Tag: work

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Writing and Publishing

Why Work Is Cyclical

work is cyclical

In theory, my workload should proceed as a steady flow of predictable effort year round. In reality, it doesn’t happen that way.

It takes five weeks from start to finish to produce one issue of one magazine, and Connections Magazine is published six times a year. Medical Call Center News and Answer Stat releases every other month, while TAS Trader releases every month. This means I’m typically working on two or three issues of one publication or another at any given time.

This results in a steady, expected ebb and flow of activity. In addition, are blogs which are updated weekly, and scheduled monthly duties. It would seem that my work should smoothly move from one day to the next, evenly paced throughout the year.

The reality is that my effective workload is quite cyclical. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, things are slow. Between Christmas and New Year’s, it’s extremely slow. It’s also slow during the summer. After Memorial Day, things drop off. And after the Fourth of July, it’s as if someone turned off a switch; it stays that way until Labor Day.

The times between New Year’s Day and Memorial Day, as well as Labor Day to Thanksgiving Day are my “busy times.”

Ironically, I have the same amount of work to do throughout the year, but it takes twice as long to accomplish it during my “busy times.” The reason is that during my “busy times,” I receive more phone calls and email messages (mostly email). These communications don’t directly relate to my work of publishing magazines or websites, but they are tangential to it.

The flood of these secondary interactions is so much so that during my “slow times” I can generally do all required work in 3 to 6 hours a day, whereas during my “busy times” it takes 6 to 10 hours to accomplish the same amount of essential work. In fact, during my “busy times,” some Mondays are so bad, that all I do is respond to email messages. Some Friday afternoons are like that as well.

My conclusion is that these secondary email messages result in a huge productivity drain—in my case about 50 percent. If I can just curb non-essential email, I could reclaim a great deal of lost productivity.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

Is Two Really Twice As Good As One?

Several years ago, I sought to add another product to my publishing business. I looked at options and considered alternatives.Two possibilities rose to the top. I began investigating both, planning to pursue whichever path opened up first. Instead, they both did. So, I embarked on two nearly simultaneous publication launches: AnswerStat (information hub for healthcare contact center news and resources) and Answer Plus Newsletter (for telephone answering services).

AnswerStat used to be an advertiser-supported magazine, in which ad revenues cover the production and distribution costs; it is a model in which I take all the risks (I could lose money—and have on a few issues—or realize a profit, which are beginning to occur on a somewhat regular basis).  In contrast, Answer Plus Newsletter was a custom publication in which a sponsor covered all the costs. In this endeavor, my risks were minimal and a modest profit was ensured. (AnswerStat is still going strong, but I pulled the plug on Answer Plus after two issues.)

Launching both simultaneously was a confusing challenge. I was forever getting the two confused, as each had different requirements, goals, and expectations. This would result in things being overlooked or double-checked. I asserted that I would never again make the mistake to two simultaneous product launches—it is just too bewildering.

Fast forward seven years  later and I did it again. After years of being a “future” project, I launched TAS Trader, an e-publication. (It is laid out like a printed newsletter, but distributed electronically.) It is an advertiser-supported publication.  Right on its heels was another “someday” project, an e-newsletter, Medical Call Center News. It is supported by a sponsor.

Although neither is printed and both rely on email for connecting with readers, the similarities end there. Their design is different, their cost structures are different, their distribution is different, the revenue models are different, and their supporting websites are different.

So, guess what? It was a confusing challenge. So much so, that I’ll never again launch two products at the same time. Really.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Business

Is Gamification a Trend or a Fad?

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

I was quite skeptical about “gamification,” the use of game concepts to motivate desirable behavior among customers (or employees).

I reasoned that while expecting customers to “play games” might result in a short-term increase in brand involvement or purchases, I doubted if it was sustainable. However, I am rethinking my knee-jerk assessment.

As a Netflix customer, I was likely involved in a basic gamification effort. As I posted movie reviews on their site, I was given a “reviewer rank.” As I posted more reviews, my rank would improve.

At one point I had worked my way to the neighborhood of 5,000 out of several million reviewers. Bettering my reviewer rank became a game for me. Yes, I enjoyed watching the movies and, yes, I found it rewarding to share my input with other Netflix customers, but the validation of my efforts came through watching my reviewer rank improve.

However, if it was a “game,” the problem was I didn’t know the rules. I assumed more reviews were good, more readers of my reviews were beneficial, and more people flagging my reviews as “helpful” in comparison to “not helpful” was also a factor.

But this could not be verified, as everything I did was competing with what others did. So I could do something to improve my reviewer rank, but if others did even more to improve theirs, my rank would actually decrease.

I reviewed 71 movies and then abruptly stopped when I realized I no longer enjoyed doing so.

It seems gamification may work after all — at least for a while.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Leadership and Management featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

The Work of Publishing Periodicals

I publish four periodicals: two magazines, an e-publication, and an e-newsletter. There is an established workflow to each, with every day requiring that some task be accomplished for at least one of them.

Additionally, one of the magazines has an overlapping production schedule, meaning that sometimes I have to start the next issue before the current one is finished.

The result is that at any given time, I am working on four or five publications. Given a bit of discipline, it is all quite manageable — when I am in the office.

Two weeks ago, I missed four days in the office due to traveling to and covering a convention. I began my preparations in earnest two weeks prior to departure, working in advance and accomplishing tasks ahead of schedule to the degree it was possible.

Essentially, this meant doing three weeks of production work in two weeks. Some ancillary things, such as blogging, fell by the wayside.

Then I was gone for a week. Then I spent a week getting caught up from being gone. This included doing those tasks that could not be done in advance, responding to issues that arose while I was gone, and following up on everything from the convention.

So, the essence is that being gone for four days required a concerted effort lasting four weeks.

Although this may sound like complaining, it is really explaining—why it has been 21 days since my last blog entry.

[If you are interested, my publications are Connections Magazine, AnswerStat, TAS Trader, and Medical Call Center News.]

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Business

Collections

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

I love my work—at least 99 percent of it. There are two things that I don’t enjoy and top on that list is making collection calls. On those days when my bride asks, “How was your day?” I can only grunt in disgust. “Why are you in such a bad mood?” she asks. “Oh, must be you were making collection calls,” she answers for herself.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

On Wednesday it came time to make those calls; it was overdue. You see, I back off on collections during the holidays. I know that it’s not a good practice from a strict business standpoint, but it seems like the right thing to do. 

After all, how can I call someone to say, “Pay me the money you owe—and by the way, have a wonderful Christmas!”? So, I opt not to make collection calls from mid-December until—now.

Thankfully, most people pay on time, every time.

Some need an occasional reminder because something happened to thwart payment: the invoice was lost, the approval was not processed, the accounts payable person was on vacation (or quit), and so on. In these instances, one call is all that it takes.

Then there are those companies who need a call for every invoice, often multiple times. Fortunately, I only have a few of them, but they sure do try my patience. Some have cash flow problems, others are bad managers, and some—I am quite sure—merely wait for me to call.

Some delinquent accounts are open and honest about their situation. If so, I will be patient and work with them. Others play games. They don’t return phone calls, they lost the invoice—multiple times, they promise payment by a certain date, but don’t. On and on it goes.

Given that, when someone needs a favor, which group will I be most willing to accommodate? That’s right, if you make me call you for the money you owe me, don’t expect a lot of special treatment; I’m all tapped out. Sorry.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Leadership and Management featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.

Categories
Business

How to Skew a Survey

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

One of the side effects of replacing my cell phone was having to transfer my number directory from the old unit to the new one. The cell phone company had a nifty device that would do this (surely there must be a means to accomplish this using the cell network instead of a physical connection).

Anyway, the salesperson connected my old and new phones to this data-transfer unit and in seconds had my numbers moved. As I thank her, she said, “Normally there is a $10 charge for this, but if you’ll complete phone a survey, I’ll waive the fee.”

Happily, I agree. She then gives me some strange instructions.

“On the survey, please give me all fives. Even if you give me a four—which seems good—it counts against me. Plus, questions like the store condition apply to me, too. So please give everything a five.”

Skeptical, but wanting to ensure I avoid the extra charge, I nod in agreement.

It was an automated survey and the longest I’ve every encountered. After several questions, I decided to just press “five” as quickly as possible to fulfill my half-hearted promise. But then things changed. There were now yes/no questions (press 1 or 2) interspersed with the “on a scale of 1 to 5” queries.

At the end, they gave me an option to record comments: “This is the longest and most ridiculous survey I have ever taken, and I will never complete another one from your company.”

When my future son-in-law, Chris, stopped in to have his numbers transferred, a different clerk gave him the same spiel. If these survey shenanigans are widespread, the results will be so skewed as to be meaningless, but at least their boss will be pleased.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Leadership and Management featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.