Making Thousands in a Month Just by Texting! - Live Group Call

Auto-generated from the video, lightly formatted. Expect a few typos.

It was um somebody I contacted earlier in the week via text. It's a there's a a lake nearby and they've got pontoon boat rentals which obviously this time of year going into summer it's it's a good fit. So um I just text them and they I 3 days later responded. said they responded last night about 9:30 and said that they'd um they'd like to proceed with it. They're just deciding on size now between the the the large sized or the the standard 4x3.

So that was kind of a nice nice thing to get when you're sitting on the couch watching basketball last night. So So that's one one little win this week. So I just want to share that. Wow. I've never tried to uh text yet.

Here here's the here's the thing. Like um I'm like a I'm a I'm a huge advocate of texting. Yep. Me too. Yeah.

And it's and like and you're sitting there trying to figure out like God, you know, how do I how do I figure out what they're what good number is to text? And if you and I can I can only speak to my my setup. I have a I have a Mac that I work on. Mhm. And then when I I pull up my, you know, my text messages or my my uh my me I don't know what to call it, message center or something on my on my Mac.

I'll type in their phone number and if it and when I go down to put the text in, if it if the number pops up to be blue, then it's it's it's a textable number. Right. Right. I think I'll try that. Well, and the thing about it is like like when you think about like service companies like Oh, yeah.

And just smaller businesses because I mean like just because of obviously how you know like there's not many people in the world now that have home phones. That is true. Yes. So, you know, you know, smaller businesses are kind of the same way. So, you know, it's it's, you know, and I've gotten a couple where I've texted and it comes back, you know, this is this is not a you know, I don't know what it says, but yeah, basically it's not a textable number.

And um so it's a it's kind of a good way to to sneak in a little communication that they're they're going to see. I mean, I I like Facebook Messenger as well, but of course, if you do that too much, you end up in jail, right? Which has happened to me a couple times in the last week or so. So, it's um the I I haven't I haven't had a ton of luck with email. I mean, I haven't I haven't been sending like, you know, like Mitchell's approach with like, you know, doing, you know, a chunk, you know, every so often.

I I haven't been doing that, right? if I I mean I'll send out periodic emails and stuff but I don't I don't get a lot of responses on those and I lack patience. Mhm. So I try to do a Facebook message or text and then I feel like that gives me permission to call. Oh yeah.

Yeah. Um, so you know, it's it's you know, six one f does the other, but it's it's um it's all in what you're comfortable doing. I think you're right. Um, with the emails, yeah, it's very slow. You're just waiting for something to come in.

But, um, I think you're right about texting. I mean, definitely. I mean like I mean obviously people there's everybody in here is in different situations. Um you know some of the people are you know have full-time jobs and this is you know we'll kind of get this put together as it happens. I'm not in that situation.

I mean I'm you know I started I started selling two weeks ago. Yep. And you know my card will go out middle of April. There's there's no doubt on it. Nice.

So, um you know, I'm I'm moving I think with probably the opposite end of side hustle. I mean, I'm taking this as a let's move quick and get as many cards out as we can in the next few months. So, like that's your first time texting them? What? What do you mean first time?

like like like was that your first me message to that company to the to the one that said yes to me last night? Yeah. Yep. Oh, okay. So, it was basically like a it was like a cold text and and and they just Yeah.

I mean, and and the thing that I the thing that I started doing, which I wasn't doing initially, was like I'd enter their phone number and I'd shoot them a text and and sometimes I' I'd put in there, you know, you know, I I really need a roofing company in this on this card, you know, let me know if you're interested. But like some of the texts were a little bit more general than that. And then when somebody would somebody would respond and I would like who God who who was that a was that a chiropractor or a roofer or who was that? So now when I do it I go in and I actually put their their name in in my in my contact so that when it pops back up I'm not sitting there, you know, trying to figure out what number goes with what company and things like that. So Right.

Right. No, I'm going to try that actually. Yeah. And like like my one of my uh 4x6 ads that I sold for this postcard, I' I've never talked to him. And to be honest, like like through the process, I didn't have a lot of faith in him.

Um it just it it I don't know. you you always have like a little bit of a gut feeling about people, but you I mean like you're not going to just, you know, cut it off because of that gut feeling. And and so long story short, we went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth on text. Mhm. No phone calls.

And they were like, "Well, we'll take, you know, one of the the 4x3s and we want a second one for free so we get the" And I'm like, "They're not happening. not going to do it. Yeah. So, there was we negotiated on on text and then they agreed to it. I sent him an invoice and I was kind of like, God, I they just seem kind of goofy.

But anyway, you know, two days later, the money popped up on my Stripe account and nice, they've they've provided the information and and on the flip side of that, I had somebody from Facebook Messenger that that um it was a power washing company that just wanted a they they wanted a small ad for their power washing company. Yes. And I said, you know, great, that's super, you know, and I'll send you an invoice and we'll get started on getting a design for you. and she says, "Well, well, I'd like to see a mockup first." And it it kind of hit me the wrong way.

Wow. And I just was kind of like, but I was like, "You know what? Just be flexible." And she she said she'd send me a a vector file, which I I'm not even sure what that is. Um but but um I'm like, "Okay."

Well, a week later, no. She sent me nothing. And then she messaged me on Facebook Messenger and said, "Well, you know, I know I forgot to send that to you, but have you mocked something up?" I'm like, "Well, no." Wow.

Because you didn't send me anything. So So I I said, "I'll I'll do something for you tonight." And I've I've hired one of the best graphic designers um that I could find. That's my daughter. Oh man.

So, um, so she she helped me put something together, mocked it, and it was a nice looking little ad. I was like, I was pretty proud of it. And then I sent it to her the next morning and she she comes back and she says, "Well, can we do our own design?" And I'm like I'm like, "Yeah, you can." I said, "Just if you you know, keep in mind this is a small ad.

I mean, don't put a bunch of text on it and stuff because it's just not going to be readable. And I said, "So, feel free to do it." I said, "You know, if you want this spot," I said, "Pay me by noon." And then she came back and she's like, "Well, you know, I just, you know, I I've got a, you know, things going on with my family." And she just kind of faded away.

Mhm. But I felt bad about it from the very beginning like she's she's not serious. But it's like it's like I mean I I think like a year from now. Yeah. You know, you you look at a situation like that, you'll probably be like, I don't waste my time on you.

I'm just not I don't have the time for this crap. Right. Where where when you're early on, you're like, "God, I I don't really want to do this because I'm probably get smacked in the mouth." Yeah. But you do it because there's a chance you're going to, you know, solidify it and it'll be a good thing, right?

So, you know, it's it's um well, it's like hard at first because nobody knows who the heck you are. You don't have any like background. You just saying, you know, you go to somebody and you're like, I want to make an ad for you. And like nobody trusts you. But the minute they see that card in the mail, they'll start seeing it.

Like businesses will start seeing you. You definitely lack a ton of credibility in it. Yeah. I mean, it's it's I mean, and and the things that I've tried to do to to kind of get around that a little bit is I use the word community postcard, you know, and you know, I'm doing this for the POW community and not, you know, Right. I'm not I'm not I'm not Valpac.

Right. Exactly. Yeah. And and people have asked me like, "Well, I I had a guy that I was so disappointed because I I thought I had him for like a big ad and I end up just with a small he's a home home improvement company." And he said, and we were just having a casual conversation and he said, he says, "How many of these have you put out?"

I said, I said, "Hang on a second. Let me count." I said, "Zero. And he he says, "Oh," he he said, "H" he said, "I knew it was kind of new." He said, "But yeah."

Um and and I told him, I said, "I' I've had my own business. I've done marketing for, you know, 13 years and digital stuff, you know, built websites, pay-per-click, Facebook." I said, "I've done all that stuff." And I said, and I said, "I'm tired of it." I said because al algorithm algorithms change and it's so hard to keep clients.

I said there I said there's no algorithms with this. And I said and I he said but yeah, but isn't this just kind of stuff you throw away? I said sure there's plenty of stuff in the mail you throw away. I said this ain't it. Yeah.

I said I said my job is to get this into the junk drawer or on the side of the refrigerator. Yeah. Yes. And I said, ' And I do that by putting Dairy Queen on there with a free Blizzard. Mhm.

And I said, because your ad, your home improvement ad, I said, unless they're hot for a a remodeled kitchen, I said, it's it's it's not going to make any difference. I said, 'You want to be there for, you know, two, three, four, five weeks. Yeah. Yep. So that it So, you know, and and I I said, you know, you can't you can't do this kind of stuff and expect expect sales, per se.

I said, you're I said, for service companies that are big purchases. I said, you're talking about you're building a brand. You want to locally be known as the guy that can come in and remodel a kitchen, remodel a bathroom, do a basement so that they think of you and they remember that, oh, you know what? I've got that they got that card in the junk drawer. That's that's your goal, right?

I said, because at the end of the day, I said, if if you advertise with me for a year, I said, if one person calls you and says, let's remodel the kitchen. I said, the ROI is huge. Right. right? You know, it doesn't take much.

And that that brings me to um yeah, frid being fridgeworthy is the keeping power of that card. I um along with like what you said, I I want the coupons or whatever or the savings from the ads, but I I left a small section. I I've redesigned my card um in the middle and it and it um obviously it has well it has um local um events. So it sort of you know it would go up I I feel like it would give it just more fridge be be fridgew worthy. I don't for I think I I think like the and and this isn't easy to do.

Um, actually I just got a text from that that boat rental company and they're getting a they're going with a standard size. So nice. Good deal. Um, but something that's kind of challenging is like because I kind of think of it like, okay, how can I appeal to the lady of the house? Yeah.

How can I appeal to the man in the house and how can I appeal to both of them? Yes. And I've struggled on the lady part because, you know, I'm I've called med spas. I've tried to get nail salons and I just I've not had any luck yet. Wow.

Yeah. Um and you know, I I'd like to have just one of those. And I, you know, from a a male perspective, I mean, I haven't tried it yet, but I mean, I I'd like to get a golf course or something like that. Yeah. Yeah.

But, you know, it's Yeah. challenging. Yes. I I see that. Yeah.

Like HVAC and lawn lawn people, landscapers are more apt to like contact and go back and forth. Yeah. I haven't um heard anything from like salons or anything, but on just that section on my cards, I'll have like craft shows and and or something like that or auto show on one side and on the other. It really doesn't take a lot of space to do it, but um you know, I don't know if you're like male maledominated um businessheavy, maybe that would I mean, I guess that would work for me, but happened to me. I don't know.

I mean, and and I mean, I I think I think it's tough to put a mean from a personal perspective, if you can fill a card up with anything, that's great. Mhm. But it if there's I feel like if you're if you're not grabbing something there that's that's really just sticky, right? That it's it's a really because then because then when you show that card Mhm. you know, you know, people look at they're like, "Oh, you know, hey, you got a realtor.

Hey, you got an insurance guy. And hey, you got a mattress person." And that's that's all great, but those aren't like those aren't overly sticky. Correct. Yeah.

So that's and and like the Dairy Queen one that I got, I I I gave it away. I mean, I Yeah. I wasn't going to fight him on it. Mhm. Because I knew I knew they probably wouldn't do it.

Mhm. So, I mean, what was funny was the manager I was talking to after I kind of pitched it to her, she said, 'Well, I've got to go to my district manager and she says, 'Well, I need to let them know what what we're going to get out of this. Like, have you been listening? It's a free ad. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, what you're what you're getting out of it, right? Lady, a that's a dumb question. Oh my gosh. Yeah.

So that's funny. Yeah. But Dairy Queen that I mean that is such a big name. Wow. Yeah.

You to give it away. Absolutely. Just to you know cuz they credibility like they have credibility and Well, that's the thing. I mean I I think I think like I think the you know the food combos ice cream and pizza. Yeah.

you know, if you can do both of those, you know, because it because it's with restaurants in general, it's it's kind of tough because there's not many of them have huge, you know, budgets to do this kind of stuff. Yeah. So, I mean, that doesn't mean you can't you can't find a nice local restaurant, say, "Hey, you know, I'll give you a free ad and do a free appetizer." And that's and that's a I think that's kind of just a a hair below doing like a Dairy Queen or a pizza, right? Because the Dairy Queen and pizza, those are like the, you know, I got home late from work.

It's, you know, there's that that pizza deal on the on that card versus, you know, Yeah. you know, so there there's different ways to do it, but I just think that that the restaurants are a tough gig, but um you know, there there are some out there that will spend money on it. I mean, I look in Valpac and there's a bunch of Mexican restaurants and and things like that. So, yeah. Yeah, true.

But um I don't know if anybody else in here deals with the uh um feeling like um you I I have this thing I have I suffer from imposer imposttor syndrome. So I um so this is this is actually sort of out of my wheelhouse but it's I'm pushing myself out of my comfort zone to do it. So, I don't know if anybody else feels like that or has or just deals with that like nobody, right? Everybody's quiet. I I think I I mean I don't necessarily deal with that, but I think it's it's common.

Mhm. Because because you're not proven. Yeah. You have nothing to stand on. That's true.

Yeah. And it's like I It's like I told that guy yesterday, you know, that that I haven't done any of these. And I I said to him, I said I said, "This isn't rocket science what I'm proposing here." Well, you're right. Yeah.

And I said, as we're talking about your business on a card, I said, "I can handle that." I said, "If you" I said, "If you want me to do a backflip," I said, "I'm the wrong guy. It's not going to happen." And he kind of laughed. And I mean I mean at some level it's like you know owning that newness.

If you if you're if you're feeling like you're you know do I have a right to be having this conversation. I almost think owning it is is a good thing that hey I'm super excited. This is a you know I've seen so much direct mail. You know we all do and and what I'm doing is very very different. and I'm excited about it.

This is going to be the first card going out of this area and I'd love you to be a part of it. And um you know, you're going to be my my only nail salon on there. And yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

And I just think of owning it, you're, you know, it's because and then and then once and then once you have, you know, a handful of of um, you know, like uh, you know, kind of a a wide array of of local businesses, then you can start slapping people and saying, "Yeah, well, I've got Yeah. I've got CertaPro. I've got Mattress Warehouse. I've got Dairy Queen. I've got these are these are great local businesses."

and you want to run with them. Yeah. The confidence will come with Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, agreed.

But, um, yeah, I don't know what There's Mitch right there. He hasn't said much. Oh, I see a chat. So, has everybody um at least do you have a a Facebook page? Did you set up like a page yet?

See, I personally didn't. Yeah, you didn't. And I And it's And I haven't It's not like a on purpose or anything. I just All I've done is is um is my website and that's that's where I direct people and and when I direct people there, if I'm talking to them or if it's, you know, electronically, I always tell people that Yeah. that um you know all the information you need to know and all the pricing is there.

I'm not hiding anything. There's it's it's you know go on there you'll see what I'm doing and um Right. because a lot of times when you send people to a website it's it you know it doesn't have pricing. It doesn't tell you the full story. So Right.

Yes. Yeah. I I put up a a website as well because Yeah. I would want people to go look, you know. Um, but I also I also have a a Facebook page which is and I haven't used uh honestly I haven't used Facebook Messenger because I'm so afraid that I am going to get kicked but I have had three businesses come to me through um messenger which I still have to do a followup.

So they came to me from uh me posting in um community groups and like um just business small business groups. Yeah. I posted in the the local Yeah. community group and I I posted it was actually on St. Patrick's Day and I put some you know a picture on there like St.

Patrick's Day related. And um and I forget what I said. It was just really simple and and um I got crickets really. I got I got I got nothing. I got no comments, no messages, likes.

Go screw yourself. I got nothing. I was like, "Wow, that was that was a that was awesome." Yeah. Yeah.

No, I uh Well, what I do is I go around and I follow all these small businesses. Follow. Follow. And then I just I'll take some time during the day and like, you know, because when I like it, my my name pops up, you know, on it. And um that's that's a good idea.

That's a good idea. Just like their stuff, you know, that's what I've been doing. And they're like, "Well, what the heck's that, you know, so they'll come over and maybe look." And I I mean, I had my Facebook up, I don't know, a few days. I only have I have like 24 followers and several businesses.

You know, it's getting there, but just and I post I post sort of throughout the day. I'll just make something on Canva and I'll ask chat GPT how to word something so I'm not sitting there, you know, trying to figure it out, you know? So, yeah. I think I think I think chat GPT is if like I use chat GPT constantly because like Yes. You know just you know when you're doing this all day long some of your messaging kind of gets a little bit stale.

Yep. And I'll take an email and before I send it I'll grab it and I'll put it in chat GPT and say rewrite this and and I and I'm like oh wow I sound super smart. Yeah. Yeah. I know.

Oh. So, so yeah, that's I mean I think chat GPT is great, especially when you're uh you know, cuz like I like I was like I I I used it like with like this pest control place I'm dealing with, you know, I'm like give me, you know, give me 10 pest control uh taglines because they don't have one. Yeah. Um so just little stuff like that is is helpful. Mhm.

Yeah. Yeah. Because we'd be sitting there like like I'm not some professional marketer. I'm just, you know, just me and I would just be sitting there for like too long trying to figure out just wording, you know, and, you know, waste of time. Yeah.

Yep. But that's how I do it, too. Um I don't know. I know. I just think it's a little bit of a grind.

Um it's not in everybody's wheelhouse. Certainly not mine. Um it's funny. My um my husband is a salesman in in Bar Harbor, Maine, so I sort of I have a little bit of ins in there. So, I uh but I'm I'm trying to do I'm doing a card for May and I'm doing a two cards for June.

I just sort of uh one is going to be like it. I'm in Maine. I'm in northern Maine. Mitch Mitch is like southern Maine. So, I'm up here and um near Bar Harbor and some place called Bangor.

probably everybody doesn't know where that is anyway. Um, so I want to do like, you know, the vacation area and then a regular city. But I don't know. I'm just going to keep pushing forward, contacting contacting contacting just constantly, you know. I think I think I mean I think you're right.

I mean, I just I think that the the sooner you can swallow the pill of that first card Yeah. it the the I think that's where you know things kind of loosen up a little bit. You have a a platform to stand on and and um and some credibility and things like that. So I mean Yeah. Yeah.

But it's I mean like you know it's I mean I've been I've been selling my entire career. We don't need to know how long that is, but it's been a long time. And and it's I think I mean I I don't care who you are, what your experience is when you when you look at this and you've got it just just call it you know what 16 spaces. That's that's overwhelming. That's that's you know because I mean I've I've sold you know like when I was doing digital marketing stuff you know I could sell and I could sell one website and maybe it was maybe it was $5,000.

Yeah. You know that's not this. No. And and you know and I and I have my days where I feel like my god I just got the crap kicked out of me all day today. and you know where you feel like you wasted your time and you're just is this it like I don't know well and and and I and I've just in the last week or so I'm I'm trying to think of things from a simpler perspective and that's that try to sell one ad today.

Yes. Yeah. Just just sell an ad. Yep. And like, you know, yesterday it was bad.

And then at the end of the day, I got the the uh I sold the small ad to the to the home improvement company, which was a disappointment because I really thought he was going to go with a larger ad. Mhm. But it was I'm like, you know, okay, it's it's a win. Yeah. And um so I I I felt good about that.

And then of course, you know, at 9:30 at night, I got the the boat rental company. So, yeah, you know, I I was pretty pleased with, you know, basically $800 in business yesterday. Mhm. And, you know, I'll I'll in and today I will, you know, periodically be texting some of these companies to just see if I can catch them when they're not doing what they do. Wow.

Yeah, that's a great idea, honestly. Right. Yeah. So it's, you know, as as the, you know, they all say, if it was easy, you know, everybody would do it. Absolutely.

That is true. That is Yeah. And like in in my biggest disease that I've dealt with over the years is is overanalyzing stuff. Yes. and and and you know doing the kind of stuff where it's like you know you wait until like everything lines up in the universe before you actually pick up a phone or um you know do anything with it.

Yeah. Yeah. you get you get into the busy work and then avoid the the hard the hard stuff that actually brings because the only the only hurdle I put in front of myself with this was I'm like I've I've got to have a website. That was just and and thankfully you know with the you know the solutions you know we found in the group and stuff it was it was a really quick thing. I mean, I already had a domain name and my email was already set up.

So, it was just it was super quick. Yeah. And so, I felt much better about, you know, doing what I needed to do. Right. Yeah.

I think I've already put hurdles in front of myself because of that the uncomfortableness of you know this those there's this is tough to get those you know contacts and and do just do it you know so I think I've gotten myself into a little bit of busy work and it's I I I think it's you know because like I think the thing that I'm I'm most intimidated about it in this now is is the design piece of it just because like I mean Canva is a great tool and you can do a million things with it but to do those things you have to have a little bit of vision like to you know I because I somebody posted I don't know who it was they posted like it was a I think it was a Chinese restaurant and it was it was a relatively simple ad I mean like had a there was a picture of food and then there was like something laid over top of it that was really light that you could see the food through it but they wrote on it was just I'm like well I would never thought of that and so like my my daughter she's she's graduating from high school this year she's she's much better with that. Yeah. But what I've also told her, I'm like, is as we do this and stuff, you know, it's, you know, go and like look up realtor postcards, realtor ads or PE, you know, just to get ideas. Yeah. And um so she's she's kind of taken that off my plate a little bit so I don't I don't think or worry about it quite as much.

Right. And um yeah, I don't I see I don't have that problem as far as like I mean I I just started using Canva quite honestly, but I don't I'm artsy anyway, so it's Yeah, I have that vision, but Yeah. See, I'm I'm I'm very very creative, but I'm I'm creative when it comes to writing. Yeah. See?

Yeah. I'm not I'm not visually creative. Mhm. I guess I'm full of crap or something, but you know, but um I guess if anybody else is, uh kind of stuck on the design and you're like, "I can't do this." I don't know.

Definitely. Yes. Google, you know, for whatever for I think that's a that's just sort of Yeah. It's a good inspiration for stuff. I think that's good.

Yep. Yep. just change colors and just get inspiration and Yeah, because this is I mean it's all doable just but thank goodness we have Canva. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

Yeah. I think you and I have had a good call. We have. Next time just call me directly. I will.

I'll just get on the horn. Yeah. Hey, I have a couple questions for the group. If um anybody else wants to chat or maybe you guys hop in. Yeah.

My question is are you guys is mostly everybody doing 5,000 or 10,000 mailings? I'm doing