Feeling like this guy? Lacking those creative juices to smash out your marketing?

Creative burnout is almost inevitable in our industry. We basically spend the majority of our day thinking outside the box; writing catchy social media captions, designing the perfect image, drafting eye-catching websites and writing blogs that will keep readers interested right to the end. There’s no doubt about it, we often hit a wall and feel like we’re simply getting in our own way.

We know there are a lot of small business owners who feel the same when it comes to sitting down and working on their marketing activities every month, which is why we thought we would share our tips on how we avoid creative burnout and what we do when it happens. Keeping your marketing exciting and interesting for your audience doesn’t have to be time-consuming and hard, start enjoying your marketing again and see the results when you have fresh content every month!

Take a Break

It’s easy to sit at the computer for hours on end and feel like you’re getting absolutely nowhere, going around and around in circles – it’s such a horrible feeling when you simply lack inspiration but you NEED to get your marketing sorted. In these circumstances, stepping away from the work and giving yourself a break is crucial.

Nothing good is going to come from sitting at your computer and hoping a light bulb will appear above your head. But you know when that light bulb will appear? When you get up, move about, do some housework, go for a walk, anything that doesn’t require much brainpower, but distracts you enough so you still have the freedom to think without feeling like it’s forced. We all know the best ideas come to us when we’re in the shower! Which leads us to the next topic…

Don’t Force It

You’re passionate about your business, right? That’s why you ended up in that industry doing what you’re doing. Maybe you went into business to help people? How can you help them through social media? Maybe you’re working on a new project? Your audience would love to hear about it. Be natural and just share your business as you are, your audience will love it.

Who Are You Talking To?

Our work in marketing really requires us to step in the shoes of the person we are speaking to. Because our marketing activities are spread out across many different industries and businesses, it really helps us to know who our target audience is and what their pains/pleasures are. Once you know who you’re talking to, you can put yourself in their shoes and write directly to them, and how you have the solution to their problem!

Perhaps you own a building company that focuses mainly on renovations? What type of people/demographic usually get renovations? Why would someone want to renovate? Here’s a caption you could write: Tired of putting up with the same old kitchen for the last 20 years, cupboard doors hanging on by a thread and no bench space? Take a look at this elegant new kitchen we recently renovated. Our clients now have ample space to work in the kitchen AND cupboard doors at don’t fall off! Imagine the dinner parties they will be hosting now! Or, even sharing a funny quote or meme that relates to their problems. People love relatable content and the engagement on posts like these are fantastic on social media!

Collect Ideas

Don’t just wait until it’s that time of the week or month to sit down and expect ideas to just start flowing from you instantly. The best way to get the creative juices flowing is to collect ideas/inspiration all the time. Maybe you think of a great idea or you take a few photos of your project/product? Send yourself an email and save it in a folder for when you sit down to work on your marketing. See something you like on Facebook that another business does? Screenshot it and send it to yourself.

Subscribing to a regular mailing list that sends you tips and inspiration is a great idea as well, you get ideas and inspo straight to your inbox. Our monthly emails are exactly that! Fresh marketing ideas and tips to your inbox once a month, you can subscribe here now.

Outsource & Delegate

At the end of the day, just because you own the business it doesn’t mean you need to do everything. Sometimes you’re best to leave tasks like this for people who not only love it but also know what they are doing. There could be someone on your team already who would like to take on the role of managing your marketing? It doesn’t necessarily mean you lose all control over it, you can still have as much or as little input as you like. More often than not, you will find you think of ideas much easier when you’re not forcing it.

That’s why we do what we do! We love all things marketing, we are constantly learning and researching new ways and ideas to market small businesses. We take away the stress of having to deal with another task that often gets forgotten about and put on the bottom of the to-do list.

We find that most business owners know they should be staying up to date with their marketing, but they simply don’t have the time to do it. With your input and ideas, we can put together a marketing strategy that will grow your business and keep your marketing activities fresh and engaging. Because, at the end of the day, without marketing, you don’t have new business coming in, and without new business coming in, your business can’t grow. Like support with your marketing? Check out my coaching services here

Ideas for Social Media

To help you get started and to get the creative juices flowing, here are 9 social media post ideas:

• Share a personal story about you or your business
• Start a Facebook Poll
• Encourage your audience to comment with a GIF only
• Share behind the scene photos of your business
• Explain the benefits your customers receive from your service
• Share a testimonial/review
• Share an inspiring quote
• Bust a myth that’s associated with your industry
• Introduce your team