Lately, things have not been running so smoothly for your favorite designer (I AM your favorite, right?). Between the Technology Bermuda Triangle that my office seems to be in and the onslaught of family illness, sewer backups, and general “oh, crap!” moments, staying ahead at work seemed to be impossible. Yours truly suffers from the never ending cycle of new ideas pouring in and not enough time to implement them, which ends up stopping forward movement all together. One of my (and many clients) problems is that because of the time we spend on the internet looking at other sites, we tend to get star-struck at features, flash and “pretty” stuff that we want to have, too – but many times that ends up distracting us from the project-at-hand. It’s called Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS), and I have vowed to make it go away.
To introduce you to this phenomenon, a quick peak at what Shiny Object Syndrome is – and I can’t describe it better then Karyn Greenstreet: “It’s not quite ADD/ADHD. It’s more that a new idea captures your imagination and attention in such a way that you get distracted from the bigger picture and go off in tangents instead of remaining focused on the goal.” [http://www.passionforbusiness.com/articles/shiny-object-syndrome.htm] (Check out her full article, ’cause it’s good) I take it one step farther, as I don’t believe it’s limited to newly discovered tools & features – I think it also relates to that desire to be “perfect” in your business ventures, losing site of what the core of your business venture is.
How many of you have attempted to launch a new business or project but got stuck on the design, look and function of the marketing tools you were using to launch it? One example that happened a few months back – a client hired me to design a sales page for their new business. 2 months into the project (2 months!! It was one page!!), the page was still not done because they were still looking for the perfect stock photo to use on the page!
While it’s my business to create the design and style of my clients businesses, I would be doing a disservice to you if I claimed that it was the most important part of your businesses success. Yes, look and feel has importance and does assist in making sales, but it is not and will never be #1.
“But, Victoria, I want my website/logo/business cards/etc to look perfect before I launch!”
I know, I know – in a perfect world things would work out that way – but in reality, it’s just not always possible. Here’s the thing I have learned about SOS – many, many times it’s a means to avoid the impending launch, and there is actually some other thing behind the scenes that is going on with you, whether it’s fear of failure, incomplete copy/content, lack of funds, not enough time to follow through… it could be any number of things. But one thing is for sure – never let design, fancy features or some new-fangled web tool get in the way of getting your product or service out there for people to buy!!
So how do you know if you are suffering from SOS and how do you stop it??
The first part is easy – do you have a business, product or new service you want to launch, but have not yet? Ask yourself why – if it has anything to do with design, style, or look of your marketing materials, then you probably are suffering from SOS.
The second part to that is not so easy, because it requires you to let go and let good enough be good enough*. Nothing is written in stone, and every aspect of your marketing materials can grow and change. That’s half the fun of running a web business – you can add new things everyday, and in doing that you can get yourself in front of a whole new (or just bigger) market in the process! Adjust your plan to allow for change and growth (so, like, don’t order 10,000 brochures or business cards up front) and just get your stuff out there!!
*Side note, I am not referencing good-enough-is-good-enough in the context of EVERYTHING, just those parts that are not a key factor in your project.
Prioritize Your Project.
Take a look at your new business, new product or whatever it is you want to launch, and put a list together of what all the aspects are to getting it ready. Is your sales copy written? Is your shopping cart set up? Is your bio written to showcase you as an expert? Have you gathered testimonials from former/current clients? Does it need a full website, just a sales page, or a mini site? Does it need a product graphic? Do you need to start a fan page on Facebook for it? List every aspect of making the project a reality. Now, look at your list with the goal of making money in mind – what parts do you HAVE to have ready in order to make a sale? What parts are necessary to market the project? What parts will help boost sales? Label each part in priorities (A-B-C or 1-2-3… whatever).
Your “A’s” are your core elements – and those should be the actual service or product you are selling and any supporting copy or selling tools. If you had a room full of your market, with credit card in hand, what would you need to have ready to sell this item to them?
Your “B’s” are your supporting elements – those things that help close the deal with prospective buyers. It could be some freebie stuff you add to you site, a fancy eCover for your product, testimonials from previous clients, your portfolio – those elements that will pull in the “on-the-fence” prospects.
Your “C’s” are the extras you want for your business/product/service. Maybe it’s a feature you saw on a competitor’s website that you want to have. Maybe it’s a fancy flash animation of your product. Maybe it’s getting your website to seamlessly integrate with your social networking accounts. Maybe it’s as simple as a cool font or color scheme for your marketing materials – anything that is above and beyond the basics.
When you are starting a new project, look at you’re A-B-C’s and complete each one, in order. Get all those important elements done first, then depending on the time you have left before your personal deadline, fill in the blanks with your C’s. Those C’s can be added down the road – whether it’s tomorrow or 2 weeks from now. Chances are your opinions may change on what your C’s are once your core elements are ready.
Are you suffering from S.O.S? Leave me a comment or send me an email and tell me all about – maybe I can shed some light on it, or I can just share in your pain 
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
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