Using Central Desktop to help you market your business more effectively

Guest post from Sydni Craig-Hart

Joseph Ghabi once said: “Your life will begin changing the moment you decide that you want it to.”

I’ve found that the same is true for growing your business. If you want to see different results than what you’ve seen in the past, you must make a heartfelt decision to do things differently.

The FIRST step to achieving your goals is de-cluttering and organizing your mind. When you do this, you’ll be able to clearly define what you want to accomplish and start taking the necessary action to achieve your goals.

If a never-ending to do list, too many ideas for marketing your business, missed opportunities and a constant state of overwhelm are running your life, it’s time to clear out the old, get organized and take full advantage of your investment in Central Desktop. When you do this, you’ll find that it’s easier to focus on marketing your business consistently and effectively.

Six simple practices you can use NOW

Document EVERYTHING! – When your brain is busy trying to keep track of the many details that are floating around your head, you begin to feel stressed out and overwhelmed. Write down everything! For years, my husband told me to do this but I ignored him – until I finally started to see that there was too much for me to manage on my own. Once I started taking his advice, EVERYTHING changed. The same can be true for you. Use the online document feature to start documenting every aspect of how you run and market your business. Getting it all out of your head and onto “paper” is going to relieve a tremendous amount of stress.
Use a digital notebook to capture all of your ideas – Apart from your procedures and to do list notebook, you should create a space where you can write down all of your new ideas. Entrepreneurs have no problem generating great new ideas – but it’s far too easy to forget about them or allow them to distract you from your profit plan. Keeping your ideas in one spot will make it easy for you to refer back to those ideas often so you can actually implement them. Imagine how you can increase your profits when you start taking action on your great ideas?
Use just ONE to-do list – If your daily task list is in 7 different spots, you’re going to feel distracted and scattered. Keep everything in one list within your Central Desktop account. Commit to using this one system for ALL your tasks and projects and cut down on wasted time looking for bits and pieces of information.
Plan ahead with your content – Many entrepreneurs feel stuck with marketing because they aren’t sure what to do. Just start with one month – plan out what you’ll be doing in the upcoming month using on online spreadsheet. Pick a date to publish each piece, plan out the theme for your content and jot down some ideas for your newsletter, blog posts or social media updates. When you sit down to write your marketing materials you’ll crank out your content quickly and easily.
Create a Master Schedule Template – If you find yourself looking back at the end of the week and wondering where the time went, you need to implement this right away! Using a weekly calendar, you can designate blocks of time where you’ll work on certain aspects of your business. For example, reserve Monday from 9 am to 12 pm for marketing, 1 pm to 3 pm for writing, 3 pm to 5 pm for email management and so on. Start by inserting recurring tasks (like client meetings, marketing times, meeting with your coach, etc) and then designate other blocks of time for your other activities. Don’t leave your essential tasks to chance! Make a plan for when you’ll do them and you’ll boost your productivity.
Set clear boundaries – Once you get these systems into place, you need to follow through and stick with them! Commit to yourself that you’ll honor what you’ve set out to do. Turn off email notifications and other distractions. Make sure that friends and family know when you’re available to chat. You can also create accountability for yourself by working with a coach or mentor to help you.

Marketing and growing your business isn’t impossible – but it does require planning and consistency to work. When you de-clutter your mind, and organize your materials and take full advantage of the many features available within Central Desktop, you will be able to see the results you’ve been looking for and fully enjoy a successful business.

Which tip will you implement first? Please share your thoughts with me in the comments below!

Your “take action” implementation plan:

Plan a “brain dump” – Take time this week to get everything out on paper – all of your “to dos,” all of your big ideas for growing your business, all of your client projects – everything. When you write it all down you’ll be able to get it off your mind and develop a plan for getting things done.
Get organized – Create a file for all of your logins and commit to using one to do list. You’ll save time each day and boost your productivity.
Master your schedule – Set time aside each week in hourly blocks for all of the things you need to do – including marketing your business. You’ll be more productive, waste less time and get more done.
Plan ahead – Write down your content focus for the next month and brainstorm ideas for blog topics, social media conversations and newsletter articles. Then sit down to write at your designated time and get your content into the hands of the people who need you!
Set boundaries with yourself and others – Let friends and family know when you’ll be available to chat and commit to sticking with your master schedule. You’ll eliminate distractions and increase your profitability.

Tags: central desktop, collaboration, growth, Marketing, plan, small business, smb

About the Author

Sydni Craig-Hart Sydni Craig-Hart, The Smart Simple Marketing Coach, is founder of SmartSimpleMarketing.com. Known for her simple, strategic and results-focused approach to marketing, she also has the unique ability to find new profit centers in her client's businesses so they can create more money NOW. Visit www.SmartSimpleMarketing.com for your FREE kit, "5 Simple Steps to More Clients, More Visibility and More Freedom" and apply for a FREE "Profit Breakthrough" session with Sydni!