Stop being a "ghost" follower
Do you follow and admire other Experts from afar and never engage with their content?
Stop being a ghost follower and step out of the shadows.
This morning, I posted an article to my Facebook page.
It was a personal story, one that wasn’t related to photography or visual storytelling in any way.
Within 5 minutes, someone reached out to me through a private DM and talked about how deeply it resonated with him because of how relatable the story was to his life and what he’s going through.
Paragraph after paragraph, he poured out thoughts through direct messenger that were inspired by what he read.
At the end, he thanked me for sharing such vulnerability and asserted that this article will help others like us to be able to feel better about what they’re currently living through.
I thanked him for reading the post and reaching out, and we left it at that.
After I closed the chat box, I reflected on this short, but meaningful exchange, and it all began with one question:
Who the hell was that and where did he come from?
Turns out it was someone who has been following me for years in the shadows and although we are connected as friends on Facebook, I’ve never had a conversation with him before.
In hindsight, this reality is a shame as we’ve both discovered that we have things in common and it would be nice to have had more conversations than just the one we had digitally.
This brings me to the reason why I brought this up.
How many of you religiously follow people online and never make your presence known?
You read their social posts, signed up for their newsletter, listen to their live streams, and yet, have never said a word to them digitally or in person?
Why are you hiding in the shadows like a ghost?
I can tell you from the content creator standpoint that despite the shittiest of days, when someone takes 3 minutes to write a comment, DM me a note or respond in an e-mail to my newsletter, it immediately lights me up.
Not because I think I just booked another client. Not because I just positively affected my open rate.
It’s because the words mattered to them. It made them feel something. It connected with them. And it made them not feel alone while dealing with their own struggle.
At the end of the day, I’m in the business of creating relationships with people so as to be the person they turn to when they need to present themselves as the expert they are in their photos.
But I’m also a living, breathing human being that wants to help others in any way I can.
And you can damn sure believe I’m not the only content creator who feels that way.
Words create worlds. They incite thought, curiosity and motivation to help move others forward on their journeys.
They move the needle one way or the other.
And, if there are people in your world that do the same for you, let them know it. It will absolutely brighten their day.
At the very least, it will let them know that someone, ANYONE, is not only consuming their work, but it’s actually hitting home.
The next time you come across a post or article from someone that you follow and it resonates with you, let them know it.
Comment. Share. Email the person. Do something that lets the author know they made an impression on your outlook on life and business.
Step out of the shadows and let it be known.
It’s magical when you do :)