Helping Comic Book Creators and Entrepreneurs

Ensure you'll be celebrating in the comic industry in 2012!

Happy New Year everyone!

I don’t know about you but 2011 seemed to fly by. It certainly felt like a year of massive ups and downs, and now the press and political experts are trying to tell us that 2012 is going to be a worse year financially than last year. Thanks guys!

But there’s one thing I’m sure about. The change and unrest in the comic book industry (following last year’s job cuts at larger publishers, DC Comic’s relaunch event, the growing number of digital comics and webcomics, and publishers’ lukewarm and confusing attempts to involve retailers in their digital stores) will continue apace.

But the good news is – with great change comes great opportunity.

Publishers, retailers and creators alike are becoming more and more aware of the importance of effective marketing. The ability to reach out and talk directly to your target audience is becoming easier as new technological advances in communication occur daily.

And through 2012 I will continue to show you how to take full advantage of the changes in the comic industry, and to promote yourself and your work effectively.

In the meantime, here are some tips to help ensure you stick to and achieve your goals for 2012:

1. Set realistic but challenging goals

The aim of this exercise is to construct a goal that you know is within reach (so you won’t give up easily), but challenges you enough so that you won’t get bored with it and lose the motivation to achieve it.

Think about what would make 2012 really special for you. What’s the most important, impressive thing that you could realistically achieve this year that would bring a massive improvement to your life? Spend as long as you need on this exercise, and don’t hold back with your imagination.

Then, marking it of 10, how confident are you that you will achieve that goal?

Look at your score. If you’ve easily marked it a 10, did you really make the goal challenging enough? You may need to stretch yourself some more.

If you marked it between 0 and 4, check that the goal isn’t just a pipe dream. Try making it more realistic.

If you’ve marked it between 5 and 9, just imagine that your closest family member will die if you don’t achieve that goal this year.

Now how confident are you that you will achieve it? 10 out of 10? Good.

Belief in ourselves is the key to achieving our goals. What have you ever achieved of any significance that you didn’t first believe you could?

2. Set goals that ultimately benefit you

Ever heard the phrase: ‘Beware of climbing the ladder of success only to find that it’s leaning against the wrong wall’?  Many people, unhappy with their current situation, make decisions to move away from it, but end up moving in the wrong direction.

Have a look at the goals you formed through the exercise above. How will these benefit you once you’ve achieved them? Will they make you happier? More confident? Will they give you more money in the bank?

And will achieving those goals give you something, but at the expense of something else? If so, what is most important to you in the long run?

Only when you’re 100% happy that the goal will improve your life to some degree should you commit to it. Else you either won’t put your full energy into attaining it, or you will be unhappy once you have it.

3. Don’t wait to be happy

A major flaw in human thinking is saying to ourselves: ‘Once I have ‘x’, or achieve ‘y’ I will be happy’.

This rarely happens. Happiness is simply a state of mind, and depends on how we cope with the world around us. We can control whether or not we are happy.

By making your happiness reliant on a tangible thing that you do not currently have, you risk making yourself unhappy with your current life.

No matter what the state of your life currently, you can choose to be happy or choose to be unhappy.

It’s your choice.

Being unhappy can make each day seem a struggle. Whereas enjoying the ride towards achieving your goals will improve your energy levels. Which leads us on to:

4. Monitor your energy levels

There will undoubtedly be tasks you must do in life that you don’t enjoy doing. Such tasks can sap our energy.

In his book ‘Eat That Frog’, Brian Tracey recommends that you do your most challenging task of the day first, when your energy levels are at their highest.

I agree with that to a point, but not everyone’s energy levels are highest first thing in the morning.

Monitor the times of day when your brain and body are most alert, and when you’re running on low power (for example, shortly after lunch when your body is busy digesting your meal).

I often split my ‘to do’ list into complex tasks, and ‘doofus’ tasks that I can easily complete when I’m feeling tired or in front of the TV.  Then, depending on how I’m feeling at any time of day, I’ll pick the most important task on one of the two lists.

5. Play to your strengths

What are the skills that you currently have that enable you to achieve your goal?

Are there any skills that you need to achieve your goals, but don’t currently have?

If so, you have 2 options – either learn them or outsource.

For example, let’s say you want to launch your own high-quality self-published comic or webcomic within 3 months, but have no artistic skills. How long would it take you to learn those skills to an industry-standard level? 6 months? 9 months? A year? Never?

Or, alternatively, you could pitch on forums such as digitalwebbing.com for a skilled artist to work with you, either free of charge, or an agreed rate, thus ensuring that you complete the comic and launch within 3 months.

You may have dreams of becoming a writer/artist in the comic industry, but pitching to publishers with a good script marred by mediocre artwork could prevent you from getting your foot in the door.

Spending your time honing your strengths will give you the best chance of success in 2012.

I hope those tips have helped you clarify what you want to achieve this year, and motivate you to achieve it.

If you would like ongoing help and support, I am currently offering private 1:1 mentoring for a limited number of clients. To claim a complementary strategy session, go to /mentoring or click the ‘Mentoring’ menu option above.

To your continued success,

Phil Hampton

The Comic Academy

http://www.TheComicAcademy.com

P.S. I’d love to know what your goals are for 2012, so please leave a comment below or get in touch with me.

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