Whether 2023 has been successful and you’ve achieved your goals, or it’s not gone quite as anticipated, it’s time to learn from this year in planning ahead for pole position in the next 12 months. January can be a quiet month for many industries, as people are maxed out after Christmas. On the flip side there are also plenty of people that DO want to spend, so it’s essential to get your products or services circling in their orbit. Here are some tips and quick wins that will see you starting 2024 organised and committed to achieving your business goals and growth.
- Scheduling your socials – we are all short on time, but getting stuff out of our heads and onto paper can really help the overwhelm of trying to keep on top of our socials and the worry of what to post each day. It can really help to plan a month ahead (or even each quarter) and look at themes for each month/season and what is coming up e.g. Christmas, New Year, Summer, Easter, Valentine’s Day etc.) How can your products and services tie in with these themes? Using a content planner can take away this pain and we have a free download at https://elenaimm.kartra.com/page/Contentplan if you need some help. Keep to the 80/20 rule – 80% helpful & rich content and 20% “selling” – always add value rather than overtly sell, but be in people’s minds for when they do need your product or service.
- Blogging – it’s a task many people avoid due to time or just not knowing what to write, but it doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. If you use a content plan you should have your blog topics for the next 12 months at the start of the year again around themes/seasons/events. Similarly don’t sell as you write, remember your clients’ pain points and why they should work with you – answer their questions. And don’t forget your personal brand – if you’ve never told your story, consider writing a personal blog about you and why you started your business. Be relatable and build the trust factor; people buy from people.
- Building your pipeline list/CRM system – this is crucial! Whilst we’re busy it’s easy to rely on your current customers to keep you afloat, and stop being proactive. But a client could could stop purchasing at any-time. You need to have a constant flow of prospects into your pipeline that you’re nurturing whilst also upselling to your current customers through a regular newsletter ie monthly or quarterly. Build your contacts list by offering something free ie a value packed download/webinar/video etc in return for their contact details and then help them get to know you!
- 4. Strategy, strategy, strategy – anyone can throw content out there hoping some of it will convert….but….without a strategy in place you’re wasting time and money on things that may not yield results and slow your potential growth. Focusing on your business strategy will feed your marketing tactics for 2024 in a much more structured and measurable way, that simply just works.
- Make money while you sleep – write an e-book, create a course, turn your knowledge into something people can buy easily from your website; you write it once, but can sell it over and over again. There are lots of ways to create passive & semi-passive income, but it’s one of the best ways to scale your income and stop trading time for money.
- Promote any new product (or service) at least 3 months ahead) – this will help create FOMO (Fear of missing out) so, keep releasing teasers of what’s coming soon to get people’s attention and mix up your content with reels, static images and other content.
- Work on your mindset – as we head into 2024 competition is immense and you really need to be exuding confidence and investing in yourself. Consider working with a coach and get yourself in the right mindset to tackle whatever the new year brings.
- Remember you are not Superman/Superwoman – we are of course, but we can’t juggle everything simultaneously forever without something slipping. We all have areas we’re good at and those annoying areas we dislike (meaning those things we put off), but we’ll reach a point where in order to grow our businesses, we have to outsource. What areas are you willing to hand over or get help with, e.g. your social platforms, blogging, newsletters etc. When you find the right freelancer/agency, they will work in partnership with you as if they are you and respect your brand, so don’t be scared off by previous attempts – it’s all about finding the right fit for your business!
We hope these tips have helped in some way to get you revved up and ready to tackle 2024 head on, but if there are any areas we can help with, please do get in touch.
We wish you all a happy and productive 2024!