You get stuck in an elevator with Ellen DeGeneres. This sounds like one of her pranks waiting to happen, but it’s really not. You’re just stuck there. And you start talking about your dream.
- the book you have in you
- the music you’re making
- the product you present to the world
- the nonprofit you’re creating
- the community you’re building
- the art you create
All of the sudden, she buys in. She’s totally sold on YOUR IDEA! How awesome is that, right?
Then she invites you to talk on her show, give a pitch, sell your idea to the world. But right now, she’s walking on stage as you’re rescued from the elevator, “My audience is your audience. Invite them to your dream.” Except, oops:
- you haven’t written the book
- you have no music prepared
- you don’t have a website to direct traffic to
- you have only 5 pieces to sell and no pictures to show
You now have millions of people ready to buy into your dream, but you have nothing to show for it. Nothing.
Okay, I have not yet been trapped in an elevator with Ellen, and that’s good because I’m not prepared for that either.
But I can on a very very small scale relate. Very very small.
- Strangers liking my public Facebook posts, but I hadn’t thought to add the Follow button
- A blogpost that brought 1k+ viewers, but there was no way for non-WordPress users to stay in the loop
- A free $30 Facebook coupon, but I didn’t have a product to advertise
Sometimes we buy into the lie that if we just had luck on our side, if we could just get the audience that someone else has, then we’d make it. But we can’t wait for opportunity – we have to prepare for it.
I don’t want you to be like me. I mean, in the above ways at least 🙂 When Ellen buys into your idea, I want you to be ready! And I want to be ready.
Here’s how I prepared and am preparing:
- You can now follow my Facebook profile AND like my Facebook page AND follow me on Twitter
- You can follow this blog through email (see the sidebar) as well as through WordPress, and I’m working on an email newsletter (you can pre-join the list now, but have grace for my MailChimp stumblings.)
- I finished the first draft of my quirky meta murder mystery. In the editing process, then finding a way to get it out to all my lovely readers (YOU!)
To introduce your dream to others, make sure you get working on the following:
- Something tangible to offer: the product, the idea, the work, whatever they need to buy into, get it out of your head and into the real world.
- A public place for your dream: whether that’s a Facebook page, website, Etsy, blog, email newsletter – your audience needs a place to go once they buy in.
- An action for your audience to take: buy the product, donate to a cause, follow your blog, spread word to their community….don’t let them just show up and leave.
I’m still a work in progress. But we all are 🙂 We’ll never be entirely ready for the big moment. But let’s do what we can to get there. Build it before they come. And by “they” I mean your audience in general, but especially Ellen 😉