Since being tossed into the marketing waters in 2011, I’ve read more marketing advice than I could ever implement myself.
Not because the advice is bad, but because a lot of content marketing advice assumes you have a team and/or budget. It’s not just a time issue. There’s a skill issue too. A marketer might be great at writing email campaigns, but awful at writing a website. Or great at using SEO results to create content, but horrible at SEO planning beyond the basics (howdy, that’d be me!).
You wouldn’t go to a podiatrist when you have heart trouble. Different problems require different skills.
If you own your business and handle its marketing, here are five things I’d stop worrying about today. They’re all useful when done well, but when you’re crunched for time, they can become distractions you don’t have the time or skills to handle.
Adding Another Social Channel
I’m in three spots: here (which is my de facto business website), LinkedIn (where most of my potential clients are for now), and YouTube (verbal distribution of the ideas I write about here). I feel the tug of Instagram and the Tikkity Tock, but I don’t have the time for either.
The best thing you can do is be consistent somewhere before giving yourself another place to feel behind. “Somewhere” should be where your customers are.
Elaborate Email Automation
I’ve written 10-email automation workflows with if/then options, cart-abandonment follow-ups, and the necessary landing pages. It’s a lot of work — even if you have a genAI tool trained on your voice to give you a jumpstart.
However, you can start with a few simple habits. None requires automation:
Reply to every (non-spam) email from your website’s “Contact us” form.
Customer buys something; send a thank-you.
Reply to every response to your newsletter or sales email.
If you do have an automation tool (Kit, Mailchimp, etc.), start with a simple three-email sequence:
Send an offer.
Automate the follow-up for X days later.
Send a third automated email about the offer X days after number 2, noting that it’s the last one.
Creating Another Downloadable Guide
I have 33 PDFs that I plan on creating and adding to my store on Gumroad to sell over the next year. I’m starting with the ideas that I already have content for. Before creating a brand-new piece of content, look through your existing articles, presentations, and customer questions.
Often you’ll find enough content to repurpose. I’ve done this with both of the PDFs I have for sale. I’ve also done it for clients by creating blog series whose posts doubled as chapters in a PDF download to generate leads.
You can buy either/both ebook PDFs here:
Each can be read in under 30 minutes and are designed to help you get shit done.
Redesigning Your Website
A redesign can probably wait if your website works on phones and clearly tells visitors what they need to know.
Make sure your website:
Clearly says what you do and how it will make your customer’s life better.
Says who your product/service is for.
Explains how to buy it, ideally with clear pricing.
Provides a simple and very visible way to contact you.
If you’ve got that covered, a redesign probably isn’t your first priority.
A Too-Ambitious Publishing Schedule
Your blog/newsletter will help attract people to you. I’d aim for at least once a month. From there, balance what you can sustain against what’s too much for your audience (almost always more than you think).
As you become more confident, ramp up your volume. Missing the occasional publication date is fine, but don’t make it a habit. Figure out a cadence you can sustain even during your shittiest weeks.
And create a calendar with dates.
And that’s it. As your business grows, revisit what you have the time, skills, and budget to do well. Until then, skip the extras and focus on kicking ass for your customers — that’s the best marketing of all.
If your newsletter keeps losing out to everything else on your list, tell me what’s holding it up. I’ll suggest one practical next step to help you get it moving. Contact me at: Bryant@SimplyUsefulMarketing.co.