The biggest problem of Linkedin users, part 2
READER: Peter, you wrote previously that "assuming that most people eventually will have more than 500 connections, the real problem will be the following: How do I monetize my connections? In fact, the problem can be more accurately formulated this way: What product do I offer to all my connections?" My question is, I've never created a product before. What chances do I have of creating a product that I could sell to all my Linkedin connections, and possibly to THEIR connections?
PETER: Did you ever walk on two legs before you decided, one day, to do like your parents and walk on two legs instead of crawling? Creating a product is the same, my friend. Everybody THINKS they can't do it until they do it one day. Do you think Bill Gates believed he would become billionaire one day, or the richest man on the planet one day, when he launched Microsoft? My point is that you simply cannot know what you are TRULY capable of doing or creating, until you actually do it!
I believe the overwhelming majority of Linkedin users (that's 30 million people) suffer from 1. a failure of nerve, and 2. a failure of imagination.
Luckily, those two "illnesses" of the mind can easily be cured. Just do it!
After you overcome your failure of nerve, and become bold enough to believe that you can do ANYTHING, then somehow, almost automatically, you will also be cured of your failure of imagination. You will begin to see possibilities that you did not see before (due to a lack of nerve or audacity or boldness).
READER: What product did you create?
PETER: I specialize in information marketing, so I've created in the last 3 years several workshops, one of which is very popular and is being taught in several schools and colleges to first-time entrepreneurs. Details here: http://businessmodelworkout.blogspot.com/.
This "BMW" workshop is now an audio CD that I sell over the Internet. I am planning a marketing campaign via ConstantContact to sell it to the 30 million users of Linkedin so they can launch, perhaps part-time at first, their own business.
READER: Why did you choose to create an information product instead of a "real", physical product?
PETER: The Internet and the increasing connectivity between people, whether on Linkedin or Facebook, dramatically increase the odds of success for information products. The profit margins are high and there is virtually no manufacturing costs, so the risks are very low.
READER: You wrote, "if you do not have a product to sell to your connections, then having 10,000 connections will not help. Indeed, 10,000 X $0 = $0. You could even have 100,000 connections, it still would not help you economically." Okay, I get that. But I'm just using Linkedin to advance my career by networking online and by staying in touch. What's wrong with that?
PETER: Nothing. In fact, if you use Linkedin effectively and efficiently to multiply connections and open doors so you can get better jobs (or at least job offers that you are at leisure to evaluate and decline), then you are ahead of a great number of people since there are only 30 million users of Linkedin -- a relatively small number given the population of professionals in the world.
But here's my point: Linkedin can be MUCH MORE than just an "online networking tool." Sure, it is fundamentally THAT. But the forward-looking people who use Linkedin innovatively and strategically, will win BIG TIME.
Simply put, you CAN make a lot of money by leveraging Linkedin strategically. But you have to learn more about business, marketing and sales. You don't need an MBA, but you need to understand business fundamentals so that you can monetize all your Linkedin assets and connections.
READER: Wait, what's the difference between a Linkedin asset and a Linkedin connection?
PETER: A Linkedin connection is a person you are connected to, while a Linked asset could be the questions you ask or the answers you provide on Linkedin Answers; it could be your profile; it could be the people you chat with using Linkedin's internal messaging system (these folks might NOT be your connections, and they most likely are people whose questions you answered or people who answered your questions). Your professional background, if it is detailed, can also be considered a Linkedin asset: it projects a certain credibility and professionalism, which makes it more likely for others to want to do business with you.
(to be continued)
PETER: Did you ever walk on two legs before you decided, one day, to do like your parents and walk on two legs instead of crawling? Creating a product is the same, my friend. Everybody THINKS they can't do it until they do it one day. Do you think Bill Gates believed he would become billionaire one day, or the richest man on the planet one day, when he launched Microsoft? My point is that you simply cannot know what you are TRULY capable of doing or creating, until you actually do it!
I believe the overwhelming majority of Linkedin users (that's 30 million people) suffer from 1. a failure of nerve, and 2. a failure of imagination.
Luckily, those two "illnesses" of the mind can easily be cured. Just do it!
After you overcome your failure of nerve, and become bold enough to believe that you can do ANYTHING, then somehow, almost automatically, you will also be cured of your failure of imagination. You will begin to see possibilities that you did not see before (due to a lack of nerve or audacity or boldness).
READER: What product did you create?
PETER: I specialize in information marketing, so I've created in the last 3 years several workshops, one of which is very popular and is being taught in several schools and colleges to first-time entrepreneurs. Details here: http://businessmodelworkout.blogspot.com/.
This "BMW" workshop is now an audio CD that I sell over the Internet. I am planning a marketing campaign via ConstantContact to sell it to the 30 million users of Linkedin so they can launch, perhaps part-time at first, their own business.
READER: Why did you choose to create an information product instead of a "real", physical product?
PETER: The Internet and the increasing connectivity between people, whether on Linkedin or Facebook, dramatically increase the odds of success for information products. The profit margins are high and there is virtually no manufacturing costs, so the risks are very low.
READER: You wrote, "if you do not have a product to sell to your connections, then having 10,000 connections will not help. Indeed, 10,000 X $0 = $0. You could even have 100,000 connections, it still would not help you economically." Okay, I get that. But I'm just using Linkedin to advance my career by networking online and by staying in touch. What's wrong with that?
PETER: Nothing. In fact, if you use Linkedin effectively and efficiently to multiply connections and open doors so you can get better jobs (or at least job offers that you are at leisure to evaluate and decline), then you are ahead of a great number of people since there are only 30 million users of Linkedin -- a relatively small number given the population of professionals in the world.
But here's my point: Linkedin can be MUCH MORE than just an "online networking tool." Sure, it is fundamentally THAT. But the forward-looking people who use Linkedin innovatively and strategically, will win BIG TIME.
Simply put, you CAN make a lot of money by leveraging Linkedin strategically. But you have to learn more about business, marketing and sales. You don't need an MBA, but you need to understand business fundamentals so that you can monetize all your Linkedin assets and connections.
READER: Wait, what's the difference between a Linkedin asset and a Linkedin connection?
PETER: A Linkedin connection is a person you are connected to, while a Linked asset could be the questions you ask or the answers you provide on Linkedin Answers; it could be your profile; it could be the people you chat with using Linkedin's internal messaging system (these folks might NOT be your connections, and they most likely are people whose questions you answered or people who answered your questions). Your professional background, if it is detailed, can also be considered a Linkedin asset: it projects a certain credibility and professionalism, which makes it more likely for others to want to do business with you.
(to be continued)
posted by Super Peter at 10:19 PM
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