It’s 5:30am. 

The grating sound of an alarm clock pierces your restful slumber.

You begrudgingly climb out of bed and mosey over to the closet to get dressed.

The sky is still dark.

And once again, the alarm arrived sooner than anticipated.

For many of us who enjoy exercise (and even those who hate it), this scene may be familiar. 

Before the work day begins, some of us find ourselves dragging our still sleeping selves to the gym to begin the day with a habit we know is difficult yet necessary.

It involves a process, good habits, and consistency in order to be successful, not unlike the marketing. 

There are a lot of lessons we can learn from the gym, and many that can be applied to the marketing world as well.

Showing up is half the battle.

Truly the biggest hurdle is getting there. Once the routine is built, it’s much easier to maintain, and we know the same applies to marketing. 

When creating content and distributing on social media, it can be tempting to run on occasional bouts of inspiration and inconsistent campaigns. 

But the truth is, consistent content creation, posting, and engagement are the kinds of behaviors the algorithm gods reward. 

Creating steady and persistent content is where the true gains are made. 

It’s not always fun.

I suppose we may catch some flack for this one, but I believe it to be true. Depending on our interest, many of us love the performance aspect of our fitness: competing in a race, performing in a recital, showcasing our skills. 

But the real progress gets made in the daily grind of practice, conditioning, and skill development.

The same applies in marketing. Sure, there are some projects or efforts that are really exciting--we genuinely enjoy working on them.

But there’s also daily messaging that doesn’t feel fresh, or tedious website updates. 

Just because it’s not the highlight of your week doesn’t mean it lacks importance. 

Success comes at a cost.

Regardless of what you want to achieve, whether it’s to lift a new PR or generate 100 new leads for your business, work is required of you.

In both the fitness and marketing worlds, this often comes down to time.

We choose to give some of our personal time to achieve a healthier lifestyle. While good marketing doesn’t require life-changing sacrifices, it does require work. 

More often than not, strong messaging and customer leads come at small costs compiled over time, like spending a few extra moments listening to a customer’s need, or tinkering with an email newsletter.  

But putting in those extra moments is what generates truly strong messaging and effective marketing.

And lastly, the payoff is worth it. 

There are days when it doesn’t seem that way. 

And yet, the feeling of beating a personal best or acquiring a new skill is unlike any other--something I hope everyone can experience!

Likewise, hearing from a client or partner about how consistent marketing efforts resulted in new customers or increased sales feels uniquely satisfying. 

At Fisheye, we’re a team that lives for these “personal best” moments. 

Helping our partners grow through business-minded marketing is a thrill for us. So, if you’re a small business owner in need of strong messaging and refreshing marketing, come chat with us!

We’d love to put the time in and see if we can “work it out” together.