Want Your Marketing to Work? Live By the Calendar

Years ago, Seth Godin wrote a short, sweet post titled, Marketing in four steps.

Like any Seth Godin post, it was short, insightful, and to the point.

He mentioned a few things that I think we can all agree are key to making sure your marketing propels your business forward:

The first step is to create something worth making, craft a story worth telling, or contribute in a way that will make people talk.

The second step is to design and build your thing so people will benefit from it and care about it.

And step three? Well, I think his last step is THE most important…  

Show up daily.

Here’s what Seth wrote: 

“The third one is the one everyone gets all excited about. This is the step where you tell the story to the right people in the right way.

The last step is so often overlooked: The part where you show up, regularly, consistently and generously, for years and years, to organize and lead and build confidence in the change you seek to make.”

Marketing your business is a continuous process, not a one-and-done sprint. 

So your formula for marketing success, whether you are doing it yourself or managing someone, is to show up daily. To make marketing a habit.

How do you make marketing a habit?

Focus on a few key steps. Small jobs you do daily. The following three practices will help…

1. Create monthly themes

Think about marketing as something that’s never done and make “live by the calendar” a mantra.

Pick one marketing practice as a theme for the month. Your theme for month one could be one of the following:

• Redesigning your website
• Creating an engaging e-newsletter
• To finally master LinkedIn networking

Write out a few themes, choose one and make it a practice for that month.

Or create a content theme for the month. If you’re an accountant, your blog theme might be all about auditing:

• What is a small business audit?
• 5 top questions about an IRS audit
• How to prepare for a small business audit

THIS is how you build monthly content themes.

2. Weekly reviews

To break projects down into actionable steps, you must consistently review your plans.

Schedule a day each week to review where you are and what needs to get done next.

I typically dedicate Fridays to review my business goals and the critical actions I need to take to get there.

Make your weekly marketing review a habit. Pick one day and commit to it.

3. Do one marketing-related task each day

Yes, you’re busy. But you want to make habits stick.

So commit at least 30 minutes a day to marketing.

Whether it’s you or you managing someone, focus on a few key practices that will move the needle in your business, then work to make them daily habits. 

Today, lay out your plan by starting on something like one of the following projects or tasks:

• Monthly themes
• A weekly marketing review
• A daily marketing practice

Live by the calendar. 

Why?

Because showing up every day will move your business forward.

Need help getting started?

We teach small companies how to live by the calendar. It’s something we love to do.

So, if you want to streamline your marketing and get things on track get in touch.

We’ll discuss how we’ll move your business forward. Let’s get started.