As creators, we hit bumps in the road all the time. Among the most ruining for a production business, is creative burnout: The feeling you get when you’ve hit a brick wall of what you think you can provide for a client or customer. Here are THREE STEPS you can take to help avoid and mitigate the effects of burnout.
Step 1. Work Smarter, Not Harder.
Do your research. Instead of doing you and your business harm by working into the ground, it’s far more valuable to take a step back and really LOOK at what it is you’re doing so that you can begin again.
Using your analytics, find out what content generates the most engagement, and then dissect it. Specifically hone in on what aspects work and crucially, WHY they work. After you’ve found what performs, reject anything that doesn’t. Spend a day in every week at least to keep track of this, so you can quickly pivot when needed. You’ll soon find that you’re working on the right stuff, instead of grinding away at the stuff that isn’t worth your time.
Step 2. Outsource If Necessary.
Sometimes you or your business will need to perform some tasks that you simply have no experience in. Be it video production, SEO, or accounting to name some examples. If you have the capital to outsource to someone that knows how to do a job intimately, then sometimes that can be the best option to avoid stretching you too thin to be effective.
This way, you are saving your energy for the work that you truly EXCEL at.
Step 3. Rethink Your Target Audience
Most of us have experienced times where we’ve needed to accept work from just about anyone in order to make ends meet. This increases your workload and sales, sure, but it often comes at the cost of productivity and quality of service.
Why waste 10 hours meeting the needs of 10 clients, if 5 of them are not compatible with you when you could have saved 5 hours giving quality service to just 5 clients that you have a positive working relationship?
Customers that aren’t responding well to what you do, are not conducive to a productive working environment. Very few of us can be a one-size-fits-all service, especially true if like us, you are dealing in ads, a massively creative industry.
Don’t be afraid of raising the bar a little and having a few expectations in place for new clients. This comes back to the research step earlier; Find out from your analytics what type of clients you’ve excelled at creating for, as well as which calibre of client you work the most productively for. After you’ve decided on some concrete standards, put in place questions for prospective clients before any deals are made, and automate this process wherever possible. Get clients that you want to hire you, rather than working for anybody.
Check out an episode of Marketer’s React here. And if you liked that, head over to our YouTube Channel!
