How to find time to promote your business and your blog

I am in the middle of a move to B.C at the moment. The entire office is in chaos with boxes and separate piles for recycling, garage sale, donations, clients, and my work. The living room is full of boxes, and every evening has been spent sorting and packing. 

On top of that, I still have a business to run, with all that it entails.

That means administration, delegation, following up, making phone calls, keeping in touch with my clients, and oh yes, updating my blog. And that I have to say is a real pain in the butt.

I have everything linked, so that it all goes to twitter and facebook etc... but it's finding the time to jot a few words down so that people who might visit my site can see that it's active. 

That plays more of a role than I realized.

Recently after sending out a press release I was informed by a television station that my client hadn't updated her website in 3 months, and that didn't make him want to book her. I couldn't believe that blogging had become such an important factor for press bookings. But it has. 

So far I haven't sent out a single press release about my company. I simply haven't had the time. I'm too busy working on the clients I already have to promote my business. 

And to a high degree, that has suited me just fine- I'm thankful for the referrals I've received, and I show up when someone is looking for publicity. 

But I suppose it is time to practice what I preach. I help my clients by making sure that their blogs are updated, I guess I should do that for my business!

So how do you make time for your blog?

1. Set your google alerts to items that you like to write about or discuss. When it comes into your inbox, you can click on it and instantly blog about it. It's great when you can't think of a single thing to say.

2. Make sure your blog is linked to all your other social media sites, so you don't have to spend time uploading to every site

3. Set time aside 3 times a week ( minimum)- say 1/2 an hour to upload a blog, and comment on 1 other blog so that your name keeps showing up everywhere

4. Your blog is your personal site- add some personality!

5. Don't forget to promote your business while you are promoting everyone else. 

6. Don't put your client files in boxes until the very end of your move. Trust me. You will regret it!

It's Summertime- now's the time to send out all your cool pitches to act as fillers for radio, tv, and print! Now wish me luck for this move- it's a doozy!!!

Less Business- More Blogging!

Image by lunaweb via Flickr

With all the research that I do on publicity and social media, I realized that I was committing a cardinal sin on my blog. I was reprinting articles for the sake of saving time, but not actually giving my thoughts to them. That's the whole point of a blog. So many people find me and my business through my blog that I really should be a little more aware of the social aspect of this site. I have my website to update and talk about articles- and it's fine to reprint them here, but I really shouldn't be afraid to weigh in with my opinion.
I'm not going to lose business because of it.
In fact, if anyone goes to my website, they'll see that both my associate Brian and I are pretty laid back but very blunt people when it comes to criticizing modes of publishing books, agents, and our writing services.
I am a book publicist. It's what I love to do. I am also a business publicist. I love working in the field of media, and hearing the viewpoints of everyone. So from here on it, this blog will now be used for my  thoughts. Without a filter. Like it or lump it!
Cheers!