Flickr photo courtesy of JessleeCuizon. http://www.flickr.com/photos/eelssej_/394781835/
Free Virtual Hugs
I challenge you to pay it forward. What is ‘it?’ Many things: appreciation, respect, recommendations, praise, thank you – all of that – and more.
Why? To Make A Difference
Many small business owners are struggling to keep the lights on and muscle through these rough times and into the blue skys ahead. They, as well as many of you, devote hours to creating great content – for free! Whether it’s a blog like this one, a newsletter, photos, or videos – a great deal of the internet is free.
Your personal note or message will make a difference and possibly keep that favorite blogger of yours inspired and creatively productive.
How? Get Personal
Send a personal reply message to your favorite newsletter author.
Recently I received an email from a newsletter subscriber saying she enjoys my emails and is one of my biggest (silent) fans! Can you imagine the positive impact those few words have? I was glowing for hours! Just a week before I was discussing with my coach the possibility of stopping the newsletter – who would notice? But I was curious about the ‘silent’ part of her comment.
Shortly after I read that email, I had a phone conversation with a friend. I was so touched by the events that I had to share the story with her. We both agreed there is just too little appreciation for the anywhere worker – the blogger – the indie professional creating content for our benefit.
We decided right there to each send a thank you to someone whose newsletter (or blog) we appreciated. We were ending the silence. Guess what? The authors were SO happy! I know exactly how they felt: appreciated, renewed energy, inspired to continue to create!
Your Turn: Pay If Forward Challenge
Think about all the great information you find on the internet: all of those blog posts, all of those newsletters you receive for free in your inbox. Remember that article that was exactly what you needed at that moment?
Think about the person on the other end of that communication. Someone is taking a great deal of time and effort to research and write those things for you – yes you! But he or she doesn’t know that you’ve forwarded that email to 10 of your friends, or that you look forward to reading it every week, or that you use those tips to get your work done! They don’t know how much you appreciate their efforts – because you don’t tell them!
It’s time to give back. It’s time to break the silence.
Challenge: This week (and every week) I challenge you to reply to one newsletter (or comment on a blog post) and tell the author how it helped you. Cost to you: Nothing. Benefit to the author: Priceless!
