THE LONG-GAME: Why the doldrums are more critical than the fanfare.

I love coming out with something new and exciting - a new brand, a new website – and having it lauded… I love the hype! Love the fanfare!

And than come the doldrums…

“C’mon, everyone!” you say to yourself. “We built it, now come use it!”

Let me pose to you that the doldrums are, in fact, infinitely more important than the fanfare.

Anyone can generate hype. Few can back it up.

Anyone can grab the spotlight for :15 minutes. Very few can hold on to it (or deserve to).

Most of us dream of “being discovered”; we want Facebook to happen to us, but that doesn’t happen to those who don’t stick with it.

In a world of one-hit-wonders, how are you in this for the long-game?

The doldrums are when you don’t “feel it.” There’s no hype. There’s no buzz keeping you going… but that’s the time where you build your ideas. That’s the time you generate your new contacts. That’s the time you refine and improve. That’s the time you do the unsexy tasks that need to fall into place behind the scenes to make the next round of hype as worthwhile as it can be.

When you do garner the attention you deserve, how are you going to keep it? Do you have new ideas ready to roll? Is your site engaging folks and keeping them coming back for more? Are you different enough not to blend in with the rest? These are the questions answered by those who are in it for the long-game… those who are in it for success.

So, while others are hyping and than sputtering out, work on your contacts. How quickly can you get great information out to the right people? Work on your methods of communication. How quickly can you disseminate the same bit of critical info to multiple places like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, etc. Work on ‘what’s next.’

Know where you’re going once you get the attention you deserve. Sure, the fanfare is great, but your ability to hold on to it is built in the doldrums.

-Ben Murphy, TheFatherLife.com