This email came in overnight from a reader and I felt strongly that it needed to be answered here ASAP!

Hi Roxanne,

I found you on facebook and love your Q&A series on your blog.  Here is my question.   If you do decide to answer it on your blog, please just call me “NOT making money with facebook”.

I just found out today that my job is ending in a month and I need to know how to be making money with my business before then.  I’m scared!  Before now, I’ve been trying to work my MLM business but it’s just not going anywhere.  I feel like I’ve been wasting a lot of time on facebook.  I take all of these classes and they say to go to groups where other networkers are and post 1 – 3 times a day.  I do that and get no response.  I’m posting about all of the great things about our company.  The excellent pay plan, how they can get started for under $500, how they can fire their boss and things like I see other people posting.  I don’t get anyone to “bite”.  I’ve sent some emails to people introducing myself and my business just like I was told by one trainer.  That got me a warning from facebook.  Someone reported me for spamming them.  I wasn’t spamming, I was introducing myself and my business.

It just seems that there are so many rules to what you can and can’t do on facebook.  And everyone is doing the same thing so how do I know what will make money?     I’ve spent a lot of money on training and I feel that I’ve been implementing everything I was taught to do.  Why isn’t it working and what is the best way to make money going forward?

Thank you for your help.

Well, hello, NOT…   I am glad you found me!  I’m sorry to hear about your job, but the good news is you can turn that into a very good thing.  I’ll tell you why in a bit.  Welcome to my training.  I don’t know how far you’ve read or what, if any, trainings you’ve listened to of mine so I will begin with this:

I am not one to “sugar coat” things.  I will not tell you what you want to hear, I will tell you what you need to hear.  If that’s too blatant and too much for you right now, don’t read the rest of this answer.

OK…here it is….

First of all, you found me on facebook.  That is a very good sign.  Do you know what that tells me?  It tells me that what I’m doing is working!!  Now…do you want to learn from someone who is just making money teaching or from someone who is actually doing the things they are teaching?  Too many times people teach others to do things they are not willing to do themselves.  Why?  I do not know what the motivation is for that.  Maybe if they can keep you from having success, they think you will keep coming back to spend more money with them, I don’t know.  In reality, the exact opposite is true.

Let’s move on…

Going to groups where other networkers are and posting all of the great things about your company is actually the WORST way to do business on facebook.  Let’s look at this logically.  These groups are filled with other network marketers.  They already have a company.   They are struggling just like you are.  They have heard everything you are saying before.  Heck…they’ve probably said it too.  They are not your target market.  So, you are spending time giving the wrong information to the wrong people.  There aren’t many other ways than bad that could turn out.

You talk about sending emails to other facebook members.  You say “I wasn’t spamming, I was introducing myself and my business.”  Did these people ASK to hear about you and your business?  I don’t think so.  Any time you send any kind of private message (fb PM, fb email, regular email, etc…) that is unsolicited (not asked for) it is considered SPAM.  You could be legitimately offering people $100 for reading your email and if the recipient didn’t ask for you to email them, it’s SPAM.  So, yes…you were spamming them.

It’s good that you are willing to invest in yourself and get the training you need.  I did take a look at your facebook profile and I can tell you that it is not set up properly to attract the right people.   The first thing I always recommend that you have a smiling photo of YOU as your profile photo and that you use a cover photo with a clear, concise, “About Me” statement that tells the person looking at it who you are and what you do.  This should be short and clear.  Read my post from yesterday about using facebook to market your business.  It’s all about being SOCIAL on SOCIAL spaces.  Attraction marketing.  That’s what works, not “go yell and scream until people block me” which is what is being taught by many “trainers”.

Bottom line…You will need to learn how to properly use facebook to market your business.  I suggest you find a coach who is currently working on facebook and having success doing it.  Learn from them.  Don’t waste your money on any other training.  Get the proper training now while you still have an income and you can learn how to be making money before you get into the spot where you have nothing and are so desperate that nothing works.

Good luck!!

Roxanne

On February 17, I conducted a Blogging with WordPress class.  This class covered the basics from setting up your blog on your own hosted URL to getting visitors to your blog.

Many class participants have contacted me to say they want more.  More information.  More in depth training.

So…I’ve set up an ADVANCED Blogging with WordPress class.  This class will build on what you learned in the basic Blogging with WordPress class.

We will cover:

• How to best optimize the plugins you installed in the basic class
• How to choose and customize your theme based on the purpose of your blog
• The best way to make your blog fit your voice
• More on backlinks, link juice, etc…
• How to get blog comments and why they are so important.
• Why clearly defining your target market is so important.
• How to create know, like and trust with your readers

If you liked the first class, you will LOVE the advanced class.

Don’t wait…sign up today.   Seating is limited. Class takes place on March 24 at 3 pm EST. The recording will be made available to those who take the class.

I’m am doing something new with my newsletters and blog.  I will be answering readers’ questions.  Send any questions you have to me at roxanne@roxannegreen.com

I got an email yesterday that I am going to answer here.

Roxanne,

You claim to love helping people, but you charge for information.  How can you say that?  I am flat broke and would love to hire you for a strategy session but there’s no way I can.  Why do you have to charge so much?

Upset in CT

Hi Upset,

That’s a great question.  Here is what I’ve realized over the years:

You have two choices.  1.  Pay for someone to help you. or 2.  Take the time to learn what you need to know on your own. 

I chose to go the 2nd route when I first started and decided that since I’m good at researching and pick things up quickly, I could do that.  Boy was I wrong!!  You can learn a lot for free.  But…there is a LOT that people just do not give away.  I realized that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to pay for information and I also needed a coach. 

We all get stuck at times.  Running your business is kind of like being in a marriage.  Sometimes it takes an outsider to see what is really going on.  When you are in the middle of a situation, you really don’t see it clearly.  A coach can get a view from an impartial standpoint.  They can see things that you can’t see.  The same person who sent me the email is on facebook.  I see him all the time posting quotes and not much else.  That is NOT how to use social media to build your business.  If he had spend a measly $12.95 for my facebook class, he would know that. 

Let me ask you…what is your business worth?  Is it worth 12.95 or even 97.00 or even 297.00 to get on track and be making a lot more than that?  What kind of investment are you willing to make into your business?  Because if you are not willing to invest in your business, don’t expect your business to give back to you. 

Every time you look at your iphone or your cable bill or how many times you eat out instead of cooking at home, etc… ask yourself where you can cut back so you can invest in your future.

The second part of my answer…I would LOVE to be able to help the world for free.  However, my family needs to eat and pay bills and have a roof over their head as well.  I would never recommend that you do what you love and not get paid for it.  I teach people how to make money doing what they love.  Not how to go broke and live on the street to do what they love.  How would you feel if I asked you to come to my house and do a whole bunch of work for me for free?  No meals, no money, nothing in return…just do it?  Now…what if 10, 20, or even 30 people were asking you to work for them for free.  Put in a few hours/day at each person’s house doing yard work.  You would think that is a ridiculous proposition. 

So, Upset in CT, I understand where you are coming from.  But…you must be willing to invest in your business or it may never show you a return. 

Everyone has SOMETHING about them that is unique.  Think about your life and relationships.  What is special about you that made your spouse/partner/friends want to be with you?  Can you expand on that?  Maybe you’ve been told that you have a beautiful smile or that you are funny or that you have a knack for making people feel comfortable around you.  List a few nice things that people have said about you in the past.

Go ahead…I’ll wait here…

OK, now that you’ve done that, is there a way you can use those good qualities in your business?  If you have been told you are funny, maybe you can go on facebook or twitter and make some funny (NOT OFF COLOR) comments on other’s status.  Or you could post some of your own jokes.

If you’ve been told you have a great smile, have someone take some smiling pics of you and post them on facebook, twitter, etc…  People love to do business with smiling, approachable people.

So, what is a uniqueness about you that you can build on?

The great Christian debate….Should we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

This, by the way, is absolutely RIDICULOUS.  Here’s why:

OK…I’ll be honest…it really irks me when someone writes Merry X-mas.  Christ is the reason for Christmas so please do not X Him out.  Christmas is a day set aside for us to honor and celebrate His birth, even though Christmas has become highly commercialized in recent years.

Does that mean people who do not share my religious views CAN’T celebrate Christmas?  Absolutely not!!

As Christians, we are supposed to be Christ like.  Do you honestly believe that Jesus would be arguing with people over whether they say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?  This is supposed to be a time of love, friendship, caring, joy, etc…  How can we claim to love others if we get mad at them for saying Happy Holidays?  We are not supposed to shove our religion down the throats of others.  “They will know me by my fruit”.  How are others supposed to look at many Christians and say “I want to be like them” when they are judgmental, negative and nitpicky?  Yes…I said nitpicky.

In the United States, we have freedom of religion.  If more of us just focus on being a good, loving person and focus on doing what Jesus would do instead of focusing on finding the flaws in others, the world would be a much better place.  Maybe more people would see us and say “Hey…those people who love God are really nice, happy people.  I want to know more”.  NO ONE is going to want to know how to be a judgmental, negative, nitpicky person.

Who cares whether you say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?  As long as everyone is getting along and wishing others well, we should be happy.  Christians should strive to be the better person.  They should strive to be like our Lord and Savior.  In my opinion, that has somehow become lost in the shuffle of Christians attempting to claim we are better than everyone else and then trying to shove that down everyone else’s throat.

Think of it this way…what if I won the lottery and I decided to throw you a birthday party.  I rent a HUGE hall and put out a public invitation for everyone to come celebrate your birthday.  Among the guests are quite a few people who don’t even know you and a few people who know you but don’t like you.  They are there dancing, singing, visiting and having a great time.  How would you feel if one of your friends went to all of these people and told them to leave because they either don’t know you or don’t like you.  When they insisted they are just there having fun and not hurting anyone, your friend got even more vocal and began screaming at them to leave your birthday party.  How would that make you feel?

I’m sure Jesus feels just as horrible when He sees Christians arguing over whether people should say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays.  Just be happy and show others the true joy of the holiday by being Christ like.  Try it.  You might like it.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will you do with it?