I was consulting with a new team yesterday on a podcast project in the skunkworks.
When I asked about how often a new episode would be promoted they said once a week.
“That’s it?”
I told them to be as obnoxious as possible with the promotion of each episode. When you think you’re being annoying, be a bit more annoying.
This skill or panache for having enthusiasm about things that might seem ordinary to you on the surface appears to be the trait that sets apart a quiet artist who is nice to everyone and doesn’t want to interrupt them as they go about their day, and the people who really put a dent in the universe.
Obviously, you have to be proud of your work. So in this example, I gave them some ideas for being easy on themselves since the first few episodes of a corporate podcast are going to seem forced and awkward no matter what they do.
So be easy on yourself to show up and record (or write, or paint). Then promote the heck out of what you’re doing without abandon.
My guitar playing seems too pedestrian to me sometimes
But if I could see the response on people’s faces in realtime it would be a whole other story. That stuff has taken work, oftentimes 6am in the morning work before my office work when I don’t feel like it but I’m committed to following through with the song on the page.
Online and on social you don’t really get the advantage of seeing the crowd response. But it’s quite obvious that if you post something once, it’s the same thing as a tree falling in the forest. There has to be repeated and consistent force applied to the idea.
If you have visibility issues or you’re not confident about your work, then you can go deep and get to the bottom of it. But the only thing that will really break those issues apart is showing up to share your Most Creative Work. The ice on your driveway starts to crack when you take a few chips into it.
Be annoying. When you think you’ve been annoying, be a bit more annoying.
Be the bumble bee that all these classical songs are named after.