This week in the Starship, at the insistence of the explorers, we started a read-along of my book.
Instead of just reading and sharing the worksheets with each other, I was inspired to make it crafty (We've all got crafty businesses, right? Why shouldn't we bring craftiness into our business planning?).
I had so much fun with it, that I wanted to share it with everyone.
Below is the email I sent to the members of the Starship:
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Hello Captain!
In this week's reading (Chapter 1), we start thinking about marketing as a path. Everything you do in marketing (which is any communication with your potential buyer) is laying bricks in the path of a person who was a stranger, then comes to find you and buy from you (and comes back again and again). In the last message, I asked you to share what your path looks like right now.
But in today's project, let's use our imagination: what will your ideal path look like? What will the experience be like for your best customer be like?
And to stretch your imagination and make it even more fun, we're not going to just answer the question with words, we're going to create that path, and create that experience.
You can choose between three options:
- Write a story
- Draw a picture
- Craft (using any of the crafts you do) a charm for your best customer to take on her journey.
You can do this however you like, but if you need a few more ideas, here's some prompts:
1. Write a story: Create a story with your best customer as the heroine. Start the story before she finds your product: what's she thinking? What's she struggling with? And then! Bam! She finds you (how?) and falls in love and has the best experience in the world! Describe that whole experience and make sure that it's a real story – with conflict, plot twists and adventure (or romance, if it's a love story). For bonus points: tell it from her perspective (1st person).
2. Draw a picture: Using the paths that comes in the map-making guide you can draw the actual path, and fill it in with all of the different steps your customer takes. But don't use words! Create symbols, signs and metaphors for every part of the path (a flock of birds, for twitter, maybe?) and draw it in there.
OR, forget the path metaphor and draw the experience of your best customer. What's she feel like? What does she do to find you? Do this in your own style! It can be expressionistic, abstract, or a comic book or cartoon strip.
Note: You could paint this! Or photograph! (maybe a series that shows her journey, or something to symbolize the path)
3. Craft something: You'll have to do a little of one of the above before you get started: imagine your Right Person's experience and her life. Imagine her troubles and her enthusiasm. Now – make her something for her journey. (Perhaps it's a necklace that gives her superpowers, or fingerless gloves to protect her against the cold wilderness, or a scrapbook for her journeys.)
When you've done one of the above (take all weekend, if you like, but no more than that – don't let it distract you from the real work of your business!), sit down and write about the experience:
When you were in the flow of the project, what surprised you?
What did you learn about your person, or the path you're building for her?
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Ok, so if you're not in the Starship, you won't be able to share it int he Communication Station, but you can join the
Starship here or share your answers in the comments, below this post.
I hope you have as much fun with this as I did (I made a
painting for my Right Person/Fellow Explorer).
I can't wait to see what you make!
