“Create the perfect morning routine!” 

“3 Hacks to 10x your productivity!” 

“How to force yourself into an unnatural routine to conform to society’s productivity expectations and burn yourself out!”

Okay, maybe not that last one. But it seems like that’s what most “productivity hacks” actually do—force you to create some unattainable goal that doesn’t consider who you are and how you work best. 

There’s an idea that gets thrown around a lot— “You have the same 24 hours in a day that Beyonce does.” 

Well, sure, technically. But do you have millions of dollars? A personal trainer? A maid, a nanny, an assistant? Queen Bey is fabulous, but she’s also got a lot of help getting the little things, like grocery shopping and laundry, done. 

What if you decided you don’t need to 10x your productivity?

(seriously, why are we always 10x-ing things? can’t we just 1x and see how it goes?)

Productivity Culture 

So much of our perceived self-worth is tied up in our work output and overall productivity. 

Thanks, capitalism!

We’re constantly bombarded with messages like: 

• We can have it all.
• We should be able to handle it all—and more.
• If we can’t handle it all we’re failing as employees, business owners, partners, parents, or general human beings.

And we’re done with it! Whether it’s The Great Resignation, quiet quitting, or the rise of the anti-work movement. We. Are. Tired.

But quitting the crushing standards of productivity culture is easier said than done. There are a lot of factors that make it impossible for some people to cut back on work and still make enough to meet their needs. We definitely acknowledge that. 

We’re specifically talking to you—an entrepreneur who can’t help but do everything yourself or a small business owner that can’t quit working evenings and weekends—and telling you it’s okay to give up someone else’s idea of what productivity means and embrace your own version.

Know Your Limits and Lower Your Expectations

Some people are hummingbirds with unlimited energy, able to get a crazy amount of things accomplished in a day. Some of us are tortoises, slow to start and steadily working through our tasks. 

How much can you realistically do in a day? We all have different amounts of bandwidth and mental energy to devote to work. Constantly over-scheduling and over-promising (even to yourself) makes you feel like a failure every time you don’t reach those impossible goals, and leads directly to burning out.

Set yourself up for success by limiting the number of tasks you set yourself in a day. Make it an easily achievable goal. If you have time left over you can complete another task or just take a break!

Let Things Go

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, instead of trying to increase your productivity, can you decrease your responsibilities? 

Finding things you can let go of or ask for help with can dial down the pressure to get it all done. Prioritize what’s really important. What absolutely has to get done? And let some of the not-so-important stuff fall away. Then you can structure your day around what actually works for you.

If you’re having trouble prioritizing, check out the Eisenhower Matrix.

Find Your Best Hours

When do you have the most energy? What helps get your brain going? When do you get your best work done? Figure out what works best for you and, as much as possible, plan your days around that information.

Not everyone is a morning person who thrives on routine. If you are, great! If your brain doesn’t really get going until 10 am, don’t start on any really important tasks until then. Maybe you can’t concentrate after 3 pm. Fine, save all of your small-stakes tasks for the afternoon. 

If you have the flexibility to set your own schedule, there’s no reason to be chained to a 9-5 mentality. 

Keep It Going

Unlearning all of the harmful ideas around productivity doesn’t happen overnight. We still struggle! Case in point: recently, one of our team members was debating taking her laptop on vacation, to PARIS. 

We threatened to change all the passwords so she couldn’t work. 

Time is a non-renewable resource, and we try our best to protect ours. We think you should, too.

You can follow us on Instagram @upsweptcreative for all of our thoughts about navigating business ethically, sustainably, and professionally. 

Every new platform promises that this is the only way you’ll connect with potential customers. This is the only way you’ll build an audience. This is the only way you’ll grow your business.

But is it really? 

Short answer—absolutely not.

While social media is a great way to gain brand awareness and connect with your ideal audience, it’s not always the most effective option for your marketing.

If social media just isn’t working how you hoped it would, Email marketing could be the answer. 

There are around 330 billion emails sent and received every day. 

Over half of the world’s population uses email.

According to marketing studies, 79% of marketers rank email as one of their top three marketing tools. Email is cost-effective no matter how big or small your business is. You can reach hundreds of people with one email, making the return on investment one of the highest across marketing strategies—around $36 for every $1 spent. 

How can email marketing help small businesses?

Lead Generation With an Opt-In

Gaining new leads is a never-ending process for a small business. 

Sure, you can throw all of your marketing efforts at the wall and see what sticks. Or you can target your efforts and only bring in leads that are already interested in your services.

Offering a lead magnet– a relevant freebie that your ideal audience wants or needs– in exchange for their email address pulls in potential customers that are already familiar with the problem you’re solving. 

It’s quality over quantity. Why waste your time pulling in as many people as possible when only a small percentage of them could become clients? It’s better to target your lead generation to those that are in your ideal audience to begin with.

Okay, so you have all of these email addresses. Now what?

Building a Strong Audience Through Email

Thanks to your opt-in, you have a list of people who you know are already interested in your services. 

Now is the time to build relationships with those people. 

Reaching out through email to welcome them into your community is the first step. A short email sequence that welcomes them in, tells them about you, and lets them know what to expect builds trust and credibility. 

Email is the perfect medium for building a direct rapport with your prospects: 

• It’s more personal than social media, and you won’t get buried by a sea of posts or back-burnered by “The Algorithm.” 
• It’s something that almost everyone uses. 
• It’s mobile-friendly.
• The metrics are easy to track, and content is easy to adjust.
• You aren’t limited to a certain number of characters, and you don’t have to find an image to go with every piece of content you write.
• You can reach large numbers of people.

Increasing Brand Awareness with Email Marketing

Once you have a strong relationship with your email list, it’s time to start encouraging people to look at how your services can help them. 

Use an email sequence to let your audience know about your services in a more personal, detailed way. Let them know about new products, sales, features, and success stories. You’re raising brand awareness and promoting your services without paid ads. You’re also driving more traffic to your website as your audience looks for more information. 

An email marketing campaign builds excitement and interest in your services by doling out information a little at a time. You always want to leave them wanting more!

Email Marketing For Customer Engagement

Email marketing is a great way to engage with your audience directly. 

Invite them to reply to your emails with feedback, questions, or just to say hi! Letting them know you’re a real person behind the words establishes credibility and trust. 

You’re also able to gather information about your audience and give them more relevant information. By segmenting your email list, you can direct content specifically for certain followers rather than giving your entire list information relevant to only a few of them.

Your followers will appreciate your content as less of a sales pitch and more of a conversation. 

Your sequence should lead them through a journey. You understand their problem, you know how they feel, and you have the solution for them.

Email marketing isn’t going anywhere. Just the opposite, in fact. It’s more reliable than social media–and less work, too.

If you’re not using email in your marketing plan, now is the time to start. If you’re not sure how, reach out and let us help. Email marketing is a service we’lll be offering in the near future so get on our radar now and let us know you’re interested!

After searching far and wide, they see a sign in the wilderness. Is this what they’ve been looking for?

Well, maybe. It’s kind of hard to tell. The sign seems like it might point them to what they need, but it’s mainly talking about some wizard and how great she is. There’s not really any information about how she could help them, just a list of her credentials and some vague testimonials that aren’t relevant to their problem. 

This is what happens when you try to be the main character on your website.

Yes, your website is there to showcase your business and your expertise, but you’re not the main character here–your customer is!

Your role is the all-knowing wizard that helps the main character find precisely what they need. You are the one they come to when they don’t know what to do. You are the one that lays out the path, equips them for the journey, and protects them from harm. 

You are their secret to success.

Keeping the focus of your website on your customer is how they know they’re in the right place. They can see that you understand them and the problems they face. Keep your website copy customer-focused by providing information that is relevant to their problem and how you can help them.

Your Homepage is Your Introduction

Your homepage gives a brief overview of what you do and who you are—and how you will solve your potential customer’s problem. 

So you need to be super clear about who that customer is. Build a picture of your main character (customer) and what they’re looking for. What do they need? What is standing in their way? 

Your homepage should:

• Clearly communicate how you’ll help. Be specific!
• Highlight the benefits of working with you. Why are you the best choice?
• Show social proof. Testimonials that show how you solved this problem for others.
• Inspire visitors to go deeper into your website. Use compelling calls to action (CTAs).
• Introduce you. Be brief and focus on how you can help them. 

Your About Page Isn’t Actually About You

The about page is where you can go into more detail about how you started your business and why it matters to you. But keep the focus on your customer and what’s relevant to them.

What would they want to know about you? Offer some background information, but don’t tell your whole life story. You can definitely throw in some fun facts or personal information—you want to be approachable—but avoid telling stories that your customer won’t care about.

Reinforce your experience and how it will help them. Talk about the benefits of working with you that prove you understand their problems. Maybe you’ve been in their shoes, or you’ve seen this problem before. 

And don’t forget that CTA directing them to contact you or learn more about working with you!

Show Why They Should Work with You

Your services or work with me page is where you lay out your offering clearly and simply. 

It should communicate the value you provide to your potential clients. Remind them of their problem and how you can solve it. 

Why are you the best person for the job? What specific features of your offer do you want to draw their attention to? Laying out exactly what they’ll get is a great way to show value. And transparency builds trust.

Testimonials will remind people how they’ll feel after working with you. Focus on the emotional benefits of your offer—people buy with their emotions first.

Remove objections and risks by addressing potential concerns and directing them to schedule a discovery call or consultation. 

Are Your FAQs Actually FAQs

Your FAQ page has three main goals:

• It saves you and your potential customers time—spending your time answering the same questions (in your consultation or email) makes your interactions with your customers less productive. Addressing common questions and objections on your website saves time and helps your potential customers feel more informed going in. 

• It drives traffic to your website—by framing your FAQs from your customer’s point of view, and using good SEO techniques, you have the potential to rank high on Google searches for those questions. 

• It builds trust and authority—a well-written and relevant FAQ page shows visitors to your website that you not only understand their problems but you already have the answers. Potential clients see you as an experienced source they can trust.

Your customers are on a journey where they are the main character. 

You are the sign they’ve been looking for: the answer to their problems and the one to lead them down the right path. 

You’re not the main character, but you are essential to the success of their journey. Make sure your website reflects that!

If you need some help (in this case, you ARE the main character), we’re the friendly website wizards you’re looking for! 

Check out our Website Strategy Session and show up online with purpose.

Taking photos, shooting videos, posting, and planning can be an endless task. Then you have to figure out what to post and when. And then you still have to pay attention to how everything is working (or not working)! 

The struggle is real. 

Luckily, we’ve been doing this for a while and have some tips to make it all faster and easier. Organizing your content and automating whatever steps you can makes your social media management a breeze—leaving you free to create quality content. 

Check out our social media management must-haves:

A Scheduling Platform

A scheduling platform makes it easy to set up content for weeks, even months, ahead of time. Creating and scheduling multiple posts at once lets you get ahead on your social media, giving you some breathing room if you fall behind on content creation. 

Most platforms also use your posting and engagement information to determine the best times to post, letting you take advantage of your audience’s social media habits. 

There are a lot of different platforms out there, with different features and price ranges. You can almost always sign up for a free trial, so shop around and find one that’s easy to use and within your budget. 

Some options:

• Iconosquare
• Later
• Sprout Social
• Buffer

A Link Aggregator

That link in your Instagram bio is prime real estate. Don’t waste it! 

Make the most of your link by directing it to a link aggregator. This makes sure your audience will have all of the most important information easily accessible to them. Your website, your blog, your sales page—all your links will be in one convenient place. Just remember to update it when you have a new link!

You can usually customize your page with your logo and color scheme to keep cohesive branding throughout your online presence as well. 

Your scheduling platform may come with its own version of a link aggregator, but there are stand-alone versions as well. 

Some options:

• Linktree
• Feedlink.io
• Campsite
• Link In Profile

A Content Calendar

Like your scheduling platform, a content calendar makes it easy to plan out content in advance. Why waste energy every day being stressed about what to post? With your content calendar, you can know exactly what’s on deck for your social media. 

By planning out your content for the month or quarter, you can create a cohesive narrative with your social media. Planning out a series or highlighting a theme keeps your content relevant to what’s going on in your business. You can easily switch content around if more timely content comes up, and you can see where certain content might be better placed in your content strategy.

Content calendars also make it easy to keep track of ideas you might want to use later. 

Your scheduling platform can be used as a content calendar, or you can make your own. You could use a spreadsheet system, a Google calendar, or a project management system like Trello or Notion to organize your content. Or go old-school and use a paper calendar! 

Your content management system is totally customizable—use what you like and what works best for you

Image Design Tool or Image Bank

Eye-catching images are an important part of a social media post. For some platforms, like Instagram, the image is the most important element. 

Finding relevant, exciting images is a really fun part of content creation, but it’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole looking at pictures! (Especially with memes and gifs) When looking for the right picture, make sure you’re using royalty-free or copyright-free images. Not everything you find on a Google search is freely usable. 

Creating your own custom image or infographic with your brand colors and logo is a great way to bring a cohesive look to your social media feeds. With a graphic design tool, you don’t have to be an expert to create well-put-together images. 

Stock Photo Options:

• Unsplash
• Pixabay
• Pexels

Memes and Gifs:

• Imgflip
• Giphy
• Kapwing

Image Creation:

• Canva
• Visme
• Design Wizard

Analytics Tool

Creating, planning, and scheduling all that amazing content is great, but how do you know if it’s working? 

Analytics! 

Analytics is probably the part of social media management that people are most unsure about. It seems really complicated with all the terms (reach, engagement, impressions), graphs, and trends—but if you have a good analytics tool it will lay all the information out for you in an easy-to-understand form that both you and your clients can easily read. 

Tracking your analytics will tell you what’s working and what’s not so you can adjust your strategy accordingly. 

Your scheduling platform will most likely run analytics for you, but if you’re not using a scheduler (why aren’t you using a scheduler?) you can use Google Analytics. Each social media platform also has analytics information available to you depending on the type of account you have. 

Takeaways

Social media management has a lot of moving parts! Getting yourself set up and organized makes the job so much easier. Everyone works differently so use what works best for you. We’ve given you some ideas and suggestions to get you started, but if you need help we’re here for you! 

Schedule a Social Media Strategy Session and get our personalized recommendations and a custom plan for your social media. 

—Vivian Ward, Pretty Woman

Whether we like it or not, social media is an important part of modern marketing strategy. 

To be as visible as possible you need a strong, consistent, focused social media presence with engaging content and strategic messaging. You’ll have to regularly post new information, engage with your audience, and keep up with the latest trends and best practices.

And who, exactly, has time to do that and run a business?

You can DIY it for a while, but eventually, you’ll a) get burned out by having to keep up with posting or b) grow enough that social media needs to play a larger part in your business, or c) both. 

Social Media Managers to the rescue! Posting powers activate! 

Having someone take over your social media needs is one of the best things you can do to save yourself time and energy. 

But… what does a Social Media Manager do?

As Upswept Creative’s Social Media Maven I say what we post, when we post, and how often we post. 

Follow me for a peek into what it’s like to have me on your side!

Social Media Strategy

One of the first things I do as a social media manager is evaluate your current social media strategies and figure out how to make them better. If you’ve been flying solo with posting you might not have much of a strategy, but believe me—it’s a whole lot better to have a plan.

Your strategy is individual to you and your business, but includes a few key things:

• What are your goals with social media? 
• Who are you trying to reach?
• What are they interested in and what do they like?
• Where and when are they on social media?

All of these questions determine which social media platform is best for your business and what kind of message will speak to your particular audience. 

Optimize Your Social Media Accounts

Do not neglect your bios! 

If you only knew how many times I’ve seen bios with no information, outdated information, or irrelevant information…

You don’t want to be that person, and I won’t let you. I’ll optimize your accounts to be the first impression that grabs attention. Social media algorithms pick up keywords in your bio that can direct more people to your account. 

We’ll work together to make sure any images, profile pics, or logos are up to date and relevant to your audience and your branding.

And I’ll check that your accounts are all set up to be as effective as possible.

Set Up Social Marketing Tools

There are hundreds of tools, platforms, and software that all want to help you streamline your social media marketing. Researching all the options and learning how to use them is a giant time suck as a business owner.

I’ll help you choose the tools that fit your budget and your needs. And I’ll figure out how to use them!

Social Media Content and Branding

Not all Social Media Managers also create content, but it’s generally part of the job description unless you work with a dedicated marketing team—as is branding.

Your brand is how you show up online. It’s your story, your personality, your voice, and your look. My job is to bring your social media content in line with your brand. 

When someone looks at your social media, they should automatically be able to tell it’s yours. The colors, style, and tone of your posts should be consistent and cohesive across platforms. 

As a content creator, I aim to get your message across in your voice—whether it’s funny and irreverent, serious and business-like, or cute and bubbly. 

Social Media Analytics

How do you know your social media strategy is working? 

As part of my job as a Social Media Manager, I keep a close eye on what’s getting engagement and what’s not. Tracking, tweaking, and testing different kinds of content or different scheduling strategies helps me know what your audience wants more of. 

We’ll meet at certain intervals (monthly, quarterly) to discuss the analytics and what direction we need to take. 

Analytics is one of the most intimidating parts of social media for people to learn, so it’s helpful to have someone else take that on. 

Do I Need a Social Media Manager?

If you want to grow your social media presence and make the platforms work for you, you can totally do it yourself. 

But the time commitment necessary might be more than you’re willing to give. And social media might not be in your wheelhouse. I definitely can’t run a foundation, bake a wedding cake, or any number of things that our clients are amazing at!

If you find yourself overwhelmed and unsure about what to do with your social media, check out our Social Media Strategy Session! We’d love to help you figure out what your next steps should be.

Follow us on Instagram for more social media info and tips.

I can’t blame you if it does. Historically, advertising hasn’t exactly been a beacon of truth. 

Traveling medicine shows in the late 1800s and early 1900s advertised products with truly bizarre and outrageous claims–claiming to cure everything from baldness to epilepsy with homemade tonics, “ancient” mystical artifacts, and psychic powers. 

None of them worked, and some of them were actually dangerous. 

The laws against false advertising, as well as increased food and drug safety, made products safer and more reliable, but companies still get caught lying to their customers. 

And it’s not a good look for them. 

Practicing ethical marketing isn’t just about doing what’s right, (I mean, it should be, but…) it’s also about doing what’s best for your company. 

Customers are increasingly more likely to support brands that they feel good about. They want to work with companies they see as honest–that care about sustainability, social responsibility, and have the same values that they do. 

Practicing ethical marketing builds your reputation as a company to trust, which brings in new customers and keeps them coming back. 

How to practice ethical marketing

Be Honest

“Six weeks to six figures! Start your online business today and watch the money roll in.”

Really?

Claims that seem impossible usually are. Even though there may be disclaimers in the fine print, the message that people are getting is false. When the product doesn’t live up to its promises, customers lose trust in the brand. 

Practicing ethical marketing means being honest about your product and what it can and can’t do. And backing up your claims with proof. 

Be transparent with your research process, don’t pick and choose data to back up your claims, and don’t use click-bait marketing tactics.

Honesty in marketing also means not unfairly trashing your competition. Making false accusations or claims about a competitor is not only unethical, it can also turn off your customers in a big way. You don’t want to come off as petty or mean to your audience.

Be Protective of Your Customers

We all know we give up a certain amount of privacy on the internet. 

Getting an ad for something you were talking about a few days ago, or seeing that pair of shoes you were looking at pop up again and again–it’s a little creepy.

But, while we’re (mostly) used to things like that, no one wants to have to worry about all of their information being broadcasted out on the web, or having all their data mined just because they decided to see what kind of taco they are based on their zodiac sign. 

Having good security practices for customer transactions, as well as being clear about how their information is being used, goes a long way toward making your customers feel comfortable buying from you. 

Make sure your website is properly set up for secure transactions, that your cookie policies are clear and easy to find, and your information usage is transparent. 

Listen to the People

Sure, you can say “my way or the highway” and ignore customer feedback, but chances are a lot of people will choose the highway.

Businesses that are engaged with their customers have higher brand loyalty, and if there really is an issue with a product or service you can often head it off early by having listened to your customers. 

Be known for having great customer service. Reply to concerns on social media. And above all, actually make changes that are needed. 

Watch Your Language

Think about an ad from 50 years ago. It probably has some language and stereotypes that would not fly today. 

Don’t be the ad that people are cringing at 50 years from now. 

Take a hard look at your marketing language. Are you being mindful of sexist or racist tropes? Are you thinking about inclusive language and pronoun usage? 

What about your brand images? Make sure your visuals reflect the real-world population and the audience you work with, by showing diverse ethnicities, genders, and bodies. Representation is important, and people feel more comfortable with brands they can see themselves in. 

We’re all going to make mistakes–and when you do, be gracious about it–but caring about the message you’re sending, and being mindful of how you’re framing your message, will increase your credibility and the respect of your audience.

Voice Your Values

It’s a relatively new phenomenon for businesses to take a stand on social or political issues. 

In the past, you didn’t want to alienate potential customers by having an opinion on anything remotely controversial. 

Not so much anymore.

People want to know where you stand. They want to know who and what they’re supporting. More than ever, people are making buying decisions based on how they feel about the company as well as the product. 

Saying nothing says a lot, too. If you don’t take a stand, your audience may assume you either don’t support the issue, or don’t care enough to say anything. 

Trying to please everyone will ultimately mean you’re pleasing no one, so it’s better to follow your values. Like-minded people will follow you back.

Beware Performative Marketing

Don’t take a stand on something you don’t care about just because you think your customers want you to.

And definitely don’t put out an opinion that you don’t actually believe in. Be honest, remember?

Practicing ethical marketing is also about being true to your personal ethics. 

If you’re going to publicly support a cause, don’t just post it on your Instagram and forget about it. Let people know how you’re going to make changes in your company to reflect your values, or who you’re donating to and why. Putting in the work to back up your public support is more important than voicing your opinion in the first place. 

And beware of jumping on “trendy” issues. 

If you have something to say–say it. But don’t generically post something with no real message behind it.

Ethical marketing practices are becoming more and more common. And that’s a good thing. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re a huge corporation or a small business. People are paying attention to how companies present themselves and what they’re putting out into the world. 

Make sure you’re saying something with substance.

If you’re not sure where to start, we can get you on the right path with a focused strategy session. Click here to find out where we can go together!