debbiebradleyFrom time to time, I have to call myself on my BS.
It’s part of life, as well as part of business.
My ‘BS-detector’ flared up a few days ago about (of all things) Christmas.
There’s a lot of talk about Christmas, it started months ago!
My girls have been practising dances for their Christmas Showcase since July… I’ve been tuning it out since then. Michael Buble doesn’t have the same ring in July.
We went to the town light switch on last week (anti-climactic, but a lesson in itself, because I love a good metaphor!)
I said “Oh HECK NO!” out loud in B&M the day I saw them Christmas goodies on the shelves just before Halloween, much to the amusement of the staff, and my kids. “Wow Mum, it’s only Christmas stuff”
I cringe with emails counting down to Christmas
I don’t wanna see it, hear it, think about, deal with it until the end of Q4!
I don’t even start my Christmas shopping until December.
I have rules:
– Fairytale of New York has to play on the radio,
– We have to watch Fred Claus on family movie night,
– and ‘shuffle’ has to naturally come to Kickass Christmas by The Sleighs (It’s a fun Punk Rock song I discovered watching Scorpion – what a show!)…
then, AND ONLY THEN is Christmas real.
Christmas is at the END of the year!! I will not deal with it until then!
Now here’s the kicker…
I know that dealing with Christmas in December as a business isn’t a real possibility (or at least not a good idea).
If you’re starting now, you missed it. Sorry, but true.
I’ve been trying to work in 90-day sprints, it’s how I work with my clients, and I know it works really well for them and those around me. As such, I know I should have been looking at Christmas from September (much like B&M were, despite my disapproval)
Now here’s where my BS-radar kicked in
I’ve been avoiding my 90-day plan for Q4 because I know I need to make some big shifts (scary ones, hence the avoidance)
Even my Q4 planner (I use Michael Hyatts Full Focus Planner) is over halfway through, and I’ve only written on a few days, I’ve just been going with the flow these past few months (hence the sporadic emails).
In my mind, Christmas is ages away. Y’know, at the end of the quarter, 90 days or so…
Reality: My birthday in March is less than 100 days away.
I only know this because I saw a poster for a movie coming out ‘in 100 days’ a few days ago… In March. AFTER my birthday.
Can you hear the sirens?
Um, Debbie? You know Christmas is in 27 days, right? Less than 4 weeks?
Yeah… Are you laughing in pity too?
It really hit home when I signed a new Pinterest management client a few days ago.
We were talking about marketing, and what we could achieve if we started now for the next 3 months.
3 months covers December, January and February…
Starting now allows me to set up her marketing to cover;
– Valentines Day
– Mothers Day
– Easter.
We will catch the end of Christmas, but by the time it will really start to take traction, we’ll probably have missed delivery cut off dates, so we aren’t going to include that.
But here’s something I know;
What you do now, directly impacts where you will be 90 days from now!
90 days from now is when you will start seeing results from the efforts you put in today on your marketing,
Whether that’s planning, creating your content, sharing that content, or making the sale(s).
We need to show up in front of our audiences.
We need to be available for people to find us.
Whatever we’re doing NOW needs to be in preparation for our potential customers up to 3 months from now, if not further ahead.
So what are you putting off?
Have you been sat around wondering why people aren’t coming to your business?
Have you been watching your web traffic stagnate, or worse, decline over the past few months?
Have you actually been putting new stuff out there? Or sharing old stuff that’s still relevant?
How are people going to know you’re open for business if you don’t tell them?
When you’re walking down the high street, how do you know a store or office is open for business?
The lights are on? The door is open? There are people inside? There’s a sign on the door?
We don’t have that luxury in the online space!
People know we’re “open for business” when we show them.
We show them by putting content out there ready for them to find.
Content that people engage with. (like, comment on, click through, share, save, send to a friend, tell someone about in the street… so many ways to engage!)
We can’t see how many people are on a site at any given time, we can’t see if the lights are on.
We can just assume they’re ready for us when we discover them.
Usually, because they’re actively promoting.
Pinterest is your high street window!
Actively putting new content on Pinterest is like unlocking the doors, turning the lights on and putting an “open” sign on the door.
People are ‘wandering around’ Pinterest looking for stuff. New stuff. Your stuff.
Now they’ll be looking for last-minute Christmas ideas (GREAT for DIY or Online content – ie stuff that doesn’t need posting)
They’ll be on there looking for ways and help to plan or stick to their New Year Resolutions/Goals (I emailed you about that recently)
They’ll be looking for romantic ideas to celebrate Valentines Day
Some new ideas to surprise Mum with on Mothers Day
They’ll also be collecting ideas on how to celebrate Easter
Not forgetting birthdays and other ‘life’ stuff (decorating, post Christmas diets, summer holidays, Spring/Summer wardrobes… you feel me?)
ALL IN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS!!!
Now, I’m asking you, reminding you, prompting, slightly pleading with you…
Don’t be like me this Christmas!
Don’t be the person (like me) who shrugs off upcoming events, convincing themselves that it’ll be OK to get to it later, only for ‘later’ to be almost too late to make an impact.
Don’t roll up to Valentines Day, Mothers Day, or even Easter, wondering why no one has discovered or embraced your business.
Get ahead of the game, get in front.
Come out a winner!
Starting NOW and getting one by Easter is still a heck of a lot further than you would be if put it off even further.
What if you start now and are rockin’ it by Valentines Day?
That’s a HUGE win for your business.
Even if you’re not starting from Zero, maybe you already know your Q1 goals or your 2019 goals… it makes sense to start NOW to try and reach them, right?
Right…
OK, I’ve written enough, I have to go figure out this Christmas thing seen as I’m about 60 days behind schedule…
If you want me for anything, you know how to reach me 😉
(hit reply, or book a call)
I hope you CRUSH your next few months, and every single day after that.
Speak soon,
Debbie x
