Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Systems are Saving Me

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are your system in place?As I’ve mentioned in my newsletter and on the blog, client work is going great and keeping me busy lately! And I’m not feeling my usual overwhelm. Why? I have some great systems in place, including trying out some new stuff.

Here’s what I’m doing:

At the beginning of the month I created a list of every deliverable I promised clients by the end of the month. THEN I sent out an email to my clients (individually) and shared those deliverables with them and asked if there was anything else they were expecting or needed for the month. It kept us both on track and organized and on top of things.

This month, I haven’t sent the email to every client (some are just a monthly newsletter so we don’t need to), but I created the same list. And then I really went granular with each WEEK, and what needs to be accomplished each week. And you know what I discovered?

I should be able to take the last week of the month off. Yeah, #winning #blessed.

My biggest fear when I get busy is that I’m going to drop the ball on a project. I have good systems in place, but adding this checklist of EVERYTHING in one spot is really helping me to stay on my A game so that when a client called and wanted to start a new project, I knew I could. And when a prospect showed up out of no where, I was able to say yes on the spot without worry of when the work would get done.

How are your systems? Do you know what deliverables you have this month? Do you have a plan in place for it?

How 40% of My Traffic Comes from Social Media

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This guy measures his trafficOn (or around) the first of each month I pull a report in Google Analytics for clients to see where traffic to their website is coming from. This month I was looking at my traffic and realized I had a lot (for me) coming from social media. Like 40% a lot. I was really surprised. And I knew exactly how it happened.

A few months back someone tweeted a blog post about how to double your traffic with social media.  And I started doing it. I setup Buffer at the beginning of the year and when I have a new blog post I spend 1 minute (okay maybe 90 seconds) in Buffer getting my post scheduled to go out a few times over the next month. That’s ALL I do.

Okay, maybe not all I do. I’m also engaging with my audience. What? Earlier this week the person who tweeted the article and I tweeted back and forth all morning about books. Like for fun books, not work stuff. ENGAGE. Will he ever be a client? I don’t think so, but people see that I actually engage with others on social media. My most popular tweet this week was about obeying the Olivia Pope diet for dinner. What does ANY of that have to do with work? Nothing. But when I do tweet out my most recent newsletter or blog post, people respect it because I don’t JUST force boring business stuff down your throat (but hopefully this isn’t boring). Be a real person.

Don’t assume that the ONE time you post your latest blog post to social media is when they’re going to be on and able to read it. Share it throughout the day (I always schedule an evening post, it’s how my husband usually finds it!) when your audience is active. Fun fact – Buffer will tell you when your traffic and posting times are best. YAY for a $10 a month tool that’s useful!

My favorite part? the traffic that comes from Facebook. I think we are all aware I’m not the one posting anything there. So someone must be referring to me or my posts there. You can’t measure what you don’t track. Here’s the analytics report I pull for clients each month. See what it shows you. It might not be the right fit. I’m not claiming to be an analytics expert (I mean, novice is generous..) but this is the info that’s interesting and important to me and my clients. Try it out, let me know what you learn!

Do You Penalize Changes?

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do you penalize change?Late last year a parking garage opened in our neighborhood with 3 free hours of parking. It was great when you’re running errands and then go grab a beer or go out for dinner. We’re loving having the garage (especially in the winter when you’re trying to corral a puppy!) About a month ago the garage switched to 2 free hours of parking and after 2 hours you have to pay. Okay, that’s fine. There’s ONE machine to pay for parking, and it’s hiding in the back of the garage.

A lot of people have missed the machine and ended up with $50 parking tickets, and they aren’t happy. I can’t say I blame them, I would be too! Most people just missed the machine or figured the two hours were free and didn’t need a ticket, like the system that was in place the past 6 months.

You know what would be great? If for 1-2 months after the change instead of a parking ticket you get a note that says “hey, we changed the system, moving forward any time you park here, get a ticket please, it’s free for 2 hours. Starting June 1 we’ll be ticketing you and this would have been $50”

That would be SO NICE and HELPFUL. Instead? The neighbors now kinda hate this garage and the building owners. That’s not great.

Have you changed systems in your business and just expected your clients or customers to read the fine print? It’s a dick move dude. If you make a change in your business make sure to communicate it clearly to your customers AND I’d suggest a grace period. “Hey, I saw you sent me a check and I asked if we could setup automatic payments online – can we get that setup next month?” “I asked for 48 hours notice to get this setup for you, I have time this month but moving forward can we plan for 2 days in advance?”

See, way nicer than a ticket.