Because I had found the person my group was for
If only my day job were as straightforward as running my Facebook group.
After going past 22,000 members with my Facebook group on currency collecting, what happens in the group from one day to the next is mostly predictable:
- We approve new members or not.
- We approve posts or not.
- We answer questions sent to us in DM.
- We handle the occasional arguments and name calling.
- Once in a while, we act to prevent people from getting scammed.
The same thing with most of the posts:
- “Is this bill a keeper or not?”
- “How much is this worth?”
- “Just showing this bill off that I found today”
The group has enough momentum that it runs itself for the most part.
It’s almost boring in a way.
The rare comment that blasts the routine to dust
Derek Hughes recently wrote that the key to connecting with readers is to create and embody emotion. It’s the emotional connection that gets people over the initial resistance to keep reading long enough to engage the meat of an article.
I do think that it also works the other way around.
A reader (or group member) can make an emotional connection with me, and in doing so, shine a white-hot light on the Big Why for the group.
This was one I’ll remember for as long as the group is around:
I love the hunt and to collect [….]
I used to be hooked on scratch tickets and keno. Never won was always sad and broke. Now I go get all my money every month; and purchase 1s and turn them as much as these two banks in my small town will let me (before) I pay bills and I have a blast!
I feel like a winner and the hunt makes me so happy. At the end of the day I have savings, haven’t lost any money and I’m proud of myself now. I’m so glad that there is all you others like me to share my finds with and to see all yours; it’s so fun and cool. Thank all of you just for being you!
Member, Cool Serial Facebook group
Wow. This comment almost made me cry.
Why was this such a powerful comment?
It’s more than just offering someone an alternative to lottery tickets that feels like lottery tickets but isn’t financially ruinous. (Though that is pretty cool!)
It was powerful because it all but identified the kind of person I wanted to reach.
This kind of person wasn’t just a beginner at currency collecting. It was someone who was actively looking to improve their life. It just so happened that they used currency hunting as a gateway to do this.
I never would have suspected that this would come up. What an unbelievable surprise!
The comment also solidified what I wouldn’t cater to
I’ll likely always be an outsider to the fancy serial number community.
Unlike dealers or experienced collectors, I never met a serial number I didn’t like.
I think that trinaries are a thing and that it’s all right to sell them on eBay without fear of scamming people. Apparently dealers would rather be caught dead than have their peers see them selling these bills.
I think that YYYYMMDD birthday bills are perfectly fine. You wouldn’t believe the number of collectors who proclaim that this “isn’t a birthday bill” and that only MMDDYYYY bills are proper birthday bills. I just smile and wave, boys.
And, oh, they pitch a fit when I make up new names for bills, haha! “That’s not a real thing.” (Well it is now!)
It convinced me that I don’t really want to be part of that inner circle. It seems like a lot of bickering.
Pay attention to the extraordinary interactions.
Those interactions that show real feeling. Those interactions that get you to reconsider your life’s choices.
Those extraordinary interactions are the catalysts for breakthrough and growth.
As well as finding your audience.
Thanks for reading!
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photo by Markus Winkler