The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 28: Observing and refining systems

Live in Chicago? Looking for help making the jump to freelance? Check out this July 17th workshop with Pam Slim on everything you need to know to flee your hateful day job. Chock-full of good stuff, including a bit by yours truly on how to brand yourself on a budget!

This is Week 28 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for some more in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

Call me a pattern-seeking monkey, but all of a sudden there are signs everywhere pointing to the Put Systems in Place Method of Work-Life Enhancement.

Yes, there have likely been signs all along, like seeing how my friends and colleagues who worked methodically at something generally were wildly successful, whereas those of us who danced merrily from shiny object to fuzzy bunny did not; I even pitched in on a presentation with Ilise at last year's Creative Freelancer Conference about getting your marketing machine in place. You'd think I'd get it on a fundamental level.

Alas, the objects, they are shiny (and the bunnies are soooo fuzzy!). Maybe my old, creakity-ness had to set in to slow me down enough to appreciate the giant truth therein. Fortunately, my weekly accountability group is working wonders at helping me build good habit muscles (and to get things done without Getting Things Done), as has this weekly, public, blogging-out-loud of my shame.

Even taking on too much has been helpful, as it's pointed to the absolute finite quality of time where it intersects with energy. I totally just made that up, but the underlying truth is that days are only made up of so many hours and I am only blessed with a certain amount of energy. Once either is used up—bing! Muffins are done!

This week, via elaborate calendaring, some of which actually held, I managed to get my newsletter out, attend an actors' networking event (I could write up five posts on the learning I got from that one), post to my own blog four times, record the podcast, and follow up—via email, mostly—with three prospects. I've been tweaking my marketing language for stuff here and there, too, per the excellent advice in Naomi and Sonia's course (which you should totally take the next time they offer it) and I think it must be working, because I'm getting some stupendously qualified inquiries into my services, as well as more new clients.

But possibly the coolest thing I did was to start reading a certain book I'll most likely review for communicatrix on Tuesday—I think may help me to look at all my systems differently, and maybe get a handle on them, too. A new friend referred me to another book that deals with what's getting in the way of setting up (and following through with) your systems, so I'm going to check that out as well.

While I'm into this systems-tweaking mode, I'd love to hear of any hacks or tweaks or helpful guides you've found, especially ones you've already implemented and that have proven especially helpful in the way of wrangling multiple goals and projects. You can leave them in the comments section or email me with them, if you're feeling shy.

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 27: Accountability, flexibility and room

Hey, Chicago people! I'll be in the 'hood Friday, July 17 giving a workshop with Pam Slim on everything you need to know to flee your hateful day job. If previous meetups with me & Pam are any indication, it will ROCK. Sign up now, and I'll see you then!

This is Week 27 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for some more in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

Well, the second half of 2009 already feels different than the first half, and it's only been a week.

Small joke, but really, there's more than a little truth to it.

For starters, if I was Q1/Q2 me, I'd be hyperventilating over all the things I did not get done thus far, as it would mean that:

1. I am a failure
2. I have a DOUBLE crap-ton left to do if I want to accomplish the goals I established for myself at the beginning of the year

Strangely, I neither feel like a failure nor am I fretting over the prospect of all I have to do if—and I do mean "if"—I want to meet the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. Instead, I'm pretty pleased that not only have I downshifted a bit, but that I've reordered my priorities and even bumped a few up to the head of the list that weren't on it at the start of the year. Like taking a full day off once per weekend and attending to uprooting and examining some crusty, old habits rather than spending that slice of time dreaming up new ones.

And what's really amazing is that in one week of focusing on this one-two punch, I've already made some significant progress not only on these crusty, old issues, but I've dreamed up a slew of ideas for re-focusing my business and for creating some stuff I can actually sell for cash money.

In short, if you're a Type-A who questions the ROI on downtime, I'm here to tell you, it's significant.

To read the nitty-gritty details on this week's adventures, scoot over to the Virgo Guide to Marketing (or hey, wait for that fabulous podcast!)

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 26: The view from halfway

This is Week 26 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for some more in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

Crikey! Has it really been six months?! It seems like just yesterday that little Junior cut his first tooth.

Ah, well. I was feeling a bout of reflection coming on, so really, it's perfect timing. (And I hear tell there will be a non-dated version of the Calendar coming out soonish, so maybe this will also be helpful if you're just getting started.)

What I've learned about marketing by doing it every day

1. It adds up. Doing a little here and there may not seem like much as you're doing it. (Or it may seem like a lot—YMMV!) But halfway through the year, I realized I've met a big personal-marketing goal of mine in increasing blog readership. To wit, I've doubled in six months what it took me four years to build in the first place. I credit a number of things: writing daily posts, responding regularly in comments, commenting on other blogs, staying active in social media. (And it didn't hurt that Facebook exploded this year.) I also increased my newsletter list by 50% in six months, while maintaining open rates and click-throughs. This may be a function of critical mass, but I think it's at least in part owing to working my butt off to continually improve the two things I care the most about, output-wise.
2. Pace yourself. Part of the reason I think I crashed so hard three months in is because I worked myself too hard out of the gate. A few people commented to that effect when I confessed how sick I got, and even said they were somewhat relieved to hear I was, in fact, human. I'm still not sure about that, but I've realized that having down time and a life are both important. Remember: blank weekend spaces on the calendar are there for a reason!
3. Accountability helps. A lot! There were weeks I'm certain I would have blown off everything but for the shame of having to admit it out loud here. And I never would have even tried cold calling—no way! Of course, I'm still not as good at it as Deidre, but that's for a couple of good reasons. Namely...
4. Practice makes perfect. Okay, not perfect, but better. It's a muscle, and working it makes you stronger. It also takes away some of the sting and fear. When you don't die enough times in a row, you start to trust that you'll be okay with whatever it is you're afraid of. Most of us don't look forward to cold calling at first, but eventually, you can become like Ilise and Peleg (and maybe Deidre!) who actually look forward to the game of it. I don't yet, and there's another reason as well:
5. All of this assumes you like what you're doing the marketing about. Last week, I confessed to some ambivalence. I'm glad I did (accountability!) because it made me reflect on it more this week. I'm still not 100% sure that I'm either the be-all, end-all of communications consulting (and if I am, I had better find a different way to describe it) or if I'm just meant to write, period (and if I am, I'd better clear even more time to do some "real"—i.e., offline—writing as well). But I'm committed to putting my consulting practice front and center, and seeing where it leads me. I really, really enjoy teaching people what I know, and both consulting and writing (and speaking, too) let me do that.

My goals were very different from Deidre's and probably from yours, if you're a normal business owner. Ilise and I talked very specifically toward the end of 2008 about my desire to focus on increasing my readership. This has translated to more client work, too, but I'm aware that any growth there is a gift, as I wasn't putting my all into marketing my services.

Thanks for keeping me honest so far; I hope you'll stick with me as I move forward.

And hey! Did you know I have a blog and a newsletter you can subscribe to? :-)

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 25: Marketing as behavior

This is Week 25 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for some in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

In hindsight, some years or months or weeks seem to take on themes, and this was one of those weeks.

I was a bit hobbled and fuzzy-headed from a cold, but it had cleared up enough by Friday afternoon for me to identify it: support. This week was all about support, both learning the difference it made for me personally, and realizing what a difference it would make if I applied some of the lessons to my own business in general and my marketing in particular.

It's funny, because behavior-as-marketing is a concept I talk about to clients one-on-one and to groups during presentations. (We have an interview with Jonathan Baskin, who literally wrote the book on brand as behavior, both yours and your customers', right here on the Marketing Mix.) I lean medium-hard on the idea before I launch into my new media marketing spiel because I've noticed that in the face of tools as glittery, new and (seemingly) free & easy as social media, we tend to dismiss things like follow-up, thoroughness, kindness and creating a feeling of safety as old fashioned or beside the point. Maybe they are, but I'll tell you, just like getting a heartfelt, handwritten thank you note in the mail—not to mention an unexpected gift—real support is rare and feels amazing.

To read about when and where I learned this week's lessons, join me at the Virgo Guide to Marketing.

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 24: This one goes to eleven

This is Week 24 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for some in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

In addition to its cumulative positive effect on your business and cashflow, this week, I discovered another reason for doing your marketing chores regularly: you build up stamina!

For whatever reason, on top of a pretty crackling seven days preceding it, this past week was a whirlwind of activity that required heaping scoops of both energy and focus. Granted, the first day was devoted to, um, Disneyland, but believe me, while it was fun, it was a whole new level of exhausting (have you ever spent almost 13 hours with two tweens in the Happiest Place on Earth?).

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 23: What does the marketing add up to?

This is Week 23 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for some in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

During a speaking gig I did yesterday at a local Freelancer Meetup, someone threw out the question of measurement, as in, yeah, sure, we can do all this marketing and networking and social media marketing and networking, but how is it converting into dollars? How do you decide how much time to put in, and when (and how) do you decide whether it's working or not*?

A very valid question, and one worth looking at as the mid-year mark approaches. 

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 22: Me-time in a crowded week

This is Week 22 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. I do a topline analysis here, for people who like things short. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

Coming off of a short week (last Monday was a holiday in the U.S.), I have a renewed appreciation for the value of both planning in general and the calendar in particular.

Maybe other people can organize things neatly in their heads and follow through perfectly in real life, but I find that "free" time ends up being very costly in terms of what I'm able to get done—or not, as the case may be.

I managed to get a good deal of "work-work" done this week, but I was a bit dismayed at how much of my regular, ongoing marketing work fell through the cracks. And let's just say that if I really was following the Veterans' Calendar to the letter, my email newsletter would not have launched! (Fortunately, I already have a pretty healthy one, and am learning how to better manage it as I go, thanks to the calendar and my greatest teacher, the experience of being up against the wall too many times, but still—no big, new project of my own got launched last week.)

Interested in finding out more about what I did and didn't do, and how I'm going to move forward? Check out the companion blog for the scoop...and please, leave tips, either there or here. I love helpful tips!

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 21: Reasons this week worked

This is Week 21 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. I do a topline analysis here, for people who like things short. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

As I got back in the saddle, I had a great, productive, FUN week of work and marketing. Since I like to know the "why" behind it, I took some time to reflect on the reasons why. They are...

Reason #1: I felt good

Yes, I can work through pain or fatigue just like anyone else. But I am happier, more productive and more delightful to be around (hence, a better ad for me and my services) when I am healthy. Sleeping well, eating right and, yes, taking time off factor hugely in my attitude and my output.

Reason #2: I was doing stuff I loved, work-wise

The further I get away from design, the more certain I am I made the right move. And my current work continues to evolve as I discover what I'm best at and what people actually need and want to hire me for. Deidre talked about this last week, and I think it's truer than most of us want to think about most of the time.

Reason #3: I challenged myself a wee bit

I didn't make my cold calls, exactly, but I spent considerable time calling to put together consulting work for my July trip to Chicago, and making fundraising calls on behalf of PresentationCamp LA.

Those are the main takeaways; for the full story (plus a bonus piece on what I learned about newsletters), please do check out my companion blog, communicatrix | markets.

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 20: Unsticking yourself

This is Week 20 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

My health continues to improve, albeit slowly, and while I wasn't able to make the bigger networking event I'd planned for this past week, I managed to get out twice for productive (and sanity-making) meetups with colleagues.

One of the nice things about sharing openly with people is that you start seeing how we all have our struggles and blind spots. And, of course, one of the other things that's great about sharing is that you can end up with some great help seeing where your own blind spots are, and getting some good advice on how to get out of them. (This presupposes that you're hanging out with bright, with-it people, but hey—if you're reading this, of course you are!)

Additionally, there have been two great discoveries I've made as I've about my business at a reduced capacity.

Growing Your Business with Marketing, Week 19: Lessons from maintenance mode

This is Week 19 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See my companion blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

I hate to disappoint you—believe me, I do—but my physical recovery is happening much, much more slowly than I'd like (for the record, what I'd like is "immediately.")

This means I'm doing pretty much everything on less of an as-needed basis than a "how much is this on fire?" basis, which from a marketing standpoint translates to:

• Minimum blog postings I can get by with I'd been posting 5x/week on my blog, plus once weekly here and at the Virgo Guide (a double-posting, but a little bit of work to reformat for WordPress).
• Minimal 2-way social media involvement I'm still checking in with everything—in fact, because my energy is so low, I'm probably checking in more than usual—but I'm posting less stuff on Twitter and Facebook. When my energy is this low and I'm feeling punk, I'm loathe to post much, since I'm pretty sure it won't be up to my usual standards.
• Swapping in-person for online contact where I can I've missed two weeks of in-person networking events in a row, which really bums me out (especially since one had been paid for!). But the wear and tear on me is too great to do much mingling in the real world, plus I tend to turn into a pumpkin at around 7pm these days—no kidding! I'm getting 10 hours of sleep per night, but those hours are coming out of somewhere.

I did manage to get my monthly newsletter out last week, catch up on podcast recordings, and consult with a colleague on best practices for mounting an unconference. (Have I mentioned that while I was still feeling pretty good, I volunteered to help organize the first PresentationCamp here in L.A.? It's gonna be great: check it out and buy your tickets now!) And I've definitely been catching up on my reading, since it (and sleeping, and watching old episodes of the Rockford Files on Hulu) is about all I've got the attention span for these days.

Lessons I've learned from this? I'm really, really grateful that I already had some kind of marketing machine in place.

In the same way that having products or books for sale can keep earning you money when for whatever reason you're unable to take time work, having a machine in place means that there's still stuff out there pulling in new people: blog posts, newsletter archives (two years as of this month!), articles, presentations and podcasts. I've been at this long enough that I feel like having to cut back to half- or quarter-speed won't have me starting from zero when I finally feel better.

That said, while I'm going to keep a closer eye on my work-life balance in the future, I'm really looking forward to feeling up to doing all that in-the-trenches work I sometimes groaned about in the past. In the same way that I'm storing up recipes for food I can eat once my insides are up to it, I'm quietly stacking away ideas for projects I can't wait to hit when my energy is back.