Not Balance: Blend

Whether or not it’s because i was born in early October as a Libra, i do always feel like I’m striving for balance. That seems like it would be a pretty even-keeled, galas is half-full kind of life, right? But there is a tension there that can be very frustrating and i never really knew why until i listened to Jenna Kithcher’s How Are You, Really? book.

Jenna points out that balance is a singular point in time. Equilibrium is fleeting because there are always forces working against it.

So what’s the alternative?

Blend.

Stop fighting to achieve this ever-elusive state of balance and think about how things are working together and integrating. It’s similar to balance but there’s more play and forgiveness than trying to add just the right combination of weights to each side of the scale.

How does this apply to library marketing?

Libraries are content agnostic. Libraries offer all the available information they can afford to hold so people can learn about a wide breadth of topics.

Often i hear from library marketers about how frustrated they are trying to give equal time and attention to everything the library offers.

You don’t have to keep doing that. If people are looking to the library for more books than programs, highlight your books. Don’t spend time trying to promote everything the library offers in every channel on the off chance that someone might miss a message. All you’re doing is creating noise.

Focus on the blend. How does your promotion blend together to meet the needs of your customers? How do people respond to your channels differently? What things are people not responding to (so you can stop doing them)?

Your job is not to blast everything out in the hopes that someone who doesn’t know something you offer finds out about it. Your job is to listen to your customers’ problems and then point them to the things that can help them find solutions.

Don’t try to do it all. Don’t try to balance everything you offer. It doesn’t work.

Be flexible and responsive. Stop trying to force balance. Enjoy the blend.