The storm has passed. The seas are calm. The object on the horizon that had us so alarmed disappeared. All is well. We’ve conquered our fears, maintained a realistic perspective, kept a consistent pace, and been patient. We’ve identified that prosperity is not always measured in terms of money. Our confidence couldn’t be higher. Regret couldn’t be farther from our thoughts. The dark force is nowhere to be found. Today is a great day!
So let’s change course.
Now that I have your attention, and you’re thinking that the captain has just given his crew a motive for mutiny, let’s explore this option. In everyday life, you make decisions for one of two reasons; either adversity forces you to make a decision, or opportunity causes you to make a decision. No one enjoys being forced to do anything, much less make a decision that may affect your family, your career, and your long-term goals. It’s much less stressful to make a decision when there is little possibility for a negative effect should the decision prove to be a bad one.
In today’s economy, more and more people are being forced into making decisions to change course rather than electing to change course for their own benefit. For many, the storm is endless. All they want to do is survive. The calm seas that surround us seem a million miles away to them. They long for the opportunity to control their own destiny again, the same opportunity that is staring you in the face. Now is the time to evaluate the possibility of an altered course to reach your prosperous destination. Now is the time to evaluate what works and what doesn’t within your business, your personal flaws, and your strengths. Now is the time to make the solid decisions that will eventually lead to bigger opportunities and even better decisions down the road. Now is the time to let what you’ve learned sink in, discount that which doesn’t apply, and decide how to not only survive the next attack by the dark force, but to respond with a counter punch that forces the dark force to think twice the next time it sets its sights on you.
While the seas are calm, it’s easy to repair any damage. In business, some days are successful. Many are not. While negatives drag you down, a calm sea gives you the opportunity to step back and look at your business from a distance. Realize how far you’ve come despite the negatives that plague your dreams. It’s never as bad as it seems. There’s always an opening for change as long as you’re flexible enough to go through. Perhaps you’re not recovering enough of your marketing expenses. Maybe you made a fool of yourself during a particular sales pitch, but you really enjoy marketing. The accounting book says you’re under budget, generating some revenue, but not enough to yield a profit. With confidence in your business plan at an all-time high, this is the best time to change course.
You already took a giant step without even knowing it. You identified a weakness in your current course. Your marketing plan is costing too much money which is the cause of your revenue shortfall. Book stores are reluctant to carry your book because they don’t know if they can sell it. You remember that the book store’s goal is to make money just like you. They are simply the connector between you and your reader. They aren’t there to deliver a message. They aren’t there to advertise. They are there to facilitate the exchange. You are the one that has to close the deal with your readers.
Upon further analysis, the conclusion is that you aren’t generating the amount of publicity needed to sell your book which is causing anxiety in the market and within your company. This flaw in your marketing plan could grow to undercut your entire business if something isn’t done about it. That isn’t saying your marketing strategy was a failure. You built relationships and learned about the needs of your customers. You learned that publicity may not be your strength. It is time to plot a new course to account for a different marketing philosophy that centers more on generating publicity than on actual sales. Let the publicity generate the sales for you. It will take some of the burden off your bottom line and make for more restful nights.
Identifying a new course is only part of the answer, however. There are different obstacles depending on which part of the ocean you intend to cross. The North Atlantic is full of icebergs and bad weather. The tropical waters are laced with pirates and compact cyclones that can rip a weakened ship to shreds. Each course requires a different type of preparation. The decision to focus on publicity instead of sales commands you to analyze your short and long-term goals. Like the waters of the Atlantic, there are different types of publicity campaigns. You have to determine what type of publicity is need to reach your short-term goal, keeps you on course with your ultimate goal, and presents an opportunity to reverse your financial shortage. Then, you make the appropriate preparations and plot your new course.
How do you make such a determination and what kind of preparations are involved? Publicity can be generated in many ways. Newspapers, television, radio, book reviews, blogs, websites, advertising, and word-of-mouth are the most popular. Look at it like a science project. The type of publicity you seek is highly dependent on your short-term goal. Let’s assume, for arguments sake, that your long-term goal is prosperity and you subscribe to the theory that prosperity is measured by more than monetary accomplishments. That makes your long-term goal the constant. Your short-term goal is the hypothesis and publicity is the variable.
If your short-term goal is to sell five hundred books, you don’t need a national publicity campaign. You can focus on local channels such as newspapers, radio, websites, etc. This is relatively inexpensive and the result may allow you to reach your short-term goal. If you want to devote the time, you can attempt to generate this publicity yourself. I emphasize devote because generating publicity yourself can be a slow, agonizing process. It demands an extraordinary amount of patience and follow-up work. It takes time away from your writing, marketing, and business management. While the financial risk is low which helps your bottom line, your short-term sales may suffer because you are taking the time away from selling, thus hurting your bottom line. The result ends up being a wash which doesn’t help move you toward prosperity.
If your-short term goal is more ambitious, you might consider a publicist. Publicists have access to the connections needed to reach newspapers, television, and radio stations. Many even have internet publicity programs. If you have a well-designed website, this is extremely beneficial. How hiring a publicist affects your bottom line largely falls on your shoulders. A publicist is paid to get you publicity, not sell your book. Your marketing campaign should be revamped to incorporate the new publicity campaign. You still shoulder the burden of selling, but when a book store owner asks what you’re doing to publicize your book, and you have a clear-cut answer, chances are they’ll add your book to their inventory because they won’t see it as such a liability. Hiring a publicist also frees up your time for writing and business dealings which gives you more of a sense of control. Unfortunately, there is a downside. Publicists require a capital investment. Like any other investment, there is no guarantee for a return.
Either scenario involves risk. The degree of risk depends on where you intend to go. If simply evening out the accounting ledger is your goal, you may want to publicize yourself. There’s less risk, but little chance for growing your company. Your course alteration is minor and safer, but you forfeit time used for writing and selling in favor of time used to generate publicity. If you want your company to grow, an experienced publicist is an alternative. The risk is greater as is the chance for reward. You can spend more time writing, and any publicity generated adds to your ability to sell books. It’s a gamble, but so was going into business for yourself. Your course alteration would be greater, but the sights along the way may be more memorable. Regardless of your choice, the time to make the course adjustment is now, while there’s time to evaluate, prepare, and make a sound business decision.
The ability to change course is a luxury successful business owners have that allows them to thrive in a competitive environment. Course changes shouldn’t be made in the heat of battle. A good business person evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of his venture, then plots a new course to address the weaknesses while keeping the long-term goal constant. Flexibility is a huge asset for a writer and a business person. The realization that the only part of your voyage that is set is the destination opens an array of possible courses, each of which is ever-changing. Today, our course trended toward publicity. Who knows where we’re going tomorrow. Enjoy the ride!
Tags: generating publicity, hiring a publicist, identifying a new course, making decisions, making preparations, taking risks, Writing Tips
