A large part of my strategy in launching this blog in the fashion that I am is transparancy. I know I have valuable information to share in a voice that is unique, but I am also fully aware that I have never done this before and there are many aspects which will be new territory. Which is why I made the conscious decision to be completely open about my process through these posts, in hopes that through my successes (and failures), you’ll have built in learnings.
Plus, if it inspires you to start and stay consistent then regardless of the outcome, I consider that a win. Seriously go get started, whatever it is.
My first post covered the month of December and the very clear goal of posting every day and this goal has two main benefits. The first is to create a bulk of content very quickly, thus eliminating any concern I can have over no one wanting to spend time on the site due to lack of content. I’ve had this fear in the past when considering starting a blog, and I’ve heard it from friends thinking of starting a blog. Boom, eliminated in 31 days.
The second benefit, and probably even more important than the first is to create the habit and solidify the discipline. Writing is powerful tool for both creating and implementing your strategy and even though I take time consistently (3-4 times/week) to journal or stream of conscious, I know that creating a daily writing habit, and having those writings focused towards a common goal will pay dividends. I recommend listening to this seanwes podcast on writing. He does a great job of laying out the vast benefits of writing, even if you’re not a writer.
Writing and posting daily is only one of three goals that I have for December. Goal #2 – get the site looking better and flushed out to include an about page, a resources section and maybe a few other nuggets. Goal #3 – start an email list and get 100 people signed up.
Here’s the overall breakdown:
Today – create the habit, share some knowledge, inspire the masses (and by masses I of course mean my wife and my friends, at least to start), write, write, write.
Soon – create an email list by directing traffic to the site and obtaining sign ups from people who find my content worthwhile. I’ll go deeper into how all this is done as I begin implementation.
In the next 6-8 months – work on a book/course combo which will be very much tied to the work I’m doing here. As of now they will be complimentary and the working title is “Reduce User Friction”
Beyond and/or in conjunction – community tools, a series of meet-ups, speaking gigs and a podcast. This could be a slack channel, coffee dates in different cities, a Ted talk and a podcast on product management, or it could be completely different. What I do know is that the vision I have for what I’m building involves aspects of all of those things (and if things go really well a lot more), but just as I would build any other product (which is what this is), feedback from my users (you), is going to be crucial and my own learnings will clearly take things in new directions. Just from writing this post today I created 3 other posts all coming your way this week, including a post on habits, a post on my (non-existent) content calendar and a post on writing.
So, like the blog itself, my strategy is a work in progress, but I’m focused on the vision and on Today and Soon, and to a lesser extend the next 6-8 months. The important part is, you need to write it down and refer back to it frequently. Take 3 minutes every day and read your vision and high level goals. This will help keep them top of mind as you’re making strategic decisions as well as carve them a little deeper into your psyche.
Four days into mikespotten.com and I’m really pumped. I’m so excited to share my knowledge with you as well as have you along for the journey. It’s funny how close excitement and fear live in relation to one another, isn’t it?