Five Steps to Have Your Blog Run Without You Over The Holidays

 

It is a visitor contribution from The Suitcase Entrepreneur, Natalie Sisson.

December is a particular time of the 12 months. It’s a time for reflection, for planning and for new beginnings.

It’s additionally a wonderful time to do some severe (however enjoyable) overhauls of your present weblog and enterprise, in time for a contemporary begin within the New 12 months.

Extra importantly, it’s the right time to make sure that once you go to take your a lot deserved break day, all that arduous work you’ve poured into your weblog and on-line enterprise through the 12 months doesn’t simply fall over in a heap.

I’m speaking horny techniques and sensible future planning right here.

So let’s get began lets?

In keeping with City Dictionary the time period Xmas Trimmings refers to:

• something used or serving to brighten or full;
• an accompaniment or garnish to a major dish;
• items minimize off in trimming, clipping, paring, or pruning.

So how does apply to our each day work?

• What tasks are you going to finish earlier than the 12 months finish
• What are you able to polish up, beautify and ‘giftwrap’ that already exists
• What are you presently doing you can add to with a bonus, or accompaniment that may solely make it much more engaging to your viewers
• What are you able to cease doing, do away with or clear up as you see out 2021?
• How are you going to put the ending touches on the work you’ve performed and can do?

I’m going to take you thru every of those so that you’ve 5 steps and actions to work on this month, and when you’ve performed them, you’ll really feel like a rockstar and waltz into your vacation with zero to fret about….at the least that’s the plan!

Step 1. Take a look at what tasks you need or want to finish

Bear in mind in January once you checked out your grand plan for the 12 months forward and felt all of it was potential? Yeah that plan….did you check out it just lately? In that case how a lot of it did you obtain?

If you happen to’re like 99% of individuals, I’m guessing round 1/fifth really obtained achieved, maybe much less.

Unhappy however true, we’re not superhuman, which is why in our overzealous rose tinted glasses that we placed on at New 12 months, we predict this 12 months shall be totally different and we are going to obtain all the things.

So, when you nonetheless have power to burn, and a need to extra this month than you’ve in your complete 12 months, I urge you to take a look at which of these tasks you CAN really sort out earlier than 12 months finish?

• Which of these tasks have you ever merely been procrastinating on?
• Which ought to have by no means made the checklist you can scratch fully?
• Which might be fast wins that might really make an enormous distinction to your 12 months finish financials or sense of accomplishment?

These are the tasks you need to concentrate on, drop the remainder. And I’d advise to choose simply 1-2 to be sincere. Why? As a result of in round two weeks your time won’t be your individual anymore. It’s going to get overtaken by events, buddies, household, vacation distractions and planning.

So be life like. Your time is restricted and treasured.

Then take motion:

Take the chosen few tasks, put them in your planning/ productiveness device of selection.

(I extremely suggest Asana and that you simply learn The Ultimate Guide on How to Use Asana to Become a Productivity and Task Management Genius.)

Map out a end date, and work backwards from there with all of the little duties and issues it’s important to do with a purpose to make this mission a actuality.

Get an accountability associate, or guess a good friend that you are able to do it. Make the stakes excessive in order that you’ll completely commit to creating it occur …or inform your youngsters you didn’t purchase them any presents since you misplaced a guess – your name.

Take each different to do checklist merchandise OFF your plate, and put it on another person’s – ideally a digital assistant or workforce member, or rent in a contractor to complete up these pesky but vital duties which have been in your to-do checklist since September.

Step 2. Polish up, beautify and ‘giftwrap’ what already exists

This step is my private favorite. I’ve just lately launched my new model id and relaunched my web site. This train in itself was an excellent train in seeing all of the alternatives I’ve been lacking on my weblog and in my enterprise.

As I went by all 110 pages on my website to see if, in actual fact, they have been vital, I obtained to return by years value of tasks, merchandise, programs, or initiatives I had launched and see which of these could possibly be resurrected from the previous.

I imply why reinvent the wheel, when you already had a fairly superior car that was working for you? You simply must carry out the most recent mannequin that’s slicker, quicker and extra environment friendly, proper?

The identical goes for all these weblog posts you’re sitting on. Go to Google Analytics and take a look at the highest 10 weblog posts that carry you essentially the most visitors. Spend a wet (or sunny) afternoon at your favorite location, going by them and seeing:

• What you may replace copy/ content material sensible
• What name to motion it’s essential to embrace
• Every other posts you may hyperlink to inside your weblog
• What alternatives are there to make some cash – from your individual choices or these of associates

Then do an superior spherical up publish in your website on the highest 10 weblog posts you to learn earlier than the 12 months finish (I’d steal my very own thought!).

Now take a look at which of these weblog posts, or movies, podcasts, workshops, webinars or talking occasions you may repurpose into one thing contemporary and helpful, however in a special format.

You may flip audio into written content material, video into audio, video right into a mini course, emails right into a weblog posts, webinars right into a eBook….the checklist is limitless!

And all of this present ‘stuff’ you’re sitting on and have now polished up and present wrapped, now makes for an superior…..

Step 3. Add an attractive bonus or accompaniment in your tribe

Yep, bonus or accompaniment in your neighborhood and clients. If you happen to ran a weblog problem and other people liked it, now you get to comply with up with a ten Web page eBook that covers off on the details of that problem that they will purchase as a present for themselves or for a good friend for Xmas – helpful!

Or you may launch a pre vacation information of superior which is a collection of your finest bonuses (that you simply’ve simply uncovered in your spring clear up) that has given you an entire new lease of life, and additional income, for the vacations and into 2022.

You must contemplate writing a weblog publish or recording a video or audio spherical up of your favorite:

• Books you’ve learn in 2021
• Podcasts you hear to every week
• Finest TEDx talks you’ve seen
• Coolest instruments you’ve introduced and love
• Finest techniques or software program that’s modified your corporation
• Reward concepts for Xmas associated to your corporation
• 3, 5, 10 or high 100 stuff you’ve discovered this 12 months

That’s a bonus that may simply carry on giving!

Step 4. Cease.  Consider. Motion.

Provided that the above three steps are all about taking motion and gaining large momentum heading into the vacations, you additionally want to think about what you’ll cease doing to suit this in.

What are you going to maintain, do away with or clear up too?

That is the right time of the 12 months to undergo your on-line and offline folders and kind out what the heck you’re hanging on to these information, movies, photographs, photographs, unread books, half fashioned concepts or junk for?

Critically all that stuff clogs up your area, and your mindspace too. I’m a minimalist at coronary heart and fairly organized, however even I’ve amassed extra ‘stuff’ then I must.

As I drop utilizing Dropbox, and switch all the things over to Google Drive this month, I’m pleased to report I really feel so much lighter, freer and much more organized as I delete and trim the quantity of issues I’ve been storing, that has no enterprise being in my enterprise – when you get what I imply.

What are you going to systemize?

That is additionally a good time to take a look at all these information, paperwork and begin creating horny SOPs – that’s customary working procedures. Which is a flowery manner of claiming placing collectively a doc that states precisely how a activity or course of must be performed, step-by-step.

The purpose of this, even when it sounds tedious is, that subsequent time you go to format, edit and publish your weblog publish simply the best way you love to do it in 17 steps….you may delegate it fully to somebody immediately, over the vacations or within the New 12 months, who following your SOP, ought to be capable to do it simply the best way you prefer it.

Then think about what it’s going to really feel like once you’ve created SOPs for the highest 10 duties that you simply do each single day in your corporation, and the way a lot freedom you’ll have once you hand these over, secure within the information that you’ve techniques that work FOR you whilst you’re on vacation (and on a regular basis).

Step 5. Put the ending touches in your 2022 12 months

By now try to be reaching for the champagne or that therapeutic massage voucher you’ve handled your self to, as you may be in critically nice form, or getting near having a vacation prepared enterprise and weblog.

And never only for this era, however ceaselessly extra. Certain you’re going to should work at it, and preserve sorting, streamlining and trimming. However it will likely be value it, and it’ll additionally get simpler the extra readily you do it.

Which leads me to placing the ending touches in your 2022 plans. What higher manner to do that than to plan out your complete Editorial, Content material and Advertising and marketing Calendar for the entire of, or at the least the primary three months of 2022?

You can use my FREE Editorial Calendar template here.

That will sound daunting, however because you’ve already performed steps 1-4 you’re already forward of the sport, as a result of by all of your sorting, sifting, analysing and cleansing up, you need to know now what your viewers and clients really need.

So now you get to flesh it out right into a full calendar so that you simply really feel tremendous organized and in management for the 12 months forward. Then you definately put that into Asana or Trello or a large wall calendar, and also you delegate.

Sure you kind out who the heck goes to work on making that occur whilst you’re off on vacation.

Flip to these SOPs you’ve created, to the arduous work you’ve simply performed to complete all these tasks, to overturn all the good sources and content material you’re sitting on, and put somebody to work who can provide you all of your Christmases directly, with an enormous fats purple bow on it!

I share how to do that in my free video coaching Reclaim 10 Hours a Week and Double Your Revenue.

This publish was first printed on Dec 6, 2016 and up to date Dec 2, 2021.