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How to Put Your Awesome Idea into Action in 3 Simple Steps

Last Saturday, I was spaced out in front of my computer for hours. I sat there caught between a rock and a hard place.

Youtube… or Facebook…

Whilst scrolling for new YouTube videos I found myself tabbing over to Facebook, closing out of Facebook, and opening a new tab for Facebook.

Facebook eventually won.

While scanning the posts of my friends, I stop at one that struck me as particularly interesting.

It reads:

“Met so many awesome people at XYZEventCon this past weekend. At least 7 of them want to hire me on to give lessons and a keynote to their organization.”

“Wow” I tell myself. “They’re really making it happen. Why the hell am I still sitting on my idea?”

As my blood starts to warm and the jitters crawl through my body, I head to YouTube and watch a video of some of my favorite marketing figures getting the job done and teaching their network of 100,000+ subscribers exactly what they need to do to get the job done.

Now I’m motivated. So motivated that I’m walking around the house juggling the 3 ideas I have in my mind trying to decide which to act on first.

Minutes pass…hours pass…

I get one thing accomplished before being sucked back into the Facebook and YouTube distractions.

Does this sound familiar?

Today, I’m going to give you a step by step process to getting your idea off of the ground that’s so simple you won’t even spend enough time to get distracted and upset at yourself.

Let’s prepare your awesome idea for the market using the I.C.E. method.

First things first, identify your idea in detail.

This is going to be the longest part of the process. You may think you know what your idea is but if you can’t

  • Pitch it or tell someone what it is or what it accomplishes for your customer in under 30 seconds. (Click here to learn more about your pitch.)
  • Identify your target market like the back of your hand
  • Write down what you hope to accomplish with your idea

you won’t have any idea what steps to take.

Being able to write down and verbalize the purpose and the goals of your idea will give you direction each and every day. In fact, I recite or look at my original mission statement for a small chess coaching and consulting company I run on almost a daily basis.

My recommendation, and what I did when I finally got serious about my endeavor, is to

  1. turn off your computer, television, and your phone.
  2. Grab some real estate (whether it’s your dining room table, your office, or a coffee shop) with a pencil and notebook
  3. Write out and identify the following:
    • What is it that you wish to do?
    • Who is your ideal client/customer?
    • What social media platforms are you most comfortable with AND what platforms are your clients using the most (search popular related hashtags or search Google)?
    • How will your client benefit from using your product or service?
    • What makes your idea unique?

Start with those, and whenever you go to create a piece of content, pitch your idea to an investor or prospect, or have a casual conversation about your idea you’ll be able to talk about it with confidence to others.With yourself, you’ll be able to always have an understanding, even if a vague one, of which direction you should be moving in.

Figure out how you’re going to create your content. Once you get started, this is an everlasting endeavor.

Delivering valuable content will serve as the pulse of your business. It’s what builds trust, reliability, and momentum for your idea or business. – Tweet this!

Content is a way for you to create conversation about your idea; a way to provide value to others interested in your idea. Developing a specific content strategy is part of the marketing of your idea that can make or break (…or maybe just delay) your success.

Much like in my previous point, it’s important to consider what platforms those interested in your hobby are using the most just as much as it is to identify which ones you are already comfortable and skilled in using.

A few questions to consider:

  • Do you like to blog or vlog?
  • What are the benefits and drawbacks of creating micro content videos (Instagram, Vine, Snapchat) vs having control of length and the best search engine (YouTube)?
  • Can I do both?
  • How much time can I allocate to content creation?

Lastly, if you ever expect to make any money by turning your idea into a business, OR even if you simply want to keep the successfully built traction of your hobby you must engage your audience.

Engaging is a concept that needs to accomplish two things.

First, it builds trust. When you create a blog or video and someone leaves a comment, it means so much to them when you take time out to read and respond to what they say. Surprisingly, it is still a concept that is done so infrequently that most are thrown off guard and become appreciative that you even acknowledge their existence.

Second, it positions you as an authority. You’re not only writing or recording some prepared content, but you’re answering questions as they come, on the fly, in order to help those who need the answer whether or not the question is related to the topic you’ve prepared.

You should simply want to engage with those who enjoy your content. It’s a win-win scenario if you are truly passionate about the awesome idea and sub-ideas that you’re discussing.

Now engage also has one more meaning. For you, this is a very important one. If you’ve listened to nothing else regarding content creation, listen to this.

Your posts must engage your audience to take some kind of action. Each post or video should have a call to action. 

Whether it’s suggesting they…

  • leave a comment
  • like your video or post
  • download an ebook you’ve prepared
  • click a link to a website
  • sign up for your email newsletter

or what have you, there must be some kind of direction inside each piece of content. It gives your reader/listener/viewer something to do in order to get more information while simultaneously setting you up to be a go-to resource for the subject that the individual is interested in. This, in turn, increases the amount of individuals who will visit your content time and time again as you produce more of it.

When you read comments like in the story I made up earlier about a friend was invited to give a keynote you’ll realize that it didn’t happen by accident. He used the strategies that I talked about today to:

  • position himself as a subject matter expert
  • become an active and accessible professional in his field
  • build a business out of his ideas and passions that others had interest in
  • use his skills and passions to make money doing what it is he enjoys the most
  • Create Awesome for others

Try following the I.C.E. method for any one of your future business ideas that you’re having trouble acting upon.

To recap this post…

Identify your idea. Cut out all technology distractions and with an old fashioned pen and paper write out your idea in detail.

Create your content strategy. Find which platforms you’re most comfortable with and are skilled in using; cross research those platforms that are most used by your potential readers/listeners/viewers (by searching hashtags and utilizing search engines such as Google/Youtube). Finally, find a happy medium of at least 2-3 platforms that you’ll use to deliver your content.

Engage your audience. When you begin putting out content be sure to allocate time to responding to comments within 1-2 days. Also, each post should have some kind of call to action embedded in your post in order to engage your audience further.

Let me know how this post has helped you Create Something Awesome Today with a comment below or a tweet to @erickhoxter.

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