If you’re like me, losing weight always seems to end up on the annual New Year’s (or mid-year, or every other Monday) to do list.
I’m pleased to report that 2019 is finally the year I’m tackling my weight loss goal. I want to nail it once and for all. So far this year, I’ve lost almost 30 pounds. (In case you’re wondering, I’m using the Weight Watchers Freestyle program. And, no, I’m not being paid to endorse it!)
So, how exactly does my weight loss journey inform my marketing?
First, let me offer my personal weight loss success strategies:
- WW Freestyle offers a specific plan and I follow it daily. It helps me stay focused, and enables me to plan my meals ahead of time. It provides me the discipline and support I need. It enables me to easily track what I eat throughout the day, and gives me a super easy calculation of my caloric intake so I stay within the range for my current and ideal weight.
- I plan my day’s food intake at the start of the day before eating anything. This does two powerful things: It disciplines me to build my three main meals around WW’s extensive zero Smartpoints food list. Once I’ve planned my main meals, it shows me how many points I have remaining for the day and gives me the freedom to do what I want with them.
- I love food and I love to cook. But since starting WW, I believe much of my success is the result of my strategy to stick with a fairly narrow list of foods and recipes. When I put my food choices on autopilot each day/week (based on foods I really enjoy and look forward to eating), I enjoy my food, I don’t feel deprived, and I stay on plan.
- When I give myself too many options or try too many new recipes, I don’t do as well. It requires much more daily effort, it tends to be more expensive, and I’m not always as satisfied if I end up trying a recipe that I don’t care for. The other magic I find in sticking with a narrow list of foods (and planning out those foods weekly) is that it enables me to put “dieting” on the back burner. In the past, I used to obsess about food 24 hours a day. I now find that as long as my pantry is stocked with my basic food items, I don’t think that much about food.
- I used to hate weighing myself. The daily fluctuations made me crazy and I found it demotivating. I now track my weight loss results daily. I am so determined to get the weight off once and for all that I realized that seeing the fluctuations on the scale keeps me honest and disciplined. When I stay on plan, my weight stays the same or drops. If I have a day when I ate too much salt or bread, the scale shows an uptick, and it reminds me to stick with the strategies that work.
So, how to use these weight loss strategies with your marketing? Here are my personal takeaways:
- Follow a specific plan.
- Limit your marketing strategies to no more than two or three. Too many options will overwhelm you, and you’ll accomplish little. Like my food menu, the more you can get your marketing on autopilot, the more likely you will do it consistently.
- Select marketing strategies that play to YOUR strengths and that you ENJOY doing. If you love to write but hate networking, then writing content should be a non-negotiable task every single day. Designate a certain number of words per day, one new article or client resource each week or month. Commit to creating a body of work that builds in volume over time and highlights your expertise.
- Be realistic about what you can reasonably accomplish on any given day. Identify your 3 to 5 highest priorities for the day. Once you complete them, use the rest of the day as you’d like.
- Information overload = failure to implement. Just as too many new recipes and food choices diminish my effectiveness, the same goes for marketing. There is a massive amount of information at your disposal. Every minute of every day, there is yet another expert espousing the latest and greatest #1 best secret to making millions (and solving world hunger). Ignore this stuff. Focus on WHAT you offer and the RESULTS you help your ideal client accomplish. Limit your information-gathering to quality content that builds YOUR expertise.
Business building tip: we tend to amass information because we’re either unclear about, or don’t have faith in, our business model. Sometimes we’re just afraid to take action.
- Get the support you need. Work with a coach or join a mastermind group. Find an accountability partner. When you’re stuck in your home office all day, it’s hard to gain perspective about your business, and it will slow your progress.
- Plan your marketing tasks BEFORE anything else. Make them your highest priority. Use your calendar to block out sufficient time, given other responsibilities. Once you’ve completed them, the remainder of the day is yours. Use it in a way that will keep you energized and inspired.
- Build a support framework for success–that works for YOU. In my weight loss journey, planning meals, tracking points, and weighing myself are my three highest priority actions that support my efforts. For marketing, it might be a certain number of warm emails you’ll send daily, a certain number of exploratory appointments you make in a week, or a specific number of new subscribers for your free report you offer on your website.
- Track your marketing results daily. If you fail to track, or wait too long to analyze your results, your success will be greatly diminished.
- Be honest with yourself. In weight loss, the scale doesn’t lie. When building your business, success or failure is based on being clear on what you offer and marketing it consistently to the right people. Tracking your efforts gives you tangible feedback to help you decide whether to stay the course or try something new or different.
- Persistent action = success over time. Effective weight loss is a 24/7 endeavor. For most people, it needs to become a part of who you are, day in and day out. I didn’t lose 30 pounds overnight. Some weeks I only lost half a pound. But sticking with my basic weight loss success framework, I am achieving consistent results. The same goes for marketing. Persistent action over time is what gets you results. Marketing as an afterthought, or changing your message every other day, is NOT a recipe for success.
THIS WEEK’S CALL TO ACTION:
Do you have faith in your current marketing strategy? Do you have a structured business building framework that you follow consistently? If not, don’t do anything else until you create a personalized marketing plan to support your success. Use my list of takeaway strategies to assess your current marketing model. Create a plan, decide on a handful of marketing menu items, implement them consistently, and weigh (I mean track) your results.
A crystal clear vision and a plan of action keeps your marketing stress-free and easy to implement.
