Marketing is, without a doubt, a challenging endeavor. You must be continually innovative, analytical, tenacious, and committed to your work. But how can you stay a good marketer if you’re not around people, isolated at home, and often alone?
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Generally speaking, working from home is a coin with two sides. Yes, you can have more time for yourself and your family and pursue individual wellness. But on the other hand, you are trading off social interactions with your colleagues, clients, and customers.
Remote working comes with a lot more challenges regarding your home environment, tools and equipment, relationships with others, and personal well-being.
If you want to know how to rise above these struggles, here are seven tips to becoming a successful marketer at home!
1) Attending virtual events, not just large conference
Attending marketing events, meetings, and conferences hold great importance in a marketer’s life. These allow many to connect with people, widen their network, learn from prominent names, and hone their marketing skills.
However, in today’s world, where significant events such as Facebook’s Global Marketing Summit are frequently canceled, this is no longer a viable option.
But there’s no need to worry! This is where the benefits of technology and the internet are realized. You can still interact with others by joining webinars, virtual meetings & conferences, and online sessions.
Corporations frequently hold virtual events that may be attended by many individuals from all around the world. Thanks to digital platforms, we can now access media and engage with people from afar, promoting accessibility and inclusivity.
Bonus! You get a glimpse of the global cross-cultural market and be in contact with a more extensive network.
2) Set a weekly/daily goal and stay focused on it
A saying goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” And as marketers who are constantly dealing with market volatility, having no objectives is like sailing in a stormy sea without a compass. You have no direction on how to get to your destination.
To set a goal, first, get a comprehensive picture of your present state– your strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. This is a prerequisite because you can only set realistic and attainable objectives by knowing how you can work with what you have.
And when you have a goal, of course, pursue it. Stick to it. Without your actions, efforts, and hard work, a plan will always be just that: a plan. Although it may not always succeed, improvisation and adjusting are critical skills for any marketer. After all, you have your objectives to lead and direct you in the proper direction.
3) Invest in proper tools and make sure they are secure
As a remote marketer, your entire job is reliant on your equipment. Whether it is a phone, computer, laptop, etc., I’m sure you have to utilize at least one of these to continue working at home.
But how can you do your tasks if your equipment is laggy, out-of-date, and unprotected from cyberthreats?
To be a great marketer, you also need to invest in great tools to optimize your skills. Make sure that your gadgets are perfectly working to assist you in performing your duties efficiently and effectively.
Your equipment should also be adequately protected against internet threats such as viruses. Invest in antivirus software and programs to improve your online security and safety.
4) Keep the communication lines open
Working at home probably makes you miss the casual interactions and face-to-face collaboration with your coworkers. Especially in the marketing department, it’s vital to communicate to create effective marketing strategies. This aspect of the job becomes a bit harder as you are not physically with your colleagues.
Yet again, new technologies hold the solution for this. Video conferencing and messaging platforms such as Zoom and Slack are there to help teams exchange thoughts despite the distance.
It’s much better now since these programs offer a variety of features that can further assist you and your colleagues. It does not only allow you to meet each other virtually. It also lets you share your screen, records your meeting, control others’ screens, and many more!
But it doesn’t always have to be work-related. Allow yourself to interact and talk with your coworkers, as this can foster a sense of belonging, safety, and comfort. “No man is an island,” they say, so continue maintaining and cultivating relationships even while at home.
5) Spare time for creativity
Creativity, especially for a marketer, is a catalyst for success. You need to have innovative and imaginative thinking skills to develop new ideas for promotions and campaigns.
But same with motivation and moods, creativity seems to shift from time to time. One day you may be in the zone and generate new ideas. Tomorrow you can be utterly stuck and cannot complete a single task.
Exploring various ways to stimulate your creativity is one technique to overcome this. Go paint that canvas while not worrying about the outcome. Listen to music, spend time outside, and go to places that inspire you.
Look for other options as well; what matters is that you love doing them. It will not only refresh you but also encourage your creativity.
6) Use productivity extensions for your web browser
It’s pretty easy to become distracted while you’re at home. You sit down in front of your computer, swearing to finish that report. But you suddenly receive a notification from social media sites. Surprise! You’ve already wasted an hour of your time. The catch about scrolling through social sites is that you cannot just stop it.
So to help you remain focused, there are Google Chrome extensions that you can use. One of these is called StayFocused. It limits the amount of time you may spend on potentially distracting websites. When you reach your time limit, it blocks those sites and makes them inaccessible for the rest of the day. This will force you to focus on what you need to do.
Aside from eliminating your distractors, some extensions offer convenience, allowing you to save time and be more productive. ClickUp is an example of this. It has several features that might help you with your tasks.
Instead of using separate programs for each tool, this addon brings them all together in one. You may use it to take notes, bookmark websites, screenshot, manage your emails, and even track your time.
With the help of these tools, you can be more disciplined and focused on your work to finish it in no time!
7) Keep your home office organized
It is impossible to become effective in what you do while surrounded by chaos. Being in a messy, dirty, and unorganized environment negatively impacts our well-being, affecting our work performance.
Put effort into cleaning and decluttering to keep your workspace conducive for periods of maximum productivity. Invest in desks or other pieces of furniture that can help you store your files and supplies (stapler, pens, paper clips). Also, there are thousands of appealing containers and organizers available in stores to give your workspace a touch of style.
It’s no mean feat, especially for people like you, working and busy individuals. However, as much as possible, set aside time each day to organize your documents, tidy your desk, and clear stuff away.
You may also schedule reminders for deep cleaning days—weekly or monthly. This is the time to sort through your belongings, remove what you no longer want, keep what you need, and recycle what you can.
Though it’s hard, you’ll finish it in no time if you start doing it. As per home cleaning services NYC, a well-organized and clean area will surely elevate its appearance and improve your concentration to accomplish more tasks.
Remote working comes with challenges, as a house is an unconventional location for working full-time. It also entails several variables to consider before turning it into your office. But as marketers renowned for being innovative, adaptable, and persistent, many have taken the challenge and have become successful remote workers.
Due to the ongoing health crisis, many businesses and individuals are shifting to home-based jobs. Perhaps you are one of them. Listed above are our tips on how to help you overcome the struggles that come with remote marketing. Give them a go and see that you can be an effective and successful home-based marketer.