What's Alignable worth to your small business?
Strangely, when I joined Alignable I attended an in-person networking event in town that same week (something that happens rarely, I found out). I made some real connections with people that I followed up with in person over the following weeks. It was brilliant! For that alone, joining Alignable was worth it for me.
Using the platform for a few months now, I’ve found that there are some great aspects to Alignable, and some really bad ones.
You need to know about both.
Alignable is not social media, but a networking space for business owners. The word “networking” can mean different things to different people, and that’s where Alignable’s problems exist…
Video Networking
The best experience I’ve had is with the “Networking for Introverts” group. There’s a mastermind hosted by Kerri Karel and Sam Rafoss that’s been increadibly valuable. These events are free to join regardless if you are a “premium” member or not.
I’ve interacted with other owners trying new things for the first time, sharing their experiences, talking about navigating in a world where most people didn’t learn anything about business in school. Its nice to not feel alone.
There are other groups with similar events. I’ve not tried them yet but I will.
Groups
When you spend some time in the groups you have joined, you’ll quickly see most people treat the place like a bulletin board. They post a vanilla monolog about their business using cliches like “passionate” and “empowering”, then hope it will drive business to their door.
What they forget is that the audience is other business owners, who are either doing the same thing, or wading through this pile of self-indulgence looking for a place to genuinely network with others.
Posting on groups is also a mixed bag. Some groups will respond and it will turn into a conversation. Other groups, like the local ones - crickets.
SmartConnect
SmartConnect is both brilliant and infuriating. It is a one hour video call (available multiple times a day) where you get paired with another business owner for 7 minutes at a time to see if you can help each other out and form a connection.
Some people I’ve met are fantastic. We will chat about or successes and our challenges. I’ve met a lady who was helping people with self publishing, a voice actor who sounded AMAZING, and a virtual assistant who was such a delight to talk to, I’d recommend her to anyone in a heartbeat.
BUT THEN…
I had a “finance” guy talk AT me for the full 7 minutes, and acted surprised at the end when I declined to give him my phone number so he could talk AT me further. He thought he was at a free captive audience sales event, and I was left wondering if “networking” was just code for cold calling practice.
The MLM crowd are out in force, too. Some people won’t tell you they are in an MLM, but you get hints when they say “if you want to know about my product, my company has a 15 minute presentation…”. I wish I had the wisdom to help them out of it, but I don’t. So I sit and nod and wait for the timer to end.
I chatted to a web designer who said he was better than others because he had a formal education rather than “making it up”. I asked for a case study and he showed me a site he claimed had 1000 views a month (which is less than I get on filnenna.com without any SEO work). And of course, he’s only contributed a percentage of that because they would have had visitors before he assisted them. Then I asked him about his own website. He said it ranks on Googles first page! Further pressed he said he gets 100 hits a month.
What’s the point of ranking first then?
Some people get Imposter Syndrome, but I met so many genuine Imposters that I’m starting to shake off that particular worry for my own business.
Is it worth it?
I’m using the free version of Alignable which limits the connections you make and the reach of your posts. If I were paying $300 a year for the premium version, I’d be miffed that I was being sold at constantly. But many others spend their $300 thinking they are paying for the right to sell at you. There is no intermediate product, but I guess you could go month-to-month for a while to try it out.
Now here is the conundrum - should we wade through a swamp of cheap and ignorant salespeople, just to find a handful of genuine networking connections? I want the utopian vision of Alignable, but the reality is really something quite different.
I’m going to keep with it simply because the friends I’ve made there are worth the hassle. If you think of joining, I’d love to connect with you there so I can tell you how passionate I am about empowering people like you!
Just Kidding.
I’m Fil Nenna, the portrait photographer serving Boston’s North Shore who specializes in helping small businesses like yours get more customers through quality images for your website.
Located in Marblehead I provide on-location services in Salem, Swampscott, Beverly, Danvers, Lynn, Boston and beyond. I can work in any space no matter the size or lighting conditions.
Please get in touch at info@filnenna.com to find out how quick and convenient making awesome headshots can be!
