Today I jumped in on a group coaching call with my dear friend and life coach Marla Tabaka. She asked me to speak to her group on social media marketing. As she introduced me, she started listing all of my accomplishments – being on the Today Show, writing for Entrepreneur.com, and working with Epson and Kmart, to name a few. It all sounded so BIG – like the Oprah show would be calling any minute. 
Lately I’ve been giving a ton of thought to the whole internet fame thing – and the last 6 months have completely changed my attitude about PR for PR’s sake. I used to think that any publicity is good publicity. But after experiencing it, I can honestly say it ain’t all that. Sure, it’s a huge ego boost, and sure, it opens doors, and sure, I could be leveraging all of my big PR moments into book deals, big name clients, more speaking gigs, and more television appearances.
But that is not the business I want to be in.
When I started Sparkplugging, I wanted to create an advertising and affiliate based website that would generate passive income even when I was helping my kids with their homework or out boating with the family. The business of internet fame is the exact opposite of that – not only did I have to work to become ‘famous’, I had to work even harder to maintain it. The impact on my work schedule was gruesome – and the impact on my bottom line was similarly pitiful.
This summer I completely backed away from all of my PR and social media promotion, and focused solely on creating content and search engine optimization. And by the end of August, I earned more in 30 days than I had all last year.
The reason I say this is because I had no idea how much time I was wasting on something I thought was important to my business – only to find that simple hard work is what really pays the bills.
It’s not glorious work.
I won’t be getting on TV any time soon for it.
Nobody has asked to interview me about it.
I’m not getting any speaking gigs because of it.
And I’ve never been happier with my business.
So, my Monday Motivation question for our readers today is this:
If you are struggling with your business, are you doing anything that isn’t giving you a return on your investment of time or money?
And if you just buckled down and did the unsexy, boring, and tedious work that needs to be done, how much better off do you think you would be?
In the spirit of decidedly unsexy, my Monday Motivation to do list is:
- Finish my YTD balance sheet by noon on Wednesday
- Clear out 200 emails from my inbox by end of day Wednesday, and
- Pay two bills before I go to sleep tonight
If I don’t have all of this done by the end of the day tomorrow, I’ll throw down another $250 loan to Kiva entrepreneurs.
I’m grateful to RGN and the You.Propelled community, as it’s because of their sponsorship that I am getting so much done lately. You can thank them for my reappearance on this blog, because otherwise I would still be search engine optimizing and creating content for my kids network. 
I’d encourage you to get something done and enter a proclamation on their site, because it’s even more satisfying than crossing something off your to-do list (because I’m so unsexy like that).
So what are you going to get done today?
This post is sponsored by Propel® for the You.Propelled Program.
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Sparkplugging Founder Wendy Piersall is dang passionate about helping people start & grow a business while maintaining life balance (somehow). 
Easton Ellsworth is owner of 
Wendy, I applaud you for sharing this so frankly with our readers.
Too many people are on this PR train to nowhere. They’re working too darned hard for too darned little hoping for this big end game promise that only a precious few ever experience.
I’m not raining on any parades here. If you want to be famous – go for it. But if you realize you really just want to get paid for doing something you enjoy – relax and go for that instead.
Brilliantly said, Wendy
I’m still in the stage of getting all that publicity together so that, hopefully, I can figure out how to use it for monetary purposes. So, I’ll take what I can get. lol
Lovely post Wendy. Since I see/experience the same emotional journey in the “employment” world I’d say we have a universal lesson here. Why are we working/running a business if not to enjoy the people in our lives that mean the most to us, go to bed happy at night AND pay the bills? The other stuff – promise of fame or promotions – are off-road distractions.
Great post, Wendy. A lot of people who are new to the idea of working at home see the “famous people” and think that is what they need to be like them in order to be successful.
I think we fail to realize that what we are seeing is what these people want us to see — the glitz and glamour. We don’t know if these people are really happy or if they are tired, stressed, and unsatisfied.
I’m glad you were able to spend this summer re-discovering what makes you happy about an internet business!
I’m seeing a lot of ‘revelations’ in the world of the internets and IM in particular. Andy Jenkins leaving StomperNet, for instance, and you taking your own step back, analyzing, and heading off again in the direction YOU want to go.
Seems 2009 has been a life-changer for a lot of us…
Nicely said, Wendy. I have been trying to drive the same point to my readers/clients/customers for a while now.
Whether it’s blogging or Twitter…popularity doesn’t always get you to where your business goals are.
Everyone wants to be an A-list blogger. I’m happy being a $-list blogger.
As Caroline Middlebrook likes to say, popularity doesn’t pay the mortgage!
Social media promotion is definitely not a high leverage activity for anyone focused primarily on income. Social traffic tends to be untargeted and converts poorly, since it’s comprised mainly of browsers. Search traffic, on the other hand, is made of people actively trying to solve a problem or learn a skill, even if that means clicking on an ad.
More and more bloggers are becoming disillusioned with the notion that making the A-list is their ticket to financial independence. The trick is to figure out all the search funnels into your niche, and optimize for that.
Congratulations on shifting your priorities, and those lovely August revenues that followed!
I don’t care what anybody says – paying the mortgage IS oh so SEXY!
One thing if for sure and Wendy said it nicely but the truth is, “popularity doesn’t pay the bills.”
Wendy thank you for showing that being popular ain’t all that is your wallet is not fat
It is a joke!
On a serious note I am always telling my clients that it is not worth it to use social media and get all the PR you need if there is nothing for your target market to really chew on.
Very nicely said Wendy!!
I had this same revelation earlier this spring when attending a big-time event with a lot of high level coaches, authors, internet gurus etc. It all seemed to be who could get stage time, camera time, etc. I saw a lot of “striving.”
Not criticizing anyone for what they want from their business, but what I want is lifestyle == meaning the most $$ for the least time invested. I don’t care to be anyone’s guru. It’s just not important to me.
In teaching other moms who are new to the net, I think we’re more in the majority too. Nothing wrong with strategic publicity that opens important connections, but cash flow is primary.
This was so refreshing for a relatively new mom in the blogosphere. What I want is to focus on what makes money so I can live the life I want to live. Some PR doesn’t hurt if it comes naturally, but it’s good idea to put my time into the more profitable tasks.
I really appreciate your input.
Fantastic blog post and comments that are just as astute! I don’t think I can say more than Kelly did in comment #1 or Becki in #13 so I’ll leave it as, “Well said by all!”
You have no idea how energizing those words really sound! Weird how slowing down actually gives the opposite effect, but I can understand. Always appreciate your honest and forthcoming nature.
I would say that the only criterion for sexiness is results, results & results. So, its sexy, for sure.
Keep rocking, Wendy!
I’m go glad you wrote this. I really do not want to be famous, online or anywhere. I do want to be appreciated though. But most of all, I just want to make money. And I thought you needed to be famous and popular before you could make that money.
In fact, I just came to your blog to figure out what you did to build up your fame. But you saying that it is not worth is means a lot to me!
Content and SEO it will be for me! Thanks for the advice.