Success

What Are They Admitting To?

Garth Beyer

Flappy Bird

You’re searching for customers. Your marketing. Your advertising like crazy to get new folks to buy your product or service or enroll in your seminar or MOOC. To get anyone to try whatever you are offering requires them to admit to something. But what is it? Do you know? You need to.

It’s hell trying to top your competitors, it’s even more difficult to get your competitor’s followers to follow you. Why? Because to do so, those followers have to admit that they want more (most don’t) or that they made the wrong choice to begin with.

Take a second to realize how monumental of an internal confession that is.

I keep wondering why so few people who loved Flappy Bird aren’t trying anything similar like Ironpants, Super Ball Juggling or Red Bouncing Ball Spikes. To do so is to admit that they made a wrong choice of playing Flappy Bird to begin with. Either they don’t want to admit to that or they simply don’t want better, they want Flappy Bird.

I don’t suggest you find a niche because you can’t compete with someone like Apple or Zynga. You could certainly make something as good or better than them. Getting people to admit they like you more or that they were wrong to like the other competitor first, that’s the exhaustive (and endless!) battle.

Unless of course, Apple or Zynga die and there’s room in the market for you. Then again, like I said, not everyone is flapping over to different games after Dong Nguyen took Flappy Bird down.

Niches are important. Find them.

*UPDATE: since writing this post IronPants and another flappy bird spinoff has made the top app list. I would be fascinated to see how many users of these apps know of flappy bird.

Stay Positive & It’s Easier To Get People To Admit They Wanted Something Your Competitor Didn’t Offer

Photo credit

 

A Riff And Reward For Reading (Self-Promotion On Twitter)

Garth Beyer

I use Twitter to interact with people and it peeves me when people use it to spam. I can deal with the links and self-promotion in my feed. What I can’t stand is when I get a direct message that is so obviously programmed. There’s a picture of a person, but the message is robotic. The latest is from Alex Mathers who is exceptionally smart and produces really sweet content, but his promotional methods are…questionable.

So impersonal

Occurrences like this remind me of my post about Pandora advertising its alarm option even after I had set the alarm up.

If you’re going to promote, then quit promoting once your customer does or buys what you’re promoting. Think of the last thing you sold to someone. Once the exchange was made, you didn’t keep telling them that they should buy what is now in their hands. Right?

Anyway, to thank you for reading this rant, I’ve taken the common questions asked by working creatives that Alex answered on his blog and have answered them in my way here.

1. How do I find my first clients if no one knows me?

Try making a better product or service first. If that doesn’t work, then you need to create something different. Skip all this hassle by figuring out what people in a tribe want before you establish a product or service.

Getting clients isn’t hard. Creating something people want is.

2. Should my style appeal to what is in demand or be about what I enjoy?

You know the answer to this. Both.

3. How do I earn more?

Easy things aren’t scarce. Hard things are scarce. Scarce things have value. By doing something hard, you’re creating something of value. The more value, the more you can earn.

4. How do I know what to charge for my creative work?

Charge what you would pay for it. It’s damn difficult to sell something for $1,000 if you don’t believe it’s worth that much.

5. How do I move from full-time employment to going freelance?

Slowly. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to work your ass off for it. Wake up earlier. Go to sleep later. Cut the little things out of your life until you make the transition.

6. How can I sell more of my stuff without being too pushy and ‘salesy’?

Read one book on sales. That’s all you need. They all say the same thing. After you read it, go take a job in sales. I did for a month and practiced what I read in the book. The only reason you don’t know how is because you’re not forcing yourself to figure it out.

7. I don’t have any time to spend on my creative career. What do I do?

Quit lying to yourself. We all have 24 hours in the day.

8. How do I network with people if I’m introverted?

 Watch this

9. Do I need to understand the basics of running a business to succeed?

Do athletes need to understand the basics of their sport in order to perform at the Olympics? That’s where you want to go, right? To the top?

10. How long do I need to spend working to become an expert at my craft?

If you simply won’t move forward without knowing, they say 10,000 hours. How long isn’t important though. What matters is how well you work to become an expert, not how many hours.

11. How do I balance my job, social life and creating in my spare time?

Understand that you’re on a teeter-totter and you’re on it with someone who weighs a bit more than you. No one consistently balances. Prepare for the constant give and take. It’s what makes it worth it.

12. Why can’t I get motivated about what I do?

You’re afraid of something. Figure out what it is and proceed to dance with it. (Also search “fear” on my website, I write a lot about it.)

13. How do I freelance without getting lonely?

By creating something that makes people feel less lonely.

14. I never get any jobs through social media. What am I doing wrong?

You need to use social media to make connections and meet people. It’s when you meet people that you get offered a job. More people get jobs from people, not tweets; they get them in person, not online.

15. How do I get more likes on Facebook?

First ask yourself if that’s where most of your revenue is coming from. If it’s not, then spend more time where the revenue is coming from, likes will follow from that.

If you do get most of your revenue from likes on Facebook and want more likes, then offer more on Facebook, showcase people who use your product or service by giving shout outs or uploading photos (people love sharing photos that they are in) and be entertaining. Most Facebookers go on to escape the real world. Ask yourself what you have to offer.

16. I have disrespectful, crappy clients. What do I do to change this?

Fire them.

17. I lack the confidence to share my creations with the world. How can I increase belief in my work?

There’s no solution to this. Don’t listen to people who say there is a solution, all they are setting you up for is an uphill battle. What you can do is start by not caring who believes in your work – so long as you do. Build it and they will come.

18. How do I get more traffic to my blog?

Ads work. More content works. Multimedia helps. Getting content published elsewhere will guide others to your blog. The two best steps you can take, though, is to connect with more people outside your blog and to wait (but don’t stand still, that’s not what I mean by waiting. People die standing still).

19. Is it better to be a jack of all trades, or a master at one?

People will ask you what you are an expert at or what your superpower is. Have one. Then know a little about everything else. Enough so you can make friends with people who are experts in all those other things. Now you’ve built a team. Now no one will ask what you’re good at. They will see you as a leader.

20. What is your single biggest tip for succeeding as a solo creative?

Know what success means to you.

21. How do I develop a unique style?

It’s a pain, but writing as much as possible helps. And try caring just a little bit less on whether people approve of your unique style. I laugh when someone calls someone else weird. They make it sound like it’s a rare thing. We are all weird.

22. Do I need a university degree to succeed in this game?

Not exactly in this game. But, in the game of life, it helps a ton.

23. There is so much competition out there. How do I stand out?

You don’t need a million followers to make a million dollars.

24. Why does no one follow me on social media?

Well, I would follow you if I’ve heard about you and like you. If this is the same for others, then either they haven’t heard about you or don’t like you.

 

Stay Positive & Follow Me @thegarthbox (but don’t expect spam messages)

The Only Three Reminders You Will Ever Need

Garth Beyer

1) Stop thinking about what you want. Think about how you want to feel.

2) Instead of looking for what will make you happy, focus on what you’re good at.

3) Rather than planning to get ahead, find a way to help others.

 

Stay Positive & Learn Them, Memorize Them, Review Them, Daily

Biggest shout out to Michelle Welsch for writing these

In A Glass Please

Garth Beyer

It’s not coincidence that wine tastes better in a wine glass. Not scientifically, of course.

Scientifically, the wine tastes the same in a wine glass as it does in a styrofoam cup.

The same goes for how you feel wearing a suit. When I put one on, I feel like I’m important, I feel like I can walk into a room and own it, I feel respected. Are we any different wearing a suit as we are wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt, scientifically? I’m still me. You’re still you. Scientifically.

One more example,

Treat yourself to a cold can of bud light. Then treat yourself to a cold glass of bud light. Which tastes better?

We have these world views, these wonderful world views that in the most simplest form are summed up into that which we want to believe, is true.

We become more outgoing and astute when we put on a suit because that is what we believe a suit will do. The wine, the water, the beer, the tea, the coffee – tastes great in whatever glass we have it in because we believe that it will. So it goes…

The single best story punctures through the noise in two ways:

1) It parallels a worldview that we already hold.

2) It makes a promise that we will feel a certain way when we have or use the product.

Marketing, branding, advertising – whatever you want to label it – has one goal. To get people to attribute a feeling with a particular product or service. It’s damn difficult. That’s what makes marketing so valuable.

 

Stay Positive & In Marketing, Numbers Are Little, Worldviews Are Huge

Higher Education Gatekeepers Restrict Innovation

Garth Beyer

Two Yale students made news recently with their creation of a better version of the school’s course catalogue.

The site didn’t make Washington Post news for being a useful website. It made news for being blocked and shutdown by Yale. Just another example of higher education gatekeepers restricting student innovation.

It’s frustrating that while universities endorse the idea of innovation and creativity, they don’t provide the instruments to effectively create within policy guidelines.

Instead, school systems use their policies to restrict innovation. It’s their glass ceiling to creativity.

Some might argue it’s not a ceiling; that it’s the last roadblock to success. I say no.

Ideas aren’t like cars with a cinderblock pressing down on the gas pedal. Ideas have momentum, but when stopped, have to work at building the momentum again. And when two students get so far with an idea, restarting (to accommodate school policy) is more daunting than building some new idea.

The positive part?

It’s much more difficult to stop a passionate idea fueled by frustration.

 

Stay Positive & Take The Dyson Approach

 

No Matter Where You Are

Garth Beyer

You can be in the same market as other businesses, but you still need to differentiate yourself.

There are a lot of excuses not to: too busy, will wind up too far from the target market, tactics might go unnoticed.

Excuses, though, don’t lead to success. Let alone successful differentiation.

That’s why I’m writing this on my phone. That’s why some stores stay open and some closed on Christmas. That’s why you can look at your favorite business and say what makes them different.  

Being different is never safe. And that risk is what will get you noticed.

Stay Positive & What Will They Say About You?
Garth E. Beyer

Lessons And Reflections From Krypton Course #001

Garth Beyer

If you didn’t know, Seth Godin and his team created the Krypton Community College over the summer of 2013. The gist: get together with people to discuss, learn and create together. (Here’s the link to the first course Krypton Course #001 Go: How to Overcome Fear, Pick Yourself, & Start a Project that Matters)

The following are lessons and reflections I thought it was necessary to share.

Week one

1. You don’t need a huge group. My team started with a total of two students and one organizer. Then it dwindled to one student and one organizer. It only takes two to tango.

2. Everyone has similar fears. But they won’t believe that statement until someone speaks up and shares their fears.

3. Fear can be narrowed down to either fear of embarrassment or fear of injury. Surprisingly, people would rather risk injury than risk embarrassment. Wow.

4. Fear – the 20 second rule

Week two

1. You can plan (not set) a path for creating projects that add up to a valuable portfolio of experiences. There’s a middle ground between setting something up and allowing for complete spontaneity. Find that sweet spot.

2. Finding your edge is crucial for success. You can’t find it alone, though.

3. Feel free to read Start Schooling Dreams.

Week three

1. Committment means something different for everyone.

2. Not everything you create should be shared. Not everything you create should be kept secret. Make time for what you keep private, make more time for what you share.

3. As the famous Hugh MacLeod said, “Ignore everybody.”

4. Let what you create and share go. You’re better off creating something else, something new. Once you deliver something, detach yourself from it and go make something else remarkable.

5. Success is not a straight line. (obvious, but worth mentioning again)

Week four

1. If you’re going to share your project idea with someone, make sure they have a project idea to share with you too. Sharing your idea with someone who doesn’t have one leaves you with everything to lose. Sharing your project idea with someone who has a project idea too leaves both of you with everything to gain. (I can’t fully explain the dynamic. You will have to trust me on this one without a long explanation.)

2. You’re going to talk about your project idea and get excited. Make a conscious decision beforehand that you will use that excitement for action and not settle at just talking about it. This is the most difficult part of the entire course.

 

Stay Positive & I Hope You Will Give It A Shot*

Garth E. Beyer

*if you live in Madison, Wisconsin, let me know. I will be holding course #002 at the start of 2014.