A PROBLEM
We are responsible for our own marketing.
Okay, maybe that’s a fact. But when we ignore our marketing, it quickly becomes a problem.
And we ignore our marketing all too often.
When we’re busy with other things – you know, like keeping our clients happy – our “important but not urgent” tasks are often the first to get the chop.
And sometimes marketing can feel daunting – especially when we’re considering something new. We can make that new thing so large in our minds that we don’t know where to start. So we don’t.
But when we stop marketing, only bad things happen:
- We’re not top-of-mind when our network needs an expert.
- Inquiries slow to a trickle.
- Our competitors win work that should have been ours.
Your marketing is a critical part of your job. And nobody’s going to do it for you.
A SOLUTION
Build a marketing habit – and, if necessary, start small.
Starting today, prioritize your own marketing. Treat yourself like your favorite client. Make it a deliberate habit – not something you get to “if you have time.”
And give yourself permission to start small. This is useful when you’re trying a new tactic, struggling to gain traction, or repeatedly starting & stopping.
AN ACTION
Since we have a compound solution, we have compound actions.
To build a marketing habit:
Block. Time. On. Your. Calendar.
This is the best way I know to make sure a thing gets done.
For me, this means blocking time every workday to invest in the future of my business.
Sometimes it’s only 30 minutes per day. But even that adds up to 120 hours over the course of a year. And that could permanently change your business for the better.
Top priorities deserve bandwidth. Set time aside and protect it.
To start small:
Break down a big thing into a small thing. Make it nearly impossible to fail.
Let’s say you’ve let your network go a little cold. To warm it up again, a “small thing” would be one outreach per week. There’s no reason you can’t do that.
And you’ll find that if one outreach per week is doable, three per week is not so hard. After that, five per week is in your sights. How could 50, 150 or 250 outreaches per year change your business?
Or let’s say you want to explore LinkedIn as a content platform. Don’t go crazy planning a detailed content calendar. Just start with one good post per week. Increase the pace as you get comfortable.
If blogging is your thing, start with one post per month. It doesn’t have to be epic. It just has to be good.
In short: Prioritize the future of your business by carving out time for your marketing. Put some small wins on the board. Build on your momentum and double-down on what works.
Most importantly: Keep showing up. Good marketers don’t go dark.
Your time is valuable, and I hope I’ve rewarded it. If so, your shares are greatly appreciated, as I try to spread the gospel to as many freelancers as possible.
Need help building a marketing habit? I have a limited number of slots available for 1-1 coaching. Click here to find out more about how my customized coaching can help you level up.
Copyright 2022 – Matthew Fenton. All Rights Reserved. You may reprint this article with the original, unedited text intact, including the footer section.