One of the most common problems I hear farmers say is, “I don’t have time for marketing.”
I get Facebook messages, emails, comments and direct messages all the time that say the same thing. “Charlotte you want us to market and I love your stuff, but I don’t have the time to do all this marketing.”
I hear ya, and you’re right, well kinda.
You don’t have hours and hours every day to focus on marketing.
No one does.
Between running a farm business, tending to the animals, doing odd jobs, ordering feed, talking to and engaging with customers.
No one has time for that and the list of things to do is endless.
But — and this is a big BUT — if you don’t create the time to engage with customers that want to buy your products and pay your prices, you are going to be out of business.
So, saying “I don’t have time” isn’t an option anymore. It’s time to change your mindset around how we use our time.
After years of practicing marketing and creating the time for what’s important, I have a few tools and tricks that I’ll share with you today.
If you begin to create small wins for yourself, you’ll see massive changes with your time and how you use it.
Ok, here it goes:
Tip # 1: Eliminate Distractions
Facebook, Instagram and email are my major distractions. When I sit down at my computer, I used to find myself scrolling and scrolling mindlessly.
Before I know it, it’s 40 mins later and I completely forgot why I got onto Facebook in the first place.
Now, I use a thing called the Facebook eradicator.
What’s that you ask?
Well, I don’t see my Facebook news feed anymore. You guys, I set this up about a year and a half ago and it has been so wonderful.
And you know what? The world did not end.
I still knew when family and friends were having babies and inviting us to parties. I really didn’t miss a thing.
The only thing I see on Facebook is you guys. I see my private Facebook groups and that’s it. I see nothing else. It’s fantastic.
I highly recommend you eliminate distraction like this too. I’m so much more productive and feel so good about my life.
Tip #2: Set an Alarm
Ok, you’re at your computer (you’ve eliminated email and social media) and your intention is to write down a list of ideas for a blog post.
Now, set an alarm for 15 mins! That’s all I want you to do. When you commit to 15 minutes a day you’re going to feel so good and accomplish so much more.
You’re gonna look back over what you created in a week and you’re going to be more motivated to keep doing it.
If it ends up that some days you have 2 hours to spend marketing, that’s great. If not, 15 minutes will work.
Set an alarm with a small, timely goal (15 mins) and get it done. You’ll be amazed at the results.
Tip #3: Focus on What’s Wildly Important
Ok, we all have important things to do…
- Order hay
- Milk the cows twice a day
- Open the farm store in 15 mins
Those are all important things, but the wildly important thing for today is getting that sales email outlined.
That has to be your #1 goal.
Make marketing your wildly important task for the day, otherwise, all the time and money you spend on the farm won’t matter if you don’t have anyone to sell your products to.
Tip #4: Track Your Wins
Ok, you’ve been feeling good about getting your marketing done. You’ve been setting an alarm, eliminating distractions, and now, I want you to track your wins.
As little or as big as they may be, write it down so you can feel good about what you’ve been accomplishing.
For example:
- “Listed 15 ideas for a blog post.”
- “Wrote captions to 10 Instagram posts.”
- “Outlined bi-monthly email to customers.”
- “Engaged with 2 customers in-person during store hours.”
See how good that feels? When you track your wins, you can see how much you’re doing and the difference it’s making with your marketing.
Tip #5: Do The Deep Work
I’ve read a book recently called Deep Work by Cal Newport. He talks a lot about, how, in our society, we’ve lost the ability to go deep.
We live on the surface because our phones are dinging. Our computers are dinging. Our kids are on iPads and that’s dinging too.
We never get the opportunity, or rarely, to go really deep and get absorbed into something because BOOM — there’s another Facebook notification.
So if we want to intentionally create something, we must create the time to go deep. We’d all rather milk a cow or feed the pigs instead of writing a blog post that no one reads.
I get it, but avoiding the deep work with “shallow distractions” won’t attract your ideal customers.
Realizing that it takes mental energy to produce blog posts and do the marketing, I schedule it in the morning when I feel most energetic.
This makes sense, yet most farmers find the time for marketing at the end of the day when kids are home and dinner needs to be made.
Obviously, this doesn’t work.
Trying to fit marketing in at the end of the day just isn’t sustainable. I’m up at 5 AM and I’m in bed by 8:30 PM. I’d never had the mental energy to write a blog post after dinner.
Tip #6: Create a Routine
It’s human nature to create habits and routine (good and bad). So for me, I wake up, milk the cows and I’m done by 10:00 AM.
Then I come inside, take a shower, drink my coffee, drink kefir and have a glass of raw milk as I sit down to work on business and “marketing tasks.”
Typically, this is writing of some sort. A blog post, email etc. for 15 mins. If I don’t finish that’s ok.
I know I accomplished something that will eventually get me new customers and make a profit and THAT is a big win.
So if you’ve ever said, “I don’t have time for marketing.” I want you to consider the tips I shared today. Start small and start feeling successful NOW.
If you feel success marketing just a little bit every day, you’ll be more likely to stick with it and see the fruits of your labor.
Be intentional with your marketing tasks and if you’re able to plan your day the night before, you’ll be even more focused to tackle the day with success.
