Does this sound familiar?

Person who doesn’t know me: How many people work for you?

Me: Nobody.

Person who doesn’t know me: So you’re a one-person marketing department?

Me: Umm. Yes.

Person who doesn’t know me: Whoa. How do you do it?

Me: Dunno. I guess I just do.

I had that same conversation at every NCMPR event for about seven years. I was practically a broken record.

So really, how do I do it? I learned to make efficient use of my resources.

In a solo shop (or even one with a staff), your most precious resource isn’t your money. It’s your time, hands down.

To survive, you have to prioritize resources. If you want to thrive, you gotta leverage them.

Ok, enough with the pleasantries and cutesy intro. I’ve got a lotta stuff to share, so hold on.

Build door. Rip knob off.

Nothing is worse than staring at a blank page every time you start a new project. It takes time, energy, and focus that you probably don’t have.

Create templates and standardize whatever possible: print, video, web, flyers, scripts – whatever. Make it as fancy or simple as you want. Then when you need something, just drop in your content and go.

It’s a front-loaded investment of your time but makes life crazy-easier once you’re finished. A good design will last multiple years. Make tweaks over time to keep it fresh, then launch an overhaul when you’re ready.

This is a super win-win. It saves you time, production costs, and builds brand consistency.

One & done

Annual media buys are a must. Negotiate a regular schedule as a single buy at the beginning of the year. Do this for all major paid media: TV, radio, outdoor, print.

This is huge: you’re in a better position to bargain, you eliminate getting nickel-and-dimed all year, and once scheduled, you can focus on creative.

What’s that? Need more ads along the way? Don’t worry. They’ll still take your money.

Have content, will travel

It all starts with CONTENT – focus on that first. Then just slice & dice to fit media.

When you start a project, plan for multiple means of consumption – you’re already in the zone and you have the tools out, so figure out how you can cover the spread.  Stop taking notes during interviews. Shoot video instead. You don’t have to be Spielberg – just make sure the sound and light are decent. If you’re lucky, you might walk away with a youtube vid, a feature story, a photo shoot and maybe even a TV spot.

Go for the long haul

Put your publications on a schedule.

Gang run your print projects. Work with departments to develop pieces, bid them as one big honkin’ job and then hit print. This forces everybody to commit to a plan, it reduces one-off requests, you’ll get a better price, and you can scratch it off your list till next year.

Booya.

Just say no

Everybody thinks their need is the most important. Usually they’re wrong.

If it doesn’t fit into your list of priorities or current projects, say so. If you know that what they want is not what they need, tell them. Offer your insight, say what you can realistically deliver, and follow through on your end of the deal.

And most of all, say “no” when you need to, not just when you can. Share your reasoning with your boss so she can back you up.

When in doubt, under-promise and over-deliver.

(Free) help wanted

Look around to see where you can go for help. Interns, print shop, agencies, freelancers, adjuncts, vendors are all out there if you know where to look.

Did you know media specifically employ people to make the ads you just bought? I know, right? Most do it for free and some are actually good. Don’t want your stuff to be just like everybody else’s? Remember what I said about templates? Hand ‘em over. Don’t have any? Even a pencil sketch and some copy goes a long way to helping make your ad yours. Then once it’s done, get copies and send to your other advertisers. Consistency man, consistency.

A dull pencil trumps a sharp mind

Don’t even start your computer until you have a decent idea of what you want to do.

Spend 10 minutes with a sketch pad and play with some concepts to see if they’ve got potential. You can work through a handful of ideas on paper and spot challenges in the time it takes to launch Photoshop.

Notepads are great for writing copy too. It’s hard to erase lines and lines of sentence fragments once they’re put to paper, however entire paragraphs can vanish forever with one delete key and accidental save. What was that word you used? Sorry. Jesus not only saves, he writes in pencil.

Plus, these brain drippings serve as a sloppy seconds idea bank. A bad idea today could be an epic idea tomorrow. It’s the marketing equivalent of leftover lasagna: even better the second time.

Don’t try to be original – try to be good

Originality is overrated. Now days, everything is a remix. Don’t beat yourself up trying to think of the next big thing. Face it, you work at a community college, not Madison Avenue.

I don’t mean you should steal ideas or rip off creative. I’m talking about borrowing solutions. Marketers all over the world tackle the same challenges you do every day and they come up with pretty clever solutions. Learn from them.

Working in a small shop doesn’t mean being exiled to Siberia for a life of hard labor and crappy work. Focus on your strengths, acknowledge your weaknesses, and learn to take advantage of the resources available. It is totally doable. I know because I’ve been there and lived to tell the tale.

Now go get ‘em tiger. I expect to see you on stage beating me to that Paragon next year.

(first published NCMPR Counsel Magazine July, 2015)