New email inquiries

Do you already use canned responses for your email inquiries? If you find you’re receiving the same questions or emails over and over again, create a canned response and then hand that lovely little response over to someone else. My wonderful office coordinator, Karis, receives all the new client submissions from our website, and is in charge of sorting them, responding to each one and scheduling new clients.

Social media + blog post scheduling

I like to stay on top of my editorial calendar by creating social media posts and blog posts ahead of time. But just because I’ve written the content, that doesn’t mean scheduling it to go live, formatting each post or optimizing content for SEO happens quickly. I delegate this part of the process, so I know all our online content is going out as planned without having to spend 30 minutes in Facebook scheduling a week’s worth of posts to publish.

Bookkeeping

Keeping up with our finances are one of those tasks that does not bring me joy, nor do I excell at it naturally. So in an effort to ensure it happens, and I have the mental space to work on something else, we have Armon in charge of the books for the time being. Eventually, we’ll be transitioning over to a professional bookkeeper once his classes pick up.

Taxes

I knew from year one that taxes were not something I wanted to tackle on my own! Thankfully, when we were stationed in South Carolina, I connected with a fantastic local CPA who handles our personal and business taxes each year. Although preparing our books to send her way does take time, it’s worth it to ensure our taxes are prepared correctly without fail.

Invoicing

If you have recurring invoices you send on a regular basis, or if you use an invoicing client like 17Hats, then who says you have to be the one sending those invoices at all?

Client Setup

Here in the studio, we use 17Hats for just about everything, including client contracts, worksheets and invoicing. So whenever we get a new client who needs to be set up in the system, it’s easy to hand that task over so I can move onto what’s next.

Content generation

If you’re not quite ready to hand over your copywriting to someone else, then why don’t you get some help coming up with blog post topics or social media campaigns? Having someone else generate ideas definitely frees up time, enabling you to choose your favorite ideas and run with them afterwards.

Website updates

Is your website up-to-date with your most recent additions to your portfolio, product offerings or services? It’s important to keep your website current, as that’s one of the biggest touch points we have with potential clients, and those first impressions when they’re initially visit your site matter. Whether you need to update some photos or add new pages entirely, bring someone on your team (or hire someone remotely) to help keep your brand’s online home looking good.

Print marketing design

Just like it’s important to ensure your website is up-to-date, so should your print collateral be on point! Working with a graphic designer on a retainer basis gives you the opportunity to incorporate professionally designed print collateral into your client experience, without laboring in Illustrator on your own time. Not sure how print collateral could up your marketing game? Just think of what a beautiful touch pieces like client welcome guides, pricing magazines, promo flyers, or branded stationery could add to your client experience!

What are some of those time-consuming tasks you pass off to your VA or an employee?