Is it time for a marketing Spring Clean?

I love the whole, New Year, New Start vibe, but it’s also cold. And dark. And rather busy catching up after the Christmas break.

So yes, I may feeeeel like I should be invigorated and excited for what the next twelve months has to bring, but do I really want to take action in the middle of winter?

Perhaps new year isn’t the best time to start something new, or get invigorated by your business. Just saying.

Maybe Winter should be for wintering and Spring should be the time to spring into action?

With the recent change in seasons, I thought I’d share my top tips to spring clean your marketing.

Step 1: Write down your objectives.

Having a clear idea on where you’d like your business to be is the first step in reaching your goals. Grab a notepad and think about your wishlist. Remember that targets don’t have to exclusively be financial. For example, I (mostly) work Monday - Friday, 9-3pm, term time. I also volunteer for a charity in my home town, so having time to dedicate to that is important to me.

Your objectives and goals will be different to mine, and they should be tailored to what is important to you.

Step 2: Be clear about your offer.

What pain point does your offer solve? For example, a branding designer doesn’t offer brand packages, they help businesses professionally and consistently share their brand message.

A branding photographer doesn’t provide headshots, they give their clients a wonderful gallery of visual resources for their business.

I don’t offer email marketing set up, I help businesses build a list, back up their social media and create an asset that they own.

Step 3: Think about who your ideal client is.

This may be the people you are already serving in your business, it may not. Being clear on who you work for is so important when it comes to your messaging, so you know the pain points of your clients and how your business helps them.

Step 4: What channels are you using?

Are the channels your dream clients are using to find you, the same as the ones you are using? Of course different channels have different places in your comms funnel, but there is little point hanging out on LinkedIn if all your people are chatting in private Facebook groups. Or spending hours creating Instagram Reels if all of your clients are searching Pinterest.

Step 5: Build a comms plan.

Outlining your campaign messaging at the beginning of each month/ quarter is so powerful. If you are throwing messages out and hoping something will stick, I urge you to grab a monthly planner and mark out key dates, stories you want to share, bring your dream clients on a journey and show them how you can help them.

If working through this has you confused, I offer two-hour Do it Together Planning sessions, drop me an email to inquire, or, if you’re looking to DIY your planning, grab a copy of my Marketing Strategy & Content Planning workbook and spring into action today.

*This blog post was loosely inspired by a blog post I wrote for The Hook Project spring 2024.