4 Ways to Dramatically Increase Your Impact, While Saving You Precious Time
Time, yikes. What a loaded subject! No one ever has enough. The first response when asked “How are you” always seems to be “Busy”. But here’s the thing, time is your most precious resource. No matter what you do, time marches on at the same rate. The richest person in the world still cannot buy more time. The clock ticks on just the same for everyone, it’s the greatest equalizer.
I say, It’s time to start a revolution, instead of treating time as the enemy, we must treat it as an ally. Make friends with time. Create a mutually beneficial relationship. From a business standpoint, that means investing time in the right things to ensure it pays you back in the long run. As a copywriter for holistic businesses, I’ve repeatedly seen four small, impactful tricks that can take your business to the next level. The goal: Save your time, and grow your results. Let’s dive in.
Outsource That Which Drains You
To create a healthy relationship with time, we must prioritize correctly. You only have so much energy in a day. Spinning your wheels on the parts of your business that suck you dry, does not help you in the long run. It hurts you and your business. Think of it this way, every time you say “Yes” to something, you say “No” to something else. It is an either/or, it’s a choice. You can’t do it all. I’m sorry if that’s hard to hear, but please protect your emotional well-being and acknowledge that you are only human.
If you’re saying “Yes” to something that’s sucking your energy rather than “Yes” to something that lights your fire, you’re making the wrong choice. That said, I realize certain non-fun parts of your business still have to be done. So take a moment and list those dreaded mundane tasks. Now, look through that list and see what you can outsource. Can you delegate it to someone on your team? Should you reach out to a consultant? Maybe find a freelancer who specializes in it? Yes, it may cost money but think of all the creative time you’ll get back. Time you can use to move your business forward in big, impactful, revenue-generating ways. That’s when the acceleration happens… when you free up time to re-focus on the aspects of this business that fired you up in the first place. Put down that superhuman cape, it’s a bigger sign of strength to ask for help and know your limits.
Build Your Email List, Yesterday
Do you have an email list? If so, hooray! If not, put this item at the top of your To-Do List. Why, you ask? It’s the number one opportunity for future growth. Maybe presently it doesn’t feel important, but what if one day you decide to launch a new offering? Or partner with a product? Or write a book? When that day comes, you’ll be thrilled you had the foresight to collect the email addresses of an interested audience. A group of people to announce the new news to!
The way to build your email list is through an opt-in, or, something of interest to your ideal customer that you can give for free in return for their email address. Our inboxes are our digital living rooms. We hang out in them and they feel more personal than an Instagram post to the masses. Think about the people whose newsletters you’ve chosen to join. You’ve intentionally chosen these people for a good reason. So when someone you follow sends an email, you usually read it. It could be a quick skim, but you trust that person has something relevant to say because you chose them for a reason. It’s very easy to unsubscribe, but you don’t. Email lists are gold and the sooner you can start accumulating this list, the better. Trust me, there couldn’t possibly be a reason you’d regret this choice.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Is Your Website Working For You, or Against You?
I often hear people talk about SEO with an annoyed tone followed by an eye-roll. It’s either too complicated or too “techy”. It might feel like a big black abyss of algorithms and guesswork, but I promise you it’s not. There are proven methods to move your website ranking higher on Google. There are entire companies dedicated to this, but there are a handful of very attainable tweaks any business owner can make. When using Google search, how often do you scroll down on a results page past the 10th listing? Maybe the 20th if we’re really doing our research. But more often than not, we trust Google to provide us with the most relevant results to our question within the first handful of listings. If your business isn’t showing up within the first 10-20 results, you are missing out on organic search results driving traffic to your website.
You can do all the marketing, paid ad campaigns, and cold emailing possible, but that takes time and money. If your website is in a solid place with intentional keywords, proper copy, and SEO formatting, you can trust Google to get your website in front of your ideal customer. The best part? That customer is literally looking for you. They’ve typed something into Google that brought them to your website, they already want to say yes. This is the magic of passive results. Lean into SEO and watch what can happen to your business.
Slow Down to Go Fast
Slow down?! Wait, what? How does that work? If I’m supposed to be making time my ally, I must squeeze as much as possible into the time I have, right? Not necessarily. Before putting that car in drive, you should check if your car has gas. Before you start running with your ideas, take a beat and ensure your brand vision, core values, and ideal customer are outlined and crystal clear. Who are you trying to work with? What are you going to offer them? Why would they choose you? You may know all this in your head, but the process of writing it out is always enlightening. Don’t skip this step.
Continuing with the car metaphor: before you hit the road, are you certain you know where you’re going? Where is your destination? What equals success? What milestones do you need to hit to keep on track? Have you outlined your entrepreneurial roadmap? These two steps are often overlooked but can be referenced time and time again. When you’re feeling lost, frustrated, or like you’re spinning your wheels, review your vision and roadmap to re-group and re-focus. The bit of extra time it takes now will pay dividends later.
Ready to Get Going?!
These four tips may seem simple, but they work! If you’re spinning your wheels on the areas that drain you, you’ll be energy-less for the most important aspects of your business. If you’re not building your email list, you’re missing future low-hanging fruit. If your website isn’t Search Engine Optimized, you’re working harder not smarter. And if you don’t have a solid foundation, you’ll build your business on shaky ground. With some small tweaks and targeted attention, you’ll see results before you know it!
If you need help or guidance with any of the above, I’d love to partner to take your business to the next level! Click below to connect.
