Creating a Marketing Calendar for Your Business

by Michelle Hill-Smith
www.OnTaskAssistants.com
www.MichelleHillSmith.com

Want to target your most specific needs as it pertains to your marketing? Want to reach your target market with targeted marketing?

How do you expect to do that without first created a targeted plan and a calendar to help you execute it...successfully and consistently?

Listen up.

If I didn't take the time to develop a marketing calendar for my business, I don't think I would have been able to win with my business. There was no way possible that I could have keep sporadically creating content, playing the guessing game of when to post, or anything else that was stealing some of the most valuable time away from me. 

Everyone dreads marketing unless you're this marketing guru that loves it. However, when it comes to reaching new customers, keeping the current ones interested and signaling the specific target customers, creating a marketing calendar will be the key. 

A marketing calendar is most effective if it is used to specifically spell out individual promotions or events. Most businesses create a calendar based off of the type of platform they use such as Social Media, Direct Marketing or Pay-per click. I personally found that social media is most effective for my business. Therefore, I've created my plan and calendar based off of that. You can include the cost in your specific calendar as well. I don't as none of my advertising efforts are paid.

THE BENEFITS OF USING A MARKETING CALENDAR

Using a calendar helps your focus and allows you to not only have a look at the investment involved but it also allows you to crystallize the results in your marketing program. By monitoring your stats via Google Analytics or Hootesuite stats, you will be able to see the effects of your efforts in plan sight. 

Here's how we use a marketing calendar at OnTask Assistants:

Be sure to try this out for your own business. Commit below to let me know how it works out and what you're using a marketing calendar for!

The Top 5 FREE Tools to Run Your Business on a Shoe-string Budget

by Michelle Hill-Smith

www.OnTaskAssistants.com

Naturally, my mind is huge. Whether or not the money is there, I want to make it BIG!  Have you ever wanted to do something so bad, to where you'd do anything to make it happen or you sit there thinking of every way possible to bring it to life? I've been there many times. I would have this project in mind with an absolute structure that it had to have in order for it to work. Then, I'd get so upset when I realized that I couldn't afford to make it happen. If you were like me back then, you'd give up. Throw in the towel. It's done. It's over.

The good news is that today there are soooo many tools and resources that will help you not only launch a successful business endeavor and/or marketing campaign, but they will also help you to run an organized company and appear extremely professional to your customers.

If you follow me on my Facebook Page or Blog, you'll notice that I love to share information freely. I always feel that if someone were willing to share with me back when I was getting started, I wouldn't have given up so many times. So, below are 5 of the top tools that I use in my organization that are 100% FREE to use. 

If you're in the start up phase of your company with a few to no clients or customers, there is absolutely NO NEED to pay for programs or software to house business that's not even there yet.

HERE ARE MY TOP AND HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED FAVORITES:

1) www.Dropbox.com 

2) www.Zoho.com 

3) www.Google.com/voice

4) www.Glasscubes.com 

5) www.waveaccounting.com 

So, as you can see, simply starting from somewhere is most important. The money you spend to "start" your business can be better used elsewhere like in marketing, office equipment, etc. Before you invest those dollars, be sure to do a little research first. Find better options and ways to launch and grow your business. Most of these tools are free forever. That's money saved in your pocket. 

How to Brand Your Business Brilliant!

by Michelle Hill-Smith 

www.OnTaskAssistants.com

When it comes to branding or business identity, sometimes I think that I'm a little harsh. A little too critical. But, then I'm reminded that building an effective brand requires criticism and scrutiny in order for it to work? By "work" I mean effectiveness, memorability and clarity. Your audience needs to have a clear message of your logo each time it's seen in order for them to understand, remember and believe it. Think of the message as your business' story. What does a story include? Colors, shapes, text, a meaning behind it, images to give more of a feel for it. What's your business' story? Start working on one by coming up with one paragraph to describe who you are, what your name symbolizes, who you serve, what's their age group, etc.

As a graphic designer, I tend to have a desire to make things better. The world, too me needs to have it's own fung shui, a balance, purpose and place in a specific space. However, I find that for most entrepreneurs, the pressure is on and "coming up with something" or "going with what I have" is often the case. Funds are low or non-existent for a professionally designed piece of art that can forever represent their business. 

I recently made a post on FaceBook sharing my thoughts on how each time we have request for logo designs, it's sometimes a scary, insecure feeling of a process. But, then after all the fuss and worry, out emerges a beautiful creation that completely erases all the fear of rejection and strife. It can be such a joyous occasion to have a fresh, vibrant logo that, at first sight, is sure to stand the test of time. On the other hand, if done with a lack of thought and strategy, it could fall flat and become yesterday's news almost instantly. So, as you can see, as long as you really think the process through, you can't go wrong. Either, you'll have a wonderful concept to hand over to the one that's designing for you or, you may do well to go at it alone. Now, if there's not one ounce of design juice in you, opting for option one won't hurt.
 
Here are the primary pointers I follow that works for me at least 99.9 percent of the time. Hopefully, it'll work for you, with a little patience and practice:

IDENTIFY 
Think about the niche/target market you're serving. The most important is their age group and interest. If the age group you serve is between 45 and 55, you may not want your design to scream teenager with bright colors and zebra-striped colored fonts.

COLORIZE
Your color scheme MUST match your business' theme and description. I know it sounds funny but colors sell and have very deep meaning. Check out this Must Read Article to see what I mean.

ACCESSORIZE
Determine the "eye-catcher" or focal point you'd like to have in your design. This can be an icon/image or font style. If you select an Icon/Image it really needs to sum up what your business is and what it does or primarily offer. For a text only logo, this will be a chance to make your color scheme pop!


Now, I'll admit, coming up with your brand to represent everything your business is about can be a very difficult challenge. However, by first researching extensively and coming to terms with your "business' story" you will undoubtedly have a clear headstart to your design being exactly what you want and need it to be.

Are you a Messy Marketer?

by Michelle Hill-Smith
www.OnTaskAssistants.com

That's right! A messy marketer. What is that you ask? Well, first things first. Are you marketing your business? Are you even ready to market your business? Okay, final question, is your business MARKETING YOU?

I'm sure these questions can be answered honestly and thoroughly after this article. When I first began my journey in business, the one thing that put fear in my heart was the thought of having to market my business. I created an awesome venture that was sure to draw many customers my way without me having to do anything.  Yeah. I was a bit delusional. To make a very long story short, after a traumatizing 98% rejection rate, I learned the hard way that there were many things involve in not only running a business but also in marketing it as well.

Ask yourself the following questions. And in asking yourself, be honest and thorough. Don't be afraid of the outcome. Whether good or bad, there is no outcast plaque waiting for you at the end.

1) What is your message? Your message needs to entail your brand and purpose. What is it that you want to people to see and understand and soon as they see your logo?
2) What is your style of prospecting? Are you a "here's my card/flyer" type of prospector that doesn't provide any verbal communication? Are you the "I'd love to tell you more about what I do/sell" type of prospector?

If you were able to answer honestly to the above questions with 100% acceptance that you may not be doing all you can to win the hearts of your potential consumers, then you're already half way there. Being a messy marketer means that from head to toe, the image of your business (your brand, personal appearance, content/copy, etc) has taken the back burner. A typical example of a messy marketer is:

1) Someone who never has business cards on them;
2) Business cards with outdated/incorrect information;
3) Someone who pushes the price of a product and not the benefit of the product;
4) Someone who has a great marketing plan or product and does nothing to inform the world about it.

The list goes on and on. But, for the sake of time, I'll say this. Get determined to experience success within the next few months. Develop your product/service. Learn all the definitions, benefits and success stories of your product/service. Get equipped with all the necessary business collateral that goes with your product or service. TAKE THE TIME to Develop your social media sites, websites, flyers, postcards, business cards and most importantly...YOU! Become believable, genuine and authentic in your approach. You don't have to lie to make the sale. You don't have to be pushy to be a business person or sales person. You only need to be you. An Organized Marketer that is interested in a person's "possible" use for their product or service is always the winner. You're prepared and ready to respect the consumer with your approach as a business professional.

As an Organized Marketer, you know your product or service inside out. You know your prospect/target market inside and out. You respect their needs, space and time. An organized marketer always wins!