Lord Sugar said on The Apprentice last night 'Just because you've worked every station at McDonalds doesn't mean you can run a successful restaurant.' Equally, just because you hang out on most social media platforms, it doesn't mean that you are social media savvy to the extent you need to be when you go pro with your online Tarot services.
While I did take advice and read up on how to use social media for business when I went pro in 2011, it was still a steep learning curve for me, so I would like to share with you some of the tricks I learned that has helped me gain a massive following and allowed new clients to find me.
1. Build and curate your content carefully. The content you share via your social media channels becomes your calling card and allows the right people/clients to find you. You may find that what you share shifts more in favour of articles and images that help and inspire rather than pictures of you and your bff's on the lash. If not, you are missing a trick.
2. Use your real name. To establish authenticity, it is helpful if you use your real name. You will have greater reach this way. Someone who would never in a million years have a reading from Madame Violet Ray, may very well work up the courage to ask you for a reading because you come across as fairly normal and accessible.
3. Put your face on it. Yes, it can be scary to step into the spotlight at first. But let's keep it real here... Would
you entrust your soul's development and/or future to someone you can't even see? Use a clear head shot as your avatar across all your social media platforms.
4. Speak up! Are you on YouTube yet? If not, why not? People want to hear your voice and see you move in this day and age. This is a trick I'm working on developing myself. I have done
a few videos but I know this is a tremendously powerful tool for connecting with potential clients so I should be doing more.
5. Engage with other Tarotpreneurs. This is the main trick that many Tarotists and Tarotpreneurs seem to be missing. There seems to be a sense of entitlement along the lines of... If I just share how awesome I am and distribute/tout my content everyone should just fall on their knees around me and if they don't I'll spit my dummy out.
In real life it doesn't work like that. The truth is that unless you comment on what other people do and share the work of others, you won't get much coming back. It's not that you suck, it's just that people won't find you unless you make your rounds and engage with others.
Guest blogs are also a wonderful way of engaging with colleagues because you provide quality content to your readers and gain exposure in another person's social media network (works both ways).
6. Engage laterally. This is possibly even more important because this is where you can start earning some real money from affiliate marketing of related content that is not in direct competition with you (i.e. not selling the same kind of services). Unless you are earning while you are sleeping you have missed a massive trick!
Link exchanges are other ways to broaden your reach. Again this works best if you exchange links with business partners that are not in direct competition with you.
7. Be courteous. Netiquette is paramount when you go pro. If someone complements you or shares/retweets your stuff, thank them. Everybody likes to be seen and acknowledged and a good turn deserves another.
8. Learn how to deal with negative criticism. It can come from every cardinal direction some days. A Bible basher may threaten you with hell, a colleague disagrees with your most treasured Tarot theory and a client is unhappy with a reading all in the same day... (although the latter is usually via email)
If you have a problem with controlling your mood, you really must learn to do nothing until you have calmed yourself right down. Once you make a heated remark on a social media platform, you can't take it back. It doesn't matter if you delete the comment. It'll still be there - probably saved as a screen shot.
Acknowledge the criticism. Remember that everyone is entitled to their opinion and that their opinion about you is their problem, not yours. If it is at all possible that you are incorrect, acknowledge that too and if it is a client you are dealing, by all means offer a refund or some other form of compensation (yes, even IF you know they are likely to come back in a few months with an apology.)
9. Be genuinely helpful. This is how you attract a large, loyal following. There are enough people out there who just want to blow their own horn or to be seen as powerful. In fact, if you are not on a path of service to humanity, I'd advice you to leave social media alone. People pick up on it really quickly!
Please don't confuse this with offering unsolicited advice though. You don't like getting it so don't give it somebody else.
The perfect example of someone who made a complete success of himself by being helpful is Kevin Hinkle. He was not Internet famous before he joined the new social media platform
Tsu but because he became someone that people felt comfortable asking advise of, his following grew very quickly and he also became the first person to cash in $100 in revenues. I believe he has now cashed in more than $300 and this is just a nice bonus to him because he is the real deal and people pick up on that.
10. Diversify your presence. If you think that hanging out on Facebook will be helpful in terms of growing your readership/clientele, you will be sorely disappointed. Especially as organic reach for FB pages has hit an all time low. The only people who have a shot at making Facebook work for them are those who are already famous or those who can afford to throw lots of money on page boosts.
As organic reach plummets, so does the ability to reach new people. You end up swimming in a very small, stagnant pond.
Also, and this might surprise you, but if you spoon feed your followers on Facebook, they are also less likely to visit your website(s) and this in term will damage your SEO. One of the first (not the only!) positive effects I noticed after leaving Facebook a few weeks ago was that my Alexa ranking improved massively. The screenshot for tarotize.com below is from earlier today...
The obvious alternative to Facebook for any discerning Tarotpreneur is Tsu. Tsu shares 90% of its revenue with its users and allows you to remain the owner of any content you post (unlike Facebook and other social media platforms).
Tsu has already helped me reach new blog followers and clients. While doing what I did on Facebook where I had to pay to be seen, I have earned nearly six dollars so far in just over six weeks... but in real numbers I'm up nearly £200 because now I don't have to boost Facebook posts any more. Everything I post shows in the feeds of all my friends and followers. Click the button below to join today!
The screenshot below is from my Tsu account earlier today:
Other networks that more than compensate for the lack of my presence on Facebook are G+ (vital from an SEO point of view as anything you post on there gets big love from Google), Pinterest (massive improvement of my graphics skills as a bonus) and Twitter which drives more traffic to my sites than any other social media platform.
Hope you find this article helpful and do let me know if you have any questions.
Blessings
~ Lisa
