May 20, 2012. Samuel Valero
As your business starts to grow it’s likely that you will be advertising in a number of different papers, magazines, white/yellow pages and a myriad of other places. So how do you keep track of what’s going on without missing deadlines and forgetting to do things? Easy, you use two really simple but effective techniques used by successful businesses the world over.
Welcome to the default diary
A default diary is a simple but highly effective tool for ensuring that you do everything that needs to be done each week, without having to worry about missing something out. All you need to do is list out all the weekly tasks, break them up into daily tasks and then program them into an appropriate day and time each week. Then, all you need to do is look at the default diary to see what you should be doing and when. Simple.
So, for our advertising work we might decide on two hours each Wednesday afternoon – to coincide with newspaper deadlines, for example. That way we know we will always get the ad to the printers in good time. If possible try to do everything in one session as that is usually more productive than spreading it across a number of time periods in the week.
Build a system
In simple terms a system is just a check list that you use to ensure that everything you do is done in a logical order and that you don’t miss anything out. It guides you from start to finish so that you can concentrate on what you’re doing rather than worrying about if you’ve missed anything out.
The system will include every aspect of the process for producing each ad, from initial design right through to sending it off to the advertiser. It should also include testing and measuring the effectiveness of the ad once published too because if you’re going to advertise a business properly you need to test and measure to see how much business the ad is bringing in.
If you want to run a business effectively then there are no two tools that will help you more than a default diary and a system with which to organize your advertising – or any other regular process for that matter. Incorporate them into your business and I can guarantee that you will beco{}me much more effective and efficient.
Updated May 20, 2012. Published May 19, 2011. Samuel Valero
