Don’t Take those Unsubscribes Personally
If you are dancing around in the world of multipreneurship, you are no doubt managing mailing lists, using a database to keep track of leads, and sending out regular newsletters or posts to fans, followers, customers and clients.
You're not? Maybe we should talk.
(Another time, perhaps.)
One of the things that happens with mailing lists is that occasionally people unsubscribe from them. There can be a kind of an "ouch" moment when that happens and its easy to wonder what you've done wrong to provoke the rejection.
It's not personal.
Let's face it, everybody has busy lives and full inboxes, and sometimes it's enough just to get a meal on the table, never mind wading through newsletters and autoposts. I'd argue that it's good business (and life) practice to get control of your inbox and unsubscribe from posts that you don't read.
Including mine.
When I took systems coaching training, one of many conversations I found enlightening covered an analysis of the percentage of people who won't be happy with what you do. In my coursework we learned that between one percent and seventeen percent of participants in any session are not going to get it, not going to like it, or simply not going to like you.
Why was this enlightening for me? Because typically when I run a session, facilitate a workshop or design a training, I get pretty good reviews. Most of my feedback is highly positive.
But there's always one or two evaluation forms that come back with low scores - the material simply didn't land, or the experience was unsatisfactory.
You can guess where this is going, right? Which evaluations stayed with me? What kept me awake at night? Exactly.
Finding out that there was actually a percentage formula related to session feedback was a relief. It made me realize that it's not me. Hitting it out of the park one hundred percent of the time is almost impossible to do.
So there I was setting myself up to do the impossible, beating myself up for not achieving the impossible, and then resetting the impossible bar.
Sound familiar?
You're not? Maybe we should talk.
(Another time, perhaps.)
One of the things that happens with mailing lists is that occasionally people unsubscribe from them. There can be a kind of an "ouch" moment when that happens and its easy to wonder what you've done wrong to provoke the rejection.
It's not personal.
Let's face it, everybody has busy lives and full inboxes, and sometimes it's enough just to get a meal on the table, never mind wading through newsletters and autoposts. I'd argue that it's good business (and life) practice to get control of your inbox and unsubscribe from posts that you don't read.
Including mine.
When I took systems coaching training, one of many conversations I found enlightening covered an analysis of the percentage of people who won't be happy with what you do. In my coursework we learned that between one percent and seventeen percent of participants in any session are not going to get it, not going to like it, or simply not going to like you.
Why was this enlightening for me? Because typically when I run a session, facilitate a workshop or design a training, I get pretty good reviews. Most of my feedback is highly positive.
But there's always one or two evaluation forms that come back with low scores - the material simply didn't land, or the experience was unsatisfactory.
You can guess where this is going, right? Which evaluations stayed with me? What kept me awake at night? Exactly.
Finding out that there was actually a percentage formula related to session feedback was a relief. It made me realize that it's not me. Hitting it out of the park one hundred percent of the time is almost impossible to do.
So there I was setting myself up to do the impossible, beating myself up for not achieving the impossible, and then resetting the impossible bar.
Sound familiar?
Some people will always be unhappy. It just is, like the weather. Not personal. Some days it will rain, not because its your wedding or barbecue, but because it's the weather.
One of the books I highly recommend is The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. One of the most powerful agreements he recommends is: Don't Take Anything Personally.
Even those unsubscribes.
And as for the rain, it's just weather.
What do you take personally? How about not doing that anymore?
Btw, if you like some great tips on managing your inbox, check out my friend Steve's course 3 Steps to Inbox Zero. Awesome.
One of the books I highly recommend is The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. One of the most powerful agreements he recommends is: Don't Take Anything Personally.
Even those unsubscribes.
And as for the rain, it's just weather.
What do you take personally? How about not doing that anymore?
Btw, if you like some great tips on managing your inbox, check out my friend Steve's course 3 Steps to Inbox Zero. Awesome.
