Three Ways to Keep Your Business Running When You Aren’t
As an entrepreneur, you either go in all the way or none at all.
We’re nearing some very important holidays, and it can be easy to ‘forget’ about your biz when you’re getting the house ready for the relatives that are coming over or vice versa. While it is definitely important to spend some time with your loved ones, it’s also important to make sure that your business is running like a well-oiled machine.
Because, let’s face it, the holiday season is a great opportunity for any business owner to make sales.
So, in this post, I’m going to talk about three things that can help your business prosper while you are living your best life.
AUTOMATION
If you use email marketing of any sort, you may already know how handy this tool can be. Already a key part of any email service like MailChimp or Ontraport, automation makes sure your emails are being sent out even if you’re away from the office.
That’s not all, you can even create automated sequences.
What a sequence is a chain of email messages. Each email has a trigger of some sort, whether it’s a click on a certain link or if an email is added to a certain list, that will determine what kind of email to send.
So, you can get all those monthly emails ready in just a day or two.
Pros: Emails that have been scheduled will be sent out as if you did it on the same day.
Cons: Automation preparation (both content and scheduling) can be time-consuming. Make sure you do this weeks before your vacation.
SCHEDULING APPS
Due to the necessity of social media to run a successful business, it can be tough ensuring that all your blog posts, Instagram photos, quotes of the day posts, and anything else in between gets posted on the platforms that you use. It can be especially difficult if you use multiple platforms instead of one or two.
Luckily, there are many fantastic apps you can download on your phone as well as on PC.
Buffer: One of the most used scheduling apps, it covers the most popular ones such as Facebook and Twitter as well as more niched platforms like LinkedIn. It contains a free plan as well as paid ones. If you’re just starting out, the free plan is all you need.
Hootsuite: Another popular scheduling app, Hoostsuite is like Buffer in a few ways. For example, it covers many of the major platforms like Facebook (both Pages and your personal account), Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube.
Another bonus: if you run a site on WordPress, Hootsuite covers that, too.
Also just like Buffer, there are both a free plan and paid plans.
Planoly: The first visual planner for Instagram, Planoly, a certified Instagram Partner, helps you curate your Instagram feed that will capture people’s eyes and a heart-shaped like, too. It is available for both Apple and Android.
BoardBooster: If you love Pinning but hate having to spend hours and hours on the app trying to share your content to as many boards as possible, then BoardBooster may be right for you. Aside from Tailwind (see below), it is one of the reigning Pintrest schedulers out there.
The free trial is up to 100 pins and their paid plans can start as low as $5.
Tailwind: It’s like BoardBooster, but it also covers Instagram. Tailwind is perfect for larger businesses as well.
Pros: You can schedule pretty much anything nowadays on any platform of your choosing. Some platforms paid options can be inexpensive.
Cons: Deciding what app(s) to use, learning curve, and money (depending on what paid plan you get).
HIRING A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
One of the best things a business can do for the economy is provide jobs. With many people running online businesses, virtual assistants are often some of the best people for the job.
What’s great about hiring a VA is that there are numerous, specialized VAs out there. There are VAs who specialize in social media planning, marketing, and even Facebook Ads, just to name a few.
Pros: The right VA will make sure your business stays on top of its game, even during the busiest of seasons. Plus, it’s always good to have an extra set of hands around.
Cons: Finding the right VA can take some time and there may be some difficulties in communication depending on the location/time-zone.
Which ones have you tried?
4 Comments
Build your brand and your business, with all of
the fun and none of the fluff.
All but the VA which is on my list of services to get sorted for 2018.
Let us know how that goes and how it’s helped you be more productive!
I think my team has been formulated with the VA and the marketing and promotion plans we have for 2018. I am excited by the possibilities. Peace
Awesome, here’s to a 2018 full of momentum!