If you have started your own business, you probably don’t have time to read this blog. You probably have a million things to do on a list that literally never ends. And the more you grow, the busier you will get.. which I mean.. how?!
Let me make your day and tell you about a few super simple ways you can automate certain aspects of your small business, by delegating some of those tasks you will feel more in control.
Get yourself a (digital) copy editor
A spelling and grammar mistake in your text and copy is a huge red flag for potential customers. They don’t trust the professionalism of a business that can’t spell or write properly.
Grammarly is an application that you download on your phone or computer and it spellchecks everything you type. I take pride in being good at grammar and spelling, and even I have been saved (more than) a few times by Grammarly's eagle eye.
Email List engagement made easy
If you are growing your email list (which is my #1 recommendation for growing business) then you will benefit from automated email campaigns. When a new subscriber signs up, this automation will send out an email that thanks and welcomes them. Then one week later, it automatically sends out an email that tells them more about your company’s story or offering a discount code, which builds the relationship and trust between you.
This automated chain can be designed in whatever way suits your business. If you haven’t started an email list, you can sign up for MailChimp or Klaviyo and start growing showing up in people's inbox!
Online marketing in the palm of your hand
If you have an online store with Shopify, you have access to a number of automation tools and apps built right into the platform. One of the most beneficial automation apps is Kit, which is marketing automation ran through Facebook messenger that holds your hand and walks you through the steps.
It’s literally like chatting to someone on messenger, but they are asking you questions like “should we send a thank you note to yesterday’s customer?” and when you say yes, Kit sends that note for you.
Don’t be bogged down by blogs
I can’t say it enough.. batch your blogs! Carved out a morning or afternoon in your schedule for writing, come prepared with ideas and simply write your heart out for a few hours. Cover topics that are on brand but can be from personal experience or based on research (ideally both!)
Once you have written a few blogs, you can schedule them for one a week or every two weeks, to keep your blog active all month long. If you make writing a more frequent part of your work tasks, you can even get months ahead.
Social while you sleep
(or work or spend time with family etc)
Posting to Facebook twice ad day and Instagram once a day is a daunting and exhausting task to face (according to Social Report that is how often you should be posting for your business.)
Unless you have a dedicated employee for social media and marketing, there just isn’t enough time in a day to accomplish everything needed for both social and operational needs. If you put a little bit of effort in ahead of time and batch your work properly though, automating your social posts can save a lot of time.
Facebook has a scheduling tool built right into it, so you can schedule your content and posts well ahead of time, and focus more of your energy on engagement instead of spending that energy trying to think of what to post. At the top of your Facebook business page is a tab for Publishing Tools. In the publishing tools tab, there is a Scheduled Posts tab on the left-hand side and this is where you can schedule posts.
For Instagram I used a number of different apps, depending on the needs of the account. Planoly, Preview, and Later are all great apps can help you schedule and even auto-post your content for you.
Spend less time on the things that you can delegate, and make more time for growth! Automate a small aspect of your business this week, and then try adding a new automation task the next week. Take it slow and slowly take back control of your to-do list. Make learning and education an automated thing by subscribing to the Better Business Broadcast for monthly tips and tools for your growing business. Free worksheets and guides to push you to grow a little bit more every month and every day.
