Author: Betty Withrow (Page 1 of 2)

The very first question I ask when we’re talking about a project is “What do you want this to do?”  It’s easy to get stuck on the form of things, but the function is really the crux of the matter.  Once we have identified the exact purpose of your project, we can begin to design the structure.

My brand is called the Writer’s Launchpad for more than one reason.  I have a number of rocket scientists in my family, and I like the way that aerodynamics and writing share so many characteristics, so I got into the metaphor.

For example, the payload corresponds to the question above.  What is the purpose of this mission?  How are we going to get that message to where it wants to go?  And most important, what do we want it to do when it gets there?

When we know the answers to those questions, we can begin making up the process to get it to happen.  My father worked in different aspects of rocket work, and one of the things he did was to design gantries to support the rockets before liftoff. The gantry is only one part of the process, an essential one until that one moment of liftoff. Once the rocket leaves the surface, the gantry falls away and it’s no longer part of the process.  It’s all about the payload.  As the message moves forward, it is focused on the outcomes, not the process.

We never forget the mission, that is, the outcome, as we design the process.  Who do you want to reach?  How do you want them to realize your message?  And what will they gain from your message?  These three questions are the basis of everything else.

So, it’s not about the launchpad, it’s not about the rocket.  It’s about the payload. 

How do we make your message resonate with your audience after it’s received?  How do we make it the one that motivates them to take that specific action that you have stated when you answered that question?  That’s the process I go through with you when we work together.

“What do you want this to do?”  Book, blog, article, personal presentation, each has a place in the mission to create your business success.

Understanding what your desired outcome is makes designing that success a simple and elegant process.

Heading into the Great Space means getting ready for unlimited opportunities.  Know where you are going before you take off, and we’ll get you there.

My teachers in school used to tell me great truths, in small bites.    I loved having these little sayings to reflect on. I guess it was because the real truths are so simple.  The more complicated written ideas get, the easier it is to have them go down the wrong path.

My rhetoric mentor, Mrs. Shelby, had a way of keeping us on track and not letting us get stuck in our own ideas.  There was constant reading, writing, and discussions about ideas in her classroom.  No sloppy thinking or writing was tolerated.  I used to wonder how she got through so many assignments each night, as ruthless as she was in pointing out any weak points in a paper. We were required to read from magazines and periodicals, write up a paper based on the article, and make comments about what we had read, stating a position about the topic of the day. If you didn’t have a good reasoning process involved in your argument, you were in trouble.  That blue pencil could put me in tears, and sometimes it did.

She held us to a high standard, and she told us certain things every time we were in a discussion.

My favorite one of all is this one: “Truth lies in fine distinctions.”

When you think about the way life really works, this one saying can take you through an awful lot.  Situations that at first glance seem cut and dried can take on new dimensions when you are ready to take a nuanced approach and see more sides of them.  You find that your own point of view evolves as you examine the factors that led to things being the way they are.  And you start to see that the way they appeared at first is only one part of the story.  How did that person find that they believed they needed to do that certain thing in that certain way?  What led this process or that to the point where conditions evolved or devolved to create the situation that we see now?

It does make a difference, the way you frame the question.  The way the question is framed determines what range of possibilities you are ready to entertain.  What more evidence are you ready to consider? Whose point of view is valued more than another person’s, and why? How can you change your point of view to learn more and find a deeper truth that is hidden by appearances?

These questions are at the heart of writing, and they are at the heart of the work I do with writers.  When I am working on a life narrative, or a work of fiction, I look deep into what motivated the characters.  In a business book, I want to know all about the processes we are describing so that I can support the author, or write the book for that busy executive.  Truth lies in fine distinctions.

It’s the subtle differences in the way we frame the questions that reveal the realities of life.

As a writing coach, editor, and ghost writer, I find it fascinating how ideas evolve during our processes. 

If you’d like to know more about what I do and how I do it, use my schedule link to set a time for a complimentary consultation and see if we are a good fit for each other.

“Gee, it’s been a long time.  Oh, you’re wondering about that idea we discussed? Actually, I did put that project together (with someone else).”  These are words you don’t want to hear, as a business owner.  What if, instead, you heard “Oh, it’s great to hear from you!  I was just thinking about the last time we talked, and I have an idea.  I’m so glad you called/emailed/texted.”  Two completely different ways for a conversation to begin.

Of course, you want people to remember you…and yet you don’t want to bug them.  At least, that’s the thing you tell yourself that stops you from reaching out.  Is it too soon?  Is it too late?  Both of these ideas are actually excuses.  There are other ways to look at this. 

I wrote a book about excuses called “The Essential Excuse Handbook: 77 Ways to Keep From Doing Anything At All.” (It’s on Amazon.) In it, I discuss all the different “reasons” people have for not writing their books, and in fact these same excuses apply to literally Anything At All, including getting in touch with people for business conversations.  How is business done? By connections, of course.  How to keep them lively and productive?  By staying in touch.

Here is Excuse #23: “It’s too soon.”

You are scared!  That’s why you think it’s too soon.  It may actually be a little early, yet it is not too early to begin planning.  Even though as Eisenhower said, “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable”, you can use the time to observe and make mental experiments.  By observing what’s happening for that person and their company, you can add value to the next conversation.  It shows you care. That’s planning, keeping the possibilities open so that plans can appear.

There is no ideal time for anything, so ask yourself again, “What makes me think it’s too soon?” Think of the interval as a time for planning.

Then there’s Excuse #24: “It’s too late.”

That’s regret, one of the greatest burdens in life.  Drop it! Think about the knowledge you gained the last time you contacted the person, about their style, their values, their needs.  Is it really too late?  Maybe, or maybe not.  How will you know if you don’t reach out? If it truly is too late for that person, then think of another person or company, use what you learned, and start over.  It’s never too late to start over.

Here’s the antidote for all of it: to be the person that people are glad to see, happy to hear from.  Reach out with curiosity, not from need.  Be ready to learn from every conversation.  Think carefully, and don’t overthink it.  Listen to your intuition and your gut feelings and find the balance.  When in doubt, go ahead and reach out.

And, that next time you reach out could be the one where that person says, “Thanks so much for staying in touch, it means so much to me.”

You have experience in your business, and the knowledge that the experience gives you makes you able to choose the right path for your potential clients and customers.  You see what their needs are.

Maybe you did an analysis of what’s going on the business before you made your proposal, and you have a confident forecast of what results would be based on this or that path of action.  That’s what you are being hired to do, after all: to understand the needs of a business from a different perspective that the person who runs it is going to have.

A business relationship presupposes that you are going to have that knowledge and that orientation.  Ideally, that is.  Of course that is not always the case.

Have you ever had a situation with a client that went bad?  It’s one of those learning experiences that in the end give you a better understanding of your process and of your client’s needs, and you may or may not keep the client.  What makes the difference between those two outcomes may be the way that the expectations were stated or managed.

It sometimes happens that a prospect comes into a discussion with an idea that is wildly unrealistic, and you know it, based on your own experience.  Now, it’s time to educate that person before you find yourself in a position that sets both of you up for failure.  YOU can save the relationship and the business by pointing out what it is about their idea that does not work.  It can be tricky to do this if there’s a lot of emotion invested in the idea.  If it’s already a “pet idea”, maybe the client won’t listen to you.  Maybe they will conflate one process with another.

How do you overcome this?  By being consistent in your professional approach.  You can point out that there isn’t enough time for that promotion to be successful, it’s too late to launch it for this part of the season, or that the market they have chosen for it is the wrong one.

Set out the project in writing with clear goals and objectives.  Timelines, deadlines, income targets…all of these make for a real and measurable outcome to be described and achieved.

Bringing your own knowledge of how processes actually work can go a long way toward smoothing out bad situations.  Educating your clients is the best kind of service.  It helps both you and them to set realistic expectations and goals that can be achieved in a timely manner.

My own experience tells me that with teamwork, everything gets better.  I’m on a great team, working with a Google Expert and a veteran video producer to serve my clients in taking it all the way…Our team has the tools and knowledge to create projects that succeed for your marketing needs.  We offer a variety of services for bringing your business to the top level, from online marketing, to content creation and video production.

You have an advertising budget, and something comes along that seems like a good idea.  People are saying it’s the trend, it’s the way to do it, and so on. 

Is it really?  As an entrepreneur, I feel that often by the time you are being told to do something by the guru class, it’s already obsolete.  Staying in the forefront by doing integrated marketing with a long-haul strategy is not only far more effective, it’s a lot less nerve-wracking, so the precious resources of your business can go to the places they need to go.

“The latest thing”…It’s the trend. Time for a new learning curve…Worse than that, everybody else is doing it, and then today’s “trend” becomes tomorrow’s “oh, not that again.”  People rush to and from different platforms, using different types of gimmicks or jargon, and then they look at the results.  Disappointing.  There goes that money again…

The truth is, that a very large percentage of money (some say 90%) that is spent on advertising is actually wasted because it’s not part of an integrated strategy, a long-haul approach. In today’s digital marketplace, the different elements of your marketing all need to fit together and amplify each other.  If they don’t, you and your money are part of the 90%. 

Your website needs to be not only attractive when people visit it, but it needs to be the destination that all of your marketing supports.  Landing pages, videos, all of the things you now need to happen, all are just the lights to lead people through the forest of the digital landscape to the bright clearing that is your website, to start a conversation with you.

We all know that content is what drives web traffic, what keeps people interested in you and your brand.  Blogs, videos, podcast interviews, social media, each of these has a place in your strategy.  How is your content created, where is it posted, how is it integrated into your long-haul approach?  If you don’t know the answers to these questions, click on our offer of a free self-assessment and get some information to start being more strategic, and stop throwing money up against the wall hoping something will stick.

We have a team of experts who can work with you to create a strategy that will take you to the top of your niche market and keep you there.  It doesn’t happen in one day, or one month.  But it does happen, because between the members of our team, we have the skills to take you where you want to go.