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| Margaret Mahy book signing (Photo credit: Christchurch City Libraries) |
One of the biggest fears that people have about self-promotion is that of rejection. Getting turned down and receiving negative feedback is not pleasant, but it's probably going to happen when you're putting yourself out there trying to get others interested in you or whatever you're trying to foist upon them. In fact I can almost guarantee it.
Put that rejection on your list of things that can possibly go wrong in your marketing endeavors. It may sound like a glum approach to look at the negatives of a considered venture, but it's more realistic to factor minuses in with the pluses. Letting your dreams drive you can lead to miserable failure. It's far better to let the dreams inspire you and have a road map to show you the way with detour options if needed.
Any marketing involves risk, but if you look at all of the possible outcomes then you have what is known as a calculated risk. When you believe strongly in your dream it can be easy think up all the good things that can happen. You get excited when you begin to consider the great prospects ahead of you. This can be a disaster and disappointment waiting to happen. High expectations can lead to a long fall to the bottom if things don't go according to the dream.
Be sure to consider those bad things that you might encounter on your marketing journey. List every negative that you can possibly think of and then come up with a contingency plan to deal with those negatives.. If you have all of your possibilities of failure covered then you are more likely to succeed and more accepting of the failure if that turns out to be the outcome.
A failure should not be the despairing end for you, but just another learning experience on the road to success. You can take a risk, but it's best if that risk is a calculated risk.
Have you ever failed at something because your dreams were bigger than the realities? Do you let negatives discourage you from pursuing your dreams? What do you think is the best recipe for success?
Good issues here Lee, one always learns by failures, put all negatives thoughts out of your head then try again.
ReplyDeleteI regularly dream bigger than the realities. And it hurts sometimes but then you also have to think - if you dream little are you then not aiming high enough.
ReplyDeletePart of being pregnant is the excitement that I'll actually do something and it'll result the way it should - a lovely little baby.
The biggest thing that discourages me from achieving my dreams is often needing the money to pay the bills.
I agree apart from being confident one needs to have smart expectations goals. Rejection is a part of life, it may hurt but we need know how to handle it.
ReplyDeleteGood Post,Arlee. Rejection is hard for everyone. We can't make those rejections bring us into the pits, but makes us strive higher.
ReplyDeleteIs it weird that rejections don't scare me? I think I've accepted them as part of the process. Then again, I may feel differently once I actually start getting them...
ReplyDeleteI consider the good and the bad in any venture. I don't expect things to go wrong, but I'm prepared if they do.
ReplyDeleteCalculated risk is a good thing, unless one spends too much on the calculations! I'm definitely guilty if that to be honest :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thank you.
Andrea, #atozchallenge Mighty Minion Asset
Without taking risks, we never grow (we may also never get hurt - but that in itself means risking stagnation) -- good "C."
ReplyDeleteI think it is important to be realistic and flexible when venturing out to do anything. My credo is "fail to plan and you plan to fail" Preparation, then, is the route to success. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the phrase Calculated Risk. Makes everything seem so much better :)
Cheers, Arlee!
Vidya
Rocking the A to Z Challenge with Team Damyanti
Counting Calories
Cholesterol and the Complications of Living with Type 2 Diabetes
Great post. Especially love your two sentences starting with "Letting your dreams drive you..."
ReplyDeleteVery powerful. And sage advice for sure.
I'm fairly certain all of my dreams have always been bigger than my realities and I've certainly let the negatives get teh better of me. I think the best recipe for success is Courage. I actually wrote about courage today for the #A to Z Challenge. Thanks for this post!
ReplyDeleteMisty at Dancing In The Weeds
This is great advice. We have to go for it, but we need to be intelligent about it.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Ax: Writer's Storm
Fear is always the thing that holds people back from going after their dreams. The irony is that the biggest successes experienced the most failure before they achieved it. Adopting an attitude of persistence will be the ONE THING that will see a person through. That doesn't mean you won't have a few crying sessions, lock yourself in your room, and watch TVLand for a few hours or days. But, in the end, the successful person gets back on the horse.
ReplyDeleteIt's so difficult to calculate success for promotion when others report such varying results. I have learned to go into ventures with low expectations.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments so far. I'll be talking more about dreams in my next post so I won't address more here. Doing research is part of the planning stage. If we can learn from others we might avoid mistakes they've made or use what they did in a way that is appropriate to us.
ReplyDeleteLee
You have tackled some great issues Lee. I love the idea of having a contingency plan to deal with those negatives.
ReplyDeleteWeighing the pros and cons is good no matter what you do. Balance is vitally important. Dreaming is a beginning. It's the initial thought, not the desired outcome. That's why it's so important to consider the dream, but also weigh the consequences. Then you can decide how to proceed, move forward and be open to all the possibilities that await you.
ReplyDeleteMJ, A to Z Challenge Co-Host
Writing Tips
Effectively Human
Lots of Crochet Stitches
I don't care how well prepared you are, rejection always hurts. Doesn't matter what you tell yourself.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a learn by doing business and risk is part of it, just as it is in all endeavors. Hate to fail, but would hate it more if I didn't give it a go.
ReplyDeleteSeeing failure as part of learning is a struggle at any age, but definitely a key to success.
ReplyDelete(new follower: follow me back? http://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/)
In the path to success, failures are looked back as landmark. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure their is a best recipe for success except to never give up. If you don't give up and keep your determination, success will eventually come. :)
ReplyDeleteI gave up fear of rejection years ago. I am who I am and this is what you get. Of course I am no longer trying to sell myself for anything! Good post
ReplyDeleteLooking at failure as a success takes introspection, a level head and a fair amount of maturity (age doesn't matter). I feel rejection for me comes with people more than business at this stage and that's hard. There aren't metrics for that, you know? You just have to thick skin it, I guess - and that was learned, for me, working as a Bilingual Trading Assistant at a HUGE brokerage in NYC!
ReplyDeleteI agree with A.J. Prepare for the best, accept the worst.
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting now, to hear if I get an opportunity that has taken calculated risk. Putting myself out there(video, pictures, words about me)took my nerve and confidence that I won't be laughed at, etc. With the help of my beautiful friend Ada, I propelled myself into it; for the world to see and judge. I'm seeing myself there, learning and working yet, I get a negative twinge every so often. I will stay positive and pray for tears of joy...
You're right, Lee. If we can turn the negative into a positive, learn and move forward - than it's worth the risk.
ReplyDeleteElsie
AJ's wHooligan in the A-Z Challenge
It's not the rejection I worry about; it's the badgering.
ReplyDeleteOh yah, I definitely let negatives discourage me from pursuing my dreams.
ReplyDeleteUh oh, I answered "yes" to two of your questions! I already joined the IWSG, now I'm going to have to call the WACR (Wimps Afraid of Calculated Risks)!
ReplyDeleteJulie
I don't take any kind of risk, and so haven't achieved half what I could have. Luckily things fall into my lap and life has been pretty good. Another bit of luck for me is that my girls have not inherited my timidness and go boldly forth into life, accepting any losses in their stride. Due to that more comes their way than not.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving these comments. Some real quotable material here. There may be many ways to get to a place, but each has its own hazards. The road to success may vary according to who the traveler is.
ReplyDeleteLee
I'm glad I looked at this piece. More than negative, this is a feel good aspect of planning ahead. When you make small progress, you know you've crossed a few barriers!
ReplyDeleteHi human, Lee,
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to self-pawmotion, there is limited risk in what my human and I do. Our dreams are realistic and we work them through in step by step workable goals, leading to the ultimate goal.
Negatives we stay away from. Best to surround yourself with pawsitive resources that are conducive to your well being.
Penny, the pawsitive host of the Alphabark Challenge, 2014!
I'm ambitious and very much a big dreamer, so I tend to plan big. That said, I plan strategically *there is a method to my madness*, considering multiple ways to reach a certain goal. Lots of eggs in lots of baskets. I prefer them poached and perched on a muffin with bacon & Hollandaise:)
ReplyDeleteWriterlySam
A to Z #TeamDamyanti
I gave you a follow.... Great post, interesting take on being ready for possible negative calculated risks... Though I try to think positive, I sometimes think this adds to the disappointment after getting my hopes too high, but I still think "Dream Big" always. Thanks for the post
ReplyDeleteGoing in, you never know what's going to be a hit or a miss. The most important thing is to believe in what you're putting out, and be thankful for the fans you get. Later on, when you become better-known or put out a product that's more popular, the earlier book/movie/album could be re-released and finally get the due it deserves.
ReplyDeleteIf you're a worrier by nature, you can think yourself into inaction. I should know. There's only so long you can measure.
ReplyDeleteRealistic optimism is about the only way to go. Good post.
Being ignored is a form of rejection, right? That's what I fear the most - so yeah, rejection is a problem! And I've experienced it in all shapes and sizes. I'm still looking for the recipe for success, but if persistence is it - then I'm a winner!
ReplyDeleteI am a big proponent of balance in all aspects of life. I think you got it spot on with this one. You can't succeed without risking failure and there is much to learn from when we do fail.
ReplyDelete*~MAJK~*
A-to-Z Challenge 2014
Mighty Minion of Co-Host Nicole Ayers
@Safireblade on Twitter
http://www.safireblade.com/
In my management courses we were trained on how to identify risks and figure out which ones were optimal. It's much harder to do when what you are hawking is you and your personal creations, but this was a great reminder of why it is necessary.
ReplyDeleteHe who risks naught, gets naught. Thanks for tossing the reflections on :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://myeverydaypersonal.blogspot.be/
You can't succeed at everything but taking a calculated risk can do nothing but help your cause.
ReplyDeleteLike anybody who dreams (NOT day-dreams!), I've had situations where my dreams were too big, thus leading to failure. But, I've treated failures as lessons that are stepping-stones to success.
ReplyDeleteOne has to dream big because, if you aim for the sky, you may reach the ceiling!
Best recipe for success: Dream big, plan well, hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. (If you can't handle the worst, drop the whole project!)
I'm an entrepreneur and I rely on others to pay me for our services. So that in itself is a risk. If people suddenly decide they don't want my services, then I lose money! But working hard and providing top quality services attracts customers from far and wide. Always being positive, always searching for ways to improve, always expanding horizons, has brought great success for us.
ReplyDeleteTeaching English with Mr. Duncan
A-Z of hotels
Dreams of failure, real or imagined, would often stop me dead in my tracks with my writing.
ReplyDeleteA-Z Challenge at Father Nature's Corner
I took a small gamble at self-publishing my first children's book. The odds of be being successful were slim. In the end, I earned enough money back to cover my original investment, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
ReplyDeleteI can look rejection in the face, and see it for what it is even, if I don't like it. I won't let failure stop me. I find ways to redirect my energies.
Blogging has given me an interesting way to express myself. I don't consider myself the best out there because frankly there are so many talented blog authors, but I am enjoying myself. To anyone who self-promotes, I say just stick with it, your reward will come!
Hop over for a visit & read with today's post, here! ;)
I've always said I would love to paper the walls of my office with Rejection Slips -- because they will be proof that (a) I completed my novel, and (b) I took the calculated risk to send it out into the world. I will be happy to take a chance on my work, once I've reached those magical words: "The End". :)
ReplyDeleteI have dreamed big, and made mistakes that I now hope to avoid. Planning seems to be a major facet of success. My efforts will be based on good planning and paying attention to details. Hopefully that will be enough to see me through.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving these comments. So many of you have added value to the post and I appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteLee