Christmas week is usually a hectic, albeit lovely week. Between last-minute Christmas shopping, taking the kids to see Santa, Polar Express train rides, making trips to both sets of grandparents, holiday parties with friends, and taking time to be with our own family, we seldom go into 2021 feeling prepared. Our resolutions feel rushed and our to-do list is a bit overboard.
This year, however, COVID has put a damper on almost all activities, including the parties and even Christmas Day get-togethers. So what can you do during your week off when you really can’t go anywhere or do much of anything?
Here is my list of 5 end-of-the-year to-dos and 2021 business resolutions that will have you ready for the new year.
Edit your website content
Before you sign off from the work computer, copy and paste EVERY bit of content from your website into a notes folder on your phone. Send it to yourself in an email if you have to, but make sure you have access to review and revise the content on your phone while you sit and watch Christmas Vacation for the umpteenth time.
Make sure you are checking for dates (2019 & 2020 vs. 2021), numbers (such as the number of years of experience you have, or the number of clients you helped, money donated, etc.), and product/service descriptions that may have changed.
Running spell check or popping everything into Grammarly to improve vocabulary and make sure your copy speaks to your audience doesn’t hurt either.
Once satisfied, email the copy to your developer or website designer for a January 2021 update. Save the copy on your phone and set an alarm in July to give the content another look for accuracy (plus Google loves new content).
Write a blog
Speaking of Google, when was the last time you wrote a blog? While we recommend publishing a blog post at least every other week, you can shoot for 12, one per month.
I know it seems incredibly daunting but pick out a few relevant industry topics and go for it! We recommend 500 words minimum, 750 being a sweet spot, and 1000+ for A+ Google ranking.
Ideas include:
- A post for every service you offer in detail. I don’t care if it seems mundane or common knowledge. Get Google Analytics and Google Search Console crawling all over your site when you start packing it with industry keywords and phrases potential clients might be searching.
- Your 2021 industry recommendations. You’re the expert in this field, right? Tell your client base what they can expect in the coming year and how they should prepare or invest.
- Write about reflections of 2020 and how the industry changed because of COVID-19. EVERYONE can relate to this one. Share your triumphs, struggles, and personal stories.
Don’t feel confident in your writing ability? Hire a content writer for the new year to write your posts and publish them on your behalf.
Record a video related to every page of your website
People love watching videos. Show and tell your client base about your business process, define common industry jargon (then make a blog post of definitions *wink wink* ), share your expertise.
Create a Youtube channel, upload, and embed (or send the videos to your website developer).
Don’t worry about being too fancy. Grab a $20 Ring Light off of Amazon, prop your camera (cell phone) in a non-decked-out room (but one that isn’t your bedroom or bland office space) and record a few. Don’t stress too much about the outtakes. Find your voice and go for it.
Create meta descriptions for your website
Say what? What are meta descriptions? Yoast SEO, one of WordPress’ top SEO platforms, says it best —
The meta description is a snippet of up to about 155 characters – a tag in HTML – which summarizes a page’s content. Search engines show it in search results mostly when the searched-for phrase is within the description.
Consider what your niche client is searching for on Google and write a unique description for every page on your site. Use terms you would use in the search.
Not sure what the heck I’m talking about? Hire someone to write the descriptions for you and have your on-page optimization set up correctly.
Create your Google My Business, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console accounts
If you don’t have these, you absolutely must! Google My Business (in a nutshell) is Google’s listing of your business, and they put preference towards companies that have their accounts set up over those that do not.
Google Analytics and Google Search Console will help you track users to your site and determine the aforementioned keywords and search words I described.
The data will also show you what day of the week and what time of day people are visiting your site, which will significantly help with your social media posting. Why post at 5pm when most prospects visit your site at noon? Follow the data.
Good luck continuing your quarantine and holdfast to your business. Keep going. We’re all in this together. And if you are feeling a little overwhelmed or left behind, let’s chat.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year to all.
Jessica Valis
