How to Simplify Your Marketing as an Online Business Owner
Between serving clients, creating content, managing social media, and handling administrative tasks, marketing your business can become an overwhelming challenge.
That's why today I'm going to help you simplify the entire marketing process so that you can regain control of your time and productivity.
Either keep reading or watch the video below:
Systems are Key
To start with, you can easily accomplish this with one thing: systems. But not just any system. The right system can totally change how you run your online service-based business, and I'm here to give you the tips you need to implement them effectively.
Your time and focus are your most valuable resources. Marketing a service-based business online involves a wide range of tasks, like creating content, sending out emails to your list, updating your website, and sales calls. Without an organized system to manage all these tasks, it's easy to lose track and feel overwhelmed.
And I know you definitely don't want to waste time or money. You don't want to create friction in your brand by letting things slip through the cracks. And you definitely don't want to make all of this even more complicated.
Systems let you break down work into more manageable parts, prioritize important tasks, and automate repetitive processes. This helps you stay focused, be more productive, and deliver consistent and effective marketing for your business.
How about having your data organized so you can smoothly manage leads, follow up, and never miss out on a potential client again?
To see how a system can help you out, you can ask yourself a couple of questions: Is your business growing? Is it doing well, or could it do better? If it's all smooth sailing, as a small business owner, it's understandable if marketing slips down your to-do list.
But let's think about the next question: Could things be better? If they could, figuring out where to focus your efforts to attract the right customers or audience is tough but crucial, especially if you're hustling to keep things running smoothly. Whether your business is killing it or could use a boost, marketing actions are key. It's the only way to keep your business consistently bringing in leads or more revenue.
When you set up a system for your marketing, you're basically putting together a plan to follow. For example, this plan can help you figure out:
When and how to update your social media.
Which social media platforms to focus on.
What to write about and how often to update your blog.
How to find out if your marketing efforts are actually working.
With these steps in place, you won't feel like marketing is a struggle anymore. Instead of feeling lost about what to do, you can just sit down at your computer for a short time each day and quickly get your marketing tasks done. Systems make marketing easier.
Another thing about systems is that they produce results. If you get unexpected results, it could mean you need to tweak your system a bit.
Creating effective marketing systems means finding important areas that can work better with automation and standardization. For instance, if you're setting up a content system, you'd create processes for planning, creating, and sharing content on different platforms. This could include keyword research, making calendars for what content to publish when, and outsourcing to copywriters and graphic designers. Likewise, for email marketing, you'd make plans for sorting your email lists, designing email templates, and setting up automatic emails based on what users do. Also, when you look at where to systemize things in your marketing, you can look at how you're getting leads, handling social media, and tracking sales to make systems that work better and give you better results.
By the way, if you are looking for a way to streamline your business with these types of systems, you're going to want to grab the toolkit I created for you, called Asana Essentials. It will provide you with a suite of systems, including what I've mentioned in this post: systems for leads, content, launching, and so much more! Ditch overwhelm, get organized, and click here to grab Asana Essentials now. You won't regret it!
Benefits of Marketing Systems
What I've mentioned so far is just scratching the surface. When you set up a system for marketing your online business, you will experience some amazing benefits.
First off, it makes you more productive.
When you have an organized way to handle your marketing tasks, you can work smarter and use your time better. Instead of wasting hours trying to remember what needs doing or hunting for scattered information, systems keep everything in one place. You can assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress, keeping you on course and making sure nothing falls through the cracks.
It also makes your marketing more consistent and better quality. Once you have set ways to create content, bring in leads, and coordinate with your team, it's easier to keep a clear message and brand image. Plus, systems let you set quality standards and review processes, so everything you share matches your business vibe and values.
Bonus if you use a tool like Asana so that you have everything in one spot so you can see the big picture, and if something doesn't quite fit, you can spot it easily.
It also makes delegation and collaboration a breeze. If you haven't already, there will inevitably come a time when you'll need to hire extra help. Integrating SOPs into your systems allows you to document your processes and make delegation and collaboration with team members smooth. With clearly defined processes, you can onboard new team members more effectively and ensure they follow the same standards and procedures as you. Plus, collaboration systems help you work more efficiently with other professionals like virtual assistants, graphic designers, copywriters, or any other team members you need.
Another important benefit is that systems can help you reduce the stress and overwhelm that often come bundled with implementing marketing campaigns for an online service business. But with an organized system, you no longer have to worry about forgetting important tasks or losing control of your projects. Your head isn't all over the place anymore, and you have a clear vision of what needs to be done and when. This lets you work in a more relaxed and focused manner. And you know what? Feeling like you have everything under control also lets you enjoy your business more and avoid burning out.
Marketing Tools
Now you know the perks of systems, so now it's time to explore the different types of tools that can support these systems for your online business. The good news is that the internet is full of options!
Take project management tools, for example – which I love talking about on this channel. I've got a bunch of videos on the topic, so once you're done here, swing by my channel and check them out. If you're not sure what I mean, think of project management tools like your personal task organizers for marketing. Tools like Asana – my personal fave! – Trello, or ClickUp are great examples. They help you create boards and lists, assign tasks, and collaborate with your team. They're like digital project trackers, keeping tabs on everything you're working on.
Another very useful system is content scheduling. Usually, a significant part of any marketing strategy involves creating and sharing content, and from personal experience, I know that can be a heavy workload. That's where a content scheduling tool can be a lifesaver. So, once you have your content planned and created, you can use a tool to automatically post for you. My favourite tool for this is Metricool, but there is also Later or Buffer, to name a couple. These tools let you set a schedule to automatically post your content on all of your platforms with a few clicks, making it easier to maintain a consistent and regular content plan.
You can also automate your email marketing with tools like Mailerlite, Convertkit, or Flodesk. These are great for simplifying tasks like sending email campaigns, segmenting lists, and tracking customer behavior. These tools allow you to automate repetitive processes and personalize your marketing communications.
These are just a few examples of tools for your systems that you can implement to streamline your business marketing.
But remember, systemizing your marketing doesn't mean you can just set it up and forget about it. You'll need to spend time making sure the system actually works. Ultimately, it's the results that will tell you what to do next.
