I got another question from a reader of The Edge. She asks…

“Is there an online business that doesn’t rely ‘heavily’ on endless marketing campaigns on FB/social media. Im just not into yelling look at this all the time. Im kinda chill and don’t like bugging people endlessly or keeping up with endless changes in social media rules and software changes – Im not a tech person, Im a creative.”

This is a theme I’ve heard from people many times over the years. The idea that you’re sort of a “chill” person, don’t like to be pushy and all that jazz.

And for people who consider themselves “creatives”, it can be a pretty strong feeling. You just want to create… you don’t want to have to worry about any of this pesky marketing crap. 😉

And, I get it. I mean, I’ve been at this a really long time now and I’ve sorta gotten over the discomfort of promoting something to buy. However, even now, I would love it if all I could do is make content and work on my website and not have to worry about doing any outbound marketing.

Sometimes, even now, when I’m doing a structured promo, I’ll feel as if I’m sorta pushing too hard, communicating too much, sending too much email.

So, yeah… I get it.

But, the truth is…

No, there is no online business model that exempts you from promotion & marketing.

Keep in mind that any discomfort you might have at the idea of being promotional is baggage that YOU put there. At the core, all promotion is is letting others know about what you’re doing. It is an outward communication from you out to the world so that others know.

So, how is anybody going to know what you’re doing and be able to partake in the potential benefits to them… if you don’t tell them?

Answer = they can’t. 🙂 Obviously.

There’s another thing…

Promotion is a flow of energy. From you outward to them. Energy flows between two terminals. Just look at basic electronics and you see that energy requires two terminals in order to flow between them. This is how our universe works on a number of different levels, not merely electronics.

So, for your business to flow any energy… for anything to happen… it requires minimum of two terminals. You MUST talk to other people. That flow MUST take place. Otherwise, nothing happens. There’s no flow. Because of this basic law of physics, really, it remains true that…

For you to have any inflow to your business (in the form of traffic, money, etc.), you MUST outflow.

Furthermore…

The degree that you outflow will determine your degree of inflow.

Put into everyday talk, this means that the more you promote, the more traffic and money you’ll get. And if you do not promote, your traffic and money will be essentially non-existent. This is as simple as energy flow.

Now, given this, let’s cut to the chase here…

What REALLY motivates a concern about this is a lack of confidence. You’re afraid to put yourself out there because you might get slapped back into place. Right? 🙂

First off, a little “tough love” here, but…

Knock it off. Failing to try something because of fear of something which hasn’t even happened makes no sense now, does it? 🙂 You have gotten no push-back because you haven’t talked yet, so why waste time being afraid of something which hasn’t happened?

Secondly, so you might get a little bit of push-back. So? It is gonna kill ya? Is it gonna ruin your life if you have somebody reply back to you and say you’re sending them too much email? Are you just gonna melt like the witch on Wizard of Oz? 🙂 You need to have a little bit more backbone than that if you’re going to run a business here.

Plus, in almost every single case, for every 1 person which bothers to complain to you, there will be 100 out there who either appreciated it or were indifferent.

But, for a little less “tough love” and something a wee bit more actionable, I’ll simply refer you to a post I wrote…

How To Sell Without Selling: Making Money Without Being A Pushy Salesman

How do you make an online sales from your blog without coming away feeling like you just sold your soul? Here’s how to sell without being pushy.

So, back to the original question…

There’s nothing wrong with being “chill”. I’m a pretty chill guy myself. But, you HAVE to be willing to communicate to your audience. And you have to be willing to reach for it… and sometimes to sell. If you don’t sell, the flow sticks, you can’t afford to do what you do, and things fall apart. You making enough money to sustain yourself is what enables you to help as many people as you can. It’s important. This isn’t just a matter of you taking or being selfish.

This is how energy works in this world. And let’s never forget that money is just a form of energy.

– David