It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon.
That saying is used quite a bit in the work that we do.
It signifies that overnight success comes in the form of long days and nights, focused on a goal for many years, oftentimes 10 or more years.
It’s the same with anything else, right?
We don’t see the years and years and years of work athletes and artists and organizations put in before they become overnight sensations.
Yet, we all have this illogical belief that overnight success is possible.
I think about SoulCycle, one of my favorite brands, and their “overnight” success.
But they started in 2005 and only opened Chicago studios in 2016.
Their overnight success was more than 10 years in the making.
Ten years. That’s a long time! It’s a long time to have patience and to keep working a plan. But that’s how long it takes.
It’s a slow, methodical race and you have to train every day—and do long runs at least weekly—if you want to finish.
(And, by golly, don’t buy new shoes within a month of your race!)
So why do we all expect to run a sprint to participate in the race?
A Sprint Approach to Communications Planning
Sure, there are shorter races that are applicable to a sprint.
But a communications program is a marathon, particularly if you’re implementing the PESO model.
But there are sprints you can take during your marathon to get certain things accomplished. Writing your plan is one such sprint.
And that’s what the 30-Day Communications Challenge is designed to help you do.
It’s a sprint designed to help you win your marathon versus just finish it.
But how do you know if it’s for you?
The struggle is real.
Maybe you already have a communications plan for 2020. If that’s the case, congratulations! You’re far more prepared than the majority of us.
(And you don’t have to keep reading this article.)
Perhaps you have it all in your head but haven’t yet put it on paper.
(Cough, me, cough. Although, to be fair, our 2020 priorities are written on the whiteboard in front of my computer. I just haven’t yet written down how we’ll achieve them.)
Maybe you just need a push (and some time) to get your plan complete.
Or maybe you have no idea where to start.
If it’s any of the reasons except you’ve already created your plan, the 30-Day Communications Challenge is for you.
What Is the 30-Day Communications Challenge?
The 30-Day Communications Challenge is, well, a 30-day program that will help you build (or refine) your communications program, improve your writing skills, and give you extra credit for doing things beyond the daily prompt.
It is a sprint to help you achieve your marathon goals.
It help you build a measurable PESO model program and increase metrics you can use to prove you contribute to an organization’s goals.
Because we are beginning this on January 2—and we don’t want you to be working on a plan into February—we have included emails and daily prompts on the weekends.
This means, if you set aside 30 minutes a day to work on this—and that’s about what you’ll need—you’ll need to factor in either doing the same during the weekends or building in an hour on Mondays and Tuesdays.
It’s not easy and it’s going to be a quick habit you need to build, but it’ll be worth it.
I promise.
By the time you are finished, it will help you:
- Build your visibility
- Increase your search rankings
- Make it feel like the entire world is talking about your (or your client’s) organization
- Generate more qualified inbound leads
- Nurture those leads
- Convert new customers
Here are a few examples of those who will benefit:
- Communications professionals looking to build a measurable and integrated program
- PR firm owners who need a proactive business development program
- Entrepreneurs who don’t have a formal business plan
- Marketers who are charged with lead generation
- Anyone looking to add paid, earned, shared, or owned media to an existing marketing program
If you need help with planning in any form, the 30-Day Communications Challenge is for you.
Is It Right For Me?
Still not convinced?
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you struggle to measure your worth in a way that’s valuable to senior leaders and/or decision makers?
- Have you promised yourself this is the year you’ll get out of reactive mode and be proactive and strategic about how you grow your role?
- Do you feel your team is scattered, without a real focus in their work?
- Do you to build a plan to drive toward goals that matter?
- Are you a growth-stage business (or have clients that are) and need a plan to move past a plateau?
- Do you understand the value of the PESO model, but need help creating a plan to effectively use it?
- Is this a make or break year for you or your agency and you need a plan to get you there?
- Are you too reliant on one big client, who knows you’re dependent and plays on that?
- Is your agency culture what you want it to be? What parts of it fit your vision? What parts do you need to fix?
- Do you have the right team to help achieve your vision and position you for growth?
- Are you stuck doing one thing (i.e., media relations) that you’ve always done well, and are having a tough time growing beyond that?
- Do you spend too much time in the business and not on the business?
- Do you feel queasy when you start work—every morning?
- Are you proud of the work you and your team do?
- Is there something you would rather be doing instead?
If the answer is yes to any or some or all of these, the 30-Day Communications Challenge is for you.
How Do I Sign Up?
You have two choices this year:
- You can go it alone with free daily email prompts; or
- You can pre-order The Communicator’s Playbook.
If it were me, I’d spend the $30 on the eBook.
If you do that, it will be delivered to your inbox on January 2.
Or, if you prefer to go it alone, sign up by clicking on the link in the first choice above.
Enter your name and email address and voila! You’ll be registered and ready to go.
Beginning January 2—and for the 30 days that follow—you will receive:
- A daily email walking you step-by-step through how to create an integrated PESO communications plan.
- Writing prompts to help you build out your organization’s story—both internally and externally.
- Tools, templates, and resources to make the planning process a lot easier.
No matter which choice you make, you’ll have access to the entire Spin Sucks team in the Spin Sucks community.
Access to the Slack community is provided manually so if you can’t get in there immediately, don’t panic!
You’ll be in there within a business day (or less).
If, for some reason, you pre-order the eBook and you want the daily emails, go ahead and sign up for both.
And that’s it!
Let us help you start 2020 off with a bang.
