I know you’re busy.
Everyone has things to do.
Whether you’re writing a book, or working through edits, or balancing a book launch with a day job, trying to market at the same time can become a struggle.
So today I want to share three tips that have helped me to free up time when I’ve needed to:
1) Time Blocking
Time blocking is really simple, and if you have a paper planner or calendar of some kind you can do it easily.
What I like to do is batch my to-dos on set days, and then also distingish my “to-dos” from my “projects”.
Projects tend to take longer, and to-dos are often just subtasks of a larger project.
So for example, if I’m launching a book, the first thing I do is decide what days of the week I’m working on book launching tasks. Let’s pretend I pick Friday.
So on Friday, let’s assume I have 5 hours to dedicate to book launch tasks. That means I might spend three hours on a “project” (like my book marketing campaign) and then squeeze in a few additional to-dos like prepping a media kit.
This keeps my head organised and prevents me from overestimating what I can and can’t fit into one day.
2) Automation
Automation has always been a huge part of my business.
Right from day one, I looked into ways that I could automate many of my manual processes, including marketing. A lot of my sales generate from pre-scheduled social media posts and email funnels that go out on their own.
If you find yourself doing a repeatable task every month (or even every week), look for a way to automate it. It will free up so much of your time and give you back so much energy as well!
P.S: I have an automation masterlist available in the Launch Shop!
The PDF has 6 low budget automation strategies that will help you make more book sales on autopilot. Click here to grab it!
3) Outsourcing
Outsourcing is becomming a bigger part of my biz as I scale. I’ve always been dedicated to hiring editors, cover designers, formatters, book tours, and anyone who works in a skillset that I don’t have (or can just take a task off my hands).
But now I’m getting to a stage where I’m looking into long term hires like a VA and a graphic designer and a marketing assistant.
And it’s not becuase I can’t do these things myself (I clearly can and have been for the past three years). It’s because:
a) I value my time and energy.
b) I recognise that there are certain tasks only I can do, and if I can’t do them because I’m doing another task, they never get done.
c) I also recognise that my business will not grow if I don’t hire the support I need to grow it. It will just crash and burn as I slowly burn out.
It’s time to realise that you, as an author, are also running a business. And maybe you’re not at the stage where you’re ready to hire team members yet, but if you’re thinking big enough there will be a time for it. Are you mentally prepared for that? Do you know how to onboard a team? Find the right people? Interview and train and delegate as needed? This is stuff to start thinking about now, because by the time you’ll need it, you’ll also be too busy and overwhelmed to figure it out.
I hope these tips helped and gave you some ideas for how you can free up time and manage your workflow better!
Written by Pagan Malcolm
Pagan is a copywriter and business coach helping writers understand the business side of publishing so that they can become serious authors.
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