WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
Thanks for asking!
Internalize Knowledge
Writing is, without dispute, the best facilitator for thinking, reading, learning, understanding and generating ideas we have. [Location 494] [The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns]
The kind of feedback we work toward is in and of itself often unimportant: … What makes this information valuable is the symbolic message it contains: that I have succeeded in my goal. Such knowledge creates order in consciousness, and strengthens the structure of the self. [Location 1285] [Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi]
Remove the Need to “Prove” and “Convince”
Give Back
I also want to cultivate a community of learning for us all to strive and work together to achieve a common goal. We can’t do that if we are hoarding information and not sharing.
This also brings up another point.
Deplete to Gain
There is an idea from a book called Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon where he quotes Paul Arden:
“The problem with hoarding is you end up living off your reserves. Eventually, you’ll become stale. If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish. . . . Somehow the more you give away, the more comes back to you.” —Paul Arden [Location 306] [Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon]
So, for me to give you what I have, it forces me to go out and search for more things to replenish my information.
MY IDEA
Highlight #1: White Water Rafting
When faced with such nasty decisions, it is usually best to make them quickly, get into the new flow, and plan to course-correct going forward. This is a white-water rafting strategy, where hesitating on a split decision is the one behavior guaranteed to capsize the boat. When you do pick, go hard in the direction chosen, regardless of doubts. [Location 1640] [Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore]
Diffusion of Innovations
Diffusion of Innovations explains much more than just the spread of innovation or technology. It explains the spread of ideas. … Our population is broken into five segments that fall across a bell curve: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards. [Location 1662] [Start with Why by Simon Sinek]
Chasm and Social Proof
According to the Law of Diffusion, mass-market success can only be achieved after you penetrate between 15 percent and 18 percent of the market. That’s because the Early Majority won’t try something new until someone else has tried it first. [Location 1716] [Start With Why by Simon Sinek]
if you try to strike a deal with late-adopting Pragmatists (aka Early Majority) using the same pitch you gave to early-adopting Innovators and Visionaries, you will likely fail. That’s because Pragmatists (aka Early Majority) care about incremental, measurable, predictable progress and are much less willing to take risks beyond their existing infrastructure, operations and core revenue streams; in contrast, Innovators and Visionaries are more open to higher-risk projects and are freer to prioritize technological innovation over financial performance. [https://medium.com/@cheriehu42/the-artist-as-technology-part-2-what-is-your-whole-product-c5d871472418]
How to Get Social Proof
To cross the chasm, you want to focus on a very small part of the Early Majority. That way, even though they will still want the social proof to mitigate their perceived risk, you only have one group to focus on so you are able to meet all their needs and concerns.
if we want market leadership early on—and we do, since we know pragmatists (aka Early Majority) tend to buy from market leaders, and our number-one marketing goal is to achieve a pragmatist installed base that can be referenced—the only right strategy is to take a “big fish, small pond” approach. Segment. Segment. Segment. [Location 1115] [Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore]
The bigger the group you aim for, the harder it is to do this. By taking care of this small group, you can overcome their perceived risk and create customers out of that group to utilize as social proof for other later marketing segments.
Overall, to market to pragmatists (aka Early Majority), you must be patient. You need to be conversant with the issues that dominate their particular business. You need to show up at the industry-specific conferences and trade shows they attend. You need to be mentioned in articles that run in the newsletters and blogs they read. You need to be installed in other companies in their industry. You need to have developed applications for your product that are specific to their industry. You need to have partnerships and alliances with the other vendors who serve their industry. You need to have earned a reputation for quality and service. In short, you need to make yourself over into the obvious supplier of choice. [Location 793][Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore]
White Water Rafting
Part of crossing the chasm is something he calls “White Water Rafting Strategy”. It references the approach to winning over a niche group in the Early Majority. When you choose a niche, attack it and focus on them. The goal is not to:
…pick the optimal beachhead to be successful. What you must do is win the beachhead you have picked. [Location 1640] [Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore]
That’s what he means when he says “White Water Rafting Strategy”. When you pick a niche group to serve as a basis to make it across the chasm, you must commit to them and only them because it could otherwise “capsize your boat”.