How to get back on the marketing wagon

We’ve all been there: “I was working consistently on marketing (excellent!), then landed a large project (also excellent!) that left me with almost no time for the activities of daily life, much less marketing (less excellent, but the right decision in the current economy!). Now I haven’t done any business development in over a month and it feels daunting to start again.”  How to get back on the marketing wagon, after you’ve fallen off? 

Here’s the truth: There’s a lot of fear and panic in the freelance world right now, but/and everyone I know (really, everyone) who’s marketing assertively is finding good work. It’s out there. But it’s also a good time to capitalize on large projects when they come your way, and sometimes those projects are so large that your marketing routine flies out the window. 

When (not if, when) this happens to you, here are a few ideas to get back in the groove. You can also apply these to creating any sort of routine in your life, not just marketing! 

• Perhaps most importantly, you feel like you’re back at square one, but you’re not. This applies to lots of things in life when you’re on a roll and then you lose momentum: you have a lot more skills and knowledge than when you first started. Here’s the example I gave to someone in my marketing challenge group: if I told you, “Nudge one dormant client and call that enough for today,” you know exactly what that means and how to do it. It probably wouldn’t take more than 10 minutes, because you’re a long way from square one. You have at least some dormant clients. You know what “nudge” means (because you subscribed to this newsletter and got your free Nudge Kit!). You’ve done it before, whereas someone who’s really at square one doesn’t have any dormant clients and doesn’t know how to write a nudge e-mail. 
• Next, set your expectations really low. I know this sounds crazy, but I think you set yourself up for more disappointment and feeling worse about yourself (and none of us need that!) if you set your expectations too high for that first “dip” back in the pool. Here’s an example I recently gave: I was on a streak of practicing cello every day, then I went on vacation (and the vacation was great!). When I got back, I knew that I was setting myself up for disappointment if I pulled out the hardest piece I had been working on before I left. Instead, I got out my book of very easy warm-up exercises and played for 15 minutes. It actually felt great! It felt good to hold my cello again, and it felt fun to play, because I expected very little of that practice session; the point was simply to get back in the routine by doing something. 
• Then, start with the smallest possible action. Nudge one dormant client. Apply to one agency. Comment on one client’s LinkedIn post. Build from there! Most importantly, do not trap yourself in some convoluted, multi-step marketing campaign right away. Don’t tell yourself, “Well, I’d like to work with some local immigration law firms. But first I have to pass the ATA certification test!” (stop me if this sounds familiar). My husband, who works in IT, often uses the expression, “the tyranny of the sub-goal,” meaning that you’re not held back by the marketing campaign, you’re held back by what you perceive that you need to do before the marketing campaign even starts. Don’t fall for it! Take the smallest possible action to get the ball rolling.

I hope this is helpful! Have a great week!

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