If, like me, you're planning on some downtime (and less client work) this August, I’ve created a roundup of things you can do when business is quieter. It works for the summer months, but also any time things quieten down.
Here are five things you can do when business is quiet (ideal for the school holidays!)…
Plan something
Get ready for the next season - PR-wise
Get ready for the next season - everything else
Learn something
Take a break 😀
1. Plan something
Start having a think about how the year has gone so far and, importantly, what you want to do for the remainder of it.
What PR or marketing activities would you like to try?
What is your income goal for the last few months of the year?
What services/products do you want to focus on selling?
Can you run a ‘back-to-school’ promotion with a discount on something?
In short, consider what is going to fire you up in September. Write something down and if you can, pop some time in your diary to make it happen.
2. Get ready for the next season - PR-wise
Here are some PR things you could look at this summer…
Consider what PR activities you are good at or which you’d like to try.
Read: ‘how to find your PR Sweet Spot’ to find which PR activities would suit your personality.
Go to X (Twitter) and type in #JournoRequest in the search bar. Can you reply to anything?
Read: ‘the social media trick to get you media coverage this week’ for how to land media mentions using this strategy.
On social media, follow influential journalists who write about your industry or topics you follow.
Bonus points for engaging on their posts or sending a story idea to them!
Grab a copy of this eBook: Media coverage in 10 days.
I’m going to take my own advice here too. I won an award for something and completely forgot about it. It wasn’t on my website or anything. So, I aim to check the award out and update my website’s press page with my recent media appearances.
3. Get ready for the autumn - everything else
Here’s some ideas of other great activities you could be doing in quieter times…
Redo or edit your website
Does your homepage say what you do, who you are and how someone can buy something from you?
Are your ‘work with me’, ‘about me’, and contact pages all up-to-date?
Have you added a press page? If you have one, have you updated it with your most recent newspaper mentions or podcast appearances?
Do all the links work? If not, fix them.
Is there a photo of you? Not your logo, a photo of you or your team? People like to see a human and who they’re talking to.
Check your social media profiles
Are your profiles up to date? Does your bio represent what your business is doing right now?
What are your profile pics? Do they match across all social media platforms?
Have you added a cover photo? Is it up-to-date or does it still have 2022’s Black Friday offer on it?
Are your ‘pinned posts’ what you want people to see at the top of your profile? If not, change them.
Create some graphics
Do you use graphics for social media posts, blogs etc? If yes, grab a bowl of coffee and batch-create some for the next few months.
Create an ‘authority image’ that showcases how awesome you are. This could include your headshot with logos of clients you’ve worked with or media names you. Here’s one I Blue-Peter-d earlier…
Kerri L Watt’s “Authority’ Image” Redesign your social media cover pics to show your face, name and what you do. Maybe even some events you’ve spoken at, or any media name you have appeared in. Here’s one of my recent ones as an example…
Design an “As seen in…” rectangular image that showcases all the media logos you have been in.
If you haven't featured in any media yet, you could always include "As seen at...". Include e.g. events you have spoken at or places you have been a guest lecturer etc.
Google yourself
What’s coming up on page one? Is it what you would want a potential client to see?
Edit and update old pages and posts that pop up.
Delete old pages or those that don’t represent your business right now.
Marketing
Have you been meaning to create a PDF ‘freebie’ to help grow your mailing list? Sit down and write your eBook then easily pop it into a template in Canva.
Schedule a few months’ worth of social media posts.
Batch your next few newsletters and write, write, write.
4. Learn something
If you're quiet on the client work front, then this could be a great opportunity to upskill.
Perhaps read up on marketing or PR, maybe you need to look at your bookkeeping or social media skills.
And, ummmm, I may know a great place to learn something new 😂
‘How to run a local media campaign’ includes tutorials, workflow, and ready-to-use email and press release templates. It’s £99 but add the discount code NEWSLETTER for 50% off.
5. Take a break
You deserve a break my friend. Take some time out to regroup and come back in September refreshed.
As hard as it is to type, I’ll be doing this one too. You’ll hear from me only once in August for the monthly ‘PR Roundup’.
Eek!
What are you up to this summer - are you a bit quieter too and think you’ll be working ‘on’ your business instead of ‘in’ it? Or are you heading for the beach?!