What I accomplished in 2011

Hi, I'm Deidre. In my posts, I talk about my voyage down the road of self-employment as a website copywriter, my achievements and roadblocks along the way, and what I’m learning as I go (with Marketing Mentor as my guide).

In January 2011, I created a starburst marketing plan. I put these starbursts in my office where I could see them every day in hopes they would keep me on track during the year. Did they work?

Here’s my recap:

Goal: Hit the magic number every month.
I aimed for a 30% increase in business in 2011.I did it! I had a 33% increase in sales.

Goal: Send a newsletter every month. 
Almost. I sent 10 newsletters in 2011. (In 2010, I sent only 6, and in 2009, I sent zero.)

Goal: Spread my income out among clients.
In 2010, my business was out of whack. I had just 20 clients, and 87% of revenue came from 4 of them. So much of my business was dependent on just 4 clients! 2011 was slightly more in-whack. I had 28 clients. My top 4 clients provided 67% of my income, while the other 24 clients accounted for 33%. Better, but still room to diversify…

Other quantifiable accomplishments:

• Email list grew from 150 to 219 target market prospects.
• Finally started saving for retirement with a ROTH IRA.
• Gathered my rates, samples and overview of how I work into an easily shared email.

Stay tuned. Next time, I’ll tell you where I underperformed, and how I plan to remedy this in 2012. 

And if you’re ready to simplify your marketing this year—check out the 2012 Marketing Plan Bundle. It has everything you’ll need.