You’re not alone if when the work piles on, your marketing trails off. Whether it’s tax season, playing prospect-catch-up, or replying to those “urgent” emails from clients, even quick marketing wins can feel like a luxury rather than a business necessity.
The thing is, it’s a Catch 22.
You know good marketing will help you become less busy but you need to be less busy to do good marketing! You Just. Don’t. Have. The. Time. Like, honestly.
When things get busy don’t do big, just do a bit.
You might be thinking you have zero time because mentally marketing feels BIG. It doesn’t feel like a task you can smash out fast and tick off your list. Writing blogs requires drafting and writing and editing and publishing. Recording a video requires good lighting, no distractions, a couple of coffees, practice (and about 100 takes). It all sounds like way too much bravery and effort and thought. So you put it off for today… and tomorrow… and the next day…
When you’re in the trenches with client work, there are always small steps you can take with the time you have. This shift in mindset will relieve some of the pressure and help you keep up momentum.
Here’s a list of 5 quick actions you can do in 10-30 minutes this week to help keep the momentum going.
1. Add a call-to-action (CTA) to your email signature
This is a quick and free way to turn every email communication into a marketing opportunity. You could add:
- A link to a recent blog post you’ve published
- A calendar link to book an initial discovery call
- A link to download a free guide you’ve created i.e. 5 tax planning strategies for e-commerce businesses
- A referral offering i.e. Know a business owner we could help? Send them here
You can update the CTA to include newer or time-sensitive content
2. Copy and paste an existing blog and post it as a LinkedIn article
A LinkedIn article is a long-form content post that allows you to share in-depth insights, ideas and expertise with your network. These articles can be hundreds (if not thousands) of words long. They help you to showcase expertise, provide value to your audience, drive traffic to your website and expand your network.
Now usually Google frowns upon duplicate content on the internet – but thanks to LinkedIn, you have the opportunity to literally copy and paste a blog word for word and reshare it to a new audience, without getting punished by Google. It’s in LinkedIn’s best interests, because they’d rather you stay on the platform. Win win.
3. Post on LinkedIn (or another social media platform of your choice) sharing a client conversation/victory/story
You spend your days talking and problem solving with clients. You’ll have numerous conversations with clients every day whether it’s a phone call, email, quick text exchange or an in-person meeting. Look at your calendar for the week and choose just one conversation you could write a post about. This could include:
- A hurdle you helped a client overcome
- A problem you worked through with a client that may be affecting others in their industry
- A success a client has shared with you
You don’t need to name names, company names or give any identifying details. You just need to tell a story to help you build trust and relationship and show your expertise to your audience.
4. Follow up on the 3 most recent proposals that haven’t been accepted or rejected (yet)
Your fear of following up with prospects can prevent you from making sales. You’re worried you’ll be “bothering someone” or “being too pushy. In reality, there’s lots of reasons you haven’t heard back from a prospect:
- They’ve enquired with multiple firms and are overwhelmed by all the options so keep putting off looking at them
- They’re busy and distracted by urgent things going on in their own business
- They aren’t clear enough on the value you’re going to deliver (which is a marketing problem)
- They’re still thinking about it and genuinely just need more time
- They’ve forgotten all about you
When you haven’t heard back from a prospect you’re presuming the answer is “no”. It’s not “no” until they’ve rejected the proposal.
You can spend 10 minutes today sending 3 messages to the 3 most recent proposals you haven’t heard back from and include:
- “I was thinking about you today because [insert reason they came into your head just now]”
- A resource relevant to a problem or opportunity they shared during the sales process
- A story about a similar business owner you’re working with
5. Set up a Google Business Profile
A quick yet important task which is often overlooked by small business owners. It helps you to:
- Increase your online visibility: Google prioritises businesses with verified profiles when showing results for local searches. It’s especially valuable for your firm if your ideal audience includes a specific geographic location.
- Build trust with client reviews: Asking trusted clients to leave you a Google review gives social proof of the good work you do with business owners and helps establish trust with prospects.
- Boost SEO with higher rankings: Google uses relevance to determine search results so a completed profile helps you rank higher with local search terms.
Here’s where you can follow the instructions to set up your Google Business Profile. Start by clicking the ‘Manage now’ button.
Take your 10-30 minutes as early as possible in your day.
It may seem more comfortable to do the everyday easy stuff over your morning coffee, but let’s be honest – when it gets to late afternoon and you’re exhausted, you’re even less likely to want to do the thing you’ve been putting off. By doing one of these tasks as early as possible in your day:
- You’ll have more energy for it and it won’t be a looming task all day
- It’ll be more rewarding: If you can achieve the hardest thing first, what else could you achieve in your day?
- Everything from the first task onward will feel a little easier and more palatable!
We hope this list of five quick wins shows you marketing doesn’t need to be the hardest and most uncomfortable thing on your list. Using this to get into a routine when life is mayhem and build up your confidence with baby steps means you can enjoy the time you get to spend on it when you DO have time.
We empower accountants to attract more of the clients you love working with. We partner with you to deliver powerful branding, strategy, messaging and websites that resonate with your ideal audience. If you’re curious to hear more, fill out our discovery form and tell us about you, your firm and where you’re at in your marketing journey.