need to be doing anyone of the following or whether someone else can do it:

• Copy writing for Advertising
• Article writing,
• Website or blog development
• Book keeping
• Rostering
• Invoicing
• Scheduling
• Ordering

Depending on the business you’re in – this list will differ but the list above should get you going.

The next question to ask is – Is this really a good and solid use of my time – particularly for the tasks that you like to do?

I know there is a cost associated with getting others to help – but you really have to ask yourself – what is your time worth?

If you spend 7 hours working on your website (because you like doing it) but an expert could do the work in 1 hour – aren’t you better off taking that assistance? Think about where you can be focusing your efforts for that 7 hours!

You may need to make some tough decisions for your business to be successful but it’s worth it in the long run.

If you are a member of a networking group like Referrals Unlimited Network, you have the ‘inside scoop’ on service providers who can help you run your business more effectively (and efficiently).  Make the most of these connections.

So tell me – are you a General in Your Army? Or are you a solider?  Share your experiences with others below.

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order.   She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relazx! You’re In Good Hands – Ask Charly Leetham