R U a Science Billboard

Sometimes I get to wondering about people, especially when they write in to the blog with really silly comments, like

“Presentation is a trivial part” (referring to grant writing).

This person clearly reacted to the notion that you have to “market” your work if you want to maximize success.

Go on, keep thinking like this fellow (or gal), and keep getting the results you are getting. If they’re the results you want, great!

But let’s say, like > 90% of scientists I know, funding for you is fairly constantly a struggle in today’s environment.

A great saying I heard is: “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting the results you’ve been getting.”

So keep not “marketing” your work. Keep doing some bad grammar thingies. Keep writing long boring technical proposals that have nothing of interest for your reader.

Apparently this fellow (or gal) had a wee little misconception. This person apparently saw the term “marketing” and immediately thought, “oh no, Morgan is telling me that getting your grant funded is like pasting a billboard up on the highway.”

Uh. No.

Good marketing starts with a great product. Your product is your work and your science.

But let’s say I invent a new mp3 player that is 10x better than the iPod. Let’s say I think it is so much better than the iPod that I don’t do anything to market it. How quickly will I go broke (and get my investors really angry at me?) About as fast as spit dries on a New Mexico highway in midsummer.

It is not an OR thing. It is an AND thing. You have to do great work, AND do a great job of explaining and presenting it. That is, if you really want it to get funded.