In Part 2 of my interview with Jared Elvidge, we discovered what spurred him into becoming what is sure to be a leading provider of internet marketing education value.
Now, we will discover a new twist on the term “random acts of kindness” and introduce you to The Social Networking Academy.
KATHY: As I mentioned, I knew there was something special about you. When you told me that your new site was going to be called “Random Acts of Internet Marketing Kindness,” I couldn’t help but smile! True to your word, you offer just that – uplifting tools for marketing professionals that you do not even charge for.
For example, I received your catalog of button graphics that I’m free to use however I wish – on any website I wish – and you won’t charge me a dime. And just the other day I watched your video that is aimed at helping others get through those exasperating – but predictable times where we just “get stuck.” That video alone had to take you quite a while to make!
What I thought was especially powerful is that it doesn’t matter whether we’re working for ourselves, or we’re part of a corporate team – sometimes we just “get stuck” and your video spoke to us in a universal way. THAT is powerful.
What was your inspiration – your “muse” for this site, and what direction do you forsee this site taking?
JARED: Well, a few different things led to me launching the Random Acts of Internet Marketing Kindness fan page (a FaceBook tool). One was that I was providing Internet Marketing related help in several different related Facebook groups, and I thought it sure would be easier to consolidate all the questions and answers into one place.
Another was that I just saw a real need. There are so many people wanting to learn how to earn an income online, and a lot of time they go through the right courses and/or follow the right mentors but they still get stuck on little technical things, or things they just don’t understand even after going through the training materials they have access to. It felt like a good fit for me with my experience on the technical side of this business for so many years, and with my experience on the marketing side of the business, to try filling in the gaps and helping people get “un-stuck” if that’s even a word.
KATHY: Jared, let me interrupt for just a moment. You just said something EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that I feel needs emphasis. You said, “I just saw a real need.” Jared, all the wisest teachers on earth tell us that if we see a need, and do our best to respond to that need – no matter where we are – work, home, socially, etc. – then we are DELIVERING VALUE. And delivering value – again, no matter where we are, no matter how seemingly small – is key to our success as individuals, as teams, as families, as humans. It truly is about delivering value.
JARED: I love helping people out, and this project gives me an opportunity to do that, as well as build a list and provide tons of value to that list. After all, that’s important if we’re to be successful internet marketers, right? You have to build a list and figure out ways to over deliver on value to our lists. In the near future, I’ll have a free website set up that will house all the random acts of IM kindness that I’m planning to send out, so people can more easily access back videos, “gifts” and resources.
KATHY: There’s that “delivering value” again! Are you still consulting outside of your new endeavors? If so, what are your primarly services, and how do you market yourself? 
JARED: In the past, I’ve been fortunate that most good business opportunities have come from word of mouth referrals so I haven’t had to do a lot of “marketing myself.” I also have marketed in search engines a lot in the past and have gained some good exposure and opportunities from speaking at live internet marketing events. I do have a few private coaching clients and do handle an occasional SEO or web design/development project.
But for now most of my time and energy is being devoted to The Social Networking Academy membership site, a project I’ve partnered on with the lovely Jo Barnes. After becoming fascinated with using social media (Facebook specifically) as a traffic source, it was a natural! I look up to Jo and Chris Farrell a lot! I’ll have a couple other things coming out later in the year as well.
KATHY: Well, you are working on the same type of frequency that Chris and Jo are – It is not at all surprising that they would naturally gravitate towards working with someone like you! This is, again, a great illustration of reaping what you sow!
In the next part of this feature, we’ll cover ideas which work for any business or life path, or for formulating goals and objectives.
