How to be a marketer with a professional day job.. reality check please.

[Sandy G]

Hello
I have not posted on this forum before. I am back looking to start an online business again, having tried unsuccessfully a few years ago and given up. Now I am more serious about it, especially as the joy in my work is decreasing and the income is fixed.
One issue is great at stopping me going full out and it has surfaced again today.
I am a social worker in child protection at the moment. It is not a job in which I want to attract a lot of attention online as I may make myself vulnerable. Also employers/ clients etc may do a Google check and I wonder how they'd react to see a whole other identity showing up!
Many kinds of internet marketing do depend on being public. I bought a product this morning and it suggests using Linked In to find prospects. I also think being a woman with an odd name doesn't help...!
Sometimes I think of focussing more on social work related topics. But as Lynn said somewhere, when you've done it all day you want to do something different...
Anyway I'd appreciate any thoughts/suggestions. The internet feels like such a small world ! I do go round in circles in my head about this and it is wasting precious time.

Thanks

Sandy G

[DebraLloyd]

Hey Sandy,
I totally understand your concern - Lynn has a great story about how someone showed up in her back yard one day http://www.lynnterry.tv/301/trolls/ so although it's a different perspective it's kind of the same issue.

I'm a single Mom just as Lynn is and for many years it was just my daughter and I in the house alone and I learned as Lynn did that if someone has your name and town if you own property and have it listed in your own name you can and will be found.

So using a pen name online can be just a smart way to protect your right to some degree of privacy and security. Sounds to me like you may want to develop a business based on something completely different from what you do now. I would look to other areas that you know or are interested in to find a nice you may enjoy and could get passionate about. There's nothing wrong for instance with a social worker having an interest in scrapbooking, cross stitch, photography, wigs or mobile phone accessories - you see where I'm going with that. The world really is your oyster online and you can build a business around anything that addresses a need or interest experienced or enjoyed by others.

Good luck with it all and most of all remember to have fun with it - you'll never look back!

Cheers,
Debra

[Sandy G]

Thanks so much Debra...you pointed me to a great post which does show one of the things that bothers me. I think the link
http://www.lynnterry.tv/307/privacy/ but I loved the trolls video too. I look forward to getting to know you and other people here.

Sandy G

[Lynn Terry]

Welcome Sandy

I understand your concerns. If I had to do it all over again, I would have used a pen name from the beginning. You can do that, and you can use private domain registration, and you can set up a PO Box for anywhere you are required to publish a physical mailing address (such as in your mailing list).

Debra makes some great recommendations regarding choosing your topic. Go with something you LOVE. Choose something that matches your "ideal lifestyle" dreams. If you love the opera for example, that's what you should blog about - as it will mean you get to "work" in the thing that you love, basically creating a lifestyle with a business that supports it. ;-)

[Chris2]

Lynn, you mean you would prefer to have used a pen name on Clicknewz? Really?

I totally agree about issues of privacy and staying safe, but this opens a whole new set of questions/issues in looking at it from another angle.

I'm going to start a new thread about Online Identity and toss out some thoughts and questions. I hope that's okay. I just don't want to take this thread in a different direction because the safety/security issues discussed here are very important!

[Lynn Terry]

Enjoying the thread you started, Chris - good idea!

But yes, and mainly because I'm a single woman. I don't have any huge regrets, just something that has popped into my head from time to time. Sometimes it would be nice to have a REAL facebook profile that isn't flooded with work stuff (or requests) where I could just talk to high school friends and my stepdaughters, etc. That's all. ;-)

[expatana]

This is something that concerns me, too, as I'm a single woman. I have a "brand" name but I wonder if a normal pen name would be better. On the other hand, being "real," with your real name (even a nickname) has its rewards, too. I like that Lynn is genuine and I guess one of the good things is that she uses her real name. It can be a symbolic boost to your readers and potential customers that you really are who you say you are. A tough issue when security is a concern.

[rhelling]

...okay Lynn, devils advocate here. If you had used a pen name, you probably wouldn't have been able to use videos or talk about your person life. Don't you think that's a bit why you've been successful...the honest/open approach?!?