No… your business doesn’t rely on Facebook. You’re just addicted.
What I’m about to tell you will definitely trigger some people. But it will also help a small minority who take my advice break free from the matrix, take back control of their brain, and also help them double or possibly triple their income in a very short time.
Let the triggering commence…
One thing I commonly hear from a lot of freelancer copywriters, coaches and service providers is “My business relies on Facebook. It’s where I find my best clients.”
Those two statements might be true for you too.
And if they are, then you need to make a big change in your life.
How I Unplugged From The Matrix
I used to believe I needed Facebook to find freelance copywriting clients.
The truth was, I was addicted to the platform. I’m OK with admitting that. (They got me!)
That was until one of my mentors reached out and told me that if I ever wanted to be successful, I would get the hell off that platform ASAP and never look back.
At first, I thought this dude was crazy.
But, I suspended my disbelief long enough to hear out what he was saying.
“Facebook is an entertainment platform, first and foremost. Their goal is to keep you there as long as possible. That’s how they make a profit.”
He went on: “Years ago, Facebook brought in consultants from the big casinos in Vegas to help make the platform more addicting. And it worked.”
Man, this was a lot to process.
He went on to explain some of the inner workings of how FB was engineered. And I realized that everything he said was true. I even looked it up. It all checked out.
It was after this talk I realized that Facebook and other social media platforms are heroin for entrepreneurs.
One hit and you’re hooked.
The Facebook Casino
Every entrepreneur who posts on Facebook to try and ‘win’ a client is essentially spinning a roulette wheel.
It’s easy to see why it’s so addicting.
“This might be the post that causes someone to reach out to me. This new post might bring me money.”
Sure, ok. You’re right. I guess you could say that about all advertisements you run. I can understand why you might think similar thoughts.
But here’s why it’s a bit different.
I could understand why running a direct response ad might make you feel like that.
But the level of narcissim and just straight up weird shit people post on Facebook to try and attract clients is truly amazing.
Next time you go on Facebook, take a step back and look at the kind of behavior you see on that platform. Really examine it and be like “Is this normal? Or is this a little weird?”
Your vision and perception was probably clouded, like mine was. But try and look at the shit people post there with an objective eye and you’ll see what I mean.
I guarantee you’ll some some things that will make you LOLOLOLOLOLOL at how cringeworthy they are.
The Detox
About two months ago, I heeded my mentors advice.
I wanted to unplug. I wanted to get the hell out of the casino. I wanted my focus back.
And here’s what happened:
My income doubled.
Now, is this BECAUSE I stopped hanging on Facebook for hours a day?
Maybe, maybe not. I’d probably err on the side and say, not.
(After all, I’ll admit it. I still log on a few times a week. But only for about 2–3 minutes at a clip to respond back to messages or to check on the performance of ads my clients are running.)
But here’s what getting off the platform DID do for me.
I had more focus. I got more work done, in less time. I started getting more leads from new sources. Probably because I started producing so much more content.
Here’s why I think this happened:
You can either be a creator or a consumer. It’s very hard to do both. You can really only choose one. And if you don’t make a choice, it’s already made for you.
And being a creator on Facebook is pointless… all of that good content will eventually vanish into the ether.
But… but… but… my business is different. My business actually depends on getting clients through Facebook.
Well then… that seems to be a big fucking problem, doesn’t it?
How the HELL did you let that happen?
Listen:
I am friends with some of the biggest social media gurus out there. The biggest. Wildly successful people who built their businesses on social.
Wanna know what they all have in common?
Email lists.
Their own websites/platforms.
Products and other assets that exist OFF the platform
Business systems and marketing messages that can be adapted for any platform or medium.
Want to know what else they all have in common?
Facebook could vanish tomorrow and they’d be fine. In fact, most of them would probably start making more money.
I understand if Facebook is where all your clients come from at the current moment. We all start there.
But that is a horrible long term strategy.
I have met and still meet some clients via FB. But I move them off the platform as quickly as possible. I get their email, I get them on the phone, I get them on skype, I get them on my email list.
You can do the same. The question just becomes… how many more spins of the roulette wheel are you gonna play before you finally wise up?
The Facebook Slap Is Coming…
And I guarantee it will be 10x worse than the Google slap that happened years ago.
I’ve seen a lot of articles like this recently. Facebook is trying to increase profits. Shocking… amirite?
So they’re going to want you to pay for people to see your posts. They obviously already do this by selling ads. But they’re now going to want you to do it for your organic stuff as well. Either that, or they’ll bury your posts.
Hey… don’t hate the playa, hate the game.
There are a staggering amount of people who’s businesses are built on a shaky house of cards that will come tumbling down soon. Remember…
History repeats itself.
Thousands of highly profitable businesses were wiped out in a day when the Google slap happened.
History repeats itself.
It’s going to happen again, the only question is… will you be affected?
History repeats itself.
You’re not a bad person if you use FB to attract clients. You’re not dumb. You’re not going to go bankrupt and die tomorrow.
That’s not what I’m saying.
Personally, I think FB and the other social media platforms have greatly democratized the process of starting a business… and have lowered the barrier of entry for anyone who wants to get started.
That is both a blessing a curse.
You could lose everything tomorrow and use a free Facebook account to start getting some leads reaching out to you. Hell… when I was a teacher, I ran my entire freelance copy business with three free tools (Facebook, Gmail & Google Docs, and Skype). And ss soon as I got traction, I started building a REAL business.
But on the other side of that coin, any dickhead copywriter who read a a few issues of The Gary Halbert letter can also freely dole out terrible, horrible, no good, very bad advice to unsuspecting business owners.
I see this happen all the time and it pisses me of. Kids who just regurgitate quotes they’ve seen in books written by great men without adding any original thought… without ever speaking from experience… or without ever understand the context of what they’re posting.
Sometimes… depending on who your friends are… you’ll find that your newsfeed might not be the #1 place to go for high level business advice.
The Real Reason I Wrote This Article
I didn’t write this to piss you off.
I wrote this to challenge your thinking and help move you to a higher level of security and sanity.
A majority of the other people, beside you, who read my articles are either current clients, potential clients, or writers I coach.
(There’s a useful client attraction hint buried somewhere in that last sentence.)
And I refuse to lead the people under my care astray. I refuse to let them succumb to the same mistakes I have made.
If you want to ignore everything I just wrote, that is totally fine. We can still be friends. (Just not on Facebook).
But I think that if you detox a bit and start building better systems in your business… you’ll see how much better the world is when you step out of the matrix.
Feeling triggered? Think I’m a moron? Leave a comment! Let’s roll around in the mud!
Like this article? Think it’s something that might help other people? Did I make you laugh, or cry or feel something deep inside?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
And while you’re at it… make sure you sign up for my free email newsletter at www.chris-orzechowski.com
