The final (or first) chapter

Last night, I rewrote the final chapter of Construction Marketing Ideas: How to attract profitable business without struggling, in any economy. On Monday, the manuscript goes to our designer for layout and page-set up; the next stage in the progress towards publication.

The book, like any project, has its own pace, influenced by competing objectives, external conditions, and constantly changing circumstances. Some words written last November and December continue to have resonance now; others seemed, on review, to be badly dated. And there is another chapter to write even as the book is in production; the story of how new social networking and Internet resources are reshaping marketing methodologies, but not fundamental principals.

The more I learn about the topic -- with reading, videos and Internet surfing coupled with live business operations -- the more I appreciate that a few core principals need to be combined with some creativity to achieve ideal results. You can take off-the-shelf solutions, but the real gems of success occur when you combine your specific business knowledge and experience, common-sense principals and some copying (ideally from non-competitive markets) to create something truly unique, unforgettable, and effective.

You can do this marketing work yourself. Alternatively, you can hire or contract the services. Your biggest challenge will be the discomfort you feel when you leave behind tried and true approaches for something "better". Usually the first efforts are far from successful or you may have the misfortune to have a fluke success early on, distorting your perspective of what really works.

I expect the book will be ready for publication by the New Year. But even as we edit and prepare it for printing, I know the story will change. There really isn't a final chapter.