Marketing is a lot like asking for a date with your potential partner
You don't know what you have to do, but you know that you have to approach that man/woman. But then you're suddenly struck by a million fears:
- What if they don't like you (your product)?
- What if they'll reject you (your offer)?
- What if...
And then you're suddenly stuck with a million problems that immediately paralyze you. You see, your brain functions like this...
FIGHT - FLIGHT - FREEZE.
The moment you overload yourself with questions, fears and expectations like these, you throw yourself into the "FREEZE" mode. You start getting butterflies, you start getting tons of excuses not to do something.
Eventually... you take FLIGHT and run. You escape. You procrastinate. You say that it's because of "analysis paralysis"... "procrastination"... "perfectionism"..."not having the methods"... etc
And this can happen at any time of the procedure. You can be in the middle of a method that you're trying - and then you decide that nothing's working and you decide to quit.
But you see, many marketers really don't know what they have to expect from their market when they first get in. They all started from scratch. And even now, when we put our first salesletter up, we still get that pang of slight worry that the salesletter will "bomb".
I know you've heard it a million times already but the winner is the one that never quits.
But only insane people try the same thing every single time. Einstein said that. And it's true - ONLY if you don't switch the whole thing completely. What he really meant by that is trying out different variations to make the method work.
If you're so fearful, how can you get anything done? If you're so insecure in yourself and your ability to make things work... You'll never get anything done.
Courage.
It is courage that forces entrepreneurs to take risks. On top of that, we try to reduce the odds as much as we can.
But you know, there are a lot of self-development people who are saying that "oh, have courage and you'll succeed."
The sad truth is... Fear is NATURAL. It depends on everybody, but everybody has a slight inclination of fear. What makes them different is how they choose to deal with it.
Some people use the strategy of MOVING before thinking (aka "Just Do It"). This allows you to act before the fear kicks in. 7 seconds. That's all you have before the fear, excuses and frustrations start sinking in.
But this is rash. Moving before thinking often resulted in our ancestors getting eaten by vicious animals.
What do we do? We do a mixture.
First, we plan our route/method.
Second, we start to build our way up, one step at a time.
So let's say, you decided to make a squeeze page, product, etc... And you're just so full of fear... What you need to do is CONDITION yourself.
Make as many squeeze pages as you can.
Write/Create as many products as you can.
Desensitize yourself to the uncertainty. Take one step at a time. Master one thing at a time. Don't try to learn everything - like optins, conversions, CTRs, etc... The stats will drive you crazy if you're new.
It's just like approaching a person. Some people experience social awkwardness and anxiety... But you can go step by step:
(a) Say hello to at least 20 people for a week.
(b) Say hello, how's the weather to at least 20 people for a week.
(c) Say hello, introduce yourself, get a number for at least 20 people for a week.
That's how you do it. You don't throw yourself into a marathon and then get your butt sore from all the running you're not prepared to.
Hope that helped...
-James
- What if they don't like you (your product)?
- What if they'll reject you (your offer)?
- What if...
And then you're suddenly stuck with a million problems that immediately paralyze you. You see, your brain functions like this...
FIGHT - FLIGHT - FREEZE.
The moment you overload yourself with questions, fears and expectations like these, you throw yourself into the "FREEZE" mode. You start getting butterflies, you start getting tons of excuses not to do something.
Eventually... you take FLIGHT and run. You escape. You procrastinate. You say that it's because of "analysis paralysis"... "procrastination"... "perfectionism"..."not having the methods"... etc
And this can happen at any time of the procedure. You can be in the middle of a method that you're trying - and then you decide that nothing's working and you decide to quit.
But you see, many marketers really don't know what they have to expect from their market when they first get in. They all started from scratch. And even now, when we put our first salesletter up, we still get that pang of slight worry that the salesletter will "bomb".
I know you've heard it a million times already but the winner is the one that never quits.
But only insane people try the same thing every single time. Einstein said that. And it's true - ONLY if you don't switch the whole thing completely. What he really meant by that is trying out different variations to make the method work.
If you're so fearful, how can you get anything done? If you're so insecure in yourself and your ability to make things work... You'll never get anything done.
Courage.
It is courage that forces entrepreneurs to take risks. On top of that, we try to reduce the odds as much as we can.
But you know, there are a lot of self-development people who are saying that "oh, have courage and you'll succeed."
The sad truth is... Fear is NATURAL. It depends on everybody, but everybody has a slight inclination of fear. What makes them different is how they choose to deal with it.
Some people use the strategy of MOVING before thinking (aka "Just Do It"). This allows you to act before the fear kicks in. 7 seconds. That's all you have before the fear, excuses and frustrations start sinking in.
But this is rash. Moving before thinking often resulted in our ancestors getting eaten by vicious animals.
What do we do? We do a mixture.
First, we plan our route/method.
Second, we start to build our way up, one step at a time.
So let's say, you decided to make a squeeze page, product, etc... And you're just so full of fear... What you need to do is CONDITION yourself.
Make as many squeeze pages as you can.
Write/Create as many products as you can.
Desensitize yourself to the uncertainty. Take one step at a time. Master one thing at a time. Don't try to learn everything - like optins, conversions, CTRs, etc... The stats will drive you crazy if you're new.
It's just like approaching a person. Some people experience social awkwardness and anxiety... But you can go step by step:
(a) Say hello to at least 20 people for a week.
(b) Say hello, how's the weather to at least 20 people for a week.
(c) Say hello, introduce yourself, get a number for at least 20 people for a week.
That's how you do it. You don't throw yourself into a marathon and then get your butt sore from all the running you're not prepared to.
Hope that helped...
-James