A few weeks ago, I was asked by a new prospect what I thought the big difference was between good online businesses and ones that were truly great.
I think she may have been looking for a much more exciting or sophisticated answer than the one I produced without missing a beat.
My answer? Consistency.
Definitely not what people want to hear. And seriously unsexy. But this is what makes all the difference. Especially in a world that’s lacking face-to-face connections.
Why? Because being consistent is harder than it looks.
If you’ve been in business for more than a hot minute, you know exactly what I’m talking about. That rhythm of the same things over and over can be soul sucking, especially when you’re bursting with new ideas and things you can’t wait to do.
If you can show up and consistently offer value, your audience will notice. They’ll trust you that much more because if you can arrive in their inbox every Wednesday, they can rest assured that you’ll deliver their new website, ebook, or copy that they’re paying you for on time.
As a marketer, I can offer you up a million ideas on what you could do, but if you can’t execute on consistency, it’s not going to matter. Showing up every day, every week is what builds a rock solid foundation that gets results.
So how does a highly motivated but innovative and fun-loving entrepreneur who doesn’t love the grind make consistency happen?
Put Your Ideas on Hiatus
It’s WAY more fun to dream up new ideas and make big plans than to do the simple daily tasks that breed consistency.
The problem with all those ideas is that they tend to feel like you must act on them all right now. Especially if you’re like me and you have high innovation where ideas are flying around 24/7. Next thing you know, you’ve dropped everything to pursue a new idea at the expense of everything else.
The surefire solution is what I call an “idea hiatus,” where you literally stop acting on your ideas. In my case, this has been a huge relief as I park my ideas in a notebook and come back later.
If you’re a thrill-seeking, idea-generating machine, I challenge you to put your ideas on a break for 30 days. You just may be surprised at how much calmer you feel, as you’re not off on a random tangent and distracted by shiny objects.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Lose the shiny object syndrome and try this to build your biz.” quote=”Lose the shiny object syndrome and try this to build your biz.”]
Eliminate Any and All Excuses
Even the things you love can be a drain at times.
It’s time for a confession. As a writer, there are weeks when I’d rather do anything else than write a blog post. Or times that I’d like to never record a podcast episode again.
Content creation is a grind. As soon as you’ve got one piece of content done, there’s another one waiting for you. So it’s easy to start making excuses and talk yourself out of it.
Once you’re on the excuse train, it’s hard to get off, and next thing you know a month passes by and you’ve not sent an email out or posted a new blog post. Losing momentum can kill your mojo for good.
My solution? Eliminate any and all excuses. For me, I’ve realized that all the steps to get content out into the world bog me down, so I’ve created systems and processes to hand this off to my super capable and amazing team. Now, I can’t make excuses because I have one job to do. I’m the talent, the content creator, so I should be able to show up and do my thing.
Systems may seem like overkill, but I can’t even tell you how many times this saves me from myself. While I can make the “call” not to publish in a given week, I don’t because I know my team is relying on me as well as my readers.
If you’re riding the excuse train, create a system and recruit some help – even if it’s a friend to help you stay accountable.
Clarity Breeds Consistency
More cases than not, a lack of consistency is result of being unclear. I see this time and time again with my clients and in my own business. The times when blog posts, email or social media aren’t going out regularly, it’s because there’s no real plan for what needs to be said or what should be happening.
Clarity breeds consistency. When you’re unclear, you get tied up in knots and overthink everything. But when there’s a solid, clear plan in place, you can go into autopilot and get it done.
But how do you actually create that consistency? Some of my favorite ways include:
- Creating a 90-Day Marketing Plan. (You can grab a template here.)
- Brainstorming 3 to 6 months worth of blog posts based on your upcoming business goals.
- Rolling out new ideas as tests only. If you’re doing a podcast, try a season with 10 episodes. A new program? Offer it first as a small group beta.
- Getting clear on your voice and story so you can create content that’s on point. (Get the Storytelling Shortcut to help you with this.)
So, are you ready to get consistent? What’s your game plan based on the action steps in this post? Comment below.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Consistency may not be sexy, but it gets results. New blog post.” quote=”Consistency may not be sexy, but it gets results. New blog post.”]
