7 Lessons I Learnt in 2020

2020 was a year like no other. It will go down in history for obvious reasons. However, I believe it is important as individuals and business owners to look back and take note of what the year taught us and why it was important to us.

Below I’m sharing 7 lessons that I have learnt as a result of being a solopreneur running my own marketing consultancy. I hope by sharing the lessons I’ve learnt it may help you to think about changes you could make to the way you approach running your business or the way you market your business.

 

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Here are the 7 lessons I learnt in 2020 from running and marketing my own business.

 

Lesson 1: The power of SEO and organic search

I’ve always been a big believer in the power of organic search and where possible I focus on using search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques. These skills have allowed me to perform well on Google, YouTube and Pinterest.

To date this year (23^rd December) 63% of sessions on my website started via organic search. If you aren’t familiar with how Google Analytics works then traffic to your website (if you are only using organic marketing methods) can come via

• Organic Search
• Social Media
• Direct
• Referral
• Email

Organic search accounted for 63% of sessions and social media accounted for 18% of sessions. That is a massive difference, especially when I think about how much time I spend on social media versus how much time I spend creating new blog posts (You can see all my blog posts here) or improving my website.

When I looked at my best-performing blog posts they were all blog posts that were ranking well on Google. To me, this proves why it is worth focusing on SEO. A well-performing blog post has the potential to be read for years afterwards and it doesn’t involve any more work from me.

At the moment I have a number of web pages and blog posts that rank on page 1. This is majorly impressive given how poor my domain authority is. In 2021 I’ll definitely be ensuring that I make some necessary changes to my website and focus on improving my domain authority.

If you, like me, want to improve how your website performs on Google in 2021, lets chat. Drop me a message here.

 

Lesson 2: The best investment you can make is in yourself 

This summer I spent a lot of time improving my knowledge in relation to marketing. Whilst I love being a marketer one of the downsides is that it is constantly changing and therefore it is important for me to keep up-to-date and ensure I’m constantly improving my knowledge and skills.

I gain so much knowledge from running my own marketing and supporting my clients, but I like to ensure that I do some more formal types of training programmes from time to time.

Hubspot is known for running great marketing training programmes so I decided to do a couple and am now certified in Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Inbound and Inbound Marketing.

Qualification wise, my biggest achievement this year, has to be gaining my Google Analytics Individual Qualification. I talk about Google Analytics all the time and as far as I’m considered it is one of the most important tools for all business owners and marketers. Now I was fairly confident in my skills. I have managed a lot of websites over the last decade and having worked for one of the top e-commerce websites in the UK I had used Google Analytics for websites small and large. However, I learnt so much from doing the Google trainings that it was absolutely worth my time.

Since qualifying, I’ve gained clients specifically because they wanted a Google Analytics expert and I’ve been able to use my knowledge to help support my clients even better. It has definitely been a win all round.

Then to top off the year, I finally became a Chartered Marketer. I have been dreaming of becoming a Chartered Marketer since I started studying for my Professional Diploma of Marketing. Chartered Marketer status is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and there are only 2,100 who have reached that status.

 

 

Lesson 3: Don’t chase after every shiny object, but be open to experimenting

 

TikTok has been a platform I have told myself I need to use for my business numerous times. I would see someone post about their success on the platform and think I should give it a go. However, I knew trying to be consistent on another platform would be a struggle. However, in August 2020 Instagram introduced Instagram Reels. Now I could make the same type of content as I would on TikTok but on a platform where I already had an audience and was consistent (If you don’t already follow me on Instagram my handle is @charellegriffith).

I’ll admit that I was slow to get started. Instagram Reels are a totally different type of content to create and it took a bit of a while to get the swing of it, but now I love creating them.

I feel as if I have found a new level of creativity because I can now use music in my content creation. I love music and as an ex-dancer and ex-cheerleader sitting thinking what music to choose for my next Reel brings me back to the days of choreographing.

Not only do I love creating Reels, but they perform better than other types of content, so it is a win-win and I only realised that from giving it a go.

Tip: If you are struggling to know whether you are chasing after a shiny object or not – give it a go. However, treat it as an experiment at first. Tell yourself you will play around for 4 – 8 weeks and then review. If the results are good, it can become part of your ongoing marketing. If the results are bad, you stop the experiment but can be confident knowing you gave it a go and it wasn’t right for you and your business.

 

Lesson 4: Online networking offers multiple advantages to in-person networking

As an extrovert, I love in-person networking and unlike most people, I love the thought of networking. Pre-pandemic I would often go to a few events a week and loved it. With the thought of no events for the foreseeable, I panicked. Even though I have been a great online networker for many years, for someone reason in the moment of lockdown I forgot that. However, I quickly got myself into an online networking rhythm. Every month I’ve attended the amazing Work The Room (hosted by Cheryl Laidlaw aka London Web Girl and Liz Robins aka The Payroll Queen). I also attended a few virtual conferences and I’ve made the effort to actively connect with other business owners and entrepreneurs via social media.

Whilst I love in-person network and can’t wait to return I have to admit that without having to spend hours travelling to and from events some days I’ve been able to attend more events because they were virtual than I ever would if they were in-person.

Also, online networking gives you the opportunity to connect with those who don’t normally go to events either because they are more of an introvert or for other reasons.

 

Lesson 5: As a business owner it is your responsibility to make sure are visible

My word for 2020 was visibility. I knew if I wanted to take my business to the next level in 2020, I needed to make more people aware of me.

The first part of being visible was around raising my profile. This started off by entering myself into the DigitalWomen Awards. In the past, I had been nominated for awards, but always by someone else. This was the first time I had put myself forward and I was delighted to not only be named as one of 40 Digital Women to Watch in 2020, but to also win the Blogger of the Year Award.

 

 

Next, my focus was on using my network (thanks to the wonderful networking I was doing) to do more collaborations. That resulted in me appearing on podcasts, as well as leading training for other people’s membership groups and coaching programmes.

Finally, as part of being more visible, I focused on getting my face out there in more of my content. As a solopreneur, it is essential to not hide behind a logo, but give people the chance to see you. This involved me introducing video into my marketing in the form of Instagram Lives and IGTV.

 

 

 

Lesson 6: Never rely solely on one platform to drive traffic to your website

Back in January, I wrote about how I would be using Pinterest more in 2020. You can read the blog post here – Why I’m focusing on using Pinterest to market my business.  Pinterest was driving more traffic to my website that any social media platform I used (and I spent a lot less time on Pinterest). From an ROI perspective it made sense. However, in November my traffic from Pinterest dropped off a cliff and after doing some research it seemed they had done an algorithm change.

I still haven’t been able to get my traffic back up and this was a stark reminder of the dangers of relying solely on one platform. Lots of business and marketing expert warn business owners about the dangers of building your business on borrowed land (aka a social media platform). Lots of business owners ignore this message. They say that the social media platform they are on isn’t going anywhere. However, it isn’t just about the platform disappearing (like Myspace), but there are other dangers of being on borrowed land. The social media platforms can change the algorithm whenever they want and they can delete your account or ban you (which I’ve seen happen to a few people this year).

Lesson 7: The real value of having a location independent business

In the world of online entrepreneurship, there is a lot of talk about being location independent and being able to work from anywhere. This was something that never really appealed to me. I’m not a big traveller and whilst I would love to spend more time in sunny places, I want to be at the beach with my laptop nowhere near me. And don’t even get me started on the thought of being a digital nomad. For me having a physical home is super important and the thought of not having one massively stresses me out.

However, this year my home became inhabitable. I was forced to move out in February and still haven’t been able to return. For me, 2020 has been a year of moving around and living out of a suitcase. Whilst it was a stressful experience the great thing is that it didn’t impact my business. As long as I have my laptop, headphones, microphone and mobile phone with me I can work from anywhere.

Now I’ve realised the true power of a location independent business. It doesn’t have to be about travelling to gorgeous places, but more that you can continue to keep your business running no matter where you are. Going forward I’m planning on many more trips around the UK to see my friends and I know as long as I have a quiet space and wifi that I can still deliver for all of my clients whilst enjoying my life

 

There you have it! You now know the 7 lessons I learnt in 2020.

I hope reading this post inspires you to take a moment to think about what you learnt in 2020 and maybe think about what you’ll do differently in your business in 2021.

I would love to know in the comments below a lesson you learnt in 2020.

Want to work with me in 2021? You can find out how you can work with me here.

You can drop me a message here or if you would prefer to discuss your situation (I love a good chat) then you can book a call here.