productivity

I’ve always been fascinated by motivation to exercise. That’s probably because I hated all my gym classes in high school and college, but became a card-carrying gym goer sometime in my twenties. A friend met me for lunch in New York. She “forgot” to tell me we were going to take an exercise class first. And after just one class, I was hooked. 

Today I saw an email from Ian Brodie, another Educator Archetype marketer I’ve admired for years. He was asking about researcher Michelle Segar and her message: Don’t try to do something you’ll hate now in order to get longer-term benefits. It won’t work. Find something to enjoy about exercise now.

And that reminded me of a research project I co-authored many years ago. We found that people who exercised for their own gratification (such as feeling good afterwards) stayed with the program; those who wanted to lose ten pounds for a wedding fell by the wayside. I work out for the social component and for pure vanity .

The same principles apply to marketing. If you really detest the ‘one best way” to do something, you’ll get more results when you try the “second best way.” You’ll do it. You won’t resent doing it. There has to be a fun component of the work or the short-term reward.

Many business owners find themselves seeking motivation for content creation – anything from blog posts to sales letters to websites. We all know it’s the most critical part of our marketing but it’s also the most frustrating…and it doesn’t get easier.

One way to make a writing task more enjoyable is to combine it with storytelling. Working on a book? Find a story to open each chapter. Writing an article? See if you can come up with a story that makes the writing easier. Looking for consistency? Start with your story archetype.

You can also create a game. Set up your writing project as a “Dear Abby” advice column or a “two guys” story. 

Ultimately your story has to relate to your business purpose. But sometimes a story can give you inspiration so you find yourself thinking of other stories that seem even more relevant. Or you release the story did its job – you did the writing! – and you don’t need it anymore.

This approach may seem a little too simple or even hokey, but it’s actually a way of warming up your brain. “I used to dread marketing,” one of my clients wrote in a testimonial for the Strategic Intensive session. 

Meanwhile, you can apply the code COACHGUIDE50 to reduce the price of the current course by 50%. Click here to learn more and apply the coupon. Good for just a few more hours this evening.