I sent a series of emails this week that inspired people to change. I got hundreds of responses many of them saying it challenged them to rethink the way they were doing things.
As authors or influencers we are pulled in all sorts of directions. Other people are finding success in the growing number of platforms available to us these days.
Even as I read through email responses telling me about the way the emails helped them, I was dreaming about growing my audience on other platforms.
Maybe I could do more Instagram? What could I do to get more Twitter followers?
The temptation is in the numbers. We desire the stats, the likes, the clicks, and the follower count.
What if, instead, we focused on only one question:
Will doing this inspire the change I seek to make?
In The Marketing Seminar, Seth Godin opens his course defining marketing in a very unique way:
Marketing is all about accomplishing the change you seek to make in the world.
That philosophy is the reason I started creating live whiteboard lessons on Facebook. I didn’t care about the quality. I had a phone with a camera, a tripod, and a mic. I had all I needed. I just wanted to get the message out there because I knew if people watched the videos, they might be inspired to make the changes I want to help them make.
When I meet people in person at conferences now, they tell me how these videos have made an impact on them.
My point to you, author/entrepreneur/influencer is this:
Resist the temptation of all the many social media and marketing platforms out there. Resist the desire for more followers and focus on just one outcome: the change.
- First, define the change you want to see in the world.
- Then, pick a platform and a service that will best inspire others to make that change.
At The Religion Teacher, I want to see religious educators change the way they teach young people in the Church.
From my experience, I can inspire that change by getting my message to this audience in the following ways:
- Books
- Live Keynotes/Workshops
- Email Lists
- Tools to Use (worksheets, videos)
- Whiteboard Lesson Videos
- Blog Posts with Lesson Ideas
- Webinars
