As I write this, the Summer holidays are upon us and I wanted to build on the How To Guide from last week – all about doing Summer with ease and grace. Although the Summer is fully of energy is many ways, it can also leave us feeling frazzled, so we need all the tips we can get to keep things simple, easy and that gives us enough time to rest and play where we can.
Content is such a big part of any micro business owner and you might have great content plans and strategies for the year. But…what can you do to make your content flow when you might be distracted busy or even away on holiday.
Remember that your audience is likely to be distracted too. Don't be fooled into thinking that you have to produce the perfect content plan across July & August and expect the same results. Folks are just like you - managing kids, being busy with work, going on holiday, trying to make the most of the outdoors. Take a deep breath and relax.
Choose a Summer vibe that eases you and your customers into season. Think about where your audience might be at over these weeks - are they eating outside and looking for picnic recipes, are they dreaming of their Autumn plans and need inspiration, are they relaxing and just need something fun or uplifting to read.
Refresh your 5 pillars. I'm a big fan of content pillars - the 5 main themes or topics under which you can build your content ideas. If one of your pillars is 'behind the scenes' or 'how I make things' then keep them summer focussed and don't be afraid to share that you're enjoying the Summer months too.
Think about a user content series...to boost easy engagement, why not create a series that is themed to your summer and that customers can get involved with. It could be a planning series that they sign up to or a 'share your best picnic ideas' series with a little prize at the end or even a new hashtag series where you share products/top tips/styling ideas.
If Autumn and the Christmas season is a biggie for your business, then slowly start to build to it. Encourage folks to subscribe to your email for VIP access or dates for the diary. Perhaps think about opening up your online shop a few days early for launch. Dot the build up throughout your Summer content.
Schedule now to get ahead. There's absolutely nothing more satisfying than knowing you're ahead of the game. Think about scheduling blogs, marketing emails and posts throughout the Summer and you may only have to think about dropping the odd story. A great way to stay relaxed! I use Tweetdeck, Meta Business Suite and Mailchimp.
Dare to go offline. Sometimes distance makes the heart grow fonder. Why not announce that you're off the socials for a fortnight? You could still schedule out to your email users perhaps, but let people know that you're a one person business and you need a break too. I've done this for a good few years and it's a game changer!
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