In our previous blog article, we discussed the many ways to create a successful print marketing campaign – from deciding what kind of content to produce and using various marketing methods to gain traction to measuring the success of your campaign. Included among these ways were:

Outsource As Much As Possible

We discussed how, as a business owner or manager, you might want to consider outsourcing as much as possible to gain more efficiency and free up time for more strategic activities. But what exactly does “outsourcing” mean?

Outsourcing simply means getting a third party to perform a task or provide a service that you could otherwise perform yourself. For example, you could hire an editor to handle all of the writing and overseeing the production of your print marketing materials, or you could hire a graphic designer to create the perfect infographics for your next marketing campaign.

As with any new business venture, scaling up a print marketing business can be difficult. You’ll need to determine how much you’re capable of handling yourself and then decide whether or not to outsource certain aspects of the business. One important thing to consider is whether or not you want to outsource the operation of the business itself. While it’s always fantastic to have more free time to work on strategic activities, sometimes you may not want to give up ownership of the business you’ve spent so much time and effort building. 

Use Your Networks

Networks are a fantastic way to get things done in business. In fact, one of the first tasks you should perform when setting up your business is to build your network – whether that’s with friends, relatives, or colleagues. 

With your network in place, you can use them to perform tasks and get things done that you might not have the time to handle yourself. For example, you could ask your friends to research topics or perform specific tasks for you such as proofreading and editing your materials or creating a blog post for you. Or, you could ask a trusted colleague to handle your finances or inventory while you focus on expanding your business. 

Depending on your network, you may also be able to get access to a variety of resources and services that can help your business become more effective – from legal assistance to accounting and financial advice. Just remember that whatever you outsource, you need to ensure that you keep track of your deadlines and deliver the content on time.

Diversify Your Income Streams

To succeed as a business owner or manager, you need to have multiple income streams. The more sources of income you have, the more freedom you have to pursue your business interests and the less risk you have of being adversely affected by fluctuations in the economy. 

One very easy way to diversify your income streams is to start a business that serves as a platform for other businesses to sell their products and services. For example, if you own a spa, why not earn a little money by renting out spa chairs to other businesses? The world is your oyster when it comes to marketing, sales, and revenue generation when you’re acting as a platform or conduit for other businesses. 

Being a platform or merchant for other businesses also has its perks since you can reach a much broader audience than you could individually. For example, if you’re starting a wellness business, you could ask your clients to become affiliate marketers for you and earn a commission when they promote your products or services to a new audience.

Use Technology To Your Advantage

Nowadays, nearly all businesses, regardless of size, operate online. And as a marketer, you know what technology can do for your business. 

With the right tools, you can automate many tasks, leading to increased productivity and decreased errors. Plus, with the internet of things changing the way we interact with technology and being a digital nomad possibly becoming the new normal, why not take advantage of this opportunity and use online marketing to your advantage? 

You can develop marketing strategies that are completely automated and don’t require much effort – which is great for scaling up a business since you may not have the time to focus on marketing as much as you’d like to. 

Some of the tools and platforms available to aid your online marketing efforts include:

• MailChimp
• HubSpot
• Drip
• VenueNext
• Cheddar
• Seapoint
• Buffer
• Hootsuite
• Tweetdeck
• Gap
• Wunderlist
• AstroPay

You can use online tools to automate the collection of leads, follow up with potential customers, and track the progress of your marketing efforts. 

For instance, you may want to use a tool like VenueNext to automatically send out emails with marketing content once someone visits your website. Or, you could use a tool like Drip to automatically follow up with potential customers who’ve left you a message or registered for a free trial.

Additionally, you can use tools like Google Analytics to track the progress of your marketing efforts and determine the impact of different strategies on the bottom line.

Keep Track Of Your Budget

To ensure you spend your money wisely and keep track of your expenses, you should set up a separate business account for your print marketing activities. 

From there, you can track your finances manually or with the help of an accounting tool such as MYOB or Xero. This way, you can determine how much you’re spending on various marketing activities and ensure you don’t overstep your budget – especially if your income streams are not all tied directly to your print marketing activities. 

When setting up your account, you’ll want to decide how much you can spend on marketing each month. It’s always a good idea to start small and then track your income and expenses to determine whether or not you’re reaching your target audience and the extent to which your efforts are paying off. 

As marketing evolves, so does the need for continual improvement. And since technology is always expanding to meet the demand of the ever-changing consumer, businesses must keep up otherwise they’ll be left behind.