Welcome to Episode 88 of Praestabilis: Excellence in Marketing

Welcome Aboard for Episode 88 of the podcast! This time I’m discussing… “The Misconceptions Around the Idea That Introverts Do Well in Online Marketing.”

Even though there are many introverts who have made a name for themselves with businesses online and in person, that isn’t as common as you might think. I’m thinking of relationship counselor John Gray, author of Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus. It wasn’t until he got out in the community and made a name for himself as a public speaker that others began to take him seriously in regards to his ideas.

The same was true of my long-time friend and mentor Brendon Burchard, who still shares how painful it was for him to connect with new people and share his thoughts and ideas. He writes about this in great detail in High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way.

For me, the things I thought I could not do were writing and fundraising. Over time, both of these activities are become the focus of my life and I live to help more people and share my stories with the world.

Even Brené Brown is a self-proclaimed introvert, though she may be best known for her “Dare to Lead” talks around the world.

I’ve written extensively about my habit of talking to strangers and how this practice made such a difference in my own journey as an introvert wanting to be successful and accepted into the world of public speaking at live events, marketing, and entrepreneurship as an introvert.

As an introvert, it’s common to feel like the last thing you want to do is to engage in “small talk” with other people. But, the truth is that the small talk you’re avoiding is actually the first step to becoming more of an ambivert who is better prepared to connect with and network with others.

We connect with people all over the world as online marketers. Hiding at your desk, behind a computer screen and away from anything more than social media does not lead to success, at least not at the level you’re most likely striving to achieve.

How do you present yourself to the world? If others see you and experience you as being an introvert, they may believe that you think small, believe small, and are small. It’s up to you to change others’ perception of you, and speaking up and engaging in conversation is exactly the way to do this successfully.

Connecting and collaborating with others is crucial to our great success. While waiting in line at the post office years ago, a woman struck up a conversation with me. It turned out we had much in common, as she had been an author and online entrepreneur for close to three decades, while I was still relatively new. I waited for her to complete her transaction at the window and then gave her my card. That woman was none other than Barbara J. Winter, author of Making a Living Without a Job: Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love and if she hadn’t been the first one to “talk to a stranger” that day, I might have never have known she lived less than ten miles from my home.

My “Two Hours a Day Profit Plan” includes writing, marketing, and connecting with others. Today, this included sending out an email to my online community, outlining and recording this podcast episode,