I recently went kayaking with my fiancé. She loves kayaking and I am VERY new to the whole experience. So, I jumped in to something I wasn’t familiar with. I followed the lead of someone with more experience than I had. I learned a lot.
Along the way, I recognized some very interesting similarities between kayaking and email marketing which I thought might make an interesting article, so here we go!
Getting started was pretty easy. I was a little shaky getting in to the kayak. I had to really focus on controlling my balance and getting things situated. Once I got the water bottle set and slid my big frame over in to the kayak, we started moving forward. My fiancé gave me a few pointers on how to paddle efficiently and we were on our way.
My start in the world of email marketing was pretty easy, too. I was definitely shaky getting started. I was excited but had no real idea how to make it all work. I knew it could be done so I got a few pointers and just got started.
As we struck out across the lake, the scenery was beautiful. I was able to view the lake from a completely new perspective. I found that I was able to cut through the water pretty quickly. Along the way, I would adjust my stroke. I found that I would overcompensate my turns at times and would have to make adjustments to get back to my straight line or intended path. Kayaking and email marketing are much the same. We get started and we make adjustments along the way .
Most of the day went really smoothly. We would venture in to various outlets, make some great discoveries, and have some really nice conversations. The scenery was beautiful. It was a lovely day.
As we checked our watches, we realized it was a good time to start heading back. Things had changed a bit with the weather and we found ourselves working directly against winds as we pushed across the lake. A well intentioned fisherman said, “You know it’s going to be tough getting across there with the winds at 25 miles per hour”.
I said, “Nothing to it!” and just kept paddling. Inside, I thought, “25 miles per hour?!? This is gonna suck!”. We started in to the open water of the lake and he was right! That wind was moving and it was tough. I stopped paddling for just a moment to get a break and the wind not only stopped my forward progress but I was actually being blown backward! “No more breaks. Just keep stroking ’til we get there.”, I thought to myself. Kayaking and email marketing … just keep doing the work. A break can actually set you back and make things even harder to pick back up.
I think this is why a lot of people quit. They get some resistance and think they can slow down instead of pushing harder.
After a few minutes, I saw a pontoon boat cutting across my path. They little motor was just pushing them through without any issue and I thought to myself, “Man, that would be nice right about now!”.
This is where I recognized another comparison between kayaking and email marketing: Oftentimes, people will see someone else moving through their process faster. They will think, “I could build faster if I had that” or “Oh, sure … it’s easy for them. They have THAT.” And, they give up. They constantly flip back and forth with different methods when something looks easier. They end up getting nowhere and make things much harder along the way.
It never dawned on me to ask the folks on the pontoon boat to pull us across the lake. It never dawned on me to say, “Well, since I don’t have that motor, I’ll just quit. I can’t make. it.” I just kept working. I kept driving traffic to my capture pages. I kept doing the work to build my lists.
We did, of course, make it across the lake. We took a little break once we got in to a cove that protected us from the wind. We talked about how tough it was getting across. We talked about how good it felt to get that part behind us.
And we continued kayaking back to the boat house. Later, we celebrated with fish tacos and a fantastic margarita!
As you begin your email marketing journey, you will face challenges. Someone is going to try to discourage you. Sometimes, the work is going to be challenging. You will see someone who makes it look easy and wish you had their advantage or even wish they would do it for you.
The simplest advice is often the best: Just keep your mind on the goal and keep doing the work. The margarita and fish tacos are waiting for you!
Brian Rooney
TrafficWave.net
source https://blog.trafficwave.net/email-marketing-tips/kayaking-and-email-marketing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kayaking-and-email-marketing
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