GarthBox

The list of what to do next is an important list to have.

More important, though than having a list is ensuring that what’s on the list is worth your time.

It might be fun.

It might earn you some brownie points.

It might allow you to hide from the important work.

But if it’s not worth your time … take it off the list, throw it away, remove the temptation.

You can interchange with what’s worth your time and what’s worth thinking about, too–an equally important list.

 

Stay Positive & Make It Worth It

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You can certainly make something that’s worth talking about by turning it into a parody. That’s an easy gimmick. There are many other gimmicks out there, but then again, there are also a lot of smart PR moves disguised as gimmicks.

You can send a news release to a newspaper via a carrier pigeon let loose in their building. This is a gimmick.

You can also create an indestructible news release that tells the story of a product that’s branded as indestructible. This is PR.

Both gimmicks and PR lead to something that’s worth making a remark about, but only one carries real meaning that will build a business’s reputation rather than impressions for a day.

True remarkability comes when you build the “why” into the crazy thing you’re doing.

Gimmicks are performed to be talked about and then easily forgotten because there’s nothing meaningful behind them.

PR is performed as a way to give permission for people to talk about something deeper than what they see as a gimmick.

PR is why Purple Cow worked and why no one will be talking about how many people KFC is following a week or two from now.

 

Stay Positive & Remember The Why

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People know what they are getting from those who offer a product or service below the bar.

“People like us search for the least expensive option.”

But even when your product or service surpasses most people’s limit, they still feel ripped off.

“People like us don’t just buy the expensive option of the same thing.”

It’s only when you truly exceed the bar that tension is built and people tell themselves a new story about what you offer.

“People like us will pay whatever it takes for an experience like this because we know we’ll get more than what we paid for.”

Most business-turnaround stories don’t start with: “We increased our price slightly above our competitors.”

It starts with: “We tripled the price and began to over deliver on every promise we made, because we now had the money to.”

Ever wonder why Starbucks charges so much for a coffee?

“People like us know that we’ll pay more for a drink there because in the future someone’s order will get messed up and they will ask for it to be remade without hesitation because the drink I just paid for, paid for their fixed drink, and that makes people like us feel good about our purchase.”

As marketers, we have to dig deep. It’s not always obvious or conscious why something is priced higher, nor is it a necessity that, as marketers, why try to share all the reasons why it’s premium pricing.

 

Stay Positive & Simply Let Them Experience Why

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Whenever I visualize a worthy endeavor, I see an aerial view of a person having to travel through many different environments on their way to the desired destination.

Maybe one or two environments before their destination, it seems the toughest.

They’ve built a momentous story by that point, and they’ve created a bit of a ruckus.

In their industry, they’re on the brink of celebrity status/of influence. But (!) they have to make it through the environment overpopulated with skeptics, naysayers, trolls, and loud-mouthed pessimists.

It’s the moment when the ones who are loudest aren’t the ones cheering you on or applauding your effort or telling you to “keep going.”

Instead, those around are telling you to stop, give up, and quit. They’ll ask “What are you on?” They’ll object, repetitively.

There’s no doubt you can take an idea on the journey and get to this phase, but once you’re there, are you ready to ignore these folks? Ready to stay positive throughout? For how long?

 

Stay Positive & Keep Going

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Reading a book isn’t as valuable as reading a book and putting what you learn to practice.

Same goes for any other method of information absorption.

So why continue down the path of learning but saying “I don’t know what I want to do with my career” or some variation to avoid doing the work.

Here’s my challenge to you: If you were going to start your own business, what would it be?

You don’t have to be in love with it, but do choose an idea. Then, when you’re consuming best practices, industry trends or fiction, you have something to apply those ideas to.

It’s a worthy investment because best case scenario, you launch a successful idea. Worst case scenario, you’re infinitely smarter when the time comes that you have a different idea worth pursuing.

 

Stay Positive & Information Without Action Is A Waste

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There’s an opportunity for many brands if they can forego creating messages the way they want and, instead, to say things the way the target wants to hear them.

It’s great to know what you want to communicate, but if it’s not what the target wants to hear, then you’re talking to yourself.

It’s always best to start with the target in mind: What do they want to hear? What will they respond to? What will they appreciate being told?

Then you look into how you can gift that information.

 

Stay Positive & Stop Falling On Deaf Ears

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Times it’s okay to say no:

• When you don’t know all the details of the task to effectively execute.
• When it helps you but not those you work with or care about.
• If it’s in the opposite direction of your dreams.
• If there’s no clear deadline or deliverable.
• When you’d have to give up a significant amount of family time.
• When it will hurt the culture you’ve built.
• If you wouldn’t tell your significant other about it.
• Often when you hear “Can you just this one time?”
• If it means you’ll be standing still.

Times it’s okay to say yes:

• When the opportunity is there to do something meaningful

 

Stay Positive & Any To Add?

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