Blood, sweat and tears…
People say that’s what it takes to build a business. It’s hard work, and there are always ups and downs. But it’s just a phrase – we don’t actually expect to get injured while we’re building a business.
Unlike with road cycling. I’m averaging one fall per bike ride at the moment.
Why?
Let’s just say that I’m a bit hit and miss when it comes to unclipping at junctions when I need to stop. Every fall has been when I’ve unclipped one foot, and then fallen over in the opposite direction, still attached to the bike. I’m embarrassingly bad at this sport! Plus I’m covered in scrapes and bruises.
The idea of falling off a bike in the middle of the road when there are cars around is terrifying to me. But it’s been a real lesson in “feel the fear and do it anyway”. And the positive angle is that at 95% of junctions I don’t fall!
When you’re learning something new, whether it’s in life or in business, you can’t possibly be brilliant at it from the word go. But the fear of screwing things up holds us back from even trying.
I was at CMA Live last week (CMA stands for Content Marketing Academy) and one of the speakers asked for a show of hands of who thought using video would have a positive impact on their business. Almost every hand went up. And then he asked for a show of hands of who was actually putting video out to their audience consistently. Out of a room of 150 business owners and marketers, a tiny number of hands went up… about 6 people. Crazy!
But it’s because we’re all scared to fall off the bike. We don’t want to (metaphorically) go crashing to the ground at the traffic lights. And yet the only way to get better at something is to do it.
I’ve got a video shoot booked into my calendar later this month. So you’ll be seeing some video from me soon after. I’m still mapping out what I’m going to talk about, but I promise you it’ll be content-rich – stuff you can use in your business.
If you’ve been wanting to start shooting video for your business, watch this space. Paul is putting together a package for business owners who want to get more visible online. Once he’s shot my videos we’re going to come up with an offer… which I suspect will be a no-brainer.
Video is essential now – it builds trust and boosts sales. But so many business owners are dragging their heels that you can truly set yourself apart by creating high quality, useful video content.
Video was one of the key themes at CMA Live. Here’s a taster of what some of the speakers had to say:
- Video shrinks the distance between you, your brand and the consumer (Brian Fanzo)
- Video gives you a more personal way to welcome new customers on board (Mark Asquith – using Bonjoro)
- Attention spans and algorithms reward you for posting video (Salma Jafri)
- Video helps you build trust. Trust leads to sales (Gavin Bell)
- When you create content your goal is to connect and serve (Chris Brogan)
I’ll share more from the conference with you next week. But right now I’m off to practice unclipping my shoes from my pedals. It’s quite urgent I get this right, as I have my first EVER triathlon this Sunday. It’s a sprint triathlon with a 400m pool swim, a 24km bike ride and a 5km run.
I have two goals:
- Get round the course in one piece
- Finish in a quicker time than my friend Terry Gormley
I’m not sure I’d even be doing a triathlon without Terry’s influence, so I might decide to take it easy and let him beat me… as a bit of a thank you gift. But then again I am quite competitive, so we’ll see!
And I’m sure whatever happens on the day, it’ll get a mention in one of my videos.
If you need help to plan or create your content marketing – videos, blogs or engagement emails – please get in touch