Sometimes we need to squeeze those trendy bastards for all they’re worth…
But let’s talk about your addiction like the marketing junkie you are.
We all know that hot spicy rush when we see the next big thing.
We love that dopamine hit when we whip out our credit card for another course, plugin, or platform that promises to transform our business into a money ejaculating unicorn overnight.
(We’ve all been there googling “how to make money online” at 3am)
We all know the cycle. Buy the shiny thing. Get high on possibilities. Never implement. Feel shame. Swear off shiny things. See new shiny thing. Repeat until death or bankruptcy, whichever comes first.
The problem isn’t the shiny objects themselves. It’s the relationship with them that’s more toxic than if we were take our ex and drop them in a vat of radioactive gunk.
Now stay with me for a second cause this might be a novel idea…
…what if those gleaming, promise filled objects aren’t inherently evil?
What if they’re just lemons waiting to be squeezed into something refreshing?
Let’s use good ol’ marketing as an example:
The fundamentals of marketing are still the same blunt instruments they’ve always been. They’re the rusty hammers and bent nails that have built empires for centuries.
List building. Copywriting. Offers that don’t suck. Customer service that makes people feel less like numbers and more like humans.
These basics aren’t sexy. They’re the marketing equivalent of missionary position. They work, but nobody’s making TikToks about them.
But ignoring the new shit completely? That’s just as stupid as buying every shiny object that crosses your path.
Platforms evolve. Algorithms shift. Attention migrates. (Insert 2020 as an example)
But if you look at the “master” and imho, the real fucking wizards of this game. They don’t ignore the shiny. They don’t worship it either.
That’s the real trick.
They sample it. They test it. They implement the parts that enhance those boring, effective basics. They squeeze the goddamn lemons and make refreshing lemonade.
And as an example cause you know what I feel about all of this A.I. bs:
…go ahead, buy that course on the latest A.I. copywriting tool or that new funnel builder everyone’s raving about.
But and this is a big BUT…
For the love of all things profitable, use it. Test it against those unsexy basics. See if it amplifies what already works.
The hardest part isn’t finding new things to try. It’s sticking with what’s proven while selectively experimenting with the new.
It’s making that shiny object lemonade. One part trendy innovation, two parts time tested fundamentals, stirred with the sweat of actual implementation. Then you can sit down. Sip it. Savour it. And for once in your life, finish the whole damn glass before reaching for another one.
Yeah it’s boring and not so sexy but it’s the type of thing that works. Even if on paper it may bore you to tears.
Stephen Walker.