how to have time for marketing
Now that you’ve started a small business, the best way to grow it is…you guessed it: MARKETING
One of the struggles I hear all the time from my friends who own small businesses is they don’t have time for marketing. Between running the business, taking care of the house, the family, and ALL THE THINGS — who has time for marketing?
I get it, marketing takes time, BUT, if you’re running a successful marketing practice it shouldn’t take ALL your time.
A good marketing practice is something you SET and then FORGET.
A good marketing practice is something that works FOR YOU, not against you.
So how do you create a marketing practice that works FOR YOU? Let me show you some ideas below!
Don’t get stuck on social media
Social media is a great marketing tool, but it can easily become and addiction that steals all of your productivity time. When using social media you must remember to post, interact, and then close the apps. If you’re spending hours scrolling Facebook or Instagram, you’re not being productive.
That is not marketing.
Scrolling social media can also lead to checking out the competition which can cause comparison crashing. When you get stuck on comparison you’re not being productive, instead you can feel discouraged and even bad about yourself. When I start scrolling I remember what Rachel Hollis always says, “keep your head down and do the work.”
For Instagram I like to use apps that help me plan my posts, remind me to post my posts, and ultimately keep me off social. You can use apps such as Plann or Planoly for Instagram. Use an app such as Unfold for your Instastories and Facebook Stories. By using these apps you are limiting your time on social media and staying productive.
Yes, I agree that you should interact on these platforms, but thirty minutes in the morning or at night is plenty of time to be on social. Comment, like posts, get up to date on groups, and then get off so you aren’t wasting your time.
I know sometimes it feels like you should be on these apps all day to grow your audience, but I will warn you to not let it take over your business. Your followers will go up and down, up and down, and unless you have millions of followers, the amount of followers you have has nothing to do with the amount of income you’re bringing in. Social media is great to attract new clients, but once you post your content, get off the app and go back to making money.
Use Pinterest
I’ve talked about Pinterest for marketing before in my post How to Start Marketing Today.
I love using Pinterest for marketing because once you Pin onto Pinterest it keeps working for you and it does’t take much time.
Using Pinterest for thirty minutes once a week to Pin your content can do wonders for generating leads for your business. Pin your social media posts, your blog posts, your videos, and link them all back to your feed or Website.
Then, forget about it, and let clients come to you.
Make a plan
By planning out your marketing content at least one week at a time, you will spend less of your work week wondering what to post, and more time working on making profit.
I plan my marketing content one week at a time, and I use Amy Porterfield’s 6 pillars of Content to make sure I’m posting the right content each week to cover all areas of my business.
I use a color-coded Sticky-Note calendar above my computer to make sure I’m covering each Pillar of Content.
What are the 6 Pillars of Content? Amy Porterfield does an amazing training on this on her podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy, in episode #195: The 6 Pillars of My Content Creation Process.
Here are Amy’s 6 Pillars of Content:
Free Attractor Content
Free Tribe Content
Free Promo Content
Paid Course Content
Paid Bonus Content
Paid Relationship Content
My Pillars of Content look a little different but I use the same concept to cover all areas of my business once a week.
Mine are listed below with examples:
Free Attractor Content (Jane.com Blog Posts, Giveaways, Lifestyle Blog Posts)
Free Tribe Content (Motivational Posts, Journey Posts, Book Recommendations, Personal Posts)
Free Promo Content (My book promotion content)
Free Course Content (Marketing 101 content)
By making a weekly, even monthly, content plan, you can easily create your content, and then post it and forget about it. Having a plan will save you time when things get busy during the week.
Use a project management tool
I’m all about using tools to help me plan my marketing content, and I recently just started using an online project management tool to turn all of my ideas into action.
I use Asana to keep track of my marketing projects, book projects, ideas, and content creation tasks.
Asana is a great tool for small business owners to help you stay on task, remember projects, and even remember to add marketing into your busy schedule. If you have a small team, Asana is great because you can assign tasks to your team and keep everyone on the same page.
You can try it for free and it has a PC function plus an app for your smartphone.
Batch your marketing content
By batching your content I mean creating a month of content in one sitting, and then scheduling it out for the month.
This might look like taking one Saturday afternoon, or a slow day for you, and sitting down and creating a months worth of Instagram or Facebook posts. Or creating a months worth of blog posts, videos, or podcasts.
Batching your content takes a lot of time in one sitting, but then you don’t have to take the time throughout the month for creation. Batching your content can take some practice, but it is very helpful if you know you have a busy season ahead.
For more insight on how to batch content, listen to Amy Porterfield’s Podcast: #182: How to Mega-Batch Your Content
That’s it friends! Remember, marketing is crucial for the growth of your small business, but it should take minimal time each week. If you’re running a marketing practice successfully, you should be able to Set it and Forget it. Let your marketing seeds work for you to generate new leads and then get back to work on generating profit.
Remember to have fun with your marketing practice. Be bold and courageous and don’t be afraid to try new things. Take time to notice what your audience responds to and be sure to shift and change your marketing tactics with your audience.
I can’t wait to talk more about How to Make Time for Marketing for your small business with you! What questions do you have? How can I help you?
Be sure to check out my other Marketing Posts to learn more about marketing your business. Know Your Why & On Branding
