The Internet Has a Long Memory

So many people are afraid of publishing on the internet because “screenshots are forever.” That’s a good mentality if you’re hesitant to start sexting with the guy you met on Tinder. However, that mentality holds you back in business. See, as small business owners, we can use this to our advantage. As we continue to publish online, we build a net part of the internet. It’s a connected network of pages and references to our names, our businesses, and our expertise. Don’t worry how many views your blog post gets. Worry about not publishing again. 

(00:03):
Welcome to the Launch With Words podcast, with your host, Bridget Willard. We're going to talk about all things. Content, blogging, articles, videos, whatever has words and goes on your website.

(00:21):
Hey, thanks for tuning in for the fifth episode in this first season. We're going to talk about the internet having a long memory. Now, if you are SnapChatting and sexting with the guy you met on Tinder, Bumble, Match, whatever -- or the gal -- then the internet, having a long memory should be a concern for you.

(00:45):
However, if you're building your business, don't let that mentality interfere with publishing your blog posts. It's so easy to think that it doesn't matter, but every connection you make matters when you're publishing. You're building the net part of "inter-net." It's an interworking network. Right? It's a network. It's a web. It's connections. It is a digital version of how we do business online. It's a digital version of how we do business in person. It's a representation of your expertise, of your length in business, of your personality, of your company, of your name, the personal branding of, of you.

(01:43):
So when you're hesitant to blog, because you don't think it's important, I would remind you of my favorite Chinese proverb: "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today."

(02:03):
Start today, start writing 300 to 500 word blog posts, and then don't stop the writing. Publish. Publish those blog posts. Tell people who you are. What makes you different? Why do people want to hire you? Right? Why are you the best roofing contractor? Why should they buy a Trane air conditioning unit from you? If it's a Trane, does it matter who installs it? Why should they buy a Honda Civic from your dealership and not the one 20 miles away?

(02:48):
Why should they hire you? Why should they hire you to build a website? What makes you special? What makes you unique? Do you know a lot about a certain industry? Are you an expert in mortgages? Do you work with only financial services? This is, this is what matters.

(03:12):
We want to know who you are as customers and with the Shop Local movement, becoming more of the commonality with millennial purchasers -- who are 40, by the way -- they want their money to go to a business that recognizes their own goals. If you're not supporting a nonprofit, you should, and then blog about why you do that. These kinds of goals matter. You know?

(03:45):
So when I encourage my clients and friends to write and publish, write and publish, write and publish, I do this because it takes a long time for results to show. People said to me,when I moved to Texas, "Wow, Bridget you've really become a success overnight."

(04:08):
Or when I changed my career from being, uh, an office manager /secretary/accountant, to working at a advertising agency in the franchise development world, "wow, that's an overnight success."

(04:24):
Well, it doesn't feel like an overnight success to me when I've been doing this work since 2009. It doesn't feel like an overnight success to me when I've been working since I was 14 years old. It doesn't feel like an overnight success to me when I've made intentional d