What gets written gets measured. What gets measured gets done.

Desire is a start, but it won’t get what you want.
Intention is great, but it won’t get the job done.
Decision is necessary, but will only take you so far.

Planning will put you on the right path, but only works when it includes specific daily action that is written down.

Plans that are neither specific nor written down quickly shift and change for the sake of your convenience – not to get better results.

Change made for the sake of convenience, not results – decreases the likelihood that you will ever get what you really want.

Here’s a quick example …

The start of a new year is when lots of folks plan to lose weight by reducing or eliminating sugar.

Well … without a plan that tracks what you eat, having a small piece of candy every few days turns into consuming a small piece of candy every day …which leads to having 7 (yes SEVEN) pieces of candy a week.

Keep doing this, and before you know it you will have not only failed to lose any weight … you will have gained a few pounds!

If you want to experience success, you have got to write down exactly what you are going to do to make it happen.

Marketing is no different.

If you want to build a profitable business with staying power, you have got to consistently produce value-based marketing. This can include blog posts, articles, videos, strategic images and of types of useful content.

Thanks to the power of the Internet and social media, it’s easy than ever to build ‘social brand authority' that markets your business while providing incredible value to your target audience. In fact, much (although not all) of your social marketing activities can be automated.

Here’s the best part … taking daily action that moves the needle in your business is not only easy – it becomes ADDICTIVE when you operate from a written plan that outlines exactly what has to be done to get what you want.

Write it down.

Planning is important. Plans, however, are USELESS unless they are: specific, in writing, consistently tracked, methodically measured and adjusted as necessary to get better results.

Unwritten plans are just good intentions.   And, while good intentions feel wonderful, they do very little to move your business forward.

Need help developing an effective, value-based marketing program?

Let’s chat.  Click here to apply for a strategy session.

~TC Cooper

Photo courtesy by Ken Whytock via Flickr.