what I do after creative bombs, flops & failures

Confession:

I've always been a big Tron fan.

So naturally, I was pretty excited when they finally announced Tron 3 was happening 15 years after the last one came out lol

I wasn't able to catch it in theaters, unfortunately...

But I torrented it as soon as I could.

And frankly, I enjoyed it.

The reviews weren't very good...

But as a superfan, I knew it was still gonna be a good time for me.

Know who it was NOT a good time for?

Disney.

The movie flopped at the box office…

So between the production and marketing budgets...

It’s projected to lose somewhere in the ballpark of $130 million dollars.

YIKES!

Isn't that crazy?

Now here's why I bring this up:

I've written soooooo many ads, emails, sales pages and video scripts that have flopped over the years.

Comes with the territory if you're a copywriter or work in direct response marketing.

But anytime I hear about big-budget movies with A-list talent backed by billion-dollar studios that ended up flopping...

I’m not ashamed to say it brings me so much comfort haha

Because it's a reminder that failure is just the tuition you pay for being in the game.

Bombs, flops, and failures are the cost of doing business as a creative entrepreneur.

Whether it's a $500 ad campaign or a $400m movie.

And anytime I have one…

I try to remind myself that:

Ultimately, the only people who never fail are the ones who never ship.

In other words:

The difference between successful entrepreneurs and everyone else isn't that they don't fail.

It's that they keep shipping despite the failures.

Each flop teaches you something that makes the next launch better.

You learn what messaging doesn't resonate.

Which angles fall flat.

What your audience actually cares about vs. what you think they care about.

So if you've got a launch that didn't go as planned...

Or an offer that's collecting dust...

Or a campaign that face-planted harder than Tron 3...

You're in good company ;)

Nobody bats 1000.

And that's perfectly fine.

Because failure isn't the opposite of success.

It's a pivotal part of the process.

Jim Hamilton

P.S:

It’s been a busy year in the Newsletter Freedomverse.

So I’ve decided to take next week off.

(Safe to say there are a few rum n’ eggnogs in my future 😜)

I’ll be back in your inbox on the 29th.

See you then :)