Diary of a Creative Entrepreneur

The Power of Planning Sessions { Diary of a Creative Entrepreneur, Volume 1 }

January 16, 2017

I’m Michelle.
A modern maker with a classic approach to design. Ever in search
of beautiful typography and
baked goods.
TOp categories
Get your Digital Brand Blueprint
SIGN ME UP

Do you ever wonder what your fellow creative entrepreneurs are up to? In between the big wins, product launches, and collaborations are the small steps (some forward, some backward) that lead to those turning points. Here’s a transparent account of a week in the life of a gal in passionate pursuit of business growth, personal development and those magical milestones.

A little bit of planning goes a long way. // Do you ever wonder what your fellow creative entrepreneurs are up to? In between the big wins, product launches, and collaborations are the small steps (some forward, some backward) that lead to those turning points. Here's a transparent account of a week in the life of a gal in passionate pursuit of business growth, personal development and those magical milestones. // From MichelleHickey.Design

Monday, January 9th

I began this week brimming with energy and excitement. This feeling is atypical for me to experience during any morning, especially a Monday (yawn). I trace this anomaly back to a major planning session I had with myself at the end of last week, where I identified my most essential tasks. Having clear direction leaves little room for hesitation, which has been known to seriously trip up my workflow.

I spent the majority of Monday creating an email drip campaign for my Enchanted Prints Inspirational Planner Subscription. Setting up this sequence is something that should have taken place before the product launched, but better late than never!

The email “opt-in magnet” I used to introduce the product was this 2017 Printable Calendar (a resource that aligns with the subscription). After setting up my “drip campaign,” subscribers will now automatically receive a series of emails that will introduce them to my site, offer them more free resources and to eventually promote the Enchanted Prints Inspirational Planner Subscription. ConvertKit made this incredibly easy to execute and the fact that I got this done in one day got me excited to create more sequences for other products and services I offer.

Tuesday, January 10th

The second part of my “catch-up marketing plan” was to create a web banner for the Enchanted Prints Inspirational Planner Subscription, and to include a link in the top menu bar on Elegance and Enchantment. You’re much more likely to sell products and services to an audience that already knows you, so it’s super important to maximize your reach to those people.

Since I was in the back end of the website, I also took the opportunity to update my menu bar and sidebar widgets. My Facebook widget had been linking to a page that didn’t exist, for months (as you can tell, I’ve been really on top of things when it comes to Elegance and Enchantment)!

Wednesday, January 10th

Another day of planning! One of my goals for the month is to increase an awareness of DesignCuts, the sponsor of this blog. Giveaways are a great way to increase exposure of a brand and to delight your audience, which is why I wanted to make it a priority in my marketing efforts. I brainstormed ways to promote upcoming giveaways and made a game plan to execute those ideas.

In the afternoon, I hopped on a Skype call with my sister Allison, who has been helping me run my Etsy shop for the past year or so (my sweet baby nephew, Alex was also in attendance). Our goal for this year is to create a better experience for our customers, to identify the products that bring in the most revenue (so we can create more like it) and to simplify our workflow. Together we came up with a master list of everything we hope to accomplish in the coming months.

A little bit of planning goes a long way. // Do you ever wonder what your fellow creative entrepreneurs are up to? In between the big wins, product launches, and collaborations are the small steps (some forward, some backward) that lead to those turning points. Here's a transparent account of a week in the life of a gal in passionate pursuit of business growth, personal development and those magical milestones. // From MichelleHickey.Design

Thursday, January 11th

I look those Giveaway plans from Wednesday morning and put them into action by designing engaging and appealing Pinterest artwork that linked to a landing page I created using Leadpages.

I chose to start with Pinterest because it’s the #1 source of traffic for this website. Go where the people are! Linking a series of Pinterest pins to your email signup page instead of your website is a smart tactic that I learned from my friend Dawn Nicole. Give it a try!

Thursday was made better by getting to “meet” with Lauren and Kalyn, my Mastermind partners. It was our first Skype call since the holidays, so it was great to get caught up and share our latest business endeavors with one another.

A little bit of planning goes a long way. // Do you ever wonder what your fellow creative entrepreneurs are up to? In between the big wins, product launches, and collaborations are the small steps (some forward, some backward) that lead to those turning points. Here's a transparent account of a week in the life of a gal in passionate pursuit of business growth, personal development and those magical milestones. // From MichelleHickey.Design

Friday, January 12th

The vigor that graced me at the beginning of the week had run it’s course by the end of it, but I tried my best to squeeze out every little bit that was left.

My biggest accomplishment was getting this post written (I know, how meta)! I also got some Instagrams scheduled, using Planoly, and even found time to make a tray of brownies (one of the greatest work from home perks).

A little bit of planning goes a long way. // Do you ever wonder what your fellow creative entrepreneurs are up to? In between the big wins, product launches, and collaborations are the small steps (some forward, some backward) that lead to those turning points. Here's a transparent account of a week in the life of a gal in passionate pursuit of business growth, personal development and those magical milestones. // From MichelleHickey.Design

Lesson of the week

Plan, then do. Execution is much easier when you don’t have to think as you go.

What I’m reading (and loving)

The Power of Self‑Confidence by Brian Tracy

What I’m watching

The Man in the High Castle, Season 1

What I’m listening to

The Lively Show, Episode #187: Energy, Flow, And Finding Adventure In Your Own Hometown With Rob Lawless

and

The La La Land Soundtrack (swoon)

This post contains affiliate links. 

add a comment
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments
Reply...

CONTENT PLANNER

Map out a month's worth of strategic content using this guided planner and calendar, and begin posting with confidence.

DIGITAL BRANDS

for

GET AHEAD OF YOUR POSTING SCHEDULE

on the air

A Podcast for Creatives

Join me and my friend Steve King for a bi-monthly discussion about the complex, messy and beautiful experience that is being a creative.

LIsten in
WORK WITH ME

Services

Whether you need help developing your brand's aesthetic, or scroll-stopping visual content, I'm here to help you and your business stand out in the digital space.

LEARN MORE

Free download

Map out a month's worth of strategic content using this guided planner and calendar.

FREE DOWNLOAD

This two-page workbook will help you hone in on your brand's aesthetics so that you can easily create consistent content.

Instagram

Design. Champagne. Books. Travel. Film + TV. Scenes from my kitchen. And cats.

@michellehickeydesign