When things aren’t working, be smarter, not louder.
Book: Your Music and People
It is an observation from Derek Sivers. When he's in New York City, a man was barking something loud at top of their lungs and everyone was avoiding going near him.
When Derek Sivers got closer, he finally figured out what the man was saying. The line the man was shouting was "20% coupons for window shades! 20% off! Get your coupons here!", but apparently the barking was not working.
A week later, similar barking happened again somewhere. The yelling wasn't working as well despite the loudness. Everyone is avoiding the yelling guy.
How many of us do this? We weren't getting the results we wanted, so we thought if we shouted louder, more people would hear. But people avoid those barking types like someone always pitches his business to friends at parties.
When promoting, make sure we are not barking. When things aren’t working, be smarter, not louder.