Marketing Yourself in 15 Minutes a Day – Can It Be Done?

I guess a better question would be “Has It Been Done?” – my answer is yes. Let me tell you a story.

There was an era when I had nothing BUT time. Not much cash but hours and hours to sit in front of my computer and

• read every RSS feed
• subscribe to and read every newsletter,
• go to Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Ecademy, LinkedIn, Delicious, Mixx, Business Exchange, Digg, Biz Sugar, Hugg, and about a dozen more of the best social media sites,
• not to mention commenting on dozens of other blogs,
• going to forums, or Ning sites,
• and posting videos or creating and publishing podcasts.

And I wasn’t there to waste time.

I wanted to either find some tidbit of information no one was paying attention to that could change the thrust of entrepreneurial life, or help whoever I encountered in every way I could. Either would add to my expertise, help me market that expertise, and result in more sales.

It worked. And when I had this huge mountain of available time, I was grateful that it was working. Then came work, as inevitably happens when you market yourself properly.

I mean, a lot of work. And even if you get help, even if you have a whole staff or outsource everything, being a full-time marketer, a full-time expert, a full-time blogger – it’s a lot to do. You find yourself choosing between work and sleep, trying to combine work and meals… wishing you could combine sleep and meals.

Smeals.

I’d be a Billionaire! If I could figure out how to do it without making everyone fat.

…Anyway. That day of optimal success came and went, and then I got really sick. So I went back to my hometown so my family could help look after me.

I went back to work, but then I had to manage my time more carefully. It’s been a long, slow road to recovery and it’s not over. Doctor’s visits. Figuring out how to pay for doctor’s visits. Learning how to do things you used to take for granted.

Having less time to work, and needing more help to get things done. General loss of control. Then, there were all the social interactions I wasn’t used to. (Okay, isn’t this why I left corporate America? I could have stayed and been making mid-six figures by now. Dang it.)

You know the social things I mean. Stuff entrepreneurs who live alone or with other entrepreneurs for several years happily forget about.

Good morning/good night. (It’s apparently a major sin to be too lost in thought to greet someone. “I didn’t see you there” doesn’t get you out of it OR points for honesty. Tried that.)

I’m an entrepreneur, we only shower on odd days. (Also known as “WHAT is that SMELL?”)

If it’s yellow, let it mellow? (I Love the earth but it took a long time for me to get used to seeing someone else’s pee in the bowl when I get there.)

Who left these kids here! I’m not watching them, I am BUSY. RESPECT MY TIME. Hey! Just because I’m working at home today…
 Sorry, I mean… My adorable nieces and nephews.

I really am kidding about that first part, though things like that occasionally do happen. (Pointed look at their Dad!)

I volunteered to watch them, not really understanding that you can’t multi-task ANYTHING and two year olds. It was great when they were 6 – 18 months, and will probably work out again when they’re 3 and a half. But right now, they cost six hours a day.

Yes, with daycare.

So what’s a self-marketing entrepreneur who counts on a piece of profits to feed her and pay medical bills and pay down debt to do?

I tried everything. And here’s what I did, and a few things I believe we MUST do.

1- Accept the situation.

You can’t be a rock star every day and have a life. If you choose to have a happy life, get comfortable with your choice and its consequences. You’ll miss events. You won’t be the first with all the news anymore. But you can be the best speaker when you can show. And you can still have the highest Quality news, which is what people care about anyway.

2- Realize it’s not hopeless.

Chances are 20% of your work got you 80% of your results. Focus on that 20%. You can look at your web stats, recall where and how you met your most valued customers and clients, pinpoint where you were most passionate, find out where you got the most benefit in the least amount of time.

3- Get. Help.

I’m a master at avoiding the best way to get people to help me grow. If they gave out Olympic Medals in Not Asking for Help, I’d be some kind of Prodigy. It makes me feel weak to ask someone for something as simple as a retweet. Sometimes, I’m just confused about who I can ask. Don’t be like me.

If you already are, join me in taking one extra step, one time a day, asking people who like you to do one small favor. It makes me feel better to do one for them first, regardless of what I think the answer will be.

4- Be Efficient with Your Time

Manage your tasks so that you can get as much of the most critical things done as you can. I believe that after those first few weeks of setting up and getting started, that we can all get our most important social media tasks done in 15 minutes a day, with the exception of those of us who have made social media a career.

I’ve come to this conclusion after observing customers and clients for a few years. Regular business people have to juggle their work life, their home lives, and the duties of each. We simply can’t be on Twitter all day. We don’t think it isn’t fun. We don’t necessarily believe it doesn’t help us. We just can’t give it 8 hours. So we tend to give it a little chunk of time and then kick butt during that sliver.

You won’t get all of it done. The secret to joy is that No One gets all of it done, and that’s actually okay. You’re not a failure if you didn’t finish every single item on your to-do list – and you’re not one if it happens every day. Delegate. Prioritize. And Sometimes? Let go or say “No”.

Apologize if it makes you feel better.

5- Have more fun.

I know this is a weird tip. But indulge me for a just a few more seconds, because after this I have to ask for your help. This tip lets me procrastinate doing that.

The first time I thought of this tip, it was one of those sarcastic inner comments like so “Maybe if creating products was more fun, I’d do it more often.”

Then I thought – hey, wait, why Isn’t it more fun?

We all know why it’s not inherently fun – we think of it as work. But what if we didn’t? When I was a kid, I hated washing the dishes, so I would sing to pass the time. I loved to sing, so suddenly, I always looked forward to washing the dishes.

As an adult, I thought walking was the most boring form of exercise on the planet. Then I heard that a quick way to monitor your heart rate would be to sing as you walk. If you can carry a tune without much struggle, you’re on track. Now I turn up my iPod and sing at the top of my lungs when there are no people visible.

So I guess this tip should say – MAKE it fun. Whatever you’re doing, find a way to make it fun. Why? It makes you feel better about doing it, and other people can tell you entertained yourself – and some of them will also be quite entertained.

Now comes the hardest part of this article, the part that feels like it’s going to KILL me.

I need your help. Respond in the comments section with Your Tips on how to market yourself best in 15 minutes a day. My plan is to take all the answers and give them away as a free ebook with a link to each contributor, if I have more than 25 comments by Friday.

So I need you to respond, then retweet, or post the link to Facebook, StumbleUpon, where ever. Thank you!