One of my own Defining Moments in Making ALL the Right Connections is When I Met “The WordPress Chick” – Here is the Story of How I Met Kim Doyal
I love telling the story of how I met Kim Doyal. She has become one of the best and most influential mentors/coaches I have ever had the pleasure of working with and I will continue to brag about her talents as often as possible! She’s the real deal. Without further ado, here is the story of how I met Kim Doyal.
As a WordPress designer and consultant, I am always on the look out for learning anything and everything I can about this website and blogging platform. During one of these educational expeditions, I had an idea of giving myself a great nickname for my WordPress web design business – “the WordPress Chick”. Yes, that sounded perfect for me. So, off to Google I went.
Much to my chagrin, I discovered that the name was already taken by none other than a “chick” named Kim Doyal! “Hmmm,” I thought. “Let’s see what Kim really knows about WordPress.” After taking a look at her website, I realized “this chick” really DOES know her stuff. It didn’t take long for me to be impressed with the amount of knowledge revealed, work produced, success accomplished and integrity shown by Kim for and about WordPress. What I was most impressed with was her honesty and transparency evident in everything she produced – from her website and social media presence to her online products and podcast. You just felt like you really KNEW the REAL Kim Doyal.
I quickly forgot about wishing I had been smart enough to capture the name of the WordPress Chick and began listening to Kim’s Podcast any chance I had. By the time I had finished listening to her first podcast, I was not only hooked, but I also felt like I knew Kim. So I took a chance and decided to reach out to her via Twitter. The first connection I made with Kim was simply to find her Twitter account (all I had to do was follow her twitter link from her website!) and then to hit the “follow” button once I found her. Much to my surprise, Kim soon “followed” me back. As you’ll see from the following image of our Twitter conversation, I made sure to make that connection more memorable. I began a conversation with her:
Let me point out a couple of Twitter tips as you look at this conversation:
- You’ll notice that I tagged Kim in the post by using her Twitter handle, @kimdoyal. This will alert Kim that I was talking about or to her so that she will, most likely, take a look at the post (exactly my intent to start an online conversation and possibly future connection with her).
- I placed a “.” in front of her Twitter handle. The purpose for this is to allow all of her followers to see the tweet. If I hadn’t placed that there, only she would have seen the post and the potential to acquire more interested followers would have been lost.
- You will see a couple of hashtags (#) before some words. I chose these words carefully as they become a live link and searchable for anyone who wants to research them. It also shows Kim that I know what I am doing on this platform and I am actually helping her by connecting those hashtags with her name.
- I knew from listening to Kim that she LOVES Podcasting. She mentioned it many times in her podcasts. Because I truly believe she does a great job on them, I made sure to tell her so. Many people think it’s just too corny or gushy to say nice things about other people. I have discovered this is NOT the case. There are too many critics out there and not enough “cheerleaders”. As I have often been told I have a talent for making people feel good about themselves by validating what they do well, I have decided to use it to make long-lasting relationships. Mind you, I do NOT flatter or lie to gain connections. Revealing someone else’s positive points only takes good observational skills and a caring nature.
You will also note from the dates and times that Kim was VERY quick to reply (7 minutes, to be exact!). Of course, the question of “is it really _______ (fill in the blank for the connection you are trying to make) answering these posts/tweets, etc.? Or is it someone they hired?” I truly believe that whether or not the person is actually responding, they will eventually see the posts one way or another. In this example, I believed Kim was responding just by the “voice” in which she replied. It just sounded like her, especially what she said about the podcast. And, of course, Kim has since confirmed that it was, in fact, her.
To follow along with my recommendations about Making ALL the Right Connections, I didn’t stop there. I decided to reach out to Kim again on Twitter, especially since I knew she had responded so quickly previously. Here is the next tweet:
In this conversation, I was indirectly showing Kim that I was listening to her podcast, as well as reaching out to the guest she interviewed on the show (you’ll note I forgot to follow my advice of putting a “.” in front of JHaynam’s twitter handle!). This is an indirect way of promoting Kim’s podcast to all of my followers. You’ll note again, Kim responded and actually gave ME a sort of pat on the back by saying “you’re on a roll! :-)”. That was MUCH more than I ever expected. Several more conversations ensued and culminated in more connections via email. I was, again, astounded at how quickly Kim responded to my email inquiries. Kim was very helpful in answering WordPress business questions as well as offering her critique on a “how to” video I created. All this without any expectation.
Because of the extensive knowledge Kim has about WordPress and about running a very successful WordPress business, I decided to work with Kim through her coaching program. The value she has provided far outweighs the price of the program. She has given me the confidence, tools & resources, and blueprint to finally pursue something that is aligned with my personality, passion, and knowledge. All I can say is “thank you Kim, for helping me finally pursue my dreams and continuing to make me accountable for making them come true.”
Through making this connection by simply reaching out to someone I thought might share similar goals and interests (and not just the name I coveted!), I established not only the #RightConnection, but a strong, lifelong friendship. This was something MUCH more than I ever expected the first time I sent out that tweet!
If you would like to work with Kim, she has created a page specifically for my readers to reach out to her. Click here to start the process with a Strategy Session with Kim. Yes, this is an affiliate link, but you will not pay anything more for her services and it helps to support this site.