I never used to think so, but now I’m wondering if I don’t have my planning and action strategies all wrong.

I started laying out my work schedule for April last night. One of the things I’ve noticed over the past few months is that I start running out of steam by about the midway point. So I figured that this time I’d load up the front end of the month with as much content and product creation as possible. And while that’s really good in theory, when I looked at my list this morning I realized that I had five projects laid out and not one of them focused on bringing in any income until near the end of the month. Could it be that the reason I’m burned out by the middle of the month is because I don’t have anything to show for two weeks of solid work since I don’t spare any time for the marketing and selling end of things?

It always seems that when I need to learn something I get it from all directions at once. One of the projects I have planned out is to do the 60 Day Plan that is provided to Social Power Linking members. After I finished setting my list up for that, I decided to take a break and read a bit of Michael Masterson’s Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat. And wouldn’t you know it, the page where I picked up was one where he was talking about how so many people get it all backwards because they focus on everything but making sales.

I have to admit, that’s me. Being so shy and introverted as I am, making sales scares the heck out of me. I’m the type of person who rarely emails my lists because I’m afraid of seeming pushy. Instead, I spend an awful lot of time writing content that never gets posted. And still through all this I manage to make a sale here and there without in spite of myself. So I decided that this month one of the things I would do is actively try and get one sale a day instead of a few random ones during the month.

How will I do this with my fear of selling? Theoretically, I’m not going to do any selling at all. My thought is that if I provide enough good content, and funnel enough traffic in to the site using the 60 Day Plan, then the products should sell themselves. This way I don’t have be pushy and salesy, and yet the sales and marketing functions are at the head of the list where Masterson says they belong.

Am I still doing it backwards? Maybe. But if it works out, then I’ll have found a viable way to get around the stress of being an introverted marketer. I’ll keep you posted with stats and comments over on the Introverted Marketer blog. But don’t expect a lot of details. I respect Jack Humphrey’s request that the Social Power Linking info remain behind closed doors, so if you want to know the details behind the numbers, you’ll just have to join me inside.

Feel free to post your comments below.

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One thing I do know for sure is that building a list is going to form a central part of my overall strategy for next year. I didn’t do any list building, or even contacting of my existing lists, in 2007 and the result of that was really hammered home to me yesterday.

I spent the better part of my day yesterday downloading all the goodies from the Santa Deal Time sale. And I was so excited about some of the products in that package, I wanted to tell people about it. That’s when it really sunk in — I don’t have anyone to tell because I don’t have a functional list.

The only way for me to get the word about about cool stuff right now is through my blogs. And while that’s a good way to share info, it’s not the same thing as sending an email out on the spur of the moment to say, “hey, check out this really cool deal!” or “Look what I found!” The level of excitement just isn’t the same.

I also realized how much I miss writing a proper newsletter. That was the first thing that got shelved after my heart attack a few years ago, and I never really found my way back to it. Thinking about where I’ve been and where I want to go over the next few years made me realize that if I had kept it going, it would be celebrating a 10th anniversary in January. Instead, I’m starting over.

They say you can’t really know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been, and I agree with that. It’s easy, though, to get caught up in the what ifs and if onlys, if you let yourself. (That’s a lot of ifs in one sentence. LOL)

The trick, I think, is to use the past as a starting point for a more successful future. Knowing where you’ve been means that you know where you don’t want to go back to. And it also means you know those places you want to revisit, even if it’s only to see how much they — and you — have changed.

That’s enough of a ramble for today. Time to get back to the planning. If you want to subscribe to my new newsletter(s) I’ll have the forms up here in a couple of days. For now feel free to subscribe to the rss feed.

Oh, and do check out the Santa Deal Time special if you’re at all interested in doing business online. It only comes once a year, and it really is a great deal.

Have a great day!

PS… I recorded an audio version of this post. If you’re so inclined, have a listen and let me know what you think of it. It’s my first attempt at any sort of audio post, so it’s a little rough around the edges, and any feedback is appreciated. I’d also like to know if you want more content delivered via audio. Thanks

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