Before I dive into our marketing plan and systems, I have to admit that our marketing is constantly in flux, based on what works, how our audience responds and, frankly, what I feel like doing. What you’re seeing today is a snapshot of what we do and the team that makes it all happen, because nothing bugs me more than an entrepreneur who pretends that this work is a) effortless or b) done alone.
If you’re doing it all alone, then you’re doing it wrong.
So, here’s what we’re doing and what’s working right now:
1. Regular blog posts – on average I write 4-5 posts per month and we publish them weekly. Right now we don’t take guest posts but have, on occasion, posted infographics if they are on topics in line with our audience.
When it’s appropriate I’ll also include a downloadable resource and encourage readers to Swipe My System to get files to help implement the strategies we talk about each week. We provided resources on these episodes:
- Calendars and tools to strategically work ahead in your biz
- Kickstart your marketing with a monthly plan
2. Irregular video blogs – this is one area in which I want to do more regular postings, so I have a backlog of 8 videos in the midst of editing for the months to come. Video blogs aren’t always faster to produce but I enjoy doing the content.
Here are some the the video blogs from the last year that I really enjoyed:
3. Weekly newsletter – as my list as grown steadily over the years, I have come to love writing a weekly ezine to them, sharing bits and pieces of what I’m up to, thoughts on business, sharing our media contributions and linking back to the blog for additional content. I have heard from so many people that they save these emails and refer back to them time and time again so I’ll keep writing!
4. Social media – the social media strategy has a lot of components but just a few platforms. Right now we’re pretty active posting on Facebook and Twitter, and I post about business on my Instagram occasionally (it’s mostly personal pics from my daily life) and on Periscope now and again.
When it comes to what we post on social media, we’ll share the content from this blog, media mentions and stories, inspiring quotes and images from our collection of quick system tips. Years back I used to post a ‘Systems Tip of the Day” and have re-purposed many of those for Facebook posts.
5. Media – media is a big part of our outreach strategy as I believe most entrepreneurs are facing problems every day and they don’t realize that systems are the solution. We also get a lot of client inquiries that originate with media mentions or articles I’ve written so that’s marketing that directly pays off.
In addition to monthly contributions to the media, I write a column for Comstock’s Magazine here in Sacramento detailing how business owners can organize their business in simple ways every month.
6. Interviews – separate from writing in the media, I also love doing interviews on radio shows, podcasts and live for groups of smart entrepreneurs who need some systems support.
7. Advertising – finally, we do advertise existing content, webinars, and my series of books Every Entrepreneur Needs Systems on Facebook.
When it comes to marketing, staying focused is my #1 tip. You can’t make headway if you’re doing a little bit of everything.
Each of these marketing activities has been planned, tested, rolled out consistently and systematized.
When you’re just starting out it’s best to pick 2 things and do them regularly before you take on 5 more things that should be done.
So, how do we get it all done? We use a combination of Asana and our wiki site to manage the process.
I’m the one who writes or records the primary content and so I both batch content (like videos and systems tips) and work regularly each week (for content like newsletters). If you don’t enjoy writing then try recording a podcast or videos for your audience before turning to a ghost copywriter.
Personally, I love recording the videos, writing for the media and communicating with this awesome community. Even if I give some mean side eye to noisy neighbors when I’m trying to get through a video script.
Each week my awesome project manager and virtual assistant Sara queues up the blog and ezine, schedules social media posts and creates these fun graphics for social media.
A lot of people ask how I found such a great team member and I’ve known Sara since January 2014 when I hired her to work with a client of mine. Luckily, we lived only a few hours apart and got to meet to train in person. We’ve kept in touch and she officially came on board with She’s Got Systems in January 2015. Here’s a throwback pic from our first meeting!
Finally, we also work with an amazing video editor who turns around our video blogs and uploads them to our server for distribution. Having an editor who specializes in video allows each of us to focus on our strengths in the process.
What’s working in your marketing?
You don’t have to share publicly but I highly encourage you to create a similar recap for your own use to look at what you’re doing, if it’s working, who is helping and what additional support you might need.
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