Inspiration…is One Helluva Drug

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I’m going to repeat that. Inspiration is one helluva drug and yes, I know that “helluva” is not actually a word (Hell-of-a). As a case and point, let’s look at Pinterest. It is an online bulletin board, where you can pin and collect ideas and inspiration. As of July 2014, there were over 30 Billion pins and 70 million users. How many of those users do you think “acted” on the pins they have collected? How many craft projects, recipes, decorating projects were actually done, compared to the number of those projects that were pinned and collected?

I myself, am guilty of this. I don’t think I have made one recipe or craft project from the ones that I have pinned. I had the camping itch, and I still do, but I have done nothing with the ideas that I have collected. Well, I take that back. I did start saving my empty coffee grounds canisters, but they are currently taking up space in a closet somewhere.

The point is, it can be fun and addicting to look for inspiration for something, but it is pointless if you are never going to act upon it.

In business, we entrepreneurs sometimes get stuck on collecting ideas and improving upon those ideas, but never launch or act upon them. I have a notebook that I keep in Evernote for business ideas. In that notebook is a running note/list of ideas, called “money generators.” The CED Store was one of the ideas that I had in that note to sell and design t-shirts. That idea was in that note for almost two years, before I finally decided to act upon it.

It had morphed from being stock vector illustrations to sell until I could find a wholesale supplier and printer; to being dropshipped fine art prints; to being t-shirts and other printable items. I kept being “inspired” to morph it into something else. All the while, I never created a single illustration to put on ANYTHING. I was too caught up in idea development to act on the one I already had.

Don’t let that be you. If you have an idea, you need to act upon it. In my case, I wasn’t coming up with some new product idea that didn’t exist. So I didn’t have to worry about someone beating me to market with my idea. That may not be the case for you. Within the past two weeks, I have had two friends get beat to market with their ideas.

One is a top-notch baker and cook that had a great and tasty concept for cupcakes. The other had a utilitarian style concept for a line of jewelry. I recently saw a write-up locally for a start-up with the same cupcake concept, and my jewelry designer friend sent me photos they found of another brand doing their concept idea. Does that mean that they can no longer act? No, but they may have to work a little harder to differentiate themselves and do it better.

Be wary of the inspiration drug. Collect ideas and inspiration, but put a cap on it. Know when to say, “Enough, it’s time to act!”

This is a public service announcement from Colleen Eakins Design. (Cue “The More You Know” music and visuals)

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Unplugging From Technology to Take a Breather

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I recently saw an infographic in this article, “6 Myths of Social Sharing” by John Koetsier (@johnkoetsier) in my Twitter feed and I found a very interesting myth debunked.  Before I started posting more frequently on Twitter and was focusing more on my Facebook social media efforts, I operated under the assumption that people were more active on social media on the weekends.  The assumption being that people frequented Facebook more during their free time.  At the time all of the social media princesses, gurus and ninjas hailed this to be true and it probably was then.  Times have changed and apparently this is no longer true.

According to this infographic/article, 49% of people engage with shared content during the weekday.  When I really think about it, I myself fall into that 49%.  My weekdays are full of work, which is on a computer; marketing myself in the digital realm online; and an obsessive habit of checking my phone or tablet to make sure I have not missed an important email or some other notification.  I seem to have an endless stream of chimes, dings and chirps sounding off at my desk all week long.  When the weekend comes, I try to turn it all off.  I truly need a break breather to stay sane agreeable.

Not only have I been unplugging during the weekends, but I have also found myself spending a couple of evenings during the weekday to unplug, listen to music and do nothing at all.  I will not even watch television and the only sound is of my music choice for the evening.  I think we are becoming so bombarded with noise in the form of technology that people are choosing to take time to take a break from it.  You can be in the moment with constant updates on social media, content streaming, etc, but I do not think we can also be in the “physical” moment at the same time.  I think that is what people are yearning for, leading them to take a bit of time off to unplug.  I know that plays a role in why I do it.

Are you a part of the 49% of people that engage more with shared content during the weekday?  Do you take time off on the weekends to unplug?  How do you spend that time?  Share in the comments section!

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The Reason Why Your Social Media Sales Pitch Never Had a Chance

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A lot of us digital marketers use social media as a means to market, generate leads, network, advertise, etc. I lump myself into this because although digital marketing services are not what I am selling, I use digital marketing as a way to grow my business. Everyone has a different strategy for how they approach these channels and what they use them for. For me, Twitter is my online version of attending a networking event or group. It is my professional water cooler break and happy hour. It is where I go to rub shoulders with other business professionals within my industry and outside of it. Recently, I have been noticing more and more overly aggressive or too eager salesmen types at the water cooler.

You know the type, in real life they come across as pushy, pseudo genuine and somewhat too invasive. You can feel the sales pitch in every carefully crafted phrase and question. I often find myself thinking, “You’re not really interested in what I am saying. You are just looking for the golden nugget you can spin into your sales pitch.” Well, they exist in the digital realm too. They are lurking around the water cooler and hanging out at happy hour behind their keyboards. Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against salespeople in general, but I do against those that make me feel like I am being sold to.

If You Are An Online Salesman, Do NOT Do The Following:

Do not use a “canned” direct message/private message like, “It’s great to connect with you here – do you use social media for business or pleasure?”Your mentor, social media guru that you follow, etc may have told you this was a great way to get the conversation started and that you could also automate a task to send this response, but it sucks. Why does it suck? Because a quick glance through the person’s timeline/posts and a read through their bio would give you this answer. It is a task that would take about 5 to 10 minutes and is a red flag to me that you are not really interested in having a conversation with me. I’m just a “potential” buyer that you do not care enough about to answer your own question before approaching me. Also, if the person you are asking is following more than a few hundred people and has a similar number or higher of followers, they have probably already received that same exact message verbatim before.

Do not ask personal or invasive questions in a public setting. If their answer might not be something they would want to shout across a crowded room, do not ask it in a crowd. Take the conversation private and use direct messaging (Twitter) or some other private messaging channel. If that line of questioning is what you typically start with straight out of the gate, stop. You are a stranger; a stranger behind an avatar with a keyboard. It’s creepy; like pedophile in a van hanging out at a playground creepy. Talk to them first, without an obvious angle or spin involved. Make them feel comfortable with you. It’s kind of like being on a first date. It may take a little more work and effort, but it’s more likely to turn into an actual lead, sale or referral. That’s much better than a “block.”

If you want to appear genuine, do not ask questions that can be answered in their bio. It will be obvious that you did not read it. For instance, do not ask someone what their occupation is if that is the first thing they disclose in their bio. If they list a website, visit it. Find out a little background information about them so that you can intelligently engage with them. They will respect that you took the time to do so and will be more open and willing to listen to what you really want to tell them. This will also keep you from trying to pitch someone that would be an utter waste of your time because a) they have no use for your product/service or b) are selling what you are selling. Time is money; why waste it?

I admire and respect those that can sell something to me before I realize that is what is happening. I also respect those that have enough respect to make me feel like they are being genuine with their words. The key word today is “relationship.” It is important to try to build a relationship, even if it is short, with someone. Online we are avatars, logos and profile pictures attached to a keyboard. To be successful marketing and selling online, you have to humanize it. Engage. Build a relationship. Do the very basics of research…like reading a person’s short profile/bio. If you cannot do that, you should not be selling online…or do not expect a lot of success.

Have you received that same exact “canned” message as a lead-in to a sales pitch before? How did it make you feel?

 

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“Your Price is Your Price, but That’s Just Too High!”

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Today I am on a bit of a rant.  No, scratch that.  This is a public service announcement.  If you are contemplating hiring someone to perform a service but their price is out of your budget, politely thank them and move on.  If they are a professional, they will not be offended (you can’t win them all).  If they are well established and/or have a lot of experience, they are used to falling outside of the realms of some people’s budgets.  If you would like to offend them, tell them their price is too high.

You may have quotes from other sources that are lower.  You may feel that the work that needs to be done is not a lot, or hard, and can be easily completed.  However, the statement “your price is your price” does not infer respect for their pricing if you follow it with, “but that’s just too high!”  If the price falls outside of your budget, that just makes it too high for you.  Unless the quotes are a true apples to apples comparison of everything from depth of experience to the final deliverables, the “high” quote may actually be on par with industry standards, or even considered “cheap” by industry standards.

If you have another quote and you would like an explanation on why their quote differs in price, ask them.  I know I have no problem explaining the price breakdown on a quote or pointing out why and where mine differs.  However, do not tell me the work is easy, that it will not take long, etc.  You do not know that.  If you did, you would probably do it yourself to save money or the hassle of looking for someone to do the work.

I don’t think people mean to be offensive when they make the statement “your price is your price” and follow it with a “but,” but it is.  Especially to those of us that take great pride in the work we do and our commitment to our clients.  I put a lot into the work I do for my clients and I am very passionate about it.  I am worth more than $5.

Has some made the statement, “Your price is your price, but…?”  Tell me about it in the comments below!

 

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Boosting Office Morale When You ARE the Office

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As a freelancer, I wear many hats and essentially I am the entire office staff for my business.  Just me, myself and I.  I’ve written before about when the boss (me) gets sick and now, the boss is in crisis.  I have playfully referred to my dog as my coworker and over the weekend, he passed away.  I have been grieving all weekend and now it is Monday; I am trying to throw myself into my work; but my morale is low.  The mood in my office is somber and I am doing my best to try to boost my morale.  In my typical fashion, I made out a list of reasons to be happy and a list of things to do to stay happy.

Reasons to be Happy:

  1. He is no longer suffering and had a full life.
  2. He silently supported and sometimes participated in all of my silly antics.
  3. I have a lot of things to be grateful for:  health, life, business, family, etc.
  4. I was lucky to have had him.  He was great support.

Things to do to Stay Happy:

  1. Dance around the office.
  2. Play music.
  3. Work insanely hard for a half day and then take the rest of the day off to go to the park.
  4. Look into taking golf lessons (a suggestion from Twitter).
  5. Go for a run.
  6. Clean/Rearrange the office.  A change of scenery would be nice.

Today may be a bit rough for me, but I know that with time I will heal and bounce back to my normal bubbly self.  In the meantime, I will be working on office morale.  Have you ever faced a crisis that left your office morale in the dumps?  How did you rally back?

 

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