Make a Plan

As I write this blog post, I’m taking a break from planning my social media marketing for this year’s Holiday Shop. Marketing planning is a bit different from watercolor planning, but the process is similar. So this month’s watercolor wisdom - lessons I’ve learned through watercolor that can be applied to life – is…

Make a plan…

Yogi Berra is known for the following quote: “Make a game plan and stick to it. Unless it’s not working.” And my approach this year wasn’t working. Why? Because I didn’t plan sufficiently. I tried jumping in without a complete plan, and it only caused me frustration and stress. Marketing for artists involves lots of web-ready images. You have to stage the items, take the photos, get them on the computer, edit the photos, reduce the size of the photos, upload them to the website, etc. Because I didn’t make a plan, I found myself backtracking multiple times when I realized I had forgotten certain photos. And that’s a waste of time. So now, I’m in full planning mode to get back on track.

Planning requires contemplation, imagination, preparation, organization, and implementation. In watercolor, you have to plan the layers so you can utilize the white of the paper to your advantage. In marketing, you have to plan the topics, images, language, and dates. Both situations require thinking through the project, imagining the outcome, preparing the paints or images and wording, organizing the approach in painting or the images and dates in marketing, and, finally, implementing the plan.

Sometimes planning can be downright overwhelming. I get it! But if you’re like me and a haphazard approach doesn’t work for you and only causes more work, might I suggest that you take the time to think it through and make a plan. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.