Quick Tips
Don't give up; keep your goals in mind and see it through!
Get the project moving by setting a deadline.
Get organized; figure out what's been done and what's left to do.
Put someone in charge of gathering info and keeping the project on schedule.
Revise the project if you can't find the information you need.
Reboot Your Sidetracked Marketing Projects
So you had big plans…a new trifold, a postcard, SOQ, maybe a new website. You were excited about the project and got off to a great start!
And then…your marketing project got exiled to Siberia. It’s still out there, getting a little more freezer-burned every day. Maybe the billable work started piling up. Maybe you lost the initial momentum and let it slide since it wasn’t a big priority. Maybe you went as far as you could with the information you had, then got stuck.
You’re not alone. It happens all the time. People start out with a grand vision, then they disengage or become frustrated somewhere along the way.
Here are some ideas to help you get those sidetracked projects rolling again.
Give yourself a deadline
One of the main reasons marketing projects are pushed aside is that they aren’t needed by a specific date. When there’s no sense of urgency, everything else seems more important. You can change this by giving yourself a deadline. Plan an open house; sign up for a booth at a show or meeting; mail out a postcard to promote your soon-to-be completed website. Once people are expecting something from you by a certain date, the project suddenly becomes a priority.
Put someone else in charge
In small businesses or organizations, marketing projects are often instigated by the principals, owners or other head-honcho folks. Trouble is, these same people are usually up to their eyeballs with clients or customers, meetings and other urgent business.
If possible, assign someone else to be in charge of keeping the marketing project on track, regardless of who’s actually doing the design or writing. This person can help organize facts, coordinate the work, expedite the review/editing process and stay on top of deadlines, nagging people (often an important factor!) if necessary.
Get organized
Once you have a deadline and someone in charge, the next step is to develop a logical plan for completing the project. Figure out why the project got sidetracked, then invent a way to keep it from happening again.
1. Examine what you have
The hardest part is getting started (again). Plan a kickoff meeting (even if it’s only with yourself) to go through your materials and look at the progress you made before the project headed south. You’re probably further ahead than you thought you were.
2. Simplify!
Take a look at the project to see if anything can be simplified or deleted (without sacrificing quality) to save time and/or research. In some cases, the initial project goals were overly optimistic, and you simply may not have the information needed to fill in all the blanks.
3. Figure out what you still need
This is where a lot of projects run off the rails. They need photos and info, but that stuff is all over the place! Just think of it as a scavenger hunt that could pay off big. The more stuff you find, the less you have to create! Take a peek inside that creaky old file cabinet and scroll through your digital media. Make a list of any info that might help you (or someone else) complete the project: price sheets, project/client lists, old brochures, photos, ads, testimonials, etc. You may find that you already have most of the information you need.
4. Fill in the blanks
Once you know what info you still need, make a To Do list of the specific tasks required to complete the project. Include tasks that have already been completed, then check them off so you can see your progress. It sounds silly, but it’ll make you feel like you’ve accomplished something.
Make a list of specific facts, photos or other missing info needed to complete the project, and assign somebody to find the item. Yes, lists are tedious, but the information-gathering task is much less overwhelming when you see it outlined step by step.
Seek professional help
No, I don’t think you’ll need that kind of professional help to complete your marketing project. However, there may be good reasons to consider help from a marketing professional, designer or writer. If you’ve gathered all your information and you find that you still don’t have time to get the project done, or if you’re unsure of your design or writing skills, consider hiring someone to help you. You might find it’s worth the expense to free up your time for running the business (and to preserve your sanity).
Keep in mind that even if a consultant is doing your project, he or she will still need information and images from you or from someone in your company. But you’ll experience the delicious satisfaction of getting it off your desk and letting somebody else take over.
—by Eve Wyatt: web, writing and design for small businesses
Also check out the How-To articles Tips for Working with a Designer or Writer and Developing a Basic Marketing Plan