So often you’ll not follow-through with a project or an idea because you know how much marketing you’re going to have to do when it’s complete.
To you, the world might not seem approving of someone writing a book and just throwing it on a digital bookshelf. No. You have to write the book, make sure it’s excellent, put it on the digital bookshelf, and then advertise it, get reviews on it, have bloggers cover it, give it out for free, set a Skype chat interview up for you to talk about it, make sure it’s translated to 20 different languages, beg the NYT reviewers to read it, and so much more.
It’s all a lie. It’s all a trick to stop you from creating. It’s fear speaking up. It’s an excuse and you and I both know it.
First get good at consistently creating. Write five books and throw them up on Amazon. Chat with friends about it, naturally, but don’t worry about heavily marketing it. Think about it in terms of time. If you create something, a book, an art piece, a business plan or a TED talk (and it takes you a month), then you spend the next seven months marketing it, getting people to see it, buy into it, subscribe to it, admire it, blog about it. You’ve just stopped yourself from creating seven more incredible works of art.
Obviously this post isn’t meant for the experts, the famous, the already envied. It’s for you, it’s for me, it’s for all the people out there who think things need to be perfect and need to have their total commitment for a year before they move on and create the next thing. It’s not necessary. The best marketing strategies come natural, the best art work doesn’t need to be pushed, the greatest connections often come from chatting about what you’ve done lately, not what you did six months ago.
And you know what? The act of consistently creating might be the greatest marketing strategy known to man.
Stay Positive & Interesting, Isn’t It?
