Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. ~ Dale Carnegie
Not knowing what to say or how to get marketing messages in front of an attentive audience are common reasons entrepreneurs cite as reasons why their marketing content isn't done or performing
well.
But, I've found that it's not that we don't know what to do or even how, It's being too afraid to do it in the first place.
If I told you it took me 3 years to get up the courage to hit send on my newsletter without being anxious or posting an article and looking forward to the comments, you might hesitate to believe me.
But it's true! As a former introvert, standing out in front has always been a battle for me.
However, I learned early on to do it afraid. Now, for me that often meant taking time to find the courage to do the thing. But, I always did it... eventually. There is a lot less anxiety in being in front of the computer screen versus a room full of people.
However, the vulnerability you feel is the same in both cases. It can be a scary thing to release content on the web. For some, writing something crappy, hearing our own recorded voice or seeing ourselves on camera for the first time makes us cringe and hide in our cushy little home offices stuck in our brilliance. Still, there are other reasons people get stuck in fear of creating content like...
- You don't want to give away too much
- Can't keep up with the demand of a content publishing schedule
- Not enough ideas
- Too many ideas and not knowing where to start
But, I have seen the light and I want to share with you some principles that helped be shake my fear of sharing my content with the world.
Focus on your passion for helping others through your knowledge and expertise. The advise you often hear for public speaking is if you know what you're talking about, it becomes easier. And, the more you do it the easier it gets. The same is true for stepping out online. I credit Kathy Brandon, the Happiness Chick and CEO of R4H Group for helping me realize I was playing small. She told me I was "shadowboxing". I was hiding my greatness by working for great people and not stepping into my full potential. So, a new website went up with my face plastered all over it and now I'm saying to the world "This is me, this is what I know and I want to share it with you!". Thanks Kathy!
Practice imperfect action. If it's crappy let it go. Another Achilles heel is trying to make it perfect before releasing it. I can't tell you how many emails I've gotten from some of my favorite internet marketing "cool kids" with errors and mistakes. And you know what? They send a correction email to follow up their error and keep it movin'. I just love that! Maybe for you the design isn't quite the way you want it, or you want to add this or that. Just let it go. Perfection is a fantasy and a success killer. Practice taking imperfect action and tweaking things for improvement while in motion. You'll find that people want you to succeed and are more than willing to give you feedback on how to better your communications with them.
Believe in yourself, no matter what. Don't get lost in other people's disbelief. Think of how many successful people you admire had doors closed and were told they could not do something. Now consider yourself one of them and keep it movin'.
Trust yourself more that you trust the advice of others. It's easy to look at the outside trimmings of someone's success and think they know more than you and choose what worked for them versus what's best for you. Trust your instincts and your vision. Try your way. If it fails tweak it, if it fails again try plan B and keep it movin'. If Steve Jobs would have followed conventional wisdom and chose not to drop out of college. He would have missed sitting in on a seminar that opened his mind to think different and the world may have never known iPods, iPhones and personal computing as we know it. Think about it! Trust Yourself!
Focus on making meaning not money.Okay, I am not saying money is not important. But, when your focus is on money, that comes through in your marketing and prospects can smell it a mile away. Their buyer's objection goes up and sales fly away. Focus instead on providing value that makes people's lives and business better and they will reward you with your business and tell others. These are some of the ways I've been able to push past fear and live out my passions. I hope they inspire you to step out and play a bigger game in your life and business.
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