Do you find it hard to consistently do the marketing you know you need to do to grow your small business?
Are you one of the many entrepreneurs whose to-do list is so long you never seem to get around to writing that article, or sending out those cards? Or following up with clients?
If so, you’re not alone. The problem is, you’re in the same group as all those people whose business close within the first two years. Yikes!
In fact, one of the main reasons many businesses don’t succeed is a lack of effective, consistent marketing. Because if you’re not marketing your business consistently, chances are few people know you exist (and those who do will forget about you). And even fewer understand what you offer, and most importantly, why they should buy from you.
So unless you want to remain the best kept secret around, you need to find ways to get more marketing done with less effort (one of my specialities). Today I’m going to share a few ways to maximize your marketing time, and your results!
1) Get control of your email and your email habits.
First off, go in and clean out that Inbox. Unsubscribe from anything that isn’t really important. Anything you still want to receive and read, but that isn’t critical to running or growing your business, should go in its own folder. That way you aren’t wasting time deleting junk.
Secondly, whatever you do, DO NOT check your emails first thing in the morning unless you expecting an urgent email. Most things can wait an hour. And if you check email first thing then your day is dictated by everyone else’s wants and needs instead of what your business needs.
2) Choose one tactic to execute regularly.
Oftentimes, entrepreneurs don’t market themselves consistently because they are spread too thin. It’s hard to send out a weekly ezine, write a few blog posts, participate on multiple social networks, make follow up phone calls, create videos, and more weekly – especially if you’re a solo-entrepreneur.
Instead, make a list of the top three marketing tactics most likely to get you good ROI (Return on Investment of time and money). Then pick one and do it regularly – whether that means weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
Once accomplishing that task regularly becomes a part of your routine, start implementing the second tactic on your list. Then the third once number two is rolling along nicely.
3) Do it first.
Now that you’re not checking your email first thing, you can devote the first 30-60 minutes of each day to marketing. When you do your marketing tasks first, you ensure they get done instead of endlessly pushing them on to tomorrow’s to-do list. So schedule that time in your calendar right now.
If you’re serious about staying in business — and growing your business — take these three action steps and get started marketing now!
Was this helpful? What other tips or tricks work for you to get marketing done? Please do share your thoughts by leaving a comment…
