When it comes to planning ahead for an upcoming holiday or time off, one of the best ways to keep the momentum in your marketing and business is to work ahead of the calendar. No matter what your business model, there are always tasks that you can do in advance to save time later. Today we’ll be going through 3 categories of tasks and I’m sharing my tracking docs in your free Swipe My Systems file at the end of the post.
Category 1: Marketing
Once you have a monthly, and weekly, marketing plan in place it’s easy to work ahead by batching your content. For example, back in September before I left for 3 weeks of work in Mexico, I booked a full day to record 4 videos for September and October posts. Knowing that the hardest part of that content was done allowed me to relax and focus on the retreat in Mexico. I repeated the process to record more videos in a batch last month to keep working ahead.
You can do the same with your podcasts, blog posts, media articles or videos. Once you get an idea of what needs to be done for each type of post a simple tracking sheet can keep you working ahead.
For example, it may be more efficient and even cheaper to have 4-6 audios or videos edited at once instead of one at a time. By batching your content creation, it creates a trickle down effect so each piece gets done faster.
{Want to put this into place for your own business? Download the Swipe My Systems file which includes a calendar for written and video blogs, and start planning your next 12 months of content now!}
Working ahead on your marketing is easy, especially when you’re working with tools such as Hootsuite and scheduling your social media to go out after your posts publish. You can even set up your advertising campaigns to start and stop in the future to avoid waiting until Thanksgiving Day to push your holiday promotions live.
If you plan your advertising campaigns for the holidays now then you can “set it and forget it,” even if they don’t go live until Black Friday or New Year’s Eve.
Category 2: Admin
Administrative tasks are boring – and by automating some of them now, you can avoid the last minute rush. Here are some ways to work now to automate common admin tasks to save you time later:
- Calendar appointments can be managed through a scheduling software that sends reminders, allows rescheduling, and gives clear instructions on who calls whom and the correct time zones.
- Invoices should be automatically generated for payments, especially recurring payments for clients. Bonus points for a system that notifies clients when their credit card is about to expire and allows the client to edit or add new payment methods without calling your office.
- Payroll for your team should also be automated, to an extent, with clear dates for invoicing, a payroll management company if you have more than a dozen employees, and automatic tracking of all payments for your records.
- Payments for regular expenses can be put on auto for most companies such as your hosting accounts, domain renewals, marketing software, and email provider. The last thing you need is a website domain expiring when you’re on vacation!
- Regular website backups and updates should be scheduled ahead of time, with clear instructions, so you’re not scrambling if your site is compromised.
{Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to automate, eh? Be sure to grab the Swipe My Systems file today for a handy checklist that you can work on over time. It doesn’t have to be done all at once}
Category 3: Client Services
Quick quiz, what emails will you send, content will you provide, and calls will you hold with your clients in January?
Uh…
It’s okay if you don’t know the answer, most entrepreneurs are working week to week when it comes to serving their clients and, in some aspects, that works for a while.
BUT, if you want to create systems that will enable you more freedom and time off, then it’s time to work ahead, especially with group programs and offers that you teach over and over again.
{I totally understand that this is a different challenge, though not impossible, for service providers! I’ve got resources for you in the Swipe My Systems file today, because in some ways you need these structures more than anyone!}
When it comes to clients and calls, it should start with your contract and what you’ve promised. If you’re doing a weekly call, then ask your clients to commit to a regular day and time each week. It’s so much easier to change calls 10% of the time when there’s a conflict than it is to manually schedule 100% of their calls week to week.
For group programs, going back to the sales page will help you plan what content and calls to release during the program. Even if these just get scheduled on your calendar, it’s valuable to know what you’ll need to do.
{Got multiple programs or services? I’ve included an example of client service checklists for you in today’s swipe file!}
This all seems like a lot of work
It’s true, planning ahead may take your calm days and fill them up with work, but there is a tradeoff. Because when you’re boarding your flight, opening gifts around the tree, or hiking the mountain, you’re not going to be stressed about getting a wifi connection to finish your work – nor stressed out when clients are upset for not delivering what you’ve promised.
In the beginning it’s always a bit more work, but if you keep working ahead then you can maintain a steady pace and always be ahead by weeks or even months.
Remember, you don’t need to begin by having 12 months of marketing or client content ready to go – simply start by getting 2-4 weeks ahead and go from there.
Does it actually work? Let Maya Smart, one of my long term clients share her experience, in her own words:
For years I worked as a freelance writer and hustled to deliver writing assignments to clients far in advance of their deadlines. But when it came to my own blog, it was hard to muster the same sense of urgency. I was the boss so I could change the post topics, expand their scope, or give myself more time to “perfect” them. This flexibility only lead to procrastination, missed deadlines, and an erratic publication schedule that hampered the blog’s growth.
Now, with Kelly’s help, I’ve got a clear system in place that allows me to consistently publish a weekly blog post or book review, a biweekly newsletter and a monthly book giveaway no matter what else is going on in my life or work. The first step to making the change was acknowledging that writing content on the fly was never going to work in a one-writer organization. It put too much pressure on me to be inspired and available to write just before each post was due. I needed to build in a longer lead time to allow for the inevitable disruptions caused by real life–sick days, travel delays, power outages.
Next I had to embrace the idea that done is better than perfect. I did this by writing out clear guidelines on what a complete (not perfect!) blog post or book review looks like and setting a limit on the time spent working on them. This process has allowed me to stockpile content for future publication so that getting sick, going on vacation or turning my attention to other projects doesn’t bring the blog to a screeching halt. That’s a win for me and for my readers.
Today’s Swipe My Systems file includes:
- Blog planning calendar for 6 weeks of upcoming content
- Video blog planning calendar
- Automate Admin checklist for all those tasks that should happen automagically
- 2 examples of Client Service Checklists to use when you’re tracking what needs to be delivered for each client you serve or program you offer.
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