Automate and Boost Sales: Marketing Tips for Busy Entrepreneurs

Operating a small business is quite challenging, as it demands immense dedication and effort to achieve success.

This endeavor led to countless restless nights, immense workload, and reduced family time.

The transformation a business brings to your life is substantial, demanding complete devotion to avoid errors and potential failure.

A significant portion of your time will be devoted to attracting and retaining customers, not to mention focusing on your website's SEO.

Managing every facet of your business within the limited 24 hours each day is crucial.

Marketing is another critical aspect, often relegated to the last minute by many businesses.

The challenge then becomes: How do you efficiently manage your company and still find time for everything?

And how can you maximize sales with minimal effort?

The answer lies in automation.

Marketing automation aims to streamline as many processes as possible, reducing time spent on marketing, thus allowing more focus on boosting sales.

With proper execution, this can free up valuable time, which can then be reinvested into expanding your business.

In this article, I'll share six strategies for entrepreneurs to automate and scale their revenue growth.

As an entrepreneur, you may feel compelled to handle everything to ensure smooth operations.

Tasks range from report generation, social media updates, blog writing, SEO optimization, to website development, and more.

This endless list often leads entrepreneurs to mistakenly try to manage it all themselves.

However, this isn't feasible. It's not your responsibility as an entrepreneur to personally oversee every company detail.

Your focus should be on realizing your dream, working smarter, not harder, and making strategic decisions.

This begins with delegating smaller, time-consuming tasks, including blogging.

Blogging is frequently overlooked. It took years for me to develop an effective strategy and editorial calendar amidst other pressing tasks.

Yet, blogging should be a key component of your marketing strategy.

According to HubSpot, the more you blog, the more traffic you attract.

But it's not just about traffic; blogs can also generate more leads.

However, blogging demands significant time investment.

Crafting a single post can take hours or even a full day. Orbit Media states the average article requires 3 hours and 16 minutes to write, for a 1,000-word piece.

However, longer, more effective articles, typically over 2,000 words, could take approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes.

Such time commitment is impractical for small business owners, who have other business aspects to manage.

Spending six hours daily on articles leaves no time for other tasks.

To foster growth, outsourcing certain functions becomes necessary.

A useful approach is to list all daily, time-intensive tasks in a Google Sheets table, identifying those suitable for outsourcing.

Customer meetings, for example, cannot be outsourced, but social media posting can.

Once you identify tasks that can be delegated, the next step is finding someone to take them over.

I prefer hiring freelancers through platforms like Freelancer.

There, you can find numerous freelancers for tasks you can't spare time for.

You can post job ads or search for suitable candidates using filters.

First, browse the directory.

Then narrow your search by category, like writers or data entry freelancers.

Further filter by specific skills or software proficiency required.

Next, set your maximum hourly rate based on your budget and task complexity.

Whether it's cost-effective data entry or quality blog writing, the platform helps you find freelancers for specific roles, saving time and aiding business growth.

For specialized roles, post a job ad.

Freelancer is an excellent resource for finding skilled freelancers at a lower cost than full-time employees.

If you're working with a tight budget and overwhelmed, outsourcing is your solution.

Place a job ad on Freelancer or another job board to find freelance assistance.

Social media platforms are excellent for interacting with customers, sharing content, and acquiring new leads.

Yet, they demand considerable time.

Tasks include crafting posts, engaging in comment sections, and brainstorming fresh ideas.

According to Global Web Index, the average daily social media usage is around two hours.

Each year, user engagement on social networks and messaging platforms is rising.

People typically spend about an hour daily on Facebook and YouTube.

On platforms like Facebook, time can easily slip away unnoticed.

Suddenly, you find yourself having spent time without any tangible benefit.

However, for businesses, social media serves various purposes.

The goal is to draw in new leads who will eventually convert into paying customers, thereby ensuring a worthwhile investment of time, effort, and resources.

If social media isn't generating revenue, then the investment isn't justified.

With Socedo, you can optimize your social media time, as this tool enables you to gather actual leads, beyond just posting content.

It even allows for automating the process of lead generation!

Start by setting up a complimentary account.

Then, define your target audience for Socedo to identify new leads.

This means you won't have to dedicate hours to lead hunting. Socedo takes over this responsibility.

Input relevant industry keywords, and Socedo will locate social profiles within your sector.

You can refine search results based on job titles and industries. Socedo is also capable of identifying contacts who have interacted with specific influencers, events, or keywords.

Socedo performs the social media legwork for you.

After pinpointing your target audience, you can follow them and initiate a drip campaign to automatically engage potential customers.

According to Socedo, sending three direct messages is key to attracting new leads and customers.

You have the option to organize campaigns and craft personalized direct messages.

Use “Add B” for conducting A/B testing.

Social media isn't just for promoting your content and connecting with followers.

But finding potential customers can be time-consuming.

Socedo enables you to set lead acquisition on automatic mode.

Utilizing Facebook for advertising can significantly boost your business.

Its extensive range of features, metrics, and audience targeting makes Facebook an exceptional advertising platform.

I particularly advocate for remarketing campaigns on Facebook.

You can tailor your audience based on factors like household income and spending habits.

However, managing a Facebook ad campaign is not straightforward.

Inc. Magazine reports that 62% of businesses are dissatisfied with their Facebook advertising outcomes.

Facebook ad campaigns are time-intensive, requiring setup, ongoing monitoring, and frequent adjustments.

Do you find yourself excessively consumed in redesigning, creating, and tweaking ads?

It's also crucial to vigilantly manage your budget to avoid wasteful spending.

Upon accessing Facebook Ads Manager, you're faced with a plethora of metrics to track.

Constantly monitoring ad performance is essential to swiftly react to any changes in click-through rates or rising costs.

The challenge is balancing the monitoring and modification of campaigns without dedicating your entire day to the platform.

This is where automation becomes a game-changer, enabling you to expand your business and refine your ads with minimal manual intervention.

Indeed, it's possible!

Facebook's automatic rules allow you to automate nearly every aspect of your ad campaign.

Imagine your cost per conversion is unusually low. Wouldn't it be wise to increase your budget to capitalize on more affordable leads?

Ideally, yes. But often, time constraints make this difficult.

I'll introduce you to my top three rules for automating your ad campaigns and boosting sales.

In Ads Manager, select “Create New Rule” for setting up automatic rules for your advertisement.

Raise your bid and budget if the cost per conversion is notably low.

Seizing the opportunity of cost-effective customer acquisition is crucial!

Here's how to set the rule:

Under Conditions, choose “Cost per Result” as your trigger. This cost is equivalent to the cost per conversion.

Define a maximum amount you're willing to pay per conversion. For instance, if you’re offering an e-book, what’s its value?

If valued at 10 euros, your maximum bid should be below this amount.

In the Activity section, opt for “Increase daily budget by” and specify 25%.

The rule then operates as follows:

If the cost per result (conversion cost) is less than your set threshold, increase the daily budget by 25%.

Such automatic rules help in acquiring cost-effective leads.

Campaigns failing to meet desired outcomes should be paused automatically.

If an ad garners many clicks but no conversions, it's a drain on resources without financial return.

Here's a rule to prevent this:

If costs are too high, the campaign can be automatically deactivated.

You should also automate rules regarding ad frequency. This helps in budget optimization and maintaining a consistent ROI.

AdEspresso highlights that ad frequency significantly impacts click-through rate (CTR) and cost per click (CPC).

The more frequently a user sees your ad, the less likely they are to click, and the higher the cost per click becomes.

Therefore, limit ad exposure to the same user to a maximum of five times. Here's the rule for that:

The ad ceases to be shown to a user after five views.

Implementing automatic rules is essential to prevent overspending on Facebook ads. By automating your campaigns, you facilitate your business's growth.

After acquiring new leads through a Facebook ad campaign, what's the next move?

Typically, you might download these leads as a CSV file and then upload them to your email service or CRM, correct?

Manually performing these tasks is time-consuming, diverting attention from other important activities.

Automating these steps, however, can save a considerable amount of time.

Tools like Zapier and IFTTT can automate almost every step.

I prefer connecting my Facebook lead campaigns to Zapier, allowing direct integration of leads into my email system.

This eliminates the need to download contacts as a file and then upload them into MailChimp, set up a new campaign, and monitor it.

Instead, I create a “Zap” on Zapier, automating the entire process.

First, create a free Zapier account. Then, look for “Facebook Lead Ads” workflow ideas.

Zapier offers various process templates that can be customized as needed.

You can integrate your chosen CRM system or email platform with Zapier.

I consistently link my Facebook Lead campaigns to my MailChimp account.

Select “Use this Zap” to implement the workflow.

Now, the process is automatic:

When a potential customer completes a form on your Facebook ad campaign and downloads your lead magnet, providing their email address, that contact is instantly added to your email platform or CRM.

This obviously saves substantial time and effort!

To create a new Zap, you need to specify triggers and actions.

Once the Zap is configured, you can relax, knowing your new leads are being seamlessly integrated into MailChimp or your CRM.

Slack is an excellent tool for team communication and collaboration, useful for both large and small groups.

It's also beneficial for individual entrepreneurs.

I use it daily to stay in touch with clients and partners.

Slack allows sharing with friends or messaging team members, but it's lesser-known that it can also deliver automatic notifications for new leads.

With Zapier, you can set up Slack notifications whenever you acquire a new lead or customer, enabling immediate nurturing.

Log into Zapier and establish a new Slack workflow.

There are many options available.

For instance, you could get notified of a new sale.

Or when you gain a new lead through HubSpot.

If you utilize other marketing and prospecting tools, look for suitable Slack integrations.

Then, select the relevant program to view potential workflows.

Essentially, set up Slack to notify you when a new lead enters your CRM, a purchase is made in your online store, or another significant event occurs.

Regularly checking your CRM can be time-consuming, given the volume of data to analyze.

So, get Slack notifications for new leads to facilitate quicker follow-ups and immediate engagement with customers, fostering business growth.

It's essential to streamline your email management, as an overflowing inbox can be overwhelming.

Handling an excessive volume of emails makes it difficult to address every query.

A study by Carleton Newsroom indicates that an average office worker dedicates 12 hours weekly to emails!

That's about 1.5 hours each workday solely spent on email correspondence, a demandingly high workload.

I've personally grappled with this issue, receiving hundreds of emails daily.

To tackle this, I implemented a solution using IFTTT to receive Slack notifications for emails from specific, important senders.

Explore options on IFTTT by selecting Gmail.

Browse through the available integrations.

Choose this particular setting:

Connect your Gmail with IFTTT to enable email alerts for significant messages.

There are various integration choices. You might opt for text alerts or Slack notifications.

Here's my preferred setup:

Whenever I receive an email from a vital customer, I get an SMS alert.

Given my extensive customer interactions and the sheer volume of emails, some messages used to get overlooked in the clutter.

This automation has eliminated such oversights, ensuring no customer is lost due to such errors.

Now, with marketing automation, I can promptly respond to crucial messages.

As a busy entrepreneur, responding to every email daily is often unfeasible, considering other responsibilities and customer meetings.

Implement this system quickly to save considerable time in the future.