We are nearly 50 blogs into this series, which means I’m nearly done telling you what you should be doing to overhaul your company’s PR and marketing efforts so you can thrive in the eyeball economy. If you’ve been following diligently, you may be feeling a mixture of things: perhaps, a little overwhelmed? I hope somewhat inspired, and you may been considering what you have been doing wrong—or not doing at all—to date. And that’s okay; in fact, that’s what I hope you feel. But the one thing I don’t want you to feel is paralysed by how much there is to do!
Earlier on in this series, I cautioned against paralysis by analysis, or thinking so much about what your company or startup should do or could do that you don’t do anything for fear of taking a wrong step. When I conceived of this blog series, more than anything else I wanted it to inspire action, not inaction. There’s far too much advice out there that is general, one-size-fits all, and easy to read and ruminate over but difficult to follow. This kind of advice creates a situation where you know a lot, but don’t do a lot—and that’s precisely what we want to avoid here.
How are we going to do that?
By following the simple maxim of: Think it. Do it. Optimise it.
- Think it:
In reading this blog series I hope there were moments that made you stop and think: “Whoa, okay, that makes sense. I need to do that.” If there were—pay attention to those moments! When things click into place in your head, that’s usually the basis for them to click into place in your work too. The clarity gained in those moments is the best impetus to propel you into action. It’s okay if all the things I have said don’t make sense to you or for your business; in fact, I suspect in total they won’t. But my advice is based on two decades of working with all different kinds and sizes of businesses, so there is bound to be some advice in there that’s relevant to you. If you think it all applies, but don’t know where to start, the next two posts will synthesise the most urgent and important action items you should take and provide some playbooks.
The important thing is for you to think it through and then take your best shot at it!
- Do it.
Now just get on and do it! Here’s a secret: not everything you do will work. That’s okay. The point is getting your hands dirty and trying out a variety of tactics to see what is worth your time and what isn’t as you move forward. Artists don’t sell every painting they make, nor do writers publish every essay or story they come up with, but doing it is what separates those who are creators and changemakers and those who simply read blogs about creating things. Don’t be afraid of failure, but equally, keep your eyes and ears open for what is working with all the 21st century tools that are available to you.
Find the things that work, then keep doing them and do them better and more effectively.
- Optimise it:
It’s only after the first two steps that you can get to this most important one: optimisation. This is the step that makes the failed actions and missteps worth it. It’s the one where you take the lessons from “doing it” and turn them into measurable results for your company. It’s the step where data, analytics, and measurement are the most useful and you can really begin to see what they can offer. It’s also the step where your results begin to grow on each other, and the machine starts working for you, even when you’re not looking.
Though I’ve avoided platitudes like this previously in favour of more actionable advice, I hope you can view the “Think it. Do it. Optimise it.” mantra as a kind of call to arms.
Think it through, get on and do it and if it works, work out how you can do it better!
Don’t just sit there! Get on and make a plan!! Good luck.
The final posts in this series will be an opportunity to carry out the steps we have discussed in sequence, based upon what your priorities are—and the rest is up to you.
Tip #48: This one is simple: Think it. Do it. Optimise it. (Then tell me how it worked).
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