This week was enlightening to say the least…
At the start of this month, I planned out a project outline. It included a list of things to accomplish every day of the month. It was a great start, but this week really showed me how much things can diverge from the initial plan.
The first problem: Time goes by fast.
Oh, boy. Halfway through this week, I realized that I had to make a decision between two awesome things.
My initial project outline said that week three would be dedicated to social media marketing. I had planned to spend this week learning about Facebook ads.
Just as I was prepping to do this, my email blew up with responses from people I had sent cold emails to. A dozen of the individuals that I had contacted about becoming contributors, responded.
I felt like I needed to change my focus from marketing on social media to locking down leads.
So far, this has paid off for me. Out of sixteen people that I reached out to, eleven of them got back to me, and committed to contributing to the website’s content.
That’s approximately 75% response, and follow-through rate, and after less than three contact on average.
The focus of this week’s work…
I have mainly focused on actually creating content for the website. I have written several blog series that will be available when the site is launched, and I have designed profiles for each contributor, as well as scheduling content for the next four weeks.
It has been time consuming. Time is really my kryptonite this week.
What I’m learning…
Two main areas have really seen growth this week:
design
I have been working with Squarespace, which I have done before, but I am pushing the limits this week. I have learned how to incorporate social media feed onto the website, how to make animations that allow for engaging graphics, and I am really stretching my organization as well.
I’ve had to learn how to look at the website like it is always unfinished. Every time I finish designing a new page, I look over my previous work, and I see what I could improve.
communication
Relying on contributions is something I felt was necessary in this project. I really wanted to push my project management abilities, and I definitely have succeeded in that.
I have learned to keep people accountable this week. I make sure to give deadlines, and to set the expectation that I will follow-up with contributors periodically.
Next week, we launch it.
On the 22nd, I will make the new website public, and start making adjustments based on the responses we receive.
I plan to make polls for feedback from viewers, and focus on creating new leads by expanding my network.
Keep an eye out for my next update to see how it goes.