Choosing to be a freelancer is chaotic, frustrating and incredibly freeing.
I can’t imagine life without the constant planning, strategizing and brainstorming it takes to keep my business going. It’s a rollercoaster that blurs the lines between my personal and professional life. In A New Kind of Hustler: Resourceful, Smart and Business Survivors, I explain that:
We don’t work 24/7. But we’re always on the lookout for new opportunities, whether it’s chatting with PTO moms, relaxing on a beach, or skimming the weekly newspaper.
My mind is always engaged and ready to jump into action. That’s why burnout is a real danger for us. We need to build systems and processes that allow us to live a somewhat balanced life amidst the craziness.
Tired of being tired all the time? Here are a few lifesaving tools that will up our marketing game and give us more time off each week.
Make Fun (and Shorter!) Videos
Videos are the future of online communication. Articles will always be a staple, but videos are what really grabs folks’ attention. But who would guess that the average watch time on a Facebook video post is only 10 seconds?
That’s why Yala, a cool and easy video creating platform, encourages users to make shorter videos that stand out rather than longer salesy videos. In 5 tips to write better video ads with Yala, the author explains:
“Viewers’ attention spans are fleeting, so get to the point of what you’re trying to say. Let the video do the heavy lifting of capturing attention then BOOM – hit them with the facts and a direct call-to-action, like: Summer Sale Starts Today”
Not only should freelancers make shorter videos, but we can also make them easier! So instead of spending our limited time making long, ineffective videos, try making more videos that get straight to the point.
One-Stop Shop for Digital Sellers
Time is freelancer’s enemy. We only have two choices: outsource our work or do it ourselves. And most of us can’t afford to outsource our entire to-do list, so we either learn new skills or find a tool that does it for us.
That’s why I’m always on the lookout for all-in-one tools like Kajabi, an easy to use platform for those selling knowledge-based digital products like ebooks and online courses. In Mompreneur: The Ultimate Guide To Starting An Online Business As A Mom, Kajabi explains the basics any mom (or digital freelancer) needs including:
- Website
- Hosting
- Themes
- Email capture
- Email marketing
- eCommerce solution
Learning all these different components is a huge learning curve. For example, I’m great at building a website, but not at email marketing. It takes a lot to learn how to build a campaign and set up marketing automation. That’s a lot to ask for from a one-woman shop.
That’s why comprehensive platforms are must-haves for freelancers. It allows us to level the playing field and focus on creating amazing content, not on learning how to integrate third-party tools or write code.
Embrace Our Inner Data Nerds
We need data to run our business. How much engagement did we get on our last Facebook post? How many users abandoned our shopping carts? We need all this information and much more. And Google Analytics (GA) is the lifesaving tool that can tell us almost everything we need to know about our website.
If we can only understand what it all means…
For example, let’s say we’re trying to build traffic to our website. What metric is the most important? Acquisition, audience or conversions? The biggest challenge is understanding the data. In The Ultimate Guide to Google Analytics in 2019, HubSpot’s Aja Frost explains her frustration at learning how to use GA effectively:
“When I first started to delve into GA’s waters, I wondered if I’d ever truly get it. There were so many concepts to learn and reports to run. How did people ever conquer this thing?!?!”
So while we’re all overworked and looking for an easy fix, we should all spend some time learning the nuts and bolts of GA. It may take some time and effort, but it will be worth it.
Looking for the Laid-Back Freelance Lifestyle?
How many websites, books, and courses are designed for those that want to work from the beach? I just checked and there are 3,250,000,000 Google search results for “work from the beach”.
Clearly, we are not alone in our quests to find a way to make our work lives easier!
Marketing is one of the biggest keys to solopreneur success. Win at marketing and you have a business – lose at marketing and you have no business at all. Since you can’t spend all our time marketing (because you have a thousand other things to do every day!), you need to use the tools available to bring in new business while you get stuff done.
Just remember that the point of being a freelancer is to enjoy some of our free time! And choose tools that will let us sit on the beach and run our business at the same time.
