by Anne Clark | Jan 3, 2025 | Business
For many of us, the email inbox has become a source of stress and anxiety. With messages pouring in constantly, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume and the pressure to respond. If you’re struggling to manage your inbox effectively, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Here are some proven strategies to help you regain control, reduce anxiety, and transform your inbox from chaos into an organised, stress-free space.
1. Set Up Email Filters and Folders
One of the simplest ways to declutter your inbox is by creating filters and folders. These tools allow your email service to automatically sort messages based on predefined criteria. For example, newsletters can go straight to a “Promotions” folder, while client emails can land in a dedicated “Clients” folder. This reduces visual clutter and ensures important emails don’t get lost.
How to Set Filters:
- In Gmail: Use the search bar to create rules (e.g., “from:[sender]”) and apply filters like “Skip Inbox” or “Label as [folder name].”
- In Outlook: Use “Rules” under settings to automatically move emails into specific folders.
2. Embrace Inbox Zero
The Inbox Zero method encourages you to treat your inbox as a workspace rather than a storage space. The goal is to keep your inbox empty or close to it by dealing with emails promptly and archiving or deleting those that are no longer needed.
Steps to Implement Inbox Zero:
- Process emails daily.
- Archive or delete messages once addressed.
- Use your inbox only for actionable items.
By adopting this mindset, you’ll feel less burdened by the volume of emails and more in control of your communications.
3. Unsubscribe from Unnecessary Emails
Promotional emails and newsletters can quickly clutter your inbox. Take a few minutes to unsubscribe from those you no longer read or find valuable. Tools like Unroll.me or Clean Email make it easy to bulk unsubscribe and clean up your inbox.
Quick Tip: Before unsubscribing, consider whether the email provides value or aligns with your current interests. For newsletters you want to keep, create a “Read Later” folder to prevent them from clogging your primary inbox.
4. Set Dedicated Email Times
Constantly checking your email can be counterproductive and anxiety-inducing. Instead, designate specific times to check and respond to emails—for example, once in the morning, midday, and late afternoon. During these periods, focus solely on your inbox, and avoid multitasking.
Benefits of Email Scheduling:
- Reduces the compulsion to check emails constantly.
- Helps you stay focused on other tasks throughout the day.
5. Use Email Templates
For emails that require repetitive responses, creating templates can save time and reduce decision fatigue. Whether it’s a client inquiry or a meeting follow-up, having a pre-written template allows you to respond quickly and consistently.
How to Set Up Templates:
- Gmail: Enable “Templates” in settings and save frequently used responses.
- Outlook: Use “Quick Parts” to insert standardised text.
6. Follow the Two-Minute Rule
The two-minute rule is simple: if a task (in this case, responding to an email) can be completed in under two minutes, do it immediately. This approach prevents small tasks from piling up and overwhelming you later.
How It Helps:
- Keeps your inbox organised.
- Reduces procrastination and anxiety over unfinished tasks.
7. Utilise Email Management Tools
Several tools are designed to help manage inbox clutter and prioritise important messages. For example:
- Sanebox: Filters unimportant emails into a separate folder.
- Spark: Groups emails by category and highlights urgent ones.
- Superhuman: Offers AI-powered tools to streamline email management.
These tools are particularly useful for busy professionals who deal with a high volume of emails daily.
8. Encourage Clear Communication
Teach your team or colleagues to use clear subject lines and summarise their emails effectively. For example:
- Use descriptive subject lines (e.g., “Action Required: Budget Approval by Friday”).
- Include bullet points for clarity.
Clear communication reduces the time spent deciphering emails and ensures faster responses.
9. Regularly Archive Emails
Archiving emails is a great way to declutter your inbox without permanently deleting important messages. Set aside time each week to move older, inactive emails into an archive folder for safekeeping.
Pro Tip: Use the search function to quickly find archived emails when needed.
10. Delegate or Automate
For those who receive hundreds of emails daily, delegation and automation can be lifesavers. Consider hiring a virtual assistant to manage routine emails or set up automated replies for common queries.
Examples of Automation:
- Use auto-responders to acknowledge receipt of emails.
- Create rules for specific types of emails (e.g., invoices go directly to the finance folder).
11. Categorise with Colour Codes or Tags
Visual organisation can help you identify priority emails at a glance. Assign colours or tags to different categories, such as:
- Red for urgent emails.
- Green for financial correspondence.
- Blue for informational or FYI emails.
Many email platforms allow you to customise these visual markers for better inbox management.
12. Shift Your Mindset
Sometimes, the anxiety around email stems from a perceived obligation to respond immediately. Remind yourself that it’s okay to take your time to respond thoughtfully. You’re not obligated to be available 24/7.
Mindfulness Practice: Before opening your inbox, take a deep breath and centre yourself. Approach your emails with intention, not urgency.
13. Set Up Auto-Responders
Auto-responders can be especially helpful during busy periods. For example:
Example Message: “Thank you for your email. I’ll get back to you within 24 hours. If your message is urgent, please call me directly at [phone number].”
This sets expectations for response times and reduces anxiety for both you and the sender.
14. Teach Decision-Making Skills
When addressing emails, follow the 4 Ds of email management:
- Delete: Remove emails you don’t need.
- Delegate: Forward emails that someone else can handle.
- Do: Address emails that require quick action.
- Defer: Save emails requiring more time for later.
This approach streamlines your inbox management process and reduces decision fatigue.
15. Provide Emotional Support
Email anxiety often stems from fear of missing something important or making a mistake. Support yourself or your clients by normalising the idea that it’s okay not to respond immediately. Not every email requires an urgent reply.
Practical Tips:
- Remind yourself that your worth isn’t tied to your email productivity.
- Focus on progress, not perfection.
By implementing these strategies, you can transform your inbox into a manageable and stress-free workspace. Start with one or two changes and gradually adopt more as you grow comfortable. Remember, the goal is not to spend all day managing emails but to create a system that works for you—and lets you focus on what truly matters.
by Anne Clark | Nov 22, 2024 | Business, Online Business Manager
An online business manager serves what purpose?
Many business owners find themselves juggling strategy, operations, marketing, and team management. Although business owners are quite good at what they do, the daily running of their company can sometimes become taxing. Here an online business manager (OBM) comes in handy.
An online business manager is a professional with an eye towards the operational management of an online company. Their main responsibility is to supervise the behind-the-scenes operations, keeping a company operational, freeing business owners to concentrate on expansion and their areas of competence.
Important Roles of an Online Business Manager
Project Control
OBMs guarantee timely and within budget delivery of projects. To keep everything on schedule, they draft thorough project plans, assign work to the staff, and track development. Launching a new product, organising a webinar, or running a marketing campaign—OBMs are the glue keeping the project together.
Teamwork Management
Running a remote team can be difficult. Hiring, integrating, and supervising virtual team members falls to OBMs. They guarantee that everyone understands their roles, deadlines, and expectations, so promoting a harmonic and effective workplace.
Development and Optimisation of Systems
An OBM’s job depends critically on system setup and streamlining. From streamlining processes to combining tools, including email marketing systems, CRM systems, and project management tools, OBMs help companies become more effective.
Oversight of Operations
Daily operations of the company are supervised by OBMs, who make sure everything runs like a well-maintaining machine. This covers process management, operational bottleneck clearing, and best practice applications to raise general output.
Figures and Documentation
Making decisions in a company requires a knowledge of its numbers. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are tracked by OBMs against corporate goals, who also offer actionable insights to enable owners to make wise decisions.
Strategic Back-Up
Acting as a second-in-command, OBMs assist companies in developing and reaching strategic objectives. They enable long-term planning, task prioritising, and matching team efforts with the corporate vision.
Why would one want an online business manager?
Freedom of Time
Business owners can reclaim their time to concentrate on big-picture goals, creativity, and personal development by assigning operational duties to an OBM.
Knowledge
OBMs offer a lot of knowledge in running online companies. Their degree of knowledge improves efficiency and development since they grasp digital tools, team dynamics, and strategies to simplify processes.
Scalabilities
An OBM can enable proper scale if your company is expanding. From handling more responsibility to creating the required infrastructure, they make sure that expansion doesn’t compromise quality or customer satisfaction.
Lowered Burnout
The continual pressures of their job sometimes overwhelm business owners. By assuming responsibility for daily operations, OBMs help entrepreneurs to work smarter rather than harder and reduce their stress.
Who Needs a Manager of Online Business?
An OBM is perfect for
- People running several revenue sources in business.
- Entrepreneurs ready for expansion but lacking the operational support.
- Leaders running projects and teams needing a reliable right-hand person.
- Visionaries and creatives who flourish when free to concentrate on their zone of genius.
In essence,
Helping companies run effectively and develop sustainably depends mostly on an online business manager. They are the operational backbone, enabling company owners to confidently and clearly enter their leadership role. Hiring an OBM could be the secret to releasing the next level of your success if the demands of your online business are stranding you.
by Anne Clark | Jul 6, 2024 | Digital Marketing, Online Business Manager, Social Media
Understanding content creation is crucial for businesses aiming to build their brand and engage with their audience. However, the demands of running a business often leave little time for consistently producing engaging material. This article is designed to help you optimise your content creation process across multiple platforms effectively. It delves into strategies, tools, and workflows to streamline your approach.
Strategies for Effective Content Creation
Producing content efficiently requires a systematic approach. Here’s how to do it effectively:
- Batch Content Creation: Allocate dedicated time slots to create multiple pieces of content simultaneously. This focused approach enhances productivity and efficiency.
- Outline for Clarity: Use outlines to organise your thoughts and ensure clear and coherent presentations or writing that are easy to follow.
- Utilise Templates: Employ pre-designed templates for blog posts, social media updates, and videos to maintain consistency, save time, and enhance visual appeal.
- Break it Down: Simplify complex topics into digestible chunks to cater to a broader audience with varying attention spans.
- User-Generated Content: Encourage audience participation and repurpose user-generated content to foster community engagement and reduce the burden of content creation.
Tools & Apps for Streamlining Workflows
Discover essential tools and platforms to simplify your content creation process:
- Canva: Easily create stunning graphics and visual content using Canva’s intuitive design templates and editing tools.
- Buffer: Manage and schedule social media posts across multiple platforms from a single dashboard, streamlining your content distribution strategy.
- Grammarly: Enhance the quality of your written content with real-time grammar and spell-check tools, ensuring accuracy and professionalism.
- Headliner: Transform audio clips into engaging video content with added images and animations, perfect for social media sharing.
- Trello: Organise content ideas, schedules, and collaborations using Trello’s visual project management features to maintain a structured and efficient workflow.
Repurposing Content Across Platforms
Learn effective strategies to extend the reach and lifespan of your content:
- Slide Decks: Convert podcast episodes or blog posts into visually compelling slide presentations for platforms like LinkedIn or SlideShare.
- Snippet Extraction: Extract key quotes, facts, or insights from longer content pieces to create engaging social media posts, email newsletters, or blog excerpts.
- Video to Written Content: Transcribe video content into textual blog posts or articles to enhance SEO and appeal to diverse audience preferences.
- Podcast Highlights: Create short audio snippets paired with striking visuals for impactful social media posts.
- Content Refresh: Regularly update and refresh older content with fresh information, trends, or insights to maintain relevance and attract new readers.
Crafting Your Content Strategy
Wrap up with practical tips on integrating these strategies into a cohesive content strategy aligned with your business goals. Emphasise the importance of audience engagement, consistency, and high-quality content to drive growth and enhance brand visibility.
For time-strapped business owners implementing these strategies and leveraging recommended tools, optimising content creation processes, saving time, and increasing impact across digital channels becomes achievable. This comprehensive ebook equips entrepreneurs with the tools and strategies necessary to maximise their business potential in today’s competitive digital marketplace.
by Anne Clark | Jul 6, 2024 | Mailchimp
Effective audience management is crucial for the success of your email marketing campaigns. With Mailchimp, you have robust tools at your disposal to import and manage contacts, segment audiences for targeted campaigns, and create and manage groups and tags. This blog will guide you through these essential aspects of Mailchimp’s audience management capabilities, helping you optimise your email marketing efforts.
Importing and Managing Contacts
The first step in audience management is importing your contacts into Mailchimp. Here’s how to do it:
- Importing Contacts:
- From a File: Mailchimp supports CSV, TXT, and Excel files. Ensure your file is formatted correctly with columns for email addresses and any other relevant information (e.g., first name, last name).
- From Other Services: Mailchimp integrates with numerous platforms, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Salesforce. Use these integrations to import contacts directly from your e-commerce or CRM platforms.
- Adding Contacts Manually:
- Navigate to the Audience tab and click on “Add a Subscriber.” Fill in the required fields, such as email address, name, and any other custom fields you’ve set up.
- Managing Contacts:
- Edit Contact Information: Update contact details as needed by clicking on the contact’s name in your audience list.
- Remove Contacts: Clean your list by removing inactive or unengaged contacts. This helps maintain a healthy email list and improves deliverability rates.
Segmenting Audiences for Targeted Campaigns
Segmenting your audience allows you to create more personalised and relevant email campaigns. Mailchimp’s segmentation tools enable you to divide your audience based on various criteria:
- Basic Segmentation:
- Demographics: Segment contacts by age, gender, or location.
- Engagement: Target contacts based on their interaction with your previous emails, such as opens and clicks.
- Advanced Segmentation:
- Purchase Behaviour: Segment contacts based on their purchasing history, such as frequent buyers or customers who haven’t purchased in a while.
- Custom Fields: Use custom fields (e.g., interests, preferences) to create highly specific segments.
- Creating Segments:
- Navigate to the Audience tab and select “Segments.” Click on “Create Segment” and choose the criteria for your segment. Mailchimp allows you to combine multiple conditions using “and/or” logic to refine your segments further.
Creating and Managing Groups and Tags
Groups and tags are powerful tools in Mailchimp for organising your contacts and creating more targeted campaigns.
- Groups:
- Purpose: Groups are useful for organising contacts based on their preferences or behaviours. For example, you might create groups for different product categories, subscription levels, or event attendees.
- Creating Groups: In the Audience tab, click on “Manage Audience” and select “Groups.” Click “Create Groups,” name your group, and add the relevant options.
- Managing Groups: Assign contacts to groups manually or through import. You can also allow subscribers to choose their own groups via sign-up forms.
- Tags:
- Purpose: Tags are labels you assign to contacts to help identify and categorise them. Tags are more flexible than groups and can be used for more granular organisation.
- Creating Tags: Click on a contact’s name in your audience list and use the “Add Tag” option to create a new tag or assign an existing one.
- Managing Tags: Use tags to filter contacts and create targeted campaigns. You can also apply tags during the import process by including a column for tags in your file.
Best Practices for Audience Management
- Regularly Clean Your List:
- Remove inactive contacts to improve your open and click rates. This also helps avoid spam complaints and maintains a healthy sender reputation.
- Use Double Opt-In:
- Implement double opt-in for new subscribers to ensure they genuinely want to receive your emails. This reduces the risk of spam complaints and improves engagement rates.
- Personalise Your Campaigns:
- Use merge tags to personalise emails with the recipient’s name, purchase history, or other relevant information. Personalised emails often see higher engagement rates.
- Monitor Engagement:
- Regularly review your email campaign reports to understand how your audience interacts with your emails. Use this data to refine your segmentation and targeting strategies.
Effective audience management in Mailchimp is the cornerstone of successful email marketing. By importing and managing your contacts efficiently, segmenting your audience for targeted campaigns, and creating and managing groups and tags, you can ensure your emails reach the right people with the right message at the right time. Implement these strategies to optimise your email marketing efforts and drive better results for your business. Happy emailing!
If you need help or would prefer someone did this for you, then please reach out to me here.
by Anne Clark | May 24, 2024 | Business, Business Services, Online Business Manager
Running a business can feel like trying to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle—exciting but stressful! Enter the Online Business Manager (OBM): your business’s secret weapon for turning chaos into calm and getting things done with precision and flair. But what exactly does an OBM do? Let’s break down their duties in a way that’s both professional and fun, just like the OBMs themselves!
1. Project Manager Extraordinaire
Every great idea needs a solid plan, and OBMs are masters of making plans happen.
From product launches to marketing campaigns, they map out the who, what, where, and when to keep projects moving.
Their Mission:
- Create detailed project plans.
- Assign tasks to the right team members.
- Ensure deadlines are met without anyone losing their cool.
Fun Fact: OBMs are like air traffic controllers for your business—coordinating everything so no project crashes!
2. Team Captain
Managing a team, especially a remote one, can feel like herding cats. OBMs excel at bringing people together to work like a well-oiled machine.
Their Mission:
- Hire the right talent and onboard them seamlessly.
- Ensure every team member knows their role.
- Resolve conflicts and keep morale high.
Fun Fact: OBMs have a knack for understanding team dynamics. They know who’s the brainstormer, the implementer, and the coffee enthusiast.
3. Systems Whisperer
Let’s talk systems—those behind-the-scenes heroes that keep a business running. OBMs build and optimise systems to streamline operations and save you time.
Their Mission:
- Automate repetitive tasks.
- Set up tools like CRM systems, email marketing platforms, and project management software.
- Simplify workflows so everything clicks like clockwork.
Fun Fact: OBMs are the Marie Kondos of business systems—they tidy up the mess and spark serious joy!
4. Operations Overlord
Day-to-day operations can get messy, but not on an OBM’s watch. They oversee everything to ensure the business runs smoothly and efficiently.
Their Mission:
- Monitor daily activities.
- Identify and fix operational bottlenecks.
- Keep an eye on quality control and ensure customer satisfaction.
Fun Fact: If something isn’t working, an OBM won’t just slap a band-aid on it—they’ll re-engineer the process to make it bulletproof.
5. Keeper of the Metrics
Numbers tell the story of your business, and OBMs are like your personal data detectives.
Their Mission:
- Track key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Analyse trends and provide actionable insights.
- Help you make data-driven decisions that actually work.
Fun Fact: OBMs don’t just see numbers—they see opportunities. It’s like turning a Sudoku puzzle into a success plan.
6. Strategic Wingperson
Big dreams need big strategies, and OBMs are the ultimate co-pilots for planning your business’s future.
Their Mission:
- Align daily operations with your big-picture goals.
- Help prioritise what matters most.
- Offer advice on scaling, launching, and optimising your business.
Fun Fact: Think of your OBM as the Robin to your Batman—except they also handle the Batcave’s operations!
Why You Need an OBM in Your Corner
An OBM isn’t just a task manager—they’re a partner in your business’s success. They free you up to focus on your genius zone, whether that’s creating, selling, or dreaming up your next big idea. Plus, they do it all with a blend of professionalism, efficiency, and just enough fun to keep the business vibes positive.
So, what’s next?
If your business feels like it’s spinning out of control or you’re ready to scale but don’t know where to start, an OBM could be your game-changer. They’re the ones who bring structure to chaos, strategy to operations, and smiles to your team.
Ready to pass the torch (safely) to an OBM? It might just be the best decision you make for your business!
