Skip The Hype, Do The Work

Movie production companies hype their latest movie. Authors hype their latest book. Bands and musicians hype their newest album.

Everyone is trying to tell us that their latest effort is the next best thing.

Rarely is that the case and we’re let down. We need to start skipping the hype and doing the work.

Image by David Goehring

Have you ever been so excited to see the latest summer blockbuster only to be sorely let down? The previews showed exciting action or extremely funny scenes. Yet when you go to the theater and watch the movie it was disappointing? Yeah, that happens.

We need to get to the point where we’re past the hype.

Instead of building hype, create great art.

Great art will inspire those that hear or view it. Great art will leave an impression. Great art moves.

Creating great art takes hard work. More hard work than creating the hype to boost attendance or readership.

You must be willing to put your time into your craft. You will have to be consistent. You will need to know your audience. You will have to feed them what they want.

You can hype a questionable product for a little while, but you’ll never build an enduring business.
– Victor Kiam

You have to do the work of discovery.

Begin by researching what you will be creating. Look at the creations that are drawing people in.

What do they have in common? What do people find fascinating about them? How is it being created?

Discover this and you have the first piece to the puzzle.

You must put in a great effort.

Doing the work requires you to put in a great effort. You can’t toss a couple of ingredients together and expect great art. It doesn’t work that way.

Set aside blocks of time to work on the new project, and the new project alone. Let it be your sole focus in set intervals. Keep the distractions to a minimum.

Pour your time and energy into the project. Work it and rework it. Keep at it until you’ve expended your energy.

You need to share your project.

Throw pieces of your project to your most devoted fans. Give them the morsels that will whet their appetite. Get them to ask you for more.

If you’ve got raving fans, ask them to help you out. Send out a distress call asking for volunteers to help promote your project.

The devotees will come running and shout your project to the masses.

Doing the work pays off.

When you take the time to build a quality product, it pays off in the long run. You won’t have to run the hype machine. You can skip the hype!

Fans love a quality product. When you get the quality product into the right hands, the fans will share their love of the product. Building the hype so you don’t have to.

What’s stopping you?

There’s nothing stopping you from doing the work to create a great product. Other than yourself.

I know this. I hold myself back when it comes to projects and releasing great art.

We’ve got to overcome the fear that comes from before we do the work.

Begin by telling yourself that you’re worthy. You can do worthwhile work. You are successful.

Overcome the negative thoughts in your head. Doing this sets you free to do the work you were created to accomplish.

Now, go and do the work.

If you hype something and it succeeds, you’re a genius – it wasn’t a hype. If you hype it and it fails, then it was just a hype.
– Neil Bogart

Question: When have you been let down by the hype? Do you think you’ve ever let your audience down by hyping your product too much? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.