Here in New England it took a while for summer to arrive. The cold and the rain hung around for a while, so we’ve spent every sunny day of August soaking up what we could. If you’re anything like us, you’re probably spending the last few weeks of summer trying to squeeze in as many final beach trips, ice cream sundaes, frozen margaritas, and lazy mornings with the kids as possible. 

While we all like to hit the pause button and head out on vacation these last few weeks before school starts, we also all understand that not all of our business can wait for the cooler weather.  Sometimes we’re off having a little too much of a good time, only to return in September to a backlog of emails, a giant To-Do list, and a book of business that could use a little kick in the pants to get going again. And to us, most importantly, a marketing plan that was pretty much ignored all summer long.

So this week, we’ve compiled a few simple tips to help you stay on top and keep your book of business organized and your marketing strategy optimized. Taking some time before heading out on the boat (lucky you!), or off to the zoo for the day, will ensure that your business is still working for you and ready for you to return after soaking up some rays.

1. Take a day to dive a little deeper and evaluate your current direction and growth strategy. While you don’t have to tackle everything on here (yet), it helps just to ask yourself some of these questions. Knowing where you stand will help you begin to formulate a plan, so when you return rested, and tanned, from your vacation you’re ready to address any issues, or dive right into any new projects or plans.

1. What is working well?
2. What needs to be tweaked? 
3. What do your numbers look like up to now?
4. Have you hit your growth goals?
5. Where are new clients/business coming from?
6. Are your current clients/book of business your ideal?
7. Are you investing enough here, or too much there? 

2. Pick one day a week to schedule out all your content. If you’re usually someone who waits until the ‘day of’ to write that blog or Facebook post (and there’s nothing wrong with that… usually…) try switching it up during this time of year. Getting a few days ahead of the curve will help you ensure new content is constantly being updated in your absence and you won’t feel resentful about having to hit your computer to write a blog (or even worse, forget it all together) while everyone else is out having fun.

3. Commit to (limited) customer service 2x per day. We all know connecting with your potential clients or customers is important and so is answering their questions or getting them to engage on your social platforms. Commit 30 minutes, twice per day, to answering emails, liking/commenting on social posts, joining groups, etc. Do what you can, but make sure when that 30 minutes is up you shut your computer (or crash your Facebook app) and get back to enjoying your vacation!

4. Plan something big for the fall, and give yourself deadlines. There’s nothing worse than seeing time slip by and feeling like you could have done so much more. The fall and 4th quarter is a huge time for many businesses, and we don’t want you to feel like it passed you by. Commit to tackling a new project, marketing strategy, or big launch in the fall and put all the dates in the calendar NOW. 

Always wanted to run a lead generation campaign to really boost your email list? Give yourself deadlines for when you will have your lead magnet ready, your automated email sequence up and running and your Facebook ads live. 

Thinking about doing a big pre-holiday, in-store sale? Mark the dates off on your calendar now and work backwards to plan when your email campaign will start, your creative will be designed and ads will go live. By putting these dates in your calendar, you’ll be able to enjoy your time off while still feeling excited about the months to come. Plus it will give you target dates for when the party must stop (or at least calm down a little) and the productivity must start. 

So, whether you’re taking some well deserved time for R & R or whether you’re still hustling (or hopefully a combination of both), we hope some of these tips might help you get the most out of these dog days of summer, without leaving your business, or your marketing plan, high and dry.