1. Update your Website
Keeping your website up to date is always important, and yet it is so easy to neglect. I often find that I put my website updates and improvements on hold because I get too busy working for my clients. A little time off is the perfect time to get caught up on the work you’ve been neglecting.
Here are some ideas for keeping your website fresh:
• Design and structural improvements
• Update copy and blogs to improve relevancy
• Write a blog
• Perform an SEO check-up
• Implement a strategy to improve email subscriptions or inquiries
• Let visitors know what’s new by adding a banner message or pop up
• Navigate site to ensure all information is up to date
2. Re-evaluate Strengths and Weaknesses
Take a moment to sit down and evaluate how your business has been performing. What has been working and what could be better? Have some products/services been selling better than others? Now is a good time to adjust your offerings to better suit your target market and your business. Try making a list of all of your offerings, and then going through each one individually to determine how you could improve it. If you find yourself at a loss when trying to solve this question, it may be time to move on and really push what has been working.
3. Send out an Email Blast
Though many believe email is an outdated method of communication, it continues to be extremely effective for driving traffic to your website and continues to have high conversion rates. Our favourite tool for sending email blasts is Mailchimp. Mailchimp allows you to create beautiful email templates, manage your lists, schedule email blasts, and gain insight into your audience and email performance. Haven’t gathered a list of email subscribers yet? No worries. Take this as an opportunity to implement an email collection system into your website! If you need help getting started, contact us today.
4. Organize your Files
Whether it be organizing files on your computer or cleaning out your dusty filing cabinets, now is the time! It is an extremely rewarding and refreshing feeling to get organized. For many, organizing files means deleting old images and files off of the desktop and moving anything valuable into an appropriate file. Organizing your books and binders can also help to provide you with an energy boost and inspire productivity. You will find it is much more efficient when you know where everything is located!
5. Connect with your Clients and Audience
We currently find ourselves in some unprecedented times. Companies continue to share statements about how their day to day operations have been affected by COVID-19. Now is the perfect time to reach out to your clients/audience and let them know what you have going on. Let them know about your current and upcoming offerings while planting seeds of positivity and prosperity. Take the time to check in with them, ask how they’re feeling, and what they’re looking forward to. It may also be valuable to ask for feedback and advice. Your audience may be able to provide some insight into what they hope to see from your business. Learning more about your audience and clients can help you determine what products/offerings may be successful.
6. Do a Business Brain Dump
Highly recommended by our team member Jasmine, brain dumps are the process of sitting down with a pen and paper and writing down everything that comes to mind. It’s a great way to get the creative juices flowing and helps to reduce stress. Look back at your notes afterwards to find plenty of valuable information. I find mine usually start as a to-do list and morph into goal setting and visions for my future.
The general process for a business brain dump is the same, but with a little more guidance. Let your mind wander, but keep it related to your business. Write down everything you need to get done, quarterly goals, ideas for new offerings, opportunities for growth and more. Any thoughts or ideas that come to mind are worth recording!
7. Professional Development
Have you been wanting to catch a webinar but haven’t had the time? Been wanting to learn a new language? Take a course? Learn how to use a new technology? Take advantage of your free time by continuing your professional development. If you come out of your time off having learned nothing, you will most likely feel a sense of regret. Do something your future self will thank you for; take that course, learn that new skill. You can no longer use the excuse “I don’t have the time.” If you let this opportunity pass you don’t lack time, you lack discipline.
8. Discover Potential Streams of Revenue
This strange quarantine situation we find ourselves in presents a great opportunity to make money through online channels and utilize technology to make money. More and more, we are seeing people connecting through platforms like Skype, Zoom, Facetime and Google Hangouts. Many businesses have been forced to move their business online. Though this situation won’t last forever, it is becoming more and more evident that we now have the tools for almost all businesses to provide online service. This doesn’t mean that you need to move your entire business online. Take the time to sit down and evaluate how you could serve your audience online. As an online marketing company, we are very experienced in helping small businesses build an online presence. If you’re having issues figuring out how to sell online, we’d be happy to help!
9. Spring Cleaning
In business, the 80/20 rule (Pareto’s Principle) suggests that 80% of your outputs come from 20% of your inputs. Take this time to sit down and evaluate what offerings are providing you the best results. Maybe it’s time to trim the fat; eliminate the offerings that are unsuccessful or no longer embody what your business is about. Take the time you were using to promote these unsuccessful ventures and put it into what has been proven to work for you.
You should also evaluate your branding. Do your mission statement and vision still represent your company adequately? Are your logo and brand colours still serving as the best representation of your company? Is your messaging still consistent with your offerings and identity? As your business continues to grow and evolve, it is important that your branding is growing with you. Don’t want to do it alone? Check out our branding services.
10. Social Media Updates
People are spending a lot of time at home, and they’re also spending a lot of time on social media. There’s never been a better opportunity to reach your audience online. If you don’t already have social media accounts for your business, now is the time to get your foot in the door. Check out our blog Which Social Media Sites are Right for My Business? for some help getting started.
If you already have social media, ask yourself the following:
• Is my bio, header, profile picture and account information up to date?
• How could I change my messaging to cater to our current climate?
• What services/offerings are most relevant to my online audience right now?
• What services/offerings do I need to promote in order for my business to succeed?
• What information do I need to share with my audience? (Adjusted hours, changes to services, health and safety measures, etc.)
Need help utilizing social media to drive business? Visit our social media services page.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading our blog, we hope it found you at the right time. We hope you are staying safe and healthy during these trying times. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out!
Have a great day! 🙂