Okay fam - here's what separates the marketers from the panic-ers. (is that a word??).
We're entering a period Corrie Mira and I like to refer to as 🏜 "Dry July" ☀️ - but it encompasses the entire summer months from June - August.
It's in these months (as reflected by this Google search report for "sugar cookies" - image below) that your orders will likely slow. 📉 This is expected for our industry.
Things you can do during this time:
- 🚫 Do not panic. Readjust your expectations in terms of ROI (returns on marketing) for this period. Slow = normal.
- ✅ Optimize your admin. Need to schedule posts? Do it now. Website time? Let's get it set up. Want to hire a VA? Let's get interviews scheduled.
- 🚫 Do not overcorrect. When the market slows, we always see people knee-jerk change course. This is the wrong bandaid for this wound. Stay the course - optimize what's worked last year.
- ✅ Invest in Yourself. Use slow periods to invest in yourself - you won't have that chance come the holidays - so now is the time (ahem - www.TheCookieCollege.com 👀). Hey - I'm learning a new 3D printer. It'll pay back in dividends.
- 🚫 Do not pout. It may feel like your audience is abandoning you - and your bank account. They're not - they are focused on their family vacations. Good marketing = assisting them in finding fun family things to do. It'll build trust and they'll be back come Halloween.
- ✅ Cut Costs. There's two ways to make money = make more or spend less. I love slow periods to assess where my money is going and where I can cut costs. If you haven't used it in the last 4 months, cancel it + sell it + downgrade it.
- 🚫 Do not stop. Marketing return is delayed. 🌱 What you plant in these months will grow in the holidays. 🌿 Don't stop marketing just because your engagement seems too low to make it worth it. It'll pay you back - trust me.
- ✅ Build out your Holiday Campaigns. It seems weird to talk Halloween / Turkey Day / Christmas in the beginning of summer - but this is how you build a campaign. You build it out now, have it dialed in, pick a launch date, and wait. You do not want to wait until the week before 🎃 October to start thinking about this.
- 🚫 Do not quit. Slow periods feel like failure - especially when you've done everything right. Do not quit - this is a season of business. Just like landscapers don't expect to have their highest earning months in winter - baker's big days are comin' - but not right now.
- ✅ Inventory. Perfect time to see what you got, what you need, and where you can put it. As we clear out the old, we can make room for the new. Cutters + packaging + class supplies + tools + that Cricut that's still in the box you know who you are (it's me). Figure out, organize, and optimize.
🤔 So lemme throw it back to your side of the court: What do you plan to use the next three "dry" months doing?