Every once in a while someone asks me if it’s OK to share one of my posts or videos, or perhaps link to them from their webpage. How polite of them to ask!
And, um, the answer is YES! If you want to, please link. If you are moved to, please share.
I wrote this invitation since I deliberately do not plead with people to share my stuff, to sign up to follow the blog, or to Like my FaceBook page. Those options are there for those who want them, but I promote them almost not at all.
It occurred to me, since people ask, that people may not really know that I would love my stuff to be shared around. So here is an invitation.
Pressure Tactics
I write a lot about negative reinforcement. One reason, I admit, is that I hate pressure, nagging, and attempts to influence my behavior, especially by self-interested people. A good friend says of me, “You’ll get along just fine with Eileen as long as you don’t try to get her to do something she doesn’t want to do.”
Applying pressure on the web is easy. For example, pop-up windows are classic negative reinforcement. I hate them. And I’m amused (well, annoyed) when I see them on the websites of “force-free” trainers.
You won’t see pop-ups here or on my FaceBook page, as long as I am in control. And as long as I have the means, and the online providers don’t change the rules, you won’t see ads or anything else you have to click away on my blog or YouTube channel.
II realize I’m privileged. I don’t have to make a living from this blog. I have empathy and respect for people who earn their living, or part of it, through providing online products and resources. I understand that the basic marketing principle is to provide some information for free, develop an email list, and use it to sell the product. Lots of folks are very generous with their information, and it’s fair to promote their goods or services that have a price tag as well. And really good marketing, rather than the ham-handed stuff that gets in your face, can be a pleasure to experience.
I will certainly sign up for someone’s email list occasionally if they take a low pressure approach and put a sign-up box on the page somewhere, or if a pop-up comes up after I click to say I’m interested. And I have been known to pay for an ebook or other resource from someone after I sign up for their email distribution list. I’m not looking for a free lunch. I just want to make decisions on the merits that I perceive, not because someone got pushy.
There’s a difference between making it easy to buy something and hard not to.
My, this turned into a bit of a rant, didn’t it?
Spreading the Word
So given all that, I’m an unlikely candidate for a proselyte, but that just goes to show you never know where life will take you.
One of my big motivations for writing is to share the message about training as free from force, pain, and pressure as we possibly can. Sure, I have an ego. I’m a writer. I want to be read. But I have an additional motivation. I want to share good training practices with the people who are teetering on the edge of what methods to use and are tired of battling with their dogs. I also want to reach those who always knew that was the way they wanted to go and support them. Anyone who wants to listen. I get huge positive reinforcement when people respond to my posts, riff off them, and spread them around.
So, I’m saying to you: if you think my stuff is helpful, I would LOVE it if you share it.
One of the main ways that a website, including a blog, gets ranked highly on Google is if other sites link to it. And sites that rank highly on Google get on the first page of results. For instance, wouldn’t you love it if this site came up high in the results if someone is searching on terms related to shock collars? I would.
What to Share
Share whatever you like the most, feel the best about, and whatever you think will help spread the word about training without pressure and pain.
In the menu at the top of the blog, there are some menu items that lead to topical pages, but I will link the most appropriate ones here as well:
- Video Examples for Teachers;
- Dog Body Language; and
- Common Misconceptions (the talking points posts).
But there are lots of posts that don’t fit into those categories. Along the sidebar there is a search box where you can look up an old favorite; a list of the currently most popular posts; and an archive where you can view older posts by date.
How to Follow the Blog
In case you didn’t know of these options:
- If you want WordPress to send you an email every time I publish a post, click “Follow Blog via Email” in the sidebar at the left.
- If you want to follow me on Twitter, click here, then click Follow. I am not very active there, but I do tweet every new post and the occasional post from someone else.
- If you want to get an announcement of each post on FaceBook, you can Like my FaceBook page.
- If you want to follow via Instagram, click here, then click Follow.
Other Favorites
Just to share the love a little, here are my current top three favorite posts from other folks. Feel free to share them, too! (Note that I am breaking a cardinal rule here, and may be shooting myself in the foot by sending you off somewhere else right at this crucial moment. But hey, these are GREAT posts.)
- There’s Always a Reason–Sonya Bevan, Dog Charming
- The End for Shock Collars?–Companion Animal Psychology
- Finding the Right Dog Trainer: Harder than You Think!–Anne Springer, Pawsforpraise
I usually love your stuff, but this is a tad ridiculous. How lazy it is for someone have to refuse to click away a little pop up! It’s sad to me that you would choose to deny yourself excellent info just because you’re a bit aggravated or feel “pressure” due to a silly pop up. Annoying? Sure. But that’s a call to action, and it’s how modern, progressive online communication works.
I see that you’ve chosen to deny yourself access to Dr. Becker’s site, and I imagine Whole Dog Journal, and a host of other terrific, informative, sites, since they have pop ups too. I find this sad. I get the whole R- argument, but you’re taking it a little overboard with the “pressure” of pop ups. In fact, I *almost* stopped reading after your pop up rant, but I know you have gems in your articles so I continued on, despite the pressure I felt reading that part.
As a professional force free trainer and with a degree in Advertising, I understand that a call to action is what prompts people to do exactly that – act. For a blog that doesn’t want to promote itself, I think this article is a bit hypocritical. I enjoy your information, find it wonderfully refreshing and informative, I appreciate that you choose not to allow pop ups , and I do often share your brilliant articles….but seriously now. By your choosing not to read highly informative pages due to a little pop up, you are – surprise surprise – sadly losing out on some excellent education, and that’s not cool. How can we continue to learn from you if you’re admittedly choosing not to educate yourself due to (what you perceive) is a little pressure to acquire the information?
Hi Elyse,
Skipping to the last part of what you wrote first: I thought hard myself about whether this post was hypocritical. But truly I don’t think so. I have so many people ask if it’s OK to share. I love hearing from people, but wanted to give blanket permission.
Maybe it was a little self-aggrandizing to rant like I did. Maybe not. If it hit you wrong, it probably hit others as well. That’s the risk I take from putting my own self into my writing. Win some, lose some.
When you say, “For a blog that doesn’t want to promote itself…” there’s a mistaken assumption there. I promote the blog extensively, and work to keep abreast of the changing face of Internet marketing. I think it’s fascinating. There are just some methods I don’t choose to use.
I’m glad you kept reading even though my sharing my personal reaction to certain tactics irritated you. I really appreciate that you still like some of my stuff, said such kind words about it, and that you aren’t throwing the baby out with the bathwater because of this one post. Thank you for that.
Love your blog, how you think and how you write!!
Thank you so much, Angie! That means a lot to me.
Hi Eileen, I love your blog and have linked to several of your articles on my blog.
I, too, don’t like popups very much. Especially the ones you have to close (or, worse, sign up for first…) before you can ready anything. If the content is really great, I don’t mind popups that apear when I ‘m leaving the page.
Thanks, Martina!
Hahahah – I can relate!!
You know how people post those things on facebook and say, “don’t just answer, copy and paste to your wall”? Sometimes I really do want to share them on my wall, but I will always edit that part out and say, “share if you are so inclined, but you don’t have to” or something like that. Like you, I can’t stand that kind of pressure. I’ll answer without sharing if I want to! And I’ll share without guilt tripping any of my friends if I want to.
All of this is said with a smile, but I am actually quite serious, too!!
Yes! You can imagine how well I respond to the ones on FaceBook that say, “I’ll know who my friends are by who reposts this.” Oh man. I do try to do something else nice for them though since perhaps they need the reassurance. I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.
And that’s exactly my feeling too. Wry smile, but serious too.
Thanks for posting!