​Make sure your “core” activities don’t include the whole apple
 
The aphorisms on this topic abound: Work smarter, not harder. It’s hard to see through the smoke of battle. Don’t spin your wheels. An apple a day keeps—no, scratch that one. But you get the idea. There is, simply, a lot of discussion about this topic because it’s important.
 
You know that already. The last thing you want to do is squander your time on non-core activities when it’s clear that your time is worth more than that.
 
But how do you define “core activities”? If you are so jammed with work that you barely have time to read this sentence, how can you be sure that you’re truly being as efficient, productive, and profitable as you can be, whether working as a solo practitioner or part of a team?
 
Take a breath. Let it out slowly. The few minutes you spend reading this article, and considering your answers to the questions it poses, won’t kill you. To the contrary. They could liberate you.
 
Let’s start with an assumption. And that’s that you are jammed. There’s not enough hours in the day. You wish you could clone yourself—yep, no shortage of clichés. (Because if the converse is true, and you’ve got too much time on your hands, check out some of our previous articles on business development.) We would argue, right off the bat, that there’s unnecessary effort in your day. Think of others who accomplish more than you. Do they have more hours in the day? Of course not. “But they have tons of assistants and staff!” you might argue.
 
Now you’re onto something. In a previous article, we’d discussed what we called “becoming Elvis.” We’d noted that when Elvis was starting out, he toted his own instruments and equipment to every gig. When he became a superstar, he was booked solid—and you know for a fact that he wasn’t exactly plugging in amplifiers. He had veritable legions of people—roadies, technicians, press agents, managers, assistants—who let him be, well, a rock star.
 
Did this happen overnight? Of course not.
 
Ahh…. Is the light beginning to dawn on you? Taking control of your time and sharpening your focus on what’s worth the most (and is probably most satisfying and enjoyable, too) needn’t be done via one single violent upheaval of your daily life. You can ease into this.
 
Consider it this way: What’s on your slate for today? If you have a calendar or to-do list, look at it. Now look at it as if you were Elvis. How much of those activities require a rock star vs. a roadie? Or even a backup singer?
 
Clearly, the lowest-level activities should be offloaded first. If you’re picking up your own lunch, and that’s taking a half-hour out of your day, have someone else do it or use a place that delivers. In a word, duh. But you’d be surprised how many seemingly higher-echelon activities can be taken off your plate without any diminishment of your value as a professional; to the contrary, you can actually elevate your stature, while saving time and driving in more business.
 
It may sound too good to be true, but it’s actually quite prosaic. Here’s a simple example: All of the stuff you’re required to write every day. That includes client briefs, text for PowerPoints, sales presentations, session pre-reads, blog posts… the list is practically endless. You can offload this work—as much or as little as you like—while maintaining your own brand voice, and having someone else sweat the details (“Oh God, should that be a comma or a semicolon?!”) and letting you bask in the glory. As we’d mentioned in a recent post, you can find this talent on the cheap, even free. Or you can invest in professional services, which should turn you a healthy ROI; if not, after all, why bother?
 
It’s easy for us to weigh in on this subject because we do it all the time. It’s our bread and butter. We do it for others (we can’t name names) and they get the glory, the increased business, and the reduced blood pressure. It’s one of those “once you try it, you’ll never go back” kind of things. Don’t believe us? Contact us today and let us show you how easy and profitable it can be to regain control of that ever-ticking clock. 

​Are you letting old-tech errors mar your high-tech messaging?
 
Ah, technology. It’s never been easier to get your message out to the world. If Gutenberg were alive today, he’d be blogging.
 
But would he be making typos?
 
In a word, d’oh! For all the high-tech platforms available for building your brand, there are at least as many low-tech ways to, well, screw up. But you’ve always got a chance to make things better, so let’s dive into some of the most common (and avoidable) marcom muffs, along with ways to avoid them.
 
#$%&*!! typos. Few things can take the sheen off your image like a spelling error. We can’t count the number of website pages that have errors on them. How many times has this happened to you: You’re checking out a new-to-you company by looking at their website. They seem pretty impressive. And then bang. You trip across a typo, and find yourself saying, “Oh. They’re just a one-person shop.”
 
We’ll keep this section short, because you already know the word “spellchecker.” But it’s no good if you don’t use it! And use it a lot, even on the same document. How many times have you added just a few words of polish to that essentially “complete” document—only to discover, way too late, that you’d made a typo in those few words of polish? A last-second spellcheck would’ve saved your butt.
 
Grammar goofs and gremlins. Let’s drive this one home: “It’s” means “it is”! Holy Hypercorrection, Batman! Tossing in that apostrophe when it’s not needed (such as in the possessive usage, like “everything in its place”) just leaps out at anyone who knows better. And assume that your reader knows better.
 
There are tons in this category. Want to stop worrying about “who vs. whom” forever? Think of it this way: Just try replacing “he” for “who” and “him” for “whom.” If it sounds right, it’s right.
 
How do you circumvent this problem? Word has a grammar checker, but we never liked it or trusted it. The simplest way is to lean on someone you know who’s good (read: “anal”) at this stuff, and let them have at it before it goes live.
 
The sputter effect. This one is so simple to avoid, yet it’s so devastating when it’s committed. And that’s the company that goes nuts on blog posts and social media… and then… eventually… runs out… *cough, cough*... of steam. Blog posts are date-stamped by the hosting engine. Even if a visitor doesn’t read a single update of yours, they can still see if you didn’t stick to your commitment. And that looks bad for your brand.
 
As we said, this one’s easy to avoid. Draw up an editorial calendar and stick to it. (See our related article devoted wholly to that topic.)
 
Speaking in the wrong voice. This one is subtle, but we’re sure you’ve come across it. It’s the messaging that SHOUTS when it should whisper; it’s the “customers need this service” when it should be “you need this service.” It’s the right message, spoken wrong.
 
A subtle problem calls for a subtle solution. The easiest way to work around this one is to read your messaging aloud. If it sounds conversational when it should be formal, or vice versa, it will be more obvious when you hear it vs. see it. In that regard, it’s similar to that old trick of changing the font of what you’ve written to help you proofread it with fresh eyes.
 
Working in the wrong medium. This one is related, somewhat, to the one above. We can’t count the number of “newsletters” that were anything but. Or the “eblasts” that read like catalogs. Sure, we’re all for re-purposing information, but don’t commit egregious errors of platform placement. Just as Twitter forces you to keep within a given character count (which seems to be in violent flux lately), don’t push out a podcast that would be better as a brochure.
 
Unfriendly navigation. The tools are abundant these days: WordPress templates, Weebly, Squarespace, etc.  But a tool is only as good as the person using it; that is, having a paintbrush doesn’t make you N.C Wyeth. Not that you need such world-class skills to make a website navigable. Given the ubiquity of mobile usage--you visit tons of sites from that phone or tablet, don’t you?—it’s unpleasantly surprising how many sites force you to scroll too deep, or click through too many links to get where you’re going.
 
The solution? Plan in advance. A simple outline in Word can suffice as a sitemap.
 
Consider getting help. Why hazard all these pitfalls alone? The easiest way to avoid them—and get better results than you could on your own—is to tap the expertise of a pro. Contact us. We’d love to help. And we’re more affordable than you might think.