You most likely have thought about taking your craft, your passions, and dreams and putting them online. You study all new the technology and snippets of code you need to understand in order to do-it-yourself. You immerse yourself in forums, taking free online classes, stalking you tubers who offer tutorials…anything to try to understand how to put your craft online.
And all the while your idea, your dream, your vision sits on a shelf. You end up going down rabbit hole after rabbit hole trying to patch and tape all of the shiny bells and whistles onto your site. I know...I’ve been there too.
Here’s what you need to do to make it happen.
Stop with the Technology. Focus on your Craft.
I know you may be thinking, “But Benjamin, if I stop with the technology I’ll fall behind and won’t have the latest up to date plugins and that will ruin everything!"
I’ll say it again: Stop with the Technology. Focus on your Craft.
You have an idea, a dream, a vision, a concept sketch, enough to fill a notepad! You need to get those ideas set before you start messing with your website and all the technology that comes with it. Here’s an example:
You log in to your hosted website and think to yourself, I am going to create a valuable eBook or guide for my audience that they can download and implement. Seems easy enough. You check out the knowledge base, read through the steps and...then it starts. Before you even have the book written, edited, designed, proofed, and ready to consume, you start trying to implement the steps necessary to create this free download!
Creative people are always thinking about how they will solve all of the problems that come their way. It is a strength, but also a weakness. Especially in this DIY online world we live in.
When you are the single person building out your idea and you keep coming up with new projects, areas to study, things to do - all you are doing is overwhelming your single employee - you!
Put a Plan in Place, Then Stick to It
Plans are incredibly important. They are a tangible document that guides you from where you are to where you want to be. They act as a roadmap with mile markers every so often. When you divert from the plan, you can easily get back on track.
As a creative person, you may easily get distracted and get off track. Here is a simple, two-part plan to help you stay on track and accomplishment your best work.
Take your idea and answer these five questions:
- Who this idea (product, service) for (who is your ideal audience)
- What this idea will do
- How the organization (you) will do it
- hthis idea should exist in the world (what is it’s purpose)
- Where this idea will take place (online, live event, physical store, etc)
Next, divide the idea up into two simple categories: Creative and Technology. Then, focus on the Creative category until you have developed the “thing.” Let all of the tech stuff sit and wait. It will be there, ready with open arms as soon as you are ready for it.
Let’s say you want to write an eBook to give away for free on your site. Brainstorm a short list of tasks needed to get the book complete and ready for download. (Focus only on the creative, not the technology).
- Write your content (this is the most important step of the entire process)
- Format the book; design the book layout
- Proofread the book
- Get feedback from a beta group of readers + testimonials
- Create graphics for the book (cover, throughout the book)
Now that the product is done (the eBook, the podcast episode, the online course), you can focus on the next part of creative. Your list might include
- Copy to get site visitors interested
- Graphics to help spur interest
- An email sequence to follow up
All of that creative work is complete, you can then move to the tech side, where you can concentrate on where your book will live, how users will get access to it, what the user experience will be like and all the rest. Those steps go faster and become more clear once you have the “thing” created and compelted.
Benjamin Warsinske is a recognized thought leader on brand strategy and designing exceptional experiences. He is the founder and CEO of BrandedWorld.co, Inc., a firm that strategically applies data and design principles to develop unshakable brands and exceptional experiences.