One of the biggest problems the majority of my clients face is how to organize their time. We all know marketing is an important part of your business, however, you have so many other tasks to accomplish, and time is a luxury. Even for me, where marketing is my core business, I find it challenging to reserve time for my own marketing activities. I still have projects to work on, client meetings, looming deadlines, and the need to acquire new business. Oh, let’s not forget the oh-so-boring administration work. Thus, sometimes I too find myself behind schedule.
You know what they say, the shoemaker who has holes in their shoes, the tailor with the seam undone… the same applies to me. This is why I created a marketing calendar to make sure I am on top of my marketing activities.
I want to share how to avoid all the headaches, thinking about the things you have to do every day when it comes to executing your marketing activities. Do you often ask yourself these dreaded questions?
- What do I need to do today?
- When was the deadline for that article?
- Come again? When do I need to give a presentation?
Every good plan should start with a calendar. If you are the only one using that calendar, you can create it on your computer or even outline it on the old and trusted paper one, however, if there are several people that need to access it, I advise using a cloud version.
Now that you have decided on the type of calendar and the calendar location, pencil down the dates when you know something needs to happen:
- Publish an article,
- Give a presentation,
- Send out your newsletter,
- Host a workshop and so on.
Keep in mind, this calendar is your marketing calendar, so only place relevant information and deadlines and not the dates you are meeting your clients or have a deadline for a project. That is a separate calendar.
Now that you have all the important activities planned, you need to decide when you (or someone else from your team) will create the materials needed for that activity:
- Write the article, edit the article, and find images to go along with it
- Develop the presentation, practice the delivery, and find the perfect outfit
- Create and schedule the newsletter, as well as test it
- Prepare for the workshop, gather the materials for it, etc.
You get the picture.
Basically, you need to break down each activity into to-do tasks.
Once you have identified the tasks, you need to decide when they need to be carried out and by whom and place that in your calendar.
Don’t you already feel better? Gone is the dread of waking up in the morning and remembering that your special offer expires in five days but you haven’t done any promotional activities.
That reminds me! Place all your social media activities in the marketing calendar: what you need to post on which day and from where you taking that material. If more people are working with this calendar, then list the name of the person responsible for carrying out each activity. In this way, everyone will know what needs to be done and by whom. There will be no overlaps or tasks not carried out because someone was waiting for someone else to do so. Eliminate confusion and make sure everything is clean and clear.
Now, put your pencil down. Stop typing. Take a long look at the calendar you just created. Do you notice some activities always occur on the same day, at the same time? That is a pattern. We all have them, and they are great. They help us organize ourselves, create a routine, and set expectations for our audience.
If you can’t find a pattern in your calendar, take a moment to think about how to create one. The easiest way is by making sure you are posting regularly. The same type of material is usually posted on the same day. For example, here is my social media calendar:
- Monday: motivational quote
- Tuesday: an article written by me, sharing marketing tips (like this one)
- Wednesday: an article about marketing trends, news, or tips written by someone else
- Thursday: an article about the start-up world
- Friday: marketing in images
BTW, if you are not following me already on social media you should. Just look above at what you are missing! You can find me here:
Coming back to your marketing calendar, now that you have all the tools, including my personal secrets, to make your life easier, you have time to focus on your business. Want to make your life even easier? Create a list of the companies you follow and want to share content from, so you don’t have to look for materials each time you are posting. You can create a Google alert for the websites and/or companies you want to follow, so you will already have materials waiting for you.
Now that I shared all my secrets, it is time for you to get to work. Start creating your own marketing calendar, follow me on social media (I promise to follow you back!), and give it a go. My marketing calendar definitely helps me to be organized and makes my work easier and more structured. I hope it will be the same for you.
We created a Marketing Calendar to help you organize your work and have clarity of all tasks that need to be done. Check out our Resources page and download it for free.