I am kinda busy.
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First; I am a full time, pro blogger. Pro bloggers are serious bloggers. Pro bloggers are busy bloggers. I have hundreds of things to do today. I am booked up.
Second; I circle the globe. Kelli and I have traveled the world for 8 years. We usually do 1 or more months in a single location so not tons of time actually traveling but we are busy in these villages and off the path tourist spots.
Example; I woke at 7 AM today. I let the dogs in – street dogs adopted, who’d been waiting at the gate – and wrote a few posts. But we had to bring laundry to the shop for dropping and washing; solo, self job. 57 minutes after dropping off, we take the motorbike to pick up laundry here in Pong Noi, a sleepy village in Northern Thailand. We hung the clothes to dry. Now I write this guest post. In 1-2 hours we motorbike to lunch at a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant in Chiang Mai.
See how much travel stuff one does? Fun stuff but time consuming stuff. Factor in the hours I spend writing posts and networking and you have a busy bee.
People Want My Time
People want to:
- interview me
- ask me questions
- grab my time
This happens if you get well known in your niche.
I turn down most requests because I am already booked with my creating and connecting and with my close blogging buddy requests.
Why do I fulfill most of my blogging buddy requests? My blogging buddies:
and asked for nothing in return. My blogging buddies expected nothing from me after helping me. My blogging buddies are interested in me, NOT in what I can do for them. I make time for generous, persistent, patient people who help me and ask for nothing for I feel their genuine love, their interest in me.
The easy way to get my time, my attention and my energy is to help me for a few months without asking for anything. Bonds form. I usually make time for friends who want to interview me or who wish to ask me questions.
BUT….on the flip side, you have the 90% or more of requests I ignore.
Stranger Danger!
Or, cool connection, beware.
I ignore stranger requests as a way to whittle down the list of hundreds to thousands of people who want my time, attention and energy. Ditto for requests from folks who have not helped me out in years. You need to do something for me to get on my radar and to earn my trust because I needed to do something for top bloggers to earn their trust and to pop up on their radar. Pay your networking tuition to move higher in blogging circles.
If you skip the tuition you are a stranger and if you are a stranger you get ignored; we established, pro bloggers need some qualifier or mechanism for weeding out most folks to select a few valuable opportunities worthy of our attention and energy.
BUT….my blogging buddies also know; I cannot say “yes” to everything, because I am a human being with 24 hours to work with, today. With that in mind, I tend to set aside 30-60 minutes for dear friends who built their followings up over years, who vibe with me, and who have become established, pro bloggers….because birds of a feather flock together.
How to Get My Time Attention and Energy (for Interviews Guest Posts Etc)
- ask for nothing after you help me; be generous
- promote me on your blog
- promote me via social media
- EARN my attention because you need to do something thoughtful and caring to stand out from the army of fear-filled, greedy, desperate bloggers who lamely pitch me
Hitting a retweet button for 3 months is easy. Linking to me on your blog is incredibly easy. Tagging me on Facebook after you linked to me is beyond easy.
I tend to set aside 30 minutes for someone who has been nothing but generous with me, for months or years. I have to pass on someone who wants 30 minutes of my precious time but has done nothing for me, for many years.
If you want my time, be generous with me, and you will get it.
David Boozer is a skilled blogger who literally bought everything I offer, save my travel eBooks. He bought *all* of my blogging eBooks, my 11 Fundamentals of Successful Blogging Course and he hired me for a coaching session. He is both skilled and generous. I happily promote him. If he wants an interview or guest post, he’s got it. I do not even think about it.
If you want my attention, take a hint from a skilled pro like David. The easiest way to get someone’s attention is through their heart.
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