When I checked my email this morning, somebody who I know invited me to answer a question she had posted at LinkedIn. She was asking for suggestions on how to promote something.
Just as I started to answer it, I noticed that she was asking for a private answer, not a public one. I stopped in mid-sentence, left the site and started doing something else.
Here’s why:
Social networking can eat up hours of time, and I must must make the best use of every minute I spend making connections, answering questions, offering helpful tips and building relationships. I answer questions on LinkedIn for two reasons:
First, it promotes my expertise.
Second, I’m trying to accumulate as many “best answer” designations as possible. During the teleseminar I hosted with Scott Allen last year on How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Anything–Ethically & Powerfully, Scott mentioned that this is one of the most powerful ways to enhance my expertise.
Had I spent 10 minutes answering her question this morning, nobody else would have been able to read it. So why bother? She already knows I’m a publicity expert and, I reasoned, my 10 minutes wouldn’t have gotten me anywhere.
I’d much rather spend that time responding to my Twitter followers, retweeting, or responding to LinkedIn questions that ask for public answers everyone can see.
Am I being stingy?
Hi Joan, not at all! Can you point her to an existing article? Is there a way on Linked In to let people know that you’ll answer questions publicly only? Can you write a blog post and point her to that.
She’s asking for a freebie and it would be nice to be able to leverage that at the same time you offer her a resource.
Don’t second-guess yourself!
Cindy Morus
Not at all! Your reasoning is right on.
Not at all, Joan, you are making good use of your time. It is the most valuable commodity on earth and we can’t replace it.
You give so much good advice at no charge that someone should be willing to ask in the public domain or pay for your knowledge.
Joan, you are FAR from stingy! I look forward to the wealth of FREE advice and information you offer every Tuesday in your newsletter… You made a smart move moving on to other business!
I don’t think you’re being stingy at all. I remember when we first met – I was running a yahoogroup called publicity hounds, and asked you to speak to us on said topic. I ran that group for free, and it was great for a while, but it really started sapping my energy – I was teaching, teaching, giving, and not seeing much in return at the end. I won’t do that again – from now on, I’m happy to host groups like that with a strong benefit to me, or rotate leadership, or be paid.
You know your energy requirements, and you know how much time you have. Continue to use them effectively!
Hi Joan:
Here’s my thought – if she wants an exclusive answer from you, she can easily call and engage your services for a fee. If she wants free advice, she should be willing for you to respond in a public forum, so you both can benefit in all the ways you describe.
That’s not stingy. That’s being fair to yourself. Your time is valuable, and anyone who wishes to draw on your expertise needs to remember and respect that fact!
Debra
Shortly after I started my blog 2+ years ago, I realized I had to take a stand on this type of issue. Otherwise, I’d be giving advice on kitchen design to the masses. So, on my contact page, I explain why one should not write and ask me a kitchen design question and that my consulting is fee based.
I understand you are referring to linkedin, of which I am also connected to. And, I agree with what you did 100%. In the end, it’s about time.
HOWEVER…if you have a question about your kitchen, go ahead and ask. I have a question about Twitter…
😉
You absolutely did the right thing!
I would say that you are being selfish, and that’s just fine. We all need to be selfish sometimes in order to survive. Your time has a value and there’s nothing wrong with choosing when and where you will donate it; which opportunities are most conducive to business growth.
That said, I might have taken the time to respond to her in that fashion — explaining why you are not answering her question and encouraging her to ask it again in a public setting. It’s a good teaching opportunity, as well as good karma.
People don’t understand. Even though you’re an individual and you are self-employed, you’re still an employee of a business, and your knowledge is that business’s only product. What if you came into their place of work and asked them to give you their product for free? From time to time, and for strategic promotional purposes, a business owner will give out “free samples,” but they wouldn’t be in business for very long if they simply gave away their product to everyone who asked.
General answers to a large crowd help build your credibility. Giving away your product totally free cheapens it and erodes its value for you and your other customers. Not stingy at all, IMHO.
No. Time is precious. I think she is being stingy as she doesn’t want to share the information with anyone else who may be in a similar situation. LinkedIn is designed for the public sharing of knowledge.
You are right one target. You only have so much time in the day and need to make the best use of it. I’m in the process of learning that, as this new opportunity I have in the social media arena can eat up a lot of time. You give a lot Joan and we truly appreciate that!
Since you had already spent 10 mins you could have contacted her (privately) and told her you’d post your reply publicly. She may have just been a shy linkedin.com participant
This person may not be adept at social media conventions (yet) and selected ‘private’ perhaps for the wrong reasons = but would really be glad for a public post
Hi Joan,
I’m going to go against the grain here. While I respect the limits you place on giving your product away for free, I also believe you have to give in order to receive. Not sure how well you know this person, but a few minutes of advice could lead to countless new contacts through positive word of mouth. I’ve found that a little help usually goes a long way. I don’t know if I’d use the word stingy, but I think you should have finished typing that note.
I’m going to go against the grain here. While I’m glad you do put some limits on the amount of free expertise you give away…I also believe you need to give in order to receive. I’m not sure how well aquainted you are with this person, but if you had spent just a few minutes giving a few tips and/or advice, it might have had a large return? Positive word of mouth is absolutely invaluable these days. And generally, the most profitable new relationships I’ve fostered began with a little generosity on my part. Stingy, no…but a little too quick to say no…I say yes.
I don’t think it’s stingy at all – if she wants your advice, she could pay you! That’s like asking a baker for a pastry sample after you’ve been visiting his shop every day for years. It just doesn’t make sense.
However, an alternative could be posting answer on your blog and sending her the link. That way, she gets her answer and you get (even more) credibility with your audience!
I agree with Andi just above. You might even start an ‘Ask Joan’ column and have them post the questions publicly for you to answer on a weekly basis if the lost billable hours weren’t too hard on your schedule.
No, Joan, you weren’t being stingy. People value what they pay for more than what they get for free to a large degree. I could tell you stories about helping ungrateful people, but I’m tired and sore from cleaning apartments to finance my online ‘hobby’ so am tending to be a little um…..what’s the word here……um…… crabby so I won’t burden you with the details. 🙂
Molly
Joan, those of us who have been recipients of your newsletter, followers of your blog, customers of your products, or participants in your events know that your trademark is giving way more value than any of us ever pay for. By choosing to be a good steward of your time, you are actually being a good mentor and role model for all of us who struggle each and every day with information overload and the challenges of effectively prioritizing our time.
No, you were certainly not being stingy. I think Andi (above) had a good thought in suggesting a private note back to her with a link to this blog entry. It will help her learn from this too. We have all unwittingly imposed on the good will of those we admire, and I imagine she didn’t appreciate that her request was, in fact, an imposition.
Yes, that was stingy. As another poster has already pointed out, it doesn’t hurt to give in order to receive. My time may be valuable but so is my reputation. I realize that I may be shooting myself in the foot financially (and it is true that my business is nowhere near where I want it to be), but charity is not to be dismissed. And that’s what you gave up; the chance to do something good for someone without the gratification of everyone knowing about it.
You could have turned that answer into a blog or newsletter post down the road at some point. You would have had a good background story behind it.
As well, let’s look at some numbers. Let’s assume an average lifetime of about 75 years. Thats 75 yr * 365.25 d/yr * 24 hr/d * 60 min/hr = 3.945 x 10^7 minutes (in lay terms 39,450,000 minutes). Is 10 or even 20 minutes too much to give of yourself.
And finally, we can look at the karma aspect. According to Jewish tradition, the most blessed form of charity is that which is given anonymously.
🙂
I’ve been on both sides of this issue. I do enjoy giving to others and believe in “karma,” charity, The Law of Reciprocity, and just being kind. I’ve done a lot of it. On the other hand, I’ve found myself having to draw the line lately with people who constantly want to “pick my brain” but never engage me professionally. When your expertise is what you use to make a living, you have to be judicious with your time. People will take advantage of you if you let them. My advice? Go with your gut.
I don’t think you’re being stingy at all. I never reply to these kinds of queries mainly because I find people underestimate how much time they waste answering e-mails, linked-in requests, looking at Twitter, etc. If your time is truly valuable (which hopefully it is) – then I think there’s no time to be wasted on stuff like this.