Inside every marketer there’s a maker. Seriously. Go look.
I’m a big advocate of planning and strategy. Strategy defines your work and your focus. However. Sometimes you can get so bogged down in strategy that it effects your ability to make.
Making is important.
There’s doing. That’s the work that keeps you busy.
Then there’s making. That’s where you create impact within your customer’s world.
Making forces you to be consistent in your work. Once you’ve started something it’s a hell of a lot easier to continue. Starting is always the most difficult task. Making builds traction. It brings out your creative side.
- podcasting
- video production
- making an interview series
- a newsletter you publish each and every week
- an online course that will educate and inspire your audience
When you consider yourself as a maker you bring a different perspective to your work.
a person or thing that makes or produces something.
Consider that definition against the role of the marketer to ‘promote or sell a product or service‘
As a maker you will value your work far more. You’ll feel that intrinsic warm cuddly feeling they call pride when you hit ‘publish’ or ‘create’ or whatever call to action makes things happen. 3 Harvard professors (including the brilliant author of Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely) prove this to be true. The IKEA Effect. The additional value we place on a product we’ve had hands-on input in creating. You can download the paper and read about the IKEA effect here
This is why I get so frustrated when I see smart creative marketers outsourcing ‘making’ to agencies. When your making requires specialist skills well outside of your locker you seek agency assistance. And you learn. You ask questions. You understand what they’re doing and why.
If you hire a copywriter, learn their writing process.
If you hire a videographer, learn their shooting process.
If you hire an Adwords agency, learn their approach.
Always ask questions. Having been on the ‘outsourcing’ and client side I know the value of a strong relationship between the two parties. Questions don’t hinder. They advance.
If there’s too much delegating on your plate it gets in the way of making. Ask yourself, is outsourcing really the best long-term solution?
We know who manages. Who makes?
I’m also concerned by the way the role of ‘marketing manager’ is evolving. Maybe there’s too much management taking place? Maybe with the numerous hats the marketing manager now wears the opportunity to make is now lost?
The typical marketing hierarchy is:
- Marketing Executive (learning)
- Marketing Manager (managing)
- Marketing Director (directing)
Refer back to the title of this article. What are you making today? Who’s the maker in the exec / manager / director formation?
How would you feel if I took some tipex to your business card and turned your role into MA_KE__R?
Go take a look at the 120+ episodes of Goulet Pens Q+A from founder Brian Goulet. 128 consistent weeks of making a video for his audience compiled by questions raised by his audience. Building authority within his industry. Not through ‘doing’ but ‘making’ something of value. Something that acts as a point of reference now and in the future. A library of authority his audience can tap into at any time.
Making is about creating business assets. Advertising isn’t a business asset. Search engine ranking isn’t a business asset. Your social media updates are not a business asset. They take place on other people’s platforms. Consider how you can make a resource for your customers that has a longer shelf life than the work you’re doing right now. Something you take ownership of. I’m sure there’s an abundance of ideas. I’m sure there’s a desire to be a maker. Consider what is stopping you and how you can eradicate that block.
Making builds responsibility to your audience. Yes, some days it can be tiresome. Others you’re questioning what and who you are making for. Like any creative it’s not always plain sailing. It’s never an easy ride. It’s your duty to show up and build traction. We’re approaching episode 100 of the Marketing Homebrew podcast I co-host each week. There are crazy weeks in the calendar where you can’t see how you can make time to record. But you make it. You have a responsibility to make it. People expect. It’s a great motivator.
I don’t think I’ve met a marketer who isn’t ‘currently considering’ making a podcast. Technology or budget won’t be holding you back. What is? Time? Make time.
Making delivers value. For you, your business and your audience.
Go make something of value.
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