I posted on Facebook and asked people what is their word for 2024. This is when everyone is talking about their word, but just like going to the gym, we don't hear much about how these words get embedded consistently into your life throughout the year.
I'm an automation girly, so I thought I'd go through a few of the words that were shared and tell you how you can use automation to help you embody your word throughout 2024.
Use Automation for More Focus & Ease
If you've run a business for any length of time, you know there are a million things to be done all the time, and most of the time you wish you could just focus on the thing you're amazing at that you got into business to do in the first place!
A lot of the repetitive tasks in business can be automated. I see many people who could gain major time and more importantly, brain space just by automating moving data around. Can we please leave paying VAs to move spreadsheet data around in 2023?
How Automation Can Help You be Expansive
If you plan to scale your business this year, you must have systems, period. Once you have a system, you have something repeatable that machines can take over.
As you free up your time, your calendar space can expand, your naps can expand, your massages or weekday hikes can expand, and your creativity can expand.
You don't need to try to automate everything at once. Sometime choosing a few key processes or even one task is all it takes to experience the benefits and be motivated to keep going.
Use Automation to Simplify
A lot of people are scaling back and simplifying their business and life. This makes it even easier to automate parts of your business. Complexity is the enemy of automation but simplicity and automation go together like Taylor and Travis.
Many business owners have downsized their teams or even gone back to working for someone else while keeping their business as a side hustle.
It's all about getting back to basics. Whether you're trying to replace human labor or get your work done efficiently, simple processes and making use of machine power can help.
How Can Automation Help You Stay Connected?
Does this one surprise you? Connection has always been at the heart of my love for the internet. Look at us all, twiddling our thumbs at screens from around the world and connecting with people we never would have met!
Marketing automation specifically allows you to connect with people at scale. And then you can spend the most time with the people who are most engaged with your content and your offers.
The problem is most people don't actually know who their hot leads are. I bet you can guess how we can find out...
Curious Who Your Hot Leads Are? Automation Can Help Find Them
One problem with the online marketing space is how blind we are to people who are interested in what we offer. If you went to a shoe store and picked up a shoe, the salesperson would come over and offer to get your size.
When people are creeping on your content but not visibly engaging, we can't see it. You might even give up too soon because you think no one's interested when maybe you are one post or email away from a sale.
The right technology will give you visibility into how people engage with your content when you host it on your platform. With this visibility, we can suddenly become the helpful shoe salesperson instead of blindly continuing to create without knowing what is working.
Can You Still Automate if You're Weird?
People think automated emails and messages have to be boring and impersonal. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let your freak flag fly. One of my favorite compliments is when people can't tell if my emails are automated or artisanal hand-crafted.
If you want to celebrate someone finishing your course by sending them a gif if a unicorn pooping rainbows...go for it!
Automation is about being YOU - but planning it first.
Hate Confrontation? Use Automation to Say No
This is one of my favorites! There are lots of ways you can use technology to say 'no' and set boundaries without ever having to get personally involved.
I wrote this blog post in 2014 about why I didn't do pick-my-brain 'coffee dates.' It links to a ton of resources that would be useful for the kinds of people who used to make this request.
Another one of my favorite ways to say no is with forms. I only wanted to host Black women as guests on my podcast so I led with this question on the inquiry form and if they answered no, the rest of the form disappeared.
If you have an application as part of your sales process, some strategically crafted questions can help you weed out bad fit prospects before they take up time on your calendar.
What are some of your automatic 'that's a no from me dawg' scenarios and how can you automate your response?
How to Automate if You're Not Techie– Without Breaking the Bank
I know a lot of people have the best intentions to automate more things in their business but then they don't do it–maybe because they don't have the skill, or they're not great with tech or it's not the best use of their time.
If you want to automate but don't have the resources to hire a company like us then you're in luck.
Introducing the Automation Club Membership
The Automation Club Membership is launching in January 2024.
Automation Club for business owners who want to take action to finally automate their marketing and their business.
Our members will have the guidance of a Certified Automation Service Provider™ (me) with 11 years of experience in web development, content marketing, and email marketing automation.
Each month we'll have one hands-on workshop and one 90-minute Ask-Me-Anything strategy call.
You'll be able to post your tech questions anytime–like what software to use for email / CRM / project management, etc. You'll get answers from someone who's specifically trained in paring technology with processes to help you meet your goals–instead of randos in the comment section.
I will also be an open book about the tech, tools, mindset, resources, and professionals who have helped me on my journey.
And I'll be inviting some of my favorite service providers to the space to present or just be around for you to hire when you need them.
You can join Automation Club for one year for less than the price of a 1-hour consult.
Learn more about Automation Club, enroll today, and go live out your word for 2024.
