If You Build It… Will They Come?

Probably not. Well… they might if you’re Richard Branson, Tony Robins, or Oprah, or if you have a few thousand friends on Facebook, or a sizeable email list. Your family and friends will probably help you too, but most of us have to come to terms with the idea that when we’re starting out, if we want people to know how great the information we’re trying to share is, it’s up to us to get what we have to offer in front of others….     
          

… And now you’re probably groaning with the thought that this post is going to be about marketing, and how to market. It isn’t, because there’s a piece of this puzzle that is so much more important than marketing.

If you want people to purchase your services or products, you want to grasp the reality that people buy things because they’re inspired to do so. Think about it. When you buy something—even when it’s a necessity—some type of inspiration accompanies that purchase. Take toothpaste for example. We don’t just buy toothpaste because we want to have healthy teeth and gums. We buy it to have fresh breath and a nice smile too. With those two things, we are more confident about interacting with people. In a very real way, the knowledge that we have fresh breath and a nice smile inspires us to buy the toothpaste. 

The same goes for when people are looking at our books, products, and/or services. They want to be inspired with thoughts of how much better some aspect of their life will be if they do business with us. But here’s the catch:

If we aren’t inspired by our own products or services, no one else will be either.

Most first-time authors are inspired when they’re starting out because it’s easy to be excited when everything is new. But sooner or later, even our most inspired and well-intentioned work has to go through the “construction” process of making it assessable and available to others. This phase of the work is more about getting the job done than it is about inspiration, and it can be easy to get caught up in the physical logistics of bringing something to market. If we “forget” to remember how inspired we were when we made the decision to help others by sharing our information, strategies, ideas, products, and/or services, our potential clients and customers will sense it. 

I’m not suggesting that anyone should start jumping up and down to catch someone’s attention. I am suggesting that you create a collection of mental thoughts and images of the successes people will experience during their journey with you. What will they be inspired to do as a result of reading your books and blog posts, taking your classes, or working with you directly? How will they be able to pay it forward after they’ve absorbed your information? How many lives will improve as a result of the time and energy you focused into getting your inspired work to market so that the benefits could be shared directly—and indirectly—with the world?

Your work has value. It can change lives, and I don’t have to know you personally to know that. When you are inspired to help others succeed, your inspired action is like a shining beacon of hope and possibility to others. When you’re inspired belief is that you’re work can make a difference in someone else’s life, you’re inspiring the people you’re engaging with to believe that they too deserve to have, do, or be more than they are right now. That's when people will start finding you and your work. And that’s when our collective journey to a better life begins.