Downtime is a gift. Don't waste it!
As a small business, you no doubt have a slow season each year in which business lulls. The big question for many entrepreneurs is what should be done with that time. In a digital landscape with more opportunities online than ever before, an increasingly productive answer is to focus on your Internet marketing strategies, along the lines of what we discussed in recent blog posts.
Increasingly, you probably know that the Internet is a new frontier for your business - an opportunity to reach prospects in their homes and generate new streams of income. But finding the time to work on an Internet marketing strategy is not easy. And while it’s all fine and good to say you’ll focus on this when you have a slow period, realistically that probably won’t happen if you don’t create a plan to do so. After all, humans have this sticky habit of doing less when there is free time. We tend to stretch out whatever tasks are on our plates to take up however much time is available.
So, let’s take a look at a few simple tips to ensure your Internet marketing strategy takes front and center position when you have that spare time.
1. Create a Plan with Tangible Tasks
Don’t just outline raw goals and expect to get them done when a little spare time in your schedule opens up. Create specific goals with tangible, actionable tasks that you can perform in a specific amount of time. Instead of telling yourself to “work on blogging”, create a content calendar that includes specific posts and when you will write them or have them written.
This allows us to directly counteract that nasty habit we have of wasting time when it is available. Fill the time with tangible tasks and keep yourself busy - it’s not extra time, it’s an opportunity.
2. Create a Model that Can Be Actionable Later
One of the biggest mistakes small business owners make when they do work on their websites and web marketing strategies during slow times is they don’t create a clear outline of how they will continue to do so in the future. How will you transition from all that extra time back into a regular work schedule without abandoning your web efforts? Whether you decide to hire a consultant to take on some of the work or you task members of your staff with taking over these tasks during busier times, don’t abandon all that hard work up front.
In a related article, Imaginative Bloom takes it one step further and gives some examples of what specific parts of your business can be focused on during these downtimes.
3. Be Prepared to Take Action Fast
The Internet is a fast moving medium. It can change rapidly and directly affect your actions. This just reinstills how important it is to have a procedure in place for when business picks up and to work on these things constantly. If a change occurs in an algorithm or your revenue sources suddenly shift online, you want to be ready to take action on those changes immediately.
Your business can benefit from a strong Internet marketing strategy, so when the slow season sets in and you’re looking for things to fill your schedule, make sure you take advantage of that gap to focus on your web presence. It’s a fantastic opportunity and one that will ultimately pay off in the future.
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