What Happens When You Get To Know Your Connections?

Sometimes staying “connected” with your mailing list can bring about a few surprises.  While you are emailing people about something you want – probably pertaining to book sales, publicity, or something professionally – recipients may respond with answers you don't expect, such as the ones a recent emailing yielded for me.

“My son’s in a coma and could have died,” read one.

“I lost my husband a few months ago,” read another.

“My mom’s been ill for a few weeks,” wrote one woman.

Their candor and ability to share their unfortunate circumstances surprised me at first.  How does one respond when they hear bad news from people they are connected to, but really don’t know and likely never met? What would I expect people to tell me if I said such things to them?

Life is always going on all around us.  While we focus on writing or selling or promoting or editing a book, someone could be sick or dying or divorcing or losing a job or experiencing any of the joys and sorrows that come in the fine print of our contract with life.

I felt deeply touched by the information shared with me, and yet wondered of the others that were too distraught to respond or those who were unwilling to reveal their struggles and traumas.  It made me remember that life is precious and fragile.

There’s no way to prepare for how your connections will respond to your business queries.  You may just find yourself feeling a little more connected when they share real-life stuff.  Maybe that’s the best thing about social media – it can bring strangers together in a way that still has a human element.

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This blog is copyrighted material by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2013