Business ain’t for everybody.
Only so many have the ingenuity for it, and even fewer have the emotional and mental toughness necessary.
It’s a rough game.
Mostly solo.
At first, long days.
Sleepless nights.
Few ever talk about this ugly side of it.
Even insiders like you are quick to encourage others to join the madness and do it for themselves.
Rarely do you admit this other side of journey.
It’s just part of the process.
You keep going in spite of the challenge.
And if you stay away from minutiae like tactics and glossy shortcuts, you can do well for yourself, in a relatively short time.
You and I know this, we’re built tough.
However, especially if you’re doing your job well, you will be tested.
I’m talking about the mouks who make your life hell… just because (so selfless).
Mouks troll your content and reply with nasty comments to make themselves feel good, and you feel awful.
I hate it.
So much so that I create strategies and systems to drive them away or repulse mouks in the first place.
No easy feat, but a fun, noble challenge.
Without these, at its worst, your email game will be tested.
And you’ll want to lash out.
You may even take it out on your best readers, thus destroying the reputation you built.
Like this person did. If you know the writer and business, you may have already seen this.
Here’s what not to do under any circumstance…
SMXLL
Yikes!
If you read between the lines you can presume someone was having a rough moment, and a mouk pushed him or her off the edge.
It happens.
Thing is, it won’t change anytime soon.
In fact these people predate the Internet.
And like roaches they’ll long outlive it too.
So… what do you do?
Many different ways to handle mouks, none of which involve alienating the people who treat you well. Clever ways like:
– getting to know your readers with questions, directly or indirectly so that you create content your audience actually wants.
– segmenting your readers based on their participation level so that you can send tailored messages that suits how they relate to your experience.
– call mouks out, and highlight their silly mouk ways in an email. This way you demonstrate how you “reward” negative behaviour.
BONUS: You can deconstruct why that attitude won’t lead your reader to his or her ideal outcome with your material. (Kinda like your parents did with you)
– Hard at times, but always effective: ignore, blacklist, or unsubscribe them.
– and more, more, more.
What you don’t do… lash out and cause extra damage.
The above example is uncomfortable to read, it’s unprofessional.
(And that’s coming from me, someone who is often deemed “unprofessional”.)
This person is not a leader. Not someone fit for business.
{Your name}, I’d love to tell you it gets easier. It doesn’t though.What changes is that you get better.You manage yourself and your many response options so well that you have a fit solution for all types of mouk negativity.
Thankfully, you’re not this person, but if you’re ever in this position, feeling like you want to do something aggressive, call me first– your partner-in-crime.
I have a full arsenal of creative ways to handle nasty mouks so you can keep having fun, and none of those strategies will scare your best reader away.
Be well,
Max!
P.S. Thursday at Noon EDT, I’m hosting a live session to share the top 7 things you’re doing to push customers away from you. And how to stop it immediately.
Kind of like the silly person in this example today.
Like all Relationship Marketing it applies to your business directly, but can easily help you with how you connect with friends, family and romantic partners and VIPs (mentors, influencers, celebrities, etc…) too.
Love teaching this stuff since it helps us all become responsible human beings.
Save the date: Thursday at Noon ET.