When it comes to plants, I have good intentions.
I’m great at keeping kids and pets alive and thriving, but green things…not so much. Every so often, I buy a few plants or some seeds, and set them in a cute pot on the windowsill in the kitchen. But then I always end up over- or under-watering them (I’m never sure which), or the cats start to eat them, and they eventually die and get tossed into the compost bin.
Last year for Christmas, my son got a book about a family of cacti that lives in the desert, and it came with two packets of seeds. So we bought some small plastic pots and some planting soil, and tucked the seeds into their new home. I’d water them every few days, and we waited. And waited.
After a few weeks, a teeny tiny spiky ball emerged from the soil. Success! Over the course of the spring and summer, a few more tiny spiky balls poked their heads out from the dirt, so I was feeling pretty good about myself. Despite not being watered on a regular basis, and sitting on a hot windowsill in direct sunlight, they still managed to hang around. But they never got any bigger.
Assuming our little cactus friends had died, but being too busy to do anything about it, I kept watering them. I’d see them when I was washing dishes or getting coffee, note the lack of growth, feel a little bad about it, and give them a drink anyways.
Then yesterday happened. I looked down while pouring my morning coffee, and I saw it: A SPROUT! TWO GREEN LEAVES! And the original cactus ball is now magically green and almost an inch high (maybe he’s a teenager having a growth spurt). And there are a few other yellow and green cacti rising up to say hello. I was surprised how happy it made me to see them.
Good marketing is the same way
Done properly, marketing can sometimes feel like a lot of hard work done on a regular basis, that never really pays off.
Until it does.
One day you’re mailing out the same fundraising letter you’ve sent every year, and bam! A new donor sends a big check. Or you’re sending your monthly company newsletter and the prospective client you’ve had your sights set on finally calls, ready to sign up for your service. Or your newest instagram post goes viral, and your upcoming event suddenly sells out.
It can be hard to stay the course and keep putting your message out into the world if it feels like it’s not being heard. But you never know who might be paying attention, or what is happening behind the scenes that you can’t see. Success (in whatever form that is for you) might take longer than you’d like, but keeping at it makes all the difference. If you’re not regularly reaching out to your target audience in some form or other, you’re giving them the chance to forget about you.
Why did it take almost a year and a half for my plants to grow? Who knows. Maybe I planted the seeds too deep. Maybe they’re just late bloomers. Maybe they were hiding from 2020 like the rest of us. But for whatever reason, they’re here now. I’m glad I kept up the watering even though it felt like a pointless exercise, and I’m really excited to see what they’ll turn into (especially that sprout).
Let’s See What We Good We Can Grow
If you’re ready for a fresh take on your marketing, let’s plant the seeds. Maybe that means regular mailers, email newsletters, or even a complete rebranding to kick off the next year’s campaign. Get in touch so we can do some good, together.
And if you’re curious about working with a graphic designer, be sure to check out the latest 9 Reasons to Hire a Graphic Designer.