Your Biggest Marketing Mistake is Not Making Any Mistakes

It’s a beautiful summer day in Vermont, New England’s quintessential state. I watch a father and son cast their lines into a crystalline lake in front of their lakeside cabin. The Adirondack chairs his wife and daughter recline in are the same shade of baby blue as the sky. I am relaxing on a swinging chair on the porch of my Airbnb, gazing at the scene in front of me as the breeze carries the scent of pine and wildflowers. The lake shimmers with tranquility, but beneath it lies a secret.
Vermont is home to Lake Champlain, the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the United States by surface area. But its depths hold mysteries that would make even the most seasoned angler tremble. During the Revolutionary War, Benedict Arnold’s fleet sank its entire fleet in the lake to prevent its capture by the British. The ships—the Royal Savage, Revenge, Liberty, and Enterprise—have been preserved in the lake’s depths for over 200 years.
Like the sunken fleet in Lake Champlain, many businesses and marketers make their biggest marketing mistake by not making any mistakes at all. Paradoxically, those who play it too safe often end up losing the most. A lot of companies are so afraid of taking risks and making mistakes that they end up doing nothing at all.
But here’s the thing: mistakes are a natural part of the learning process. They’re how we grow and improve. If you’re not making any mistakes, then you’re not taking any risks, and if you’re not taking any risks, then you’re not going to see any growth.
It’s not that mistakes are always good. Some mistakes can be costly, both in terms of time and money. But even the most costly mistakes can be valuable learning experiences. The key is to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them.
So, if you’re afraid of making mistakes, if you’re worried that you’ll look foolish, or that you’ll damage your reputation, then I have a challenge for you. I challenge you to make a mistake today.
It doesn’t have to be a big mistake. It could be something small, like sending an email to the wrong person, or posting a typo on social media. The point is to put yourself out there and do something that might not be perfect.
And when you make that mistake, don’t beat yourself up about it. Instead, learn from it. Figure out what went wrong, and how you can avoid making the same mistake in the future.
In the game of marketing, mistakes are not just inevitable—they’re essential. The sooner you embrace this fact, the sooner you’ll start seeing positive results. So, go ahead, make a mistake today. It might just be the best marketing decision you ever make.