Perfectly Productive: August 2018

When it comes to business, it's not just a case of 'build it and they will come.' Competition is fierce, regardless of what you sell you will have many competitors out there- all of which will be more established than you when you're first starting out. If you stand any chance of getting ahead and reaching your customers, you absolutely need the right marketing. Marketing costs can catch out new entrepreneurs, it's more expensive than you think to promote and get your name out there but it's vital for success. Whether you choose to enlist a marketing agency like iTonic or deal with your marketing in-house, here are some of the places your budget will need to be spent.

Market Research

Putting your money into research is a smart move. If you’re new to your area of business or you’re considering new ideas, then research will help you to back up your ideas and give you the best chance at success. The last thing you want is to create products or offer services that people don't want. As well as make sure what you're offering is in demand, you need to know what prices people are likely to pay. It's always worth investing in market research before putting another penny into your business to make sure you're on the right track. Sometimes you might need to tweak ideas, but in some cases you'll find that scrapping your idea and starting from scratch is the way to go. Rather have to re-start early on than pump money into something that's doomed to fail.

Advertising

First things first, you need to advertise to get your name out there to potential customers. When you think of advertising chances are it will be TV and radio ads that spring to mind, but it's far from limited to this. Depending on the type of business you run, these might not actually be the best options despite the fact they have good reach. Advertising on social media is beneficial for almost every business these days. Keep an eye on your stats and tweak your campaigns as you go along to ensure that you’re getting the very best return on your investment.

Blogging

Blogging is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your business. It helps you to build up a readership and a following, it allows you to promote your products and blog posts are very share- friendly. When you integrate a blog with your website, the regular content being released actually helps you to build domain authority and improve your page rank within search engines. You will need to focus on creating vibrant and interesting content. Articles that are useful- engaging, informative, funny, whatever route you want to go down to get people reading. You will need to invest in web developer who is fluent in Wordpress and who can set up your blog and integrate it with your website. Your site should be well designed with branding and logos continuing through. If you're not an experienced blogger yourself, you will need to outsource and pay to have a professional create you high quality content. In some cases, you will need to hire a photographer to take pictures too, otherwise use good quality stock images.

Software

The right software is crucial to the success of modern businesses. You need to be in the know about what softwares are useful to your business and how to use them, having an understanding about how they work can also give you the edge. You can brush up your knowledge or learn a new skill completely without spending a penny at a free coding school. When it comes to choosing the right programs, there are lots of types of marketing softwares that can help to make your business a success, from Google Analytics to Activecampaign, Moz, marketing automation and customer relationship management software. Find more information of Whitehat crm to best discover how to utilise this within your marketing plan.

Events

We live in a digital age, and much of our businesses are now run online. However there are plenty of things you can be doing offline and in person to market and promote your business. Attend networking events, trade shows and run your own events to get people interested. Give away marketing merch and hand out leaflets and business cards. These are all great offline methods that should be incorporated into your overall marketing strategy.

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Even if you find your work interesting and/ or rewarding, for most of us it's still not going to be the most fun and exciting activity in the world. When you work upwards or over forty hours a week, it's easy to find yourself bored or distracted at times, and generally losing focus. When you lose focus you affect productivity, and whether you're working on building up a business or reaching the next rung of the career ladder then this isn't ideal. We need to be working hard and working smart to get our daily tasks done, and so reducing distractions and keeping concentration is crucial. Distractions can come in many forms, if you work from home especially there are lots of things that can pull your mind away from work. This could be your tv, your kids bickering downstairs or traffic outside. Even if you're in a workplace, you can be distracted chatting to colleagues or browsing the internet on your computer. No one is perfect, and we're all going to have our minds taken off work from time to time, but follow these tips and you can massively boost your focus and productivity.

Put Your Phone Away

One of the biggest distractions that most of us deal with during the working day is our smart devices. You could be mid way through a task and on a roll, and a notification comes through and takes your attention from what you were doing. Once you've checked it, it can take some time to get back in the swing of things. One of the best things you can do to improve your focus and productivity is put your phone away. If you work from a computer, stay signed out of your social media accounts to prevent you from mindlessly clicking on them. We all know how easy it is to click on Facebook or Twitter for a quick browse, and are still scrolling twenty minutes later. It's seriously bad for work flow.

'Eat The Frog'

This is commonly quoted when it comes to productivity, the idea is that you 'eat the frog' first, ie, get the worst or hardest job out of the way early. Make a to-do list for each day, and do the most difficult task in the morning when your focus is likely to be sharper and you're working harder. Not only does this set you up for an easier day ahead, but it can make you feel good ticking off that worst item and give you a boost for the rest of your tasks. Making lists is so important- outline your goals each day and tick them off as you go. It helps to keep you on the straight and narrow during your work hours, and prevents you wasting your time on pointless tasks.

Sleep Well

Sleep is vital for both body and mind, after a good night's sleep you'll feel refreshed with a clear head and ready to handle whatever the day throws at you. Sleep improves congnitive performance meaning we can multitask better, problem solve more efficiently and generally just think better. After a solid eight hours you won't be flagging by lunchtime, and instead will be able to power through until your tasks are complete.

Get Moving

Most of us have quite sedentary jobs, we sit at computers for a large part of the day. Not only is this bad for physical health but it's also bad for mental health, we've all experienced that restless, pent up energy from being seated all day. Take regular breaks and when you do, stand up. Stretch and walk around if possible. You don't have to take a break for a full on gym session at lunch, of course, but getting your body moving will refresh you, wake you up and leave you feeling more balanced.

Take Time to Relax

Working too hard over too long of a period can actually be bad for productivity. Not only do you risk burnout but you can also get 'tunnel vision' towards your problems. It's far better to give yourself a rest- each weekend switch off from work completely. In the evenings, make it a habit to relax and again clear your mind from work. When you return you'll have a fresh head and it can often help you approach difficulties or problems in a different way. You'll actually be more productive during your working hours.

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