Don't just make connections, Convert them.

As you prepare to be at iblog, there are a couple of things I want you to consider. The first is called "Connections"

Connections are events and people which connect us to a desirable goal or dream we have. These events and people present themselves to us everyday.

If you watched Omojuwa's interview at iblog, he makes reference to the event "occupy Nigeria" as a catalyst which amplified him and his blog. Are there impending or current events presenting opportunities to you?

The scholarship you need, the sponsorship if only you could get, the easy way out you wish you had? What if it was in your phone?  Make the connection.

The second thought I want you to ponder on as you prepare to be at iBlog an exact week from today is called "Conversions"

Conversions are desirable actions or behaviours you want your connections/customers to have. For instance on my blog, when a visitor goes from landing on a page to reading an article and leaving a comment, I have had one conversion. If he or she only reads and makes no comment then I have none. Conversions can also be in levels. E.g Level one can be having pages of my blog viewed, another level could be having comments as a result of what was viewed, another could be having return visits by the page viewer and yet another could be having that viewer subscribe.

For this blog, in addition to entertaining, I hope each article gives reason for reflection, dialogue and conversation long after the visitor has left. That something sticks in the memory and forms a part of their resolve to take action of some kind.

So the question is, what behavior do you want from people who connect with you through your blog or social media?

Are you getting conversions? Are readers becoming customers, are posts accruing to sales, are page views leading to shared views? Is there any value, is there any dialogue?

Think about you and the reasons why you or your organization puts thing out there, then see if you are achieving conversions with the way you are going about it.

Recently, a colleague of mine said out loud, "I did not come here by chance." What he was alluding to was there was a reason why he was in the environment work had planted him in and he sought to see his positioning beyond a job for the present but as a connection to the future either one of his own imaginings or one equally pleasant but totally beyond his immagination.

The conversation continued leading me to ask myself some questions.

What was I there for too?

Were there opportunites my open eyes couldn't see?

Connections my receptive heart wasn't making?

Connections my "open" mind wasn't adding up?

Food for thought.

The influence you seek, the money you wished you had, the book you'd always wanted to write? What if it is in your blog? How can you convert your blog to that book or blogging to business making?

How can you convert those connections on your phone to cash?

How can you convert people you are meeting to information you are looking for?

Think on these things.

It is not enough to make connections, convert them.

When they say to do what you've never done to get what you've never got, I don't neccesarily agree. It might be worthwhile to do nothing new or meet no one new but just look at what we currently have or where we are and use that better!

See you at iBlog.