When I write a post for this blog, I often reference what I’ve said in previous posts, but it’s getting harder to remember what I’ve said, let alone where I said it. I can’t even remember what I wrote yesterday without looking.
I can scroll through the blog, of course, and read what I wrote, but how far back do you go? I’ve only been writing the blog for a couple of months, what am I going to do after a couple of years?
I can use the "categories" and "search" functions to bring up posts on a given topic, but that only works if I use the same categories or key words to describe something, and I don’t always do that.
So, today I created a marketing diary for the blog. (Hmm, that’s a diary for a diary.) Anyway, it’s a simple list, updated with each post or page, describing the topics and resources mentioned. Nothing fancy, just a few lines that tell me what I’ve done. The first entry will be about this article.
It’s digital, not on paper, so it’s simple to copy and paste the headline, which automatically copies the permalink. Add a few descriptive lines and key words, and I’m done. Because it’s digital, I can easily search the diary and find everything I’ve said on a given subject. (I’m using Info Select, which I wrote about here). But I can also see, by scrolling through the list, exactly what I’ve been doing day to day and week to week.
A marketing diary isn’t just for blogs, however, it’s a good idea for all marketing activities. Recording your activities in a daily diary specifically for that purpose is not only a valuable reference tool ("Did I send that thank you note?" "How many calls did I make last week?") it’s also a way to remind yourself to do something every day.
Marketing isn’t about giant leaps, it’s about simple daily activities, done repeatedly, over time. That’s why I recommend 15 minutes a day, every day. Everyone can find 15 minutes a day; that’s easy. But, "what’s easy to do is also easy to not do," Jim Rohn says, and so calendaring the time to do it, in advance, and recording it in a diary afterwards, will help keep you on track.
If your phone isn’t ringing as much as you would like and I was your marketing coach, the first thing I would do is ask to see your calendar. The second thing I would do is ask to see is your diary.
