Have you ever shrieked (out loud) when you’ve read or heard someone giving potentially business-destroying advice?
Maybe you imagine kicking that person in the shin until they take it back?
No? Just me?
I’ve had a bunch of those “Noooooooooooooo…don’t tell people that” moments lately.
The more I tune into Periscope and online courses and the more I read other peoples’ blog posts, the more crazy bad business advice I see and hear.
A marketing “guru” saying that if you know your target market and their language, writing a sales email should take about 15 minutes. (Yeah…if you want to wind up scarfing mint chocolate chip ice cream by the gallon due to your failed launch, go ahead.)
A social media “expert” saying that you don’t need to blog (or have your own website) if you’re on social media. (MySpace. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.)
A well-known creative entrepreneur saying that if you only have 20 minutes to write a blog post, write and publish your next blog post in the next 20 minutes. (If you want to train your blog readers to stop paying attention to your blog posts, sure, publish crap.)
Sometimes, I read a blog post and my first thought is, “Whaaaaaat? That’s terrible advice.” And, then I realize that it’s not bad advice but it’s just not something that works for my business.
That’s different.
We need to be able to filter out advice that just won’t work for us. Having lots of treasure maps that lead to the same destination makes this world a wonderful place.
But, it can be really hard to tell that an “expert” is giving you bad advice, especially when they say it works for them.
(Side note: I’m using an awful lot of sarcastic quote marks in this blog post, but it’s either that or gag while typing out some of these words like “guru.”)
The magical thing about the internet is also the downfall: anyone can say anything.
Someone who is one week from closing their virtual business doors can tell you that they’re making six figures and that you only need to spend 20 minutes writing your blog posts.
And, you believe them and wonder what the heck is wrong with you when it takes you three hours to outline, write, edit, take pictures for and publish a blog post.
Or, worse…you start publishing blog posts after working on them for only 20 minutes. (Yep…that made bile rise in my throat.)
Part of the problem is that some people shouldn’t teach what they’re teaching.
If you don’t have any comments on your last five blog posts, you probably shouldn’t give blogging advice. (Can I get a #sorrynotsorry cause GAH?)
What happened to saying, “you should probably go to so-and-so for that?”
What happened to admitting that we’re not experts at everything?!?!
What happened to saying, “I don’t know,” when asked a question that you can’t answer instead of stammering over an answer that’s going to hurt someone else if they follow your advice.
I don’t know and I’m not sure are powerful tools when teaching. No one expects you to have all the answers. You’re not Hermione Granger. (Unless you are…and in that case, will you be my friend pa-lease?)
About a week ago, someone asked me for help with her Etsy shop on Periscope.
My reply went a little something like:
Oh man, I wish I could be more helpful but I haven’t sold on Etsy in years. And, to succeed on Etsy, you really need to learn about what works well on Etsy, so you should go to Danielle from The Merriweather Council. She’s amazing at selling on Etsy and I believe she has one-on-one consultations.
I’m not about to give someone advice on something I know very little about.
When I see people doing this, it creeps me out worse than the time I was lying in bed with my husband and a slug dropped onto the bed from the ceiling. (True story.)
The worst part is that sometimes these people seem credible at first glance.
If you want to teach online or at conferences, cover topics that you feel really comfortable with and refer people to someone else for the rest.
And, teach to people who are a few (or many) steps below you.
You have to be careful who you’re listening to, who you’re learning from.
This is your business, your livelihood. The thing that determines whether you spend your life counting down the minutes until five o’clock when you can drink a bottle (or two) of sauvignon blanc or spend every day immersed in your creative work.
Publishing a book doesn’t make someone an expert. Having a website doesn’t make someone an expert. Making six figures doesn’t make someone an expert.
There are entrepreneurs who pretty much scammed people out of money and aren’t in business anymore, but while they were in business, their claim to fame was making six figures. #notimpressed
I love you guys. Virtual hugs all around!
I don’t want you to make business decisions based on crummy, unfounded advice.
Here’s how you can protect yourself:
1. Stay away from people who give you the heebie-jeebies.
When something seems off, our bodies produce cortisol which makes you feel more uneasy. Pay attention when the hairs on your neck prick up. Don’t brush off those ‘something ain’t right’ feelings.
Example: My neck hairs start their uh-oh pings every time I come across sales pages with flashing buttons and too-good-to-be-true claims.
I always encourage my B-Belle family to learn from other people for a myriad of reasons including: 1) hearing something in a different way can click on your light bulb, making it easier for you to apply a concept to your business 2) it never hurts to hear something more than once 3) my way for doing something might not work for you but someone else’s might be exactly what you need.
I believe you shouldn’t put all your business eggs in my basket. Learn from others, but make sure they deserve your trust.
2. Check out what others are saying.
Look at what people are saying about that “expert” on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You might not see very many negative comments but, if no one is raving about that person, there’s something wrong.
People who rock at what they do have raving, loyal followers.
Read reviews before purchasing a course. Are most of them positive? Let’s be real. There’s probably always going to be one or two unhappy customers who live in their mom’s basement eating hot pockets all day but you want to pay attention to the majority.
3. Pay attention to highlighter yellow flags.
When an “expert” gives advice that goes against what most others say, it might seem sexy and exciting. But, there’s a reason that most successful people disagree.
I’m not saying that unique ideas are bad but going against business advice that actually works could cost you thousands or millions of dollars.
4. Stick with people who care.
It’s pretty obvious when someone cares about YOU as opposed to your Kate Spade wallet. It’s never about what they say. It’s all about what they do.
5. Ask questions.
This is one of the best ways to hip check the phonies.
When you hop on her Periscope or tune into her webinar, ask a couple of questions about the topic. Ask her to expand on something.
Often the fakers rehearse and regurgitate what the real experts say, but they often stumble over hard-hitting questions.
If someone is teaching a course on blogging and she doesn’t have comments on her posts, ask her about it in a classy way. For instance, you might say, “Are comments important? How do you get readers to engage in the comments on your blog posts?”
If she can’t give a good answer, move on to someone else.
Let me be clear: I’m not saying you should go after these people with pitchforks. Just leave once you realize she’s not the right fit.
6. Once you find one trustworthy teacher, check out her recommendations.
Any good teacher will point you towards many others.
You still need to do your own research, but it’s a great place to start.
With that said, here are five other awesome ladies I think you should check out for help improving your business:
7. Try out a bit of their advice before jumping in headfirst.
Before taking all of someone’s advice, test drive one of her tips. See how it goes for your business. Maybe try one or two more little things. Does it work for you? Or, does it backfire like a 1950’s Chevrolet.
If you can tell that person’s advice works, take off your floaties and dive into the deep end with her. Buy her course. Follow her path. But, keep in mind, that even for people who you trust, there are going to be things she teaches or does that won’t work for your business.
We’re all different and following someone else’s blueprint from a to z isn’t going to get you to the pot of gold. Instead, if something doesn’t resonate, check out someone else’s perspective on that topic.
Do you have any tips on figuring out who’s the real deal and who’s faker than Britney Spears singing acapella? Leave them in the comments below.
And, if you’ve learned from someone you really trust, tell us who that person was in the comments below. I’m all about spreading the wealth (and lifelong learning myself!).
If you haven’t RSVP’d for my upcoming CreativeLive course, pause and click that RSVP button right here. In the next couple of weeks, you’ll get access to a bonus workbook that will get you ready for the course. All you have to do is RSVP to get access.
If you’ve got a second, please CLICK HERE TO TWEET (and help me spread the word): If your marketing to-do list makes you wonder if a shot of tequila at 10am is a bad thing, RSVP for this course.
If someone puts themselves down as THE leader/expert/whatever on something, I kinda bail really, really fast. Like someone on social media who has himself down as “THE social media leader” but dude… his Twitter header is uber low quality… like grainy & blurry.
Or the person who was demanding to know why Facebook doesn’t make it easier to get verified accounts… so I went to go see who this rockstar amongst us was… they had less than a 1000 followers. Now… I also have less than a 1000, but you don’t see me getting pissy because I don’t have a verified account. lol
Me, too….expert/leader needs to be said about you not by you. High five!
Hahahahahaha…this is why I like hanging with you! 🙂
Hahahaha!! High five indeed!
And omg, I just realized I put “a 1000” both times. *hangs head* Clearly I need more sleep.
I didn’t even notice that….you’re allowed typos in comments. 🙂
Twitter is very unkind to the cover images we upload, and makes everything blurry and grainy 🙁 that really bugs me because I try so hard to make my graphics beautiful.
Nela – That’s very true…I still haven’t gotten that right. 🙂
Yes! Especially if you have a large screen computer. Mine drives me crazy.
Oh! And if you ever hop on one of my scopes, ask me to tell my story involving slugs. *shudder*
Eeeeeep! I hate slugs…like they’re the worst things ever to me. Ick times one bajillion!
Yeah… I’m not super girly, but I kinda turn into a 5 year old girl about slugs. Ha!
slugs, yum
Thanks so much for this April – it totally rings true with what I’ve learned from experience. The true recommendations as to someone’s expertise should come from others and, in my book, anyone who labels themselves ‘leader’ or ‘expert’ (let alone ‘guru’…ugh, gag) immediately gets those neck hairs prickling. Also it’s always good to be reminded there is not just one way that works for everyone – as in life, so in business. Thank you for your generous and original approach to things – I always get good things
from your blog posts (and now Periscopes) not the least of which are a smile or three and a renewed sense of fun about this whole business journey. 🙂
THANKS Caela! Love your perspective. I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying my blog posts and scopes. Periscope is quickly becoming my next biz addiction. I love spending time with you gals. It makes my day every single time. 🙂
Oh yes!
One is of the worst things I see right now is biz “experts” who have quite a big following with their MAIN marketing advice is to jump on “forums” and just be helpful. What this means is that THEY belong to a another BIG business group and they use that to get people back to their website. For one this is kinda lazy as they’re building their biz off another persons hard work and taking their customers AND it really only works if you’re a biz person trying to sell other biz related programs. Practically ALL their clients are from another persons business tribe. So it doesn’t work for other people. THEN they WON’T let these clients do the same thing on their FB pages etc. they don’t tell their clients what course they did to have access to all these people trying to gt biz advice.
I was following a person for a year they were the 6figure expert then they wrote a blog saying they had had their first 4 figure month. If they made 9k that month then over 12 months they’d have 108k but they obviously hadn’t got there yet.
There’s so many dodgy biz experts” and coaches out there! They do a course then start teaching that course, they’re just ripping off someone else’s work and they’re the FIRST to blog about people ripping THEM off.
I got ripped off BIG time. A paid 10k for a biz coach. She didn’t listen, she had no idea what I wanted from my biz, she was rude. I spent 2 hours of the 12hrs we were going to spend together then told her it’s not working wrote out EXACT examples of how and what she did to show she had no idea what my biz was even about and she refused to give me a refund of the hours she wasn’t going to be working with me. BIG BIG lesson. She doesn’t offer this particular program anymore. I felt so sick and actually stopped working in my biz altogether for about 6 months because she had confused me so much.
Thanks for letting me vent lol!!
BTW I’m NOT a biz coach I don’t teach any biz related stuff but I know a lot more than what most of them do! I’ve wasted so much money. FB ad “gurus” that didn’t even know how to do FB feed ads. A copywriter who wrote a sales page that had absolutely nothing to do with my service! Just shocking.
Be very very aware of who you follow and spending money working with them.
Thank you for being you!
Wow Angela, that sucks big time! 🙁 so sorry to hear about your coach from Hell story.
Also true about people who used another person’s community to get their big break.. I know of a few examples. That strategy has limited application.
Oh man….I haven’t seen that advice yet. Now, I’m going to be on the lookout for sure.
It’s sad when people feel like they have to lie. The best teachers are the ones who tell the truth and our genuine when it comes to their experiences.
Lots of people stretch the truth to make themselves look better and even that becomes tricky.
I’m so sorry you’ve had horrible experiences in the past. I feel like it gives all of us a bad name. I heard a horror story of someone selling a program for $2000 and then only giving out a small part of the course and saying that she wasn’t going to keep going or refund money. That made me stop in my tracks.
It’s always good to pay very close attention, especially when you’re going to spend a big chunk of money but even with something free. If you follow bad free advice, your business can really suffer. I’ve seen that happen over and over.
Okay…back to positivity! Let’s do this!
Yes yes yes! To everything. Except the slug. Ew.
I love learning from Kris too. And Tara Gentile.
For fiction writing I also love learning from Brandon Sanderson’s podcast Writing Excuses.
Ummmm…yeah…I hate slugs. It was the weirdest thing ever. You know how slugs leave those slimy lines in their wake? Well, there wasn’t any anywhere and we couldn’t really tell where it came from but we assumed it dropped from the ceiling because of the way it landed on the bed. YUCK!!!
THANK you for the fiction recommendation. Gonna check that out.
Hi April,
I bought your course before I RSVP’d. I tried to RSVP after the fact, but couldn’t. Will I still get the bonuses for people who RSVP’d?
Just checking. 🙂
Great advice on this post, by the way! 🙂 I use my intuition, my resonance with them and their customer service to gauge whether someone is worth my time. To me, all three of these factors are the cornerstone of a good business relationship.
Hi Haydee! Thank you so much for already purchasing. You’re awesome.
Yes, you will be able to access all of the RSVP bonuses. Don’t worry!
I totally agree that intuition, whether you jam with that person and their customer service are always really good indications of whether that person will be a good fit. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for confirming that I will get this bonus, April.
I can’t wait for class to start! 🙂
And the workbook photos that you showed in your newer post look divine! 🙂
#4 is why you’re absolutely one of my faves, April! 🙂 I am tuning in a lot lately to By Regina. I’m not sure her last name, but she’s totally awesome and very giving.
Awwwwwww! Thanks lady! 🙂 You da best!
Hi, April,
Unfortunately, still too many peeps are looking for a get quick fix and it just doesn’t work that way.
I’m pretty tight with a buck when it comes to who gets it when it pertains to my business. Like you said too, a customer needs to do their research and try out some of the tips and freebies that a person is offering. So much comes down to your gut and common sense.
I’ve always appreciated both you and Mayi for your honesty and hustle and humor and helpfulness above and beyond. and no, I did not intend for all those traits to begin with an h! 😉
Can’t wait for your boot camp!!
xoxoxo
Nancy
Thanks Nancy!
You can tell so much from your gut…when you’re paying attention. It’s easy to overlook your intuition if you’re not paying close attention…but your body knows when something is up.
Love all the ‘h’s’ 🙂
So much to write here April I don’t even know where to start! Brilliant post as usual 🙂
I actually left one of my business coaches last year because it became apparent it was ALL about the ‘money’ and the ‘luxury lifestyle’ and THAT creeped me out completely.
Of course we all want to earn money and of course we all want success and to live the life that reflects all of the work and PASSION we devote to our businesses, but NOT at the expense of authenticity and even more than that, LOVE.
If you love your clients + customers, and you want to give the best to them, I do think you can test 101 marketing or blogging strategies that ANYONE gives you and they may work and they may not work, because none of it really matters except how you show your clients that you actually do ‘love’ them in the form of all of the help you do try to give them. We all have to learn from somebody, somewhere, and there are barely any ‘marketing strategies’ that are truly original. But again, you can tell that from the start in what they GIVE to people-
I have written posts about my 6-figure photography business (but that definitely wasn’t 6 figures of PROFIT which is another thing many people forget to consider- are these 6-figures the gurus talk about 6 figures of PROFIT?!) I have written posts on my first FIVE figure month, because these are the kind of questions I get from my clients, and I get anywhere from 0-30 comments on the blog post depending on how much I share it or whether or not I ask for comments, etc (and to be honest most of my blog comments come on the social media channel and in the groups I share them in, not on my blog) and so by the tickboxes above, I wouldn’t be a ‘successful blogger’.
Yet I still run a course on blogging because I KNOW this is what transformed my business and I KNOW my clients need in order to make me move forward and I KNOW that I have studied writing and copywriting for YEARS- knowledge I have picked up over a decade of studying journalism at University, working in PR and for newspapers and so on- and running my own successful business PLUS taking brilliant courses like your bootcamp April 🙂 writing my own successful books, AND working with my own coaches + mastermind groups to deepen my practice and understanding.
And of course I could share my readership stats (high) and my bounce rate (super low) and my comments accumulated from all of my groups on each post etc, but I don’t because the point is-
I don’t believe authenticity can be measured in tickboxes and checklists.
I would rather spend my time giving my clients the information they need in order to progress in the actual posts themselves, rather than spending time downloading and uploading stats and figures in order to have the ‘proof’ that somebody might need in order to BUY from me. If people don’t trust me I’d rather they just didn’t buy from me in the first place, period.
And also – does any expert really have ALL of the answers about their subject area? I’m not really sure ANY expert knows EVERYTHING there is to know about their subject area- surely we should always be learning and growing?
And so even someone with a ton of knowledge might trip up and stumble over some questions – I’m not sure deliberately targeting questions to trip somebody up is necessarily the way I would want to work.
I would rather look at their communication as a whole, the depth and breadth of their free offerings – blog, opt-ins- etc, as well as their basic human relatability! to decide whether or not I want to work with that person.
If I can feel that this person is writing and giving with their whole heart AND have a ton of knowledge to share?
Then you can bet you I will spend whatever it takes to work with that person, because my relationship with them is about more to them than just the money, and that is how I find the people I choose to learn from <3
PS the one thing I stay away from? is the whole ' I have a secret you don't know' type of approach. YUK. You can find EVERYTHING you need to know online if you dig deep enough, NOTHING is some big secret that other people can't find out unless they pay you for it.
Charlie…I love you and I appreciate you for adding to this conversation. THANK YOU for that.
First, I don’t have anything against ‘I’ve made x number of money in x number of time’ posts. I actually find them quite interesting to read. But, I don’t think it should be the only thing people talk about. To me, that’s not a claim to fame, because you can’t really teach people to replicate it unless you’re teaching them exactly what you did. Each business is different, so the same things won’t necessarily work.
Second, asking questions is not about ‘tripping someone up.’ It’s about being an informed consumer and I’ll stand behind that always. I think it’s bad advice to tell people not to ask questions before spending money. It’s like telling people to just believe that you know what you’re talking about without proving it. And, if someone can’t answer a question about blog comments (which is one of the standards of success with blogging), I’m not going to take a class with them.
If they can’t answer a question about something detailed and niche, I don’t mind. Of course, you’re not going to know everything about a topic, but you should know the basics and comments, in my opinion, are one of the basics of blogging. It’s one of the ways that people choose whether or not to advertise on that blog, whether or not to collaborate with that blogger, whether or not to buy something from the blogger. Most of the time, when I land on a blog post that doesn’t have any comments, it’s one of those 20-minute blog posts. I’ve done it before…published a blog post that I didn’t spend enough time on and it didn’t get any comments. That’s my bad. It wasn’t high-quality content.
If I land on an amazing blog post without any comments, the first thing I do is comment and share with other people.
Now, there’s always an alternative or reason why someone might do something a different way. That’s why you ask questions. If they don’t have blog comments, but they say that they’ve blogged for x number of years and they’ve found more value in social media follow-up, then I’d understand. I’m not saying that there can’t be a good response, but you’ve got to ask or you could end up purchasing something that you feel cheated by.
And, I think there’s something wrong when someone is uncomfortable with questions. That’s a red flag for me as a student. When I take a course, I want to be able to ask questions and get valuable responses. If people are thrown by students asking questions, teaching courses might not be the business model they should be in, because questions come with the teaching territory.
When I attended Marie Forleo’s Q&A session before purchasing B-School, all of my questions got answered and it helped me make that leap of spending $2000. If I hadn’t gotten my questions answered, I probably wouldn’t have purchased. Or, if I didn’t resonate with her answers, I would’ve passed because she just wouldn’t have been the right fit for me.
It’s not just about figuring out who the fakers are, it’s also about figuring out who’s the right fit for you.
If someone tells me blog comments aren’t important (without a reasonable explanation), I’m not going to take a blogging class from that person because we’re not a right fit. Simple as that.
But, that’s why questions are just ONE piece of the equation. The first piece is whether or not you resonate with that person. Your intuition is the best determining factor by far. But, I truly believe that as consumers, we’ve got to ask questions and be informed or we’re also at fault.
Third, of course it’s best to look at the person as a whole. I think that’s clear from the fact that I included multiple ways to figure this stuff out. You shouldn’t just take one piece unless something within that person’s philosophy doesn’t work for you at all because there are lots of people teaching the same topics and you can find a better fit.
For instance, I teach blogging courses BUT when someone asks me about the technical parts, I tell them I’m not the person for that. I let them know up front that I won’t be covering that in my course and that they should go to x,y or z. I don’t want them taking my course, believing they’re going to learn how to set up a blog. I’m glad when they ask me about that.
In fact, most of my favorite customers are the ones that asked me questions before buying. They knew exactly what they were buying, were the right customers and tend to participate more than the others.
This post is about people protecting themselves from buying things they shouldn’t and following business advice that could hurt their businesses. In my opinion, these are the BEST ways to do that.
My position will always be that you should ask questions. Period.
P.S. I had included three additional paragraphs under ‘ask questions’ about the fact that someone might just be having a bad day or that part might not be in their expertise but I deleted them because this blog post was getting out of control long and I thought that part was pretty self-explanatory.
P.P.S. I think we both could’ve written additional blog posts! Ha!
Ha!
I love your reply April and I’m glad I’m not the only one with masses to write on this! 😀
Absolutely I agree ‘experts’ should be able to answer most questions on their subject and apologies for the poor rephrasing of ‘tripping someone up’… I didn’t mean that like it sounded. Absolutely everyone SHOULD ask questions (and should ask questions anyway if they want to learn as much as they can) absolutely.
I’m a massive fan of going with my gut when it comes to who I want to work with – I follow some huge internet marketers and I don’t buy their stuff even though what they sell is clearly quality content, because it just doesn’t resonate with me.
Basically, I can’t bear it if people promote ‘living the luxury life’ as the ideal to strive for! And I think I told you this before actually, I buy almost everything you do because you’re so, well, relatable and human! 🙂 I don’t know if I asked you any questions haha… but that’s because I felt like I trusted you already from your online work, and that is a model I have always strived to share, thanks to you.
<3
PS I tried to keep this one short! 😉
Um, Perhaps I should have published that on my own site as a blog post? 😀 big apologies, I didn’t realise it was that long!! xox
Thank you for the recommendations!
You’re welcome! Thanks for commenting.
Great advice! I was so glad to see your post. My main shop is still on Etsy, and with Etsy’s changes and growth, Etsy shop owners seem to have become a target for many people claiming to be experts on how to become a six-figure income shop; which I’m not entirely sure can be done any more on Etsy. I get that Beware feeling when they use nearly bullying tactics (join us or fail!). Even if they are legit, that’s not a person I would trust for biz advice. I’ll save my money for Marie Forleo’s course this next year. (:
No bullying allowed! 🙂 That tends to give off a not-so-nice feeling right away.
Etsy changes so often that you need to learn from someone who sells on Etsy and does it well. That’s not me. That’s not a lot of people but some people have figured out how to get more traffic and be more successful. I believe Danielle has a budget-friendly ebook on improving your shop that has gotten a ton of positive reviews. I’ve seen multiple people getting results right away…especially with more traffic to their shops.
I’ve become more and more discerning about business advice and just tune out the hype.
My favorite people in business and marketing are Naomi Dunford (IttyBiz), Sean McCabe (seanwes) and Tara Gentile.
Of course, I take every advice with a huge grain of salt, but honestly, I feel like I’m really over it. I’m just done with “following” anyone because I was disappointed by some folks who I thought were the real deal.
How to spot a fake?
If they use “6 figures” or “7 figures” in their marketing, I’d keep my distance.
I’ve become more of a second-guesser…meaning that I don’t take everything at face value and ask myself, “does that really make sense?”
I just heard another piece of horrible business advice today and I thought to myself, “What is going on in my world right now?” Because normally things don’t happen back to back like that for me.
I’m always going to follow people that I trust and learn from them. I’m a lifelong learner and I loooooooove learning. It’s one of my favorite things–to take a course, spend the evening reading a new business book or blog posts. I won’t ever give that up because I believe that there’s more good in the world than evil.
I hope you aren’t too scarred by your disappointments. I hate when that happens for people but I understand it!
Yeah it’s very interesting that you’ve had a series of experiences like that in such a short time – I know you’re not a woo-woo type so not sure what you’re making of it, but I’d definitely look into that little “sign from the Universe” 🙂
Oh I love learning, there’s no doubt about that – but as you said, I weigh every single thing, no matter who it is giving the advice.
Even if it’s one of the folks I trust and recommend to everyone, I still don’t think everything they say is a good idea *for me personally*.
I’m taking a break from reading business books and courses at the moment because I want to take time and implement all the things I already know, and my addiction to information gets in the way of that.
I think that every piece I read after that will be even more valuable, because I’ll see more clearly how I can adapt it to fit into my own strategy.
Newbies are vulnerable to bad advice because they don’t yet have a strategy in place. They just throw stuff and see what sticks.
We could be giving tips on how to spot a fake all day long, but I think this sort of discernment can only comes from personal experience and having a bit of ground to stand firmly on…
I know…it’s weird. I’ve been tuning into a lot more Periscopes and online courses so it gives me more of a chance to hear bad advice but it’s still a bit strange.
For sure…I think everyone should weigh advice no matter who it comes from, especially to figure out if it’s the right thing for themselves. I do that all the time. I might run across something that isn’t necessarily bad advice but it’s not right for me. AGREED! But, for me, there are some people that I trust much more than others, because I’ve gotten clear results from their advice.
I also totally relate to needing to step away from information addiction. I go through phases–learning and implementing. If I don’t, I end up hearing lots of great ideas and advice and never doing the work which we all know ends up being a colossal waste of time.
Love this. I was really nervous when someone recently completely stumped me on my Q & A. They had a great question that I really had no clue how to answer, but I reluctantly decided to embrace it. I told her I had no idea and need help with it as well. I was VERY nervous about that, but I found a very credible person to do a guest post for me. Thanks for sharing! I really needed to hear this today!
It can be really nerve-wracking if you don’t remember that saying “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure. I’d have to get back to you,’ are super empowering and make even more credible.
I’m soooooooooo glad you embraced it instead of trying to be someone you’re not. That’ll make your students love you even more.
Yes, thank you! There are so many people out there claiming to be experts. I think it takes someone who actually knows what they are doing to say they don’t know. I was teaching some fellow crafters some basics on social media and they told me I should teach at a blogging conference. I explained I know the basics but by no means am I at the level to be teaching people who do this for a living! And you made me feel so much better about how incredibly long it takes me to craft each blog post!
As an aside, just RSVPed for your next CreativeLive course. Thankfully it’s live during my daughter’s nap time so I should be able to tun in most days. And thanks to your digital products CreativeLive course I am gearing up to launch my ebook in October, yay! I have received so much positive feedback from the people who have read it already. I am so excited to launch it, and I can honestly say I would not have done this if it were not for your course.
YES Bev! I love that…”it takes someone who actually knows what they are doing to say they don’t.” Such a good way to put that.
OH MY GOSH…that’s amazing to hear. I’m so glad that my course helped you get your ebook ready to launch. That’s so exciting. Congrats on that…it’s huge!
Thanks for RSVPing and tuning into my upcoming CreativeLive course. Love having you participate, Bev.
I love this one, April. Really great article. I know most people reading are taking it as “who do I pay attention to for advice?” but it was also really helpful for me on the side of “you don’t have to be perfect everything for everyone”. I sometimes fall into that feeling of “oh shit!” when someone asks me something I don’t feel confident to answer properly. And if it’s a client I usually tell them to let me look into it. While I’m great at research, I would rather direct them to someone who is already sure of the advice they would give on the topic. And I know a lot of those someones for different topics. Thanks for giving me that permission I needed to just say “not my forte” and direct them to the right person.
So, I think they are lots of great people to follow, but it’s important to do a little bit of research when you stumble upon someone new before following their advice. It’s empowering to take charge of your learning experiences.
I think it makes you look so much better when you refer people to others who are experts at things that you’re not as comfortable with. Those people will love you for referring readers and customers to them–they’ll probably send people your way in return. It’s a win-win for everybody.
Thanks for sharing, Laura!
P.S. Love this photo of you. So sassy!
Thank for the sweet shout out. And I totally agree… who are these people and whats up with their “rules”
Of course my darling! You crack me up!
I really, really enjoyed reading your post. Your points are excellent! Thanks much!
Hello April,
I love posts like that. You say it like it is.
The only thing I disagree with you on is your mention of comment sections. The number of blog comments has nothing to do with the level of expertise. Some audiences just prefer sending their thoughts via email or just sharing on social networks.
Every time I see an about page or profile that says “expert” or “guru”, I usually run away. Yesterday, someone called me a social media expert and I had to correct them. It’s impossible. I know what I know well. The rest, I leave to others to solve for me. lol
Thank you!
Hi Cendrine,
Thank you!
I did include the caveat that if there’s reasonable explanation (like the person’s readers interact with her a ton on Twitter or Facebook instead) for a lack of blog comments, then it can make sense.
I will always believe that number comments reflects on the engagement of the audience–unless the person has closed comments in order to get her audience to chat on social media.
Thanks for adding to the conversation, lady!
O yes, o my, o yes yes yes…
This might be some of the best business advice I’ve seen on the internet. And after having a serious case of overwhelm & information hangover that’s sayin’ something! I love how simply put it that “not every bit of advice will work for you”. Too often I see things touted as, “you *must* do this or you’ll fail” or “this is the only way to do X”. Well shug, I’m from the South I know there’s more than one way to do anything, and not everything works for everyone!
Where were you when I tried to start bettering my biz a few years ago!? 😀
I don’t know if it’s just me or if perhaps everybody else encountering problems with your blog.
It appears like some of the written text within your
content are running off the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback
and let me know if this is happening to them too? This might be a issue
with my browser because I’ve had this happen before.
Thank you