Articles by Larry Chase - Internet Publisher, Speaker, Author and Consultant

Larry Chase - Internet Marketing Consulting

About Larry | Consulting | Speaking | Articles | Press | Newsletter | Book Excerpt | Home

The New Norm 1.0

We're hurdling through times that are redefining who we are, not only to each other but to ourselves as well. Before the terrorist attacks, people kept talking about a "return to normalcy." Let's face it, neither 1999, nor anything remotely like it will be coming back anytime soon. Herewith are some reality checkpoints to use when laying in a new course.

1. There must be a captain on the bridge: This quote from Thomas Edison serves all of us well in good times and bad. It assumes you have a destination in mind and a want to plot a course to reach said destination.

2. What value do you bring to the table? So many people at networking events tell me of their previous jobs as project managers, or new biz dev directors for .com's that no longer exist in categories that no longer exist. The critical question here is what exactly do you do? What is your deliverable at the end of the day?

3. What is your nature? Knowing your strengths as well as your weaknesses can avoid conflicting situations now and down the road. So, if you're a contrarian (like I am) then don't look for environments that demand consensus-building skills in order to move forward. If you don't like risk and living on the edge when the edge cuts you, then get out of hi tech. If you can't live with not knowing, then get out of the Internet business.

4. Would you pay you? Whether you design network architectures, websites, business plans, or marketing campaigns, seriously ask yourself if you'd hire yourself and pay you the kind of money you're asking. Last year I got $100 cpm for the top three ebanners in WDFM. This year I cut the prices by half and ran 2-for-1 offers that were so attractive I realized I would buy those ads if I didn't own this publication. Because I bit the bullet and bit it fast, WDFM has more advertisers than most other marketing email newsletters. In addition to cutting prices and running promotions, I added even more value by jumping out of my publisher role and giving critical feedback on the advertiser's copy. Why? Because I want their response rates to be higher so they'll come back and advertise again. Visit http://www.wdfm.com/sponsor.html#test to see some of these results.

5. Find friends who talk tough to you. It's a lot easier to say nice things when someone asks for feedback. It's a true friend who gives it to you straight. This doesn't mean they should tear your plans, hopes and dreams into little pieces, but rather offer sound, constructive input after telling you honestly what isn't working for them in your plan. In short, get a mastermind team together that you respect and trust.

6. What stories are you telling yourself? Our lives are constructed upon the stories we tell ourselves. How well do these stories match up with the "outside world?" Are they far off the mark? Can you get there from here? How long will it take you?

7. Where did you come from? Very often we speed ahead and navigate by looking in the rear view mirror and marveling at where we've just been. Stop the car, retrace your steps and see why you've made the turns you made. Knowing where you've been and how you got there often helps you see where you're going and which turns to avoid this time around. This practice can help you step off of what I call the "temporal merry-go-round." (First Usage)

8. What's your passion? Just making money isn't much of a goal. There's no content to that goal. If you visualize a day in the life of you one year or five years from now, who would be in it and why? What function would you be doing? Define the joy you take from those people and tasks, then start the car up again and hit the accelerator.

9. How do you get there from here? Generally, when people are in "redef" as I call it, they need to identify a continuity, that thread which will link them from here to there. In short, what do you have in common with the destination you're envisioning?

10. Tough love and compassion: When folks are in "redef" they often employ the tough love concept to themselves, asking the hard questions without always having instant answers. Showing compassion for oneself is part of this process that must be in place, else it becomes self-flagellation, which is self-defeating. One way to thread yourself through a tough situation is to ask yourself how you can bring your sense of humor to bear on this situation. Don't have much of a sense of humor? Get one. You'll need it :).

I've reinvented myself four or five times. I started out as a radio producer/reporter, then became an executive recruiter whilst putting my creative portfolio together in order to become an advertising copywriter on Madison Avenue. When that industry started to get sliced and diced, I saw my next incarnation as an early comer to the Net back in '93. But that wasn't the end of it. It hasn't been all skittles and beer since then. I've had to reinvent myself any number of times whilst in this business.

At my core, I'm a writer. I'm an ad writer. I'm an author. I'm a columnist. But I would've withered on the vine if I stopped there. I also publish this newsletter, which is largely written by others, namely Managing Editor Eileen Shulock and co-editors Mary Gillen, Gail Kerley and Karyn Zoldan. I'm also deeply involved in the list management business nowadays, which is a very far cry from being a copywriter on Mad Ave. I sell ads. I clearly remember a time when I wouldn't sully my hands by doing lowly sales, until I realized it was a good way to make a living. Now I'm proud to be a sales guy, a promoter, a speaker, a consultant, whatever it takes. Oh, I still do radio shows from time to time, but not for money.

My point here is you have to repeatedly reinvent yourself and pull yourself through the knothole. If you don't, you risk becoming the equivalent of a long playing record, or maybe a 45, or worse yet, an eight track. Don't let this happen to you. Don't become a skip in a record whereby you keep on repeating yourself keep on repeating yourself keep on repeating yourself...