About the episode.

Lets be honest, there is no one, singular thing that will determine if a marketing strategy is successful or not. In todays episode I'm diving into one thing that seems so obvious to so many of us yet it's one of the things we perfectionists fail to achieve when it comes to creating content and marketing our businesses. 

Not only will failing to achieve this mean you'll struggle to build momentum within your business, it will also mean you're less likely to achieve your goals.

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Hello and welcome to another episode of The Business of Perfectionism, my name is Kristy and I am a Business, Marketing and Social Media coach and mentor helping creative entrepreneurs overcome perfectionism so they can build businesses that create impact and income. 

Today I wanted to dive into a chat about one of the things your marketing strategy will not work without…. 

Consistency.

It sounds simple yes, however consistency kind of comes in a few different forms and I really wanted to chat with you about this and how you can create and build consistency in your business that is going to help you achieve the results you’re looking for. 

One of the problems with being consistently inconsistent, is that momentum never really gets a chance to build.

You never really start to see results because you give up or move onto the next thing too quickly before you’ve even had a chance to see any real results.

And if you’re doing this, it also means you’re less likely to achieve your goals and you’re not going to see the kind of success you want. 

So I wanted to chat to you today about what consistency actually looks like and the ways in which you might be being inconsistent, even if it feels like you’re constantly working for arse off - it’s still possible to be busy and inconsistent at the same time… 

There are 2 big ways in which you might be inconsistent when it comes to your marketing and these are the two points that I want to dive into with you today. 

So the first thing I want to discuss is staying consistent in your content. 

I always suggest to my clients they pick 2 platforms to start, it could be Instagram and Facebook, it could be YouTube and a Podcast - pick your platforms based around where you ideal clients are hanging out, where people who are looking for your products or services are, and secondary pick what you feel comfortable using

If at the moment you hate being on video and it’s making you really uncomfortable picking a platform like YouTube isn’t going to work for you, so pick what feels good and start there. 

The second step, and this is really after you’ve done a lot of that foundational work, so you feel like understand your audience you’ve got your content pillars in place - is to decide what consistent looks like for you. Is that 3 posts per week, is that 5 posts per week, are you going to be creating video, how much, how frequently.

Put yourself together a very clear plan and aim to stick to it. 

If you have had a lot of trouble staying consistent in the past I would say don’t jump in to committing to daily content, especially if in the back of your mind you’re already thinking ‘how am I going to keep up with this’ or ‘how long will this last’ - be realistic and pick a frequency that feels good. 

And if something does happen, for whatever reason you find yourself loosing momentum, consistency is slipping, don’t overthink it and don’t beat yourself up about it. 

And most importantly, don’t think that you have to start again,

You don’t need to apologize, you don’t need to explain

Doing this over and over again feels really shit, look back at your plan, look at what was planned for next week and just keep on going, you want to keep building on the content you were already creating, you don’t need to start from scratch again at ground zero. 

This is the same for Podcasting or if you have a YouTube channel - just record the next episode or video, build on where you were, you don’t need to start again..

Just become the type of person that picks back up and keeps going, just keep moving forward. 

Obviously another tip is to try not to overthink your content, if you have yourself a day to write 3 captions you’d probably take it, give yourself an hour on Monday morning for example and write all of your captions, schedule them and walk away. 

Or give yourself an hour to record and edit your podcast episode, put it in your diary or your calendar, stick to it, get it done and move on to the next, focus on the other needle moving tasks. 

One of the things that I know so many people experience in creating their content, me included, when we’re really overthinking it and we’re deep in that self doubt phase wondering if what we’re created is good enough or agonising over whether or not it adds value or whatever it is that’s keeping us from publishing that content, 

Stops us from being consistent - that fear takes over, we don’t want to publish something that’s sub-par, something we don’t feel proud to put our name on

However learning to trust yourself, just for a second and hitting that publish button, although it feels daunting it can also feel really freeing and really amazing and the more we start to do it when we’re really feeling that fear, the easier it becomes and the more that feeling begins to shift.

And just quickly, if your post doesn’t receive the engagement or start the conversations that’s you’d like I almost always suggest leaving whatever it is there and just seeing what happens, each piece of content is there to tell a story and to paint a bigger picture, you created it for a reason, trust that it was a message that needed to be shared, that it landed on someone at the right time and was the message they needed. 

It’s really important that we just begin to follow through and continue to build self trust and momentum.

Just to recap oin that one…

Determine what consistency looks like for you and commit to it.

Put a solid plan in place, schedule in time to create your content.

Don’t feel like you have to start again when you;ve been absent for a while.

Pick back up and allow the momentum to build.

The second place where you might not be being consistent is in your platforms. 

So maybe you started with Instagram and Facebook, but you feel like you’re not getting the results you want - maybe because in the last point you’re not being consistent with content…

But now you want to do a Podcast because you’ve heard they can be really powerful so you dive on into that and create a few episodes, maybe you stay consistent for 4-6 weeks but you don’t feel like its doing that well for you, 

And you’ve been neglecting your Instagram, so you decide to dive back into that but you’ve also been thinking YouTube could be a really good platform for you - so you start exploring that.

The problem with all this platform jumping is that you never give anything a real opportunity to fly.

It usually takes more than a few weeks or month for these platforms to gain momentum

And if you’re not sticking with them long enough that momentum doesn’t have an opportunity to really build

And so often when we’re jumping platform each time we do so we’re starting again. 

You start at the bottom from IG and start building your brand, then you start again with YouTube, you’re trying to build that credibility and trust again often from zero, but then you’ve kind of neglected Instagram again now and it’s a lot of back and forth.

And the whole time you’re doing this you probably feel like you’re working your arse off, you’re always coming up with something, thinking of a new way you can market your business so you’re working working working but that momentum just isn’t there and it can also feel really disheartening because you’re not getting the results but you never stop - but you’re just not giving any platform the opportunity to work for you.

The best thing you can do it to pick your platforms, two to start, then when you’ve got that down introduce another one, and really focus on going all in on those platforms. 

It doesn't matter that Clubhouse is the next big thing or the new kids on the block, if jumping over and being present on that is going to disrupt your consistency on the platforms you’ve already committed to then really try not to lose focus on what you’re already creating. 

So as I mentioned earlier, I always suggest my client pick 2 platforms, you might choose to make the primary, this is your main focus and the second is a support, a back up, another place for people to find you. 

A quick recap, the problems with staying consistently inconsistent are:

1 Momentum never really gets to build 

2 You’re less likely to get the results you want because you’re not giving things enough time

3 You’re less likely to achieve your goals

And 

4 You break your self trust

So, how do you stay consistent. 

This is the thing that I has found has worked best for me and for my clients, and yes it sounds really simple and it is, its supposed to be, we want it to be, we want staying consistent to be easy…

And it’s simply to plan ahead. 

Put time in your diary every week, even if it’s just one hour on a Monday morning to write all of your social media posts.

An hour to write your blog

2 x 30 minute blocks where you spend time on pinterest.

Or whatever that looks like for you

And the most important part of all, is sticking to it. 

And understanding that there is always times when it’s going to feel a little harder, if the motivation has disappeared a little it’s easy to lose focus and let things come to a stand still, but it’s learning to keep going even when the motivation is gone that’s going to make the biggest difference for you

So each week, even when you don’t feel like it,  actually committing to doing these things, the things you said you were going to do and becoming the sort of person that sticks to their word and keeps driving that momentum, that chooses to take the action rather than being the person that just thinks stuff it I’ll just post next week and then you don’t do that either...

You need to rebuild that self trust and commit to this - to creating this content you said you were going to create. 

AND if you do fall off the wagon, knowing that it;s OK, just accept that it happened and get on with it. Don’t dwell, beat yourself up, and most certainly don’t feel you have to start again - just keep pushing forward. 

This was a nice short episode today however I really hoped that it’s helped you in some way. 

I know consistency seems really obvious however the truth is so many of us just aren’t consistent and I know first hand how hard it can be at times to stay consistent especially after the excitement and motivation has dies off a little  

If we arent yet connected on Instagram please do head over, you can find me @kristypask

And of course if you have any questions or if there is anything you’d like to me to discuss in an upcoming episode please do get in touch, you can DM me on insta or please head to my website and send me an email from there. 

Thank you so much again for joining me, I will chat with you again soon,

Links and resources:

Learn more about my 12 week, 1:1 coaching program: The Holistic Marketing Method

Connect with me on Instagram: @kristypask

Book in a 1:1 single session with me here.