10 Strategies to Find the Time to Market Your Business

Do you want to launch or grow your business, but find it challenging to find the time to market it? It’s easy to be distracted by all the urgent “must do” tasks life sends our way.

It’s natural to do those first and put the marketing off, because even though the long term gain for your business is tremendous, there is usually no short-term urgency. Yet in order to have a thriving business, most entrepreneurs need to spend 10-20 hours per week on marketing activities.

Here are ten tips to help you “create time” to get your marketing back on the list where it belongs:

1. Schedule regular marketing time into your calendar, then treat it like an appointment: It’s non-negotiable.

2. Do it in larger chunks as opposed to bits here and there. Working on related tasks in the same time chunk makes it possible for you to get through those tasks faster than you would otherwise, because your mind doesn’t have to make the transition from one thing to another. Studies show it takes 15 minutes to transition from one task to a different one.

3. Pay attention to your energy levels: when are you at your best? Schedule your marketing time in when you have the most energy and vitality. It will come through in your branding and your message, and you’ll be less likely to put the task off because you’re tired. Save more familiar and repetitive tasks for times when you’re energy is lower.

4. Eliminate distractions. You’ve heard this one before, but it bears repeating. Sit down and make a list of all the things that can distract you, then do whatever it takes to make sure they don’t. Turn off the phone, turn off incoming email, put a do not disturb sign on the door.

5. Use psychology: If you think it’s going to take you an hour to do a marketing task, give yourself 40 minutes. Psychologically you’ll be more motivated, You’ll be more efficient and often get it done sooner.

6. Let go of perfectionism. Just get it done. Marketing, unlike brain surgery, is one of those things where sacrificing a bit of quality in favor of quantity gets better results. Adopt this mantra: “Completion not perfection.”

7. Plan and review: take some time to strategize on how you will do a marketing task(s), rather than rushing in because you’re busy. You’ll often come up with creative ways to accomplish it in less time.

8. Monitor social media time closely: When you’re marketing via social media, set a timer so you don’t end up spending more time than you intended. Write down what you want to accomplish on facebook or twitter in advance and then stick to it – don’t get distracted by your sister’s broken water pipe disaster. Save that for your “off” hours.

9. Make sure you choose something you can accomplish each time you work on your marketing, even if you leave some tasks partially done for the next time. The feeling of accomplishment will keep you motivated.

10. Hire a marketing coach. A good coach will help you come up with a marketing plan to get the most results in the least amount of time, help you plan what steps to take and when each week, then hold you accountable for getting them done.

Bonus Strategy! Re-purpose your content. When you’re crunched for time and you need to keep up with your ezine, pull content from something you’ve done in the past and use it. That’s what I did today with these top 10 time-for-marketing tips 😉