I often get asked about how much time you should dedicate to marketing, and how to schedule it during the week.

In part, the answer is “do what suits you”. But while true, that's not very helpful really. And there are some guidelines that can steer you in the right direction.

Timewise I'd aim to spend 20% of my time – roughly a day a week – on marketing and business development type activities.

You'll need more if you're starting up or you've got a bit of a client slump at the time. Perhaps a couple of days or more a week.

And if you've got a steady source of new business that's unlikely to disappear overnight you can survive with a bit less. Perhaps half a day per week.

But don't get complacent. Unemployment queues are filled with consultants who were sure their clients were going to stick with them for another year at least.

In terms of scheduling that time I have two rules:

1. Schedule a biggish block of uninterrupted time where you can work on tasks that need focus and attention. Strategising. Writing. Making videos. 

It's almost impossible to make progress on tasks like these if you're grabbing 20 minutes here and there.

Schedule the time for when you're at your freshest so you can do your best thinking. Monday morning is a good default.

2. Try to do some marketing every day. 

It doesn't have to be much. Reconnect with some old clients on Tuesdays. Write a short Linkedin post on Wednesdays. Send something useful to a priority prospect on Thursdays.

Doing something on your marketing every day is a very healthy habit.

It keeps marketing and clients front of mind and means you'll find it much easier and quicker to pick up marketing tasks when you start them rather than having to get warmed up.

And having this regular focus on marketing means it's much more likely that good marketing ideas will pop into your brain in-between times.

It really is as simple as that. A chunk of time on Mondays. A bit of time every other day.

And as I said in my last email – write down in advance what you're going to do each day so you can get straight into it without having to spend half your allotted time thinking of what to do.

Not rocket science. But very, very effective.

And like the magic of compound interest, these small investments in marketing add up to something big over time.

– Ian

PS another tip, not quite 100% marketing-focused: set aside time each week for reading. Not “reading” Facebook or Linkedin. But proper reading – ideally books. 

Doesn't matter so much what. But reading for an hour a couple of times a week makes you more focused. And it helps relax you too.