My favorite game is “what if?”. I play it constantly. No, not the game of "What If I were driving a Ferrari?" or "What if I were 2 inches taller?" I mean the "What If" game played with tools templates and libraries and spreadsheets. Playing "What If" can make almost any job less time consuming, and yield greater rewards. Let me give you an example.
A few years ago I decided to “retire” from client work and do something creative. I hit on drawing coloring books. That craze was taking off and I had neglected my artsy side too long. I had one overwhelming goal - to have decent sales WITHOUT using Amazon.
So I played the “What If” game. What if I tried to sell without using Amazon? Where could I go to find outlets for my books? Amazon rules the online world, but what about the offline world? I made a list of all the things I would need, and it turned out to be a very short list.
A printer to make the books, outlets to sell the books, and an online presence to drive sales to the books. And of course people to actually buy the books. Marketing to the offline world was no different than marketing to the online world. I had to figure out who my perfect customer was, then find out where that perfect customer hung out so I could get my product in front of them and then find out where they shopped.
I started doing coloring parties at a local library and watched the people who participated. Those were my “perfect customer”. Then I began asking them questions. Where did they shop? What did they like about coloring? What DIDN’T they like about coloring?
Before long I had my answers and armed with boxes of books fresh from the printer, I made the rounds of local grocery stores, gift shops, and our local indie bookseller. I expanded to restaurants, old age centers, and hospital gift shops. The books became a big draw for doctors and dentists waiting rooms, and the dialysis center.
After a few months I had the answer to my “What If?”. Yes, I could successfully sell outside of Amazon. When I finally did move over to Amazon, I had a much better idea of what to draw, who my customer was and what they wanted, what to write for sales copy text, even what to put on my covers to sell better in a crowded marketplace.
I use “What If?” almost every day. Cleaning a gutter that yielded a rich compost from the leaves that clogged it mixed with rain and heat prompted a “What If?” that led to a compost pile made from weeds, leaves and kitchen fruit and vegetable scraps. “What If?” has led to experiments with various plants to try to bolster our failing bee population. Nothing was working, until one day I noticed bees swarming a plant that most called a weed in a nearby strip of vacant land. I carefully harvested it’s seeds and even pulled a few plants and transplanted them around my yard. The next spring they grew and flowered and the bees came in large numbers. I spoke with my neighbors and asked “What If we all planted these? Would the bees come back to pollinate our fruit trees, vegetables and blackberry bushes?” Next Spring and Summer we will have our answer as all of my neighbors agreed to plant some of these “weeds” in their flower beds and gardens.
Spreadsheets give me my “What If?” fix for almost every project and situation. I usually begin a new project by playing with a spreadsheet. I start at the end and work backwards. If I want X number of sales for this widget, how many potential customers do I need to get in front of to achieve those results? I play with various numbers at different penetration percentages to arrive at a number I’m reasonably certain is the right one.
I go from there to the “where”. How many tweets will I have to make, and how often to reach those people? How many InstaGram posts? How many blog articles, FaceBook comments, YouTube Videos? And I apply “What If?” to each, building different scenarios as I go. If I take what I know to be true, such as 50% of Tweets are seen during “peak” hours by Twitter account followers, and only 25% during off peak, I can play “What If?” with the number of tweets and the times they are posted to get a Social Media schedule going. I can apply the same reasoning to each channel to find the best use of my time that will give me the numbers of eyeballs I am looking for.
“What If?” can be used in almost any situation. “What If?” I added this object to my Illustrator library? How much time will it save me? “What If?” I changed this sentence or cut this paragraph from my copy or book cover? Would my sales go up? “What If?” I called my animation code from a central location instead of writing it into each “scene” where it was used? Would that speed up the app? Would it speed up my devel time?
“What If?” is the most powerful mindset you can have. Asking yourself “What if I tried or did this?” and then watching the results carefully can lead you in 1000 new directions. You will travel the road less taken, instead of following “conventional advice” and wisdom. You will stand out in the crowd, instead of being buried by it.
Playing “What If?” can be the most exciting, challenging and rewarding game you will ever be a part of. And the best feature? It’s totally absolutely 100% free forever.
