Yep. I just told you to stop being creative.

I don’t mean with the stuff you’re supposed to be creative with—your art, music, writing, etc. Creating is part of who you are and what you do. So don’t stop creating.

I’m talking about something that should be a “rinse and repeat” kind of thing instead of a constantly-innovating kind of thing.

And that’s Marketing. I prefer to call it “sharing your thing” because marketing tends to bring up all kinds of ick.

One thing I’ve learned with sharing your thing is you must stick with what works.

Granted you do have to experiment a little at the beginning to find what works, and if something stops working you have to go back to the drawing board.

But once you find a “sharing your thing” plan/technique that works, stick with it.

If you keep reinventing ways to share your thing, you run the risk of never marketing at all. After all, it takes time to learn, get comfortable with and execute a decent plan. How can you share your thing consistently if you keep changing things up? How will you actually sell your thing and make money if you keep chasing after the bright & shiny?

If you’re creative, and if you’re anything like me, chances are you get bored easily and must constantly engage with new ideas, books, ways of doing things, new creations, pieces, instruments, materials… and that’s perfectly fine.

Use your creativity for the things you sell, not for how you sell.

So, does the bright & shiny derail you from sharing your thing? Is it something else that prevents you from sharing?

Photo Credit: Spike at http://morguefile.com/archive/display/151873