New Business Development – Page 82

Delegate That Task

I delegated a blog blitz
to a third party.

The third party didn’t contact
many of the blogs
I would have contacted.
They didn’t craft the promo images
exactly the way
I would have done.

At one point,
I was tempted to take it
back from them.

But I resisted that urge,
allowed them to handle it
their way,
and you know what?

It was a raging success.
Books (products) were sold.
New readers (customers) were obtained.

They didn’t need me
or my input.

And it allowed me
to write more words
on the next story
(work on the next product).

Seth Godin
shares

“It’s easy to use
our indispensability
as fuel.
Fuel to speak up
and contribute.
That’s important.

But it’s also possible
for that same instinct
to backfire,
and for us to believe
that if we don’t do it,
it won’t get done right.

That’s unlikely.”

Delegate tasks.

They won’t be completed
exactly the way
you would have done them
but they WILL be done,
freeing you to do other things.

Create The Environment You Want To Have

When I first moved into
my current neighborhood,
very few people said hi
when I passed them on the street.

That’s not the type of neighborhood
I wanted to live in.

So I started saying hi
to everyone.
At first, they were shocked.
Then, they started
returning my greeting.

Today, a few decades later,
it is expected
that everyone says hi.
Visitors to the neighborhood
know and expect this.

When I first started
hanging out virtually on Twitter,
I was warned it was a hostile environment.

That’s not the type of environment
I wanted to promote in.

So I started posting
complimentary comments
on threads.
I thank people for providing
entertaining
or educational content.
I give people virtual hugs
when they have tough days.

I also filter my followers
and who I am following,
something I can’t do
in my neighborhood.

My Twitter experience
is now filled with joy.

This change isn’t possible
with every environment.
There are some places
that will always be hostile.
We should get the h*ll out of those environments
as soon as we can.

But some environments
CAN be tweaked to be places of joy.
Consider becoming the person
you want to spend time with in that space.

More Product Releases Aren’t Necessarily Better

Writers are often told
the more books released,
the better.
Build that backlist quickly.
Produce more books.

Some writers then
release 3 books on the same day
and
they wonder
why their sales aren’t fantastic.

It might seem efficient
to release 3 books (products)
on the same day.
We can group tasks.
We can use the same advertising funds
to promote 3 books instead of merely 1.
We increase the odds
media and readers (prospects) notice the releases.

But we will be
competing with ourselves.
Sales will suffer.

A reader will likely only buy
1 book on that release day.
Choosing between the 3
might be difficult,
too difficult for some readers.
They might not buy a book at all.

Supporters will likely choose
1 book to promote.
I only share 1 social media post
for each friend
per day
to ensure I don’t overwhelm my followers.

And it is a dangerous strategy,
especially in our current always changing world.

Releasing 3 books on 1 day
means there’s only 1 release day,
1 big focus day,
not 3.
If something happens that day,
if the prospect is distracted,
we’ve lost that sale.

Book and product releases
need space and attention
to flourish.
Give each one
its own release day.

Curation Vs Freedom

A couple years ago,
I gave myself the project
of updating the entries for my romance niche
on Wikipedia.

Every input I made
was deleted by the moderator.
Every single one.
Even though I cited sources.
Even though I was clearly an expert
in the niche.

I gave up.
The Wikipedia entries remain horribly wrong.
And, knowing that,
I don’t rely on Wikipedia
for anything
anymore.

On the flipside,
I remember when Amazon
would allow anyone to leave reviews.
Ethically-challenged writers
would spam their perceived competitor’s books
with 1 star reviews.
It was a mess.

As Seth Godin
shares

“Too much curation
stifles creativity,
opposing viewpoints
and useful conversation.
But no curation inevitably turns a platform
over to quacks, denialists,
scammers and trolls.”

Seek a balance
between curation and freedom
on your social media accounts
and sites.

Build In Buffer

In September,
I posted about the disruptions
in supply chains,
how the world is seeing
shortages on things like paper.

This week,
in Canada,
there was severe flooding in BC.
It has decimated ALL roads and rail
around some of Canada’s busiest ports.

The supply chain issues
for Canadian businesses
just got a LOT worse.

This is likely to be
our reality going forward
so build in buffer.

Have an extra printer cartridge
in the supply cabinet.
Order product you plan to resell
in advance.
(Definitely, relook at
insurance policies.)
Have spares for hard-to-replace parts.
Assume packages will take longer
to be delivered.

Build in buffer.

What Problem Are You Solving?

Some writers argue
that romance novels don’t need
a romantic happy ever after
or happy for now ending.

They don’t understand
the ‘problem’
romance novels solve
for readers.

Romance readers, yes,
are looking for entertainment
but any well written book
should supply that.

They pick up a romance novel
because they are craving
that burst of happiness
the romantic happy ever after
or romantic happy for now
supplies.

THAT is the problem
romance novels are solving.
And if writers don’t supply that,
they aren’t addressing
the reader’s ‘problem.’

Successful businesses
solve problems.
And they know this.

As Seth Godin
shares

“If it was hard
to explain
why someone needed
what you were doing,
you had a real problem.”

What problem is your business
solving
for prospects and customers?

Know The Size Of Commitment

It takes, on average,
about 10 books released
in one of my niches
to start seeing
adequate sales.
Before that point,
sales likely won’t cover costs.

I shared that guideline
with a niche-hopping friend.
She decided to release in my niche anyway.
She produced 3 books,
got bored,
and declared the niche a failure.
Then she moved to the next niche.

The writing and release
of those 3 books
was the equivalent
of finishing 30% of a project.
Of course, it wasn’t a success.
The project hadn’t been completed.

Seth Godin
shares

“The same time/money math
applies to doing a good job
on any social network.
It only takes a few minutes
to sign up for an account,
but most users put in
just enough time
to be wasteful
and not nearly enough time
to generate anything of value
as a result.”

Know the size of the commitment
before building a business
or taking on a task.

Also know your own nature
and ability to handle
that size of a commitment.

Half completing a task
is a waste
of everyone’s time and precious resources.

Try Before You Build

A buddy of mine
wanted to open a restaurant.
He loved eating out,
wanted to work in that environment.
He had never worked
in a restaurant.

I, having worked in restaurants,
told him to spend a week
helping out in one.

He hated it.
He hated dealing with customers.
He hated the coordination
that is necessary
to run a restaurant.
He hated the employee issues.

He has returned
to merely eating in restaurants
and is planning to build a business
in an area he has previously worked in
and loved.

Seth Godin
shares

“The idea of the easy test
is often ignored.
Before spending three years
in law school,
why not get a temp job
for a week at a law firm?”

Try out a business
before investing time and effort
into building one.

Confirm you like the industry,
the customers,
the systems.

Whose Time Is Being Wasted?

It takes time and effort
to craft the short posts
here at client k.

I read for hours every day,
researching topics.
It then takes about 30 minutes
of writing-time
to condense my thoughts
into about 100 words.

It likely takes you
about 5 minutes
or less
to read each post.

I could have
plopped snippets of everything I’ve researched
into a much longer post.

That would have saved me time
but it would have cost you time.

Seth Godin
shares another example.

“A friend recently sent me
a note via voice mail.
It was 14 minutes long.
Because he didn’t spend
another ten or fifteen minutes
editing it
into a three-minute long email,
he wasted a ton of my time.
But the nature of 1:1 interaction
meant that it was
either his time
or mine,
even steven.”

When crafting communications,
determine whose time
is most important.
Then design the interaction
to benefit that person.

Embrace The Fear

I’m scared
whenever I release
a new book.

I’m scared
whenever I present
a new product
to a company’s board.

I’m scared whenever
I try something new.

And that’s okay.
That’s better than okay.
That is a sign
I care.

I care enough
to be nervous
about the results.

It also likely means
I’m doing something new,
expanding my experience
and my skill set.

Seth Godin
shares

“Once we decide
to make a difference,
it’s easy for doubt to set in.
Because making a difference
causes change,
and change is scary.”

When trying something new,
doing something different,
embrace the fear.