I've been reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg recently.

There are some powerful, and frankly, troubling stories and examples in there.

And a lot directly relevant to marketing too.

A great many people struggle to get results from their marketing, not because what they're doing doesn't work. But simply because they don't actually do it.

Some how, some way, client work, admin, or pretty much anything else always seems to be in emergency mode and push marketing to another day.

But with marketing, just like with diet or exercise, it's consistency that gets results.

“Binge marketing” doesn't work.

What does work is regularly generating new leads and contacts. Regularly keeping in touch to build your relationship. And regularly talking to them about opportunities they have to get great results.

One of the keys to habits is a “cue”. Something which triggers the routine of the habit to start.

Many people who take up regular exercise find that the simplest and best cue is simply to make sure they exercise at a regular time. The clock hitting 6pm is all the cue they need for the habit of exercising to kick in.

You can do the same thing with your marketing. I advise picking a time when your brain is at its freshest – usually the morning.

Put it on your schedule and keep the time consistent.

Take yourself somewhere away from the hustle, bustle and interruptions of your normal work environment. Go to a coffee shop, or just change rooms.

Then get down and do what you need to do. And make sure you give yourself a little reward afterwards to embed the habit.

As ever, no rocket science. It just works. Turning marketing into a habit means it gets done.