BLOG #4: HOW YOU CAN FIND YOUR WORK\/LIFE BALANCE
3 POSTS CREATED... TIME TO PUT MY INTENTIONS INTO ACTION!!!
So ... it's time to take my "WHY", my "INTENTIONS" and my "AUDIENCE", and create an EFFECTIVE MARKETING FORMAT.
I'm so excited!!! I've started my Blog, I've decided on my OBJECTIVE, and now it's time to put it out there for all the world to see (okay, maybe we'll just start with a few individuals) ... yay for me!!!
As well, and I will probably disclose this in each and every blog post, I absolutely want to share all that I have learned on my research journey ... I want to share Tech Tools, Selling Platforms, and Marketing Resources that I have "figured out" and share it with everyone in a summarized version.
Perhaps I can save you all enormous amounts of time and frustration, and simply provide you with the answers ... all in one place!!!
And now … let’s get started on the next “episode” of my BLOGGING JOURNEY :)
1. WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP???
So, POSTS #1, 2, 3 ... Completed!!! Now what???
First of all, it is time to create my BLOG MARKETING STRATEGY.
From all the research I've done thus far, I know that how I market my blog is as important as the blog content itself. I need to build a marketing plan, where I will pre-design a format that I will intentionally and strategically follow in order to create consistency for my intended readers, inevitably building audience anticipation.
Next, I have to choose my BLOG MARKETING PLATFORMS:
(1) CURRENTLY USING AND LOVING: I am an avid Pinterest user, which is by far my favorite platform, and have recently introduced myself to the world of Instagram, which by the way, has proven to be so much more fun than I could ever have imagined ... but I will venture into that whole phenomenon in another blog post lol.
(2) HAVING DIFFICULTY USING: I also created a Facebook Business Page. Now, it may be because I'm still learning how to use this platform to my advantage, but I am having a heck of a time trying to fine tune how to establish an audience.
Please remember ... I am still "staying true" to my "shoestring budget" philosophy, and I am finding that unless/until you have a purposeful ad budget, promoting and building on Facebook is extremely difficult, and let me tell you ... I'm struggling lol.
(3) PLANNING TO USE: I currently have a business YouTube channel, but let me be honest ... it is
basically a "placeholder" for the business courses I offer, and is essentially "collecting dust" when it comes to promoting my blog.
My plan however, is to overcome my fear of "showing up" (in video), and join the "YouTube Revolution" lol. After watching endless hours of how to create a blog videos, you would think that I would "clue in" ... I mean, these people are literally teaching, gaining exposure and credibility, and leading people directly to their own blogs ... all in one spot!!! If there is a platform I should be devoting more time to ... YouTube is it!!!
2. MY REASONS AND INTENTIONS FOR ESTABLISHING A WORK/LIFE BALANCE
As an online business owner , I am finding that there is a definite "time struggle" between operating my business (working), growing my business (marketing), and living (staying "sane").
What we as business owners quite often "forget", is that we will !!! As well, we fail to truly understand that we can't have a successful business if we don't "live our best life", and we can't "live our best life" if we aren't effectively operating our business.
Not everyone will have the same "time availability" as we are all at different stages and places in our lives. Time budgeting will look different for individuals based on family dynamics (kids/no kids), whether you are growing your primary online business or a side hustle, and even how committed we are about developing our creation(s).
My personal situation has gone through many stages ... currently, I have 2 grown boys who are no longer involved in extra sports/activities, and are very self-sufficient, so my "time availability" in the last few years has increased significantly.
I now have the time to run a successful home-based bookkeeping business (primary), while also working on pivoting to a virtual bookkeeping business (secondary) which is so much more than a side hustle, and with each day is consuming more of my available time.
I have had to divide my working hours equally between business maintenance and business growth Most importantly, when it comes to personal growth, I am passionate about making my new endeavor a huge success, so the equal division of my available time is very intentional ... half of the time "pays the bills", and the other half "sustains the development of my intentions and goals".
Now that I have explained how I "break down" my working hours, I should also explain how I plan this out to create a visual representation of my upcoming week ...
I have created a "BUSINESS PLANNER" (paper and pen) for myself, which works cohesively with my "LIFE PLANNER", and this system works amazingly (for me). It allows me to divide my time so that I can allocate my "family/personal matters" first, and time block my "business hours" into the remaining hours of my day.
***If you prefer a more DIGITAL VERSION, I would highly suggest working with GOOGLE CALENDAR :) This is also an amazing system for planning out your life!!! Keep an eye out on my blog for a full post about this planning tool.***
Perfect!!! My whole week is planned, and I have a healthy balance of personal, family, and business. Mission accomplished!!!
3. QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHAT IS AN EFFECTIVE BLOG MARKETING STRATEGY TO REACH YOUR INTENDED AUDIENCE???
After trying to figure out how to market my new pivoted business, where "marketing for growth" truly feels like ten times more "work" than actually "operating my business", I was actually frightened by the thought of how much time it would take to market my blog, which is not yet generating income. How can I justify (at this point in my blogging journey) the "time-cost" of actively posting on social media and other marketing platforms???
Here is the reality however ...
Growing anything that you are excited or intentional about requires TIME INVESTMENT!!! It is so important however, and so necessary, to make time for the things in your life that bring you joy, and even if this only amounts to an hour or two each day ... you must allow for that time.
Being that I had "limited" time to devote to marketing my blog, I knew that I had to choose my platform(s) wisely ... and I had to make sure that I used my time on those platforms in the most effective way possible. I had to figure out where my blog audience (business owners) would be "hanging out", and then gain a complete understanding about the mood/intentions of this audience when they were visiting these platforms.
Now, please remember that, marketing your blog goes hand-in-hand with your blog content ... you must have a true understanding that there will be a difference between inviting people to engage with your blog, and directing them to a specific topic. However, you must also be able to blend the two. You must create marketing content that points them in the direction of your blog so they can learn about the content topic, but you must also create marketing content that intrigues the reader to learn about a "topic of interest" so they will visit your blog regularly because you offer a "reader environment" that is consistent and relatable.
Let's recap these strategies:
MARKETING CONTENT to BLOG to CONTENT TOPIC MARKETING CONTENT to TOPIC OF INTEREST to BLOG VIEWS
For beginner bloggers this is a very effective method of blog marketing, as you are targeting your blog audience consistently while at the same time reaching out to new readers with your blog topics :)
4. IN CONCLUSION
It is my full intention to help other "starters" at the beginning of their business development journey, and I plan on doing this a little bit at a time. Rather than mass producing blog content, I want to be intentional in my delivery methods.
I am so intentional on saving my audience the frustration of spending all their waking hours simply trying to figure out HOW to do things, so they can spend their time DOING those things.
If you can't DO "the things", you can't move ahead, and this is where I want to assist you.
I am going to make this disclaimer right now ... I am NOT claiming that I will have the EXACT answer, but I will sure as heck try to provide my audience with as much relevant information as I can (for many different topics),and as many available options when necessary.
Most importantly, my mission is to present the information in a consistent format, because I truly believe that consistency builds trust. I want my blog audience to know that they can trust in the fact that the information I provide has been researched like crazy ... and is written with the intent of making your business building journey as easy as possible, whether you operate an online/storefront/home-based business :)
I am new to the blogging platform, however I am definitely NOT new to business building research, so I invite you to re-visit this BLOG to see all the content I will be offering ... bit by bit :)
Please remember ... TIME IS MONEY!!!
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