Focus on the big picture

You might think what you need to know for a successful personal life is a completely separate and different from what you need to know to field a successful post-click marketing campaign.

But I’ve gotta tell you, the more miles I put on my experience odometer, the more I find the principles that guide and shape my personal and professional lives seem to blur. In other words, what’s useful for one is useful for the other as well.

Today’s example? Focus on the big picture.

Too often we get bogged down in the details, and lose sight of exactly what we’re trying to achieve and how it fits into the overall plan. A forest? There’s a forest out there? It’s not just the trees we’re wrapped up in, but the leaves — and maybe even the seeds!

When you’re starting to plan your post-click marketing campaign, don’t start with the details. Start with the objective. What is it you’re trying to achieve? It’s much easier to decide what details are important if you can evaluate them based on how they help achieve your objective.

On the other hand, if you start with the details, you may spend (i.e. waste) a bunch of time fretting over a ton of little things that actually have nothing to do with getting you towards your goal.

I once heard a lame little joke about Michelangelo, in which the artist was asked how he could get a beautiful sculpture of a lion out of a square block of marble. Michelangelo replied, “It’s easy. I just chip away everything that doesn’t look like the lion.”

And why should your post-click marketing be any different? When you sit down to plan and execute, keep your eye on the big picture, and chip away everything that isn’t going to help you achieve your goal.