Make Marketing Suck Less

How to Use the Summertime Lull to Prep for Success in the Fall

One of the best pieces of business advice that I have ever received came from my husband.

Now back in the day, my husband owned video stores here in Seattle, Washington, and he said that the rule of thumb that he always used in his business was whatever you do now pays off in three to six months from now.

 I'll be honest, when he first told me this advice, it frustrated me a little bit because we want to see instant results.

But now I use this advice to pretty much light a fire under my ass and get things done.

Even though in the age of the Internet, I think we get results faster than ever before. When we need to create a little bit of urgency, especially in the summer when it's more tempting to be outside at the beach than working in your business, this advice is always in my head.

During this summertime lull, it is time to start thinking about what kind of results do you want to see in three to six months in your business?

Do you want to be seeing the results of the summer lull or do you want to be actively creating something else?

Today on the podcast we are going to talk about how to use this summer downtime to prepare ourselves for success in the future. It's not about working constantly throughout the summer, but it's about being strategic on what you want to focus on and how to use your time so that you can see the results you want to see in your business.

Tune into the audio:

Now before we dive into today's episode, it is time for a listener love where I give some shout outs to you, the listeners. So, Monica Clio Saki left this podcast, a five-star review on iTunes with the title “The must-have messaging”. She says,

Well. Thank you, Monica. It was so nice to know that you are tuning in and that you're seeing results from implementing and taking action on what I suggest in this podcast. And for me personally, it's always nice to know that I'm just not speaking alone into the void. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the Rebel Rising Podcast with me.

Now, if you dear listener, have something to say about this podcast, please leave me a review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts and who knows, you might hear your name getting some old listener love on a future episode.

Now, speaking of the future, that's exactly what I want you to think about during this summer lull. While I'm recording this, it's the beginning of July and if I'm going to use some future forecasting, the question I'm asking myself is what will I be doing in three months from now?

What will I be doing in my business in October?

And that's the question I want you to think about as well. What are you going to be doing in three months?

For myself. I see a full client roster for the 3 Word Rebellion messaging intensive at a new price, being on at least five podcasts where I'm being interviewed about the 3 Word Rebellion, and selling 600 copies of the 3 Word Rebellion book. Now pause this podcast and grab a scrap of paper and a pen and future forecast.

Where do you want to be in three months?

Think about what you'll be doing. So take a pause and write it down. I'll be right here waiting for you when you get back. All right, now that you know where you want to be in three months, it is time to think about what actions can you take now during this summer downtime that will set you up for success and pay off in three months.

What I am currently working on in my business as number one, I'm gathering client stories for the messaging intensive so that I can share that as I am building my client roster in the fall.

I'm also building a new fun quiz (which I'll tell you more about soon) to spread the word about the 3 Word Rebellion. 

I am researching podcasts right now. Which podcasts could I pitch it in order to spread my message? Now a side note here, you might be thinking, well Michelle, you should be just pitching podcasts right now and no, none of you should be pitching podcasts. This is a terrible time of the year to pitch podcasts.

I'm not taking any new guests. I know lots of different podcast hosts who do not record during the summer. However, September is the perfect time to start pitching yourself again. So that's why I'm using this time for some research so I can hit the ground running right after Labor Day, Labor Day.

What can you do now? Ask yourself the question, what actions could you take now that will get you results in three months?

For instance, September to October is a huge launch time for businesses. People are launching programs and courses and books and all of the things. I

f you're launching, what do you need to do now to grow your audience for that launch? Do you have your messaging and positioning down for the product or service that you're putting out there. Is your audience journey in place?

If you're interested in or are thinking “what the heck is an audience journey is” check out this past episode of the pod. This is a great time to be doing that work. Now when you've got the low ball, you can start growing your audience, gathering clients studies for content.

Your action step is to write down three actions or small projects that you can work on now that will make your life 100% easier in the coming months.

The final step of this process is to create time in your calendar for those strategic actions you want to take.

Now, you don't have to work 40 hours a week during the summer because I do want you to enjoy the heck out of your summer. It's such a wonderful time to be out in the sun, out in nature, being with kids or in my case, spending time with my cats.

But what you can do is schedule six to eight hours a month to work on those three actions that you identified.

Now, when I work with clients, my clients are often pleasantly surprised that the 3 Word Rebellion, messaging intensive takes only about six to seven hours a month to work on. That's about 90 minutes a week to get their 3 Word Rebellion and all their messaging down.

It's the message that positions them as the leader of their industry. They get their strategic messaging plan that grows their audience, their impact, and their business, and it doesn't take a ton of time on.

I am betting the actions on your list that will make your life easier and don't take a ton of time either when you're strategic about it and when you're strategic and doing these actions. Now you'll be ahead of everyone when the fall hits.

Hey, if you're listening to this and thinking, I've been wanting to work with you, Michelle on my messaging, well then now's the perfect time to do that because it will pay off when the fall hits, if not sooner.

So if you want to learn more about the 3 Word Rebellion messaging intensive, you can book your discovery session with me here.

The bottom line is to take advantage of this time.

Look ahead three months, figure out what you're going to be doing, what success looks like to you, and then commit to two to three actions you want to get done and book the time.

This will make the fall a whole lot easier for you and set you up for success. And not only that, your future self will thank you.