Ok, so I'm going through my twitter account yesterday, trying to make a list of people who I can honestly say that I'm "friends" with. It's still an ongoing process. But I expect that by the time all is said and done, my "friends" list will encompass well south of 10% of the total amount of people that I follow.
Now maybe, just maybe, this says something about me ...
However, I strongly suspect that my personal experience is well within the norm.
So why does this matter?
Well for one thing, if I'm going to click a link ... and especially if it involves a potential purchase ... guess who's links I am mostly likely to click on?
Ding, Ding, Ding. The correct answer is ... the people who I already Know, Like and Trust.
And especially when it comes to something like twitter, if I'm going to make a list of people who's Tweets that I might actually, you know, READ ... guess who I'm most likely to put on it?
Which brings me full circle ...
I wonder how many of my own "followers", "readers", and even "friends" actually consider me to be someone they Know, Like and Trust?
Follower/Subscriber counts are just numbers, if there is no connection.
I'd rather be followed by 10 people who Know, Like and Trust me (and as a result might actually care what I have to say), than 100 (or even 1000) people who have simply added me to their list (probably in the hope that I'll add them back to mine).
What do you think?
Is it more important to build the list, and worry about the connections later?
Or ... should we focus on the connections, and have confidence that if enough people start to Know, Like and Trust us, the "list building" will pretty much take care of itself?
Just something to ponder on a Wednesday morning.
Todd
Todd Morris
Hey Todd! I think you build the list first and establish the relationship in subsequent interactions. It’s an interesting dynamic though, because it depends on how the subscribers to your list are acquired. Aside from that I would just like to say that I find your writing style entertaining. I do not very often add blogs to my list of regular read, but I have made note of yours!
Honestly Todd I don’t think having a huge list is of any use whatsoever other than to boost ones own personal ego. I reckon if I was to go through my list it would fall far short of 10%.
My problem is I tend to follow almost anyone that follows me. I used to have a button on my blog stating how many followers I had but I thought about it and decided the need to boost my vanity was pretty pathetic so I removed it.
Sire´s last blog ..Comments, The Lifeblood Of A Blog
This is an interesting post to think about. My belief is that after so long most people who come back to my blog on a consistent basis trust me, but I can only assume that. It might have to be a blog question to ask folks just to see. I know that I have enough people clicking on links and the like, but not many buyers, especially from the blog, and it either means they don’t trust me, they don’t like what I’m marketing, or they have no use for whatever I’m giving them.
Dag, now my head hurts.
lol, don’t worry Mitch, I’m sure you’re in good company when it comes to the head hurting on this subject. Blogging is relatively easy … (successfully) monetizing a blog’s traffic … not so much.
Ain’t that the truth! Sire and I have been talking about it on his blog; seems we get enough clicks on products, but few or no buyers, way under the estimated average for buyers.
Mitch´s last blog ..Holiday Special From Li’l Specs
@ Mitch – Or possible all three
Sorry mate, but you left yourself wide open for that one 
Sire´s last blog ..Why I No Longer Link To The Likes Of ProBlogger And John Chow
Man, getting heckled by Sire on other people’s blogs. Just because I do it to him… lol
BTW Todd, what plugin do you use for that tag world thing over to the right?
Mitch´s last blog ..Deciding When To Go To A Paid Model
Hey Mitch,
On my way out the door … but thanks for dropping by …
The plugin to make the spinning tag cloud is called wp-cumulus. lol, careful though, it’s like a toy … sometimes if I’m really bored, I’ll just spin it around for a minute or two … just for the heck of it.
That works great. I just added it to my blog, and it reduced how much space the right side of my blog was taking up with the regular tag cloud that comes with WP. Thanks!
Mitch´s last blog ..A New Thing In Subscribing To Comments
@ Mitch – Well it wouldn’t be polite to do it on your blog now would it?
I’ve been wondering about that cloud thingy. Does it use much CPU?
Sire´s last blog ..Why I No Longer Link To The Likes Of ProBlogger And John Chow
I don’t know if it uses any CPU, but I do know that it drastically reduced the space being used up on my sidebar.
Mitch´s last blog ..What’s Up With Broken Link Checker?
Well Mitch I’m afraid that just ain’t good enough. When I ask a question I need the appropriate answer
Sire´s last blog ..Why I No Longer Link To The Likes Of ProBlogger And John Chow
Well Sire, the thing is we don’t have worries about stuff like CPU in the U.S.; we have quality hosts that we can put our blogs on. LOL!
Mitch´s last blog ..Deciding When To Go To A Paid Model
Well that doesn’t tell me much seeing as how my host is American, or at least I thought it was.
Who are you with again?
Mitch´s last blog ..How I Write Blog Posts
Mmm, strange I’m not getting the reply to this comment option? I’m with BlueHost, and I thought all shared hosting sites had some sort of CPU issue.
Sire´s last blog ..The Myth That DoFollow Leaches Your PR
I’ve never heard of any from my host, but it’s possible; I just don’t know, and won’t worry about it until I’m getting tens of thousands of visitors spending lots of money and someone says “hey, back off”. lol
Mitch´s last blog ..2009’s Top Inventions
Yeah, that’s because it hasn’t been an issue for you yet. I’m just trying to make sure it doesn’t become one for me.
Sire´s last blog ..The New FTC Guidelines, How Fair Is It?