North Valley Marketing

Howdy Friends,

When I started to think about writing this newsletter after a busy couple of weeks, I realized pretty quickly that I was struggling to get my thoughts together. Recently, we attended my sister-in-law’s wedding in Missouri. Between getting ready for the trip, being gone, and then dealing with a vehicle issue that added a day to our absence, a lot of normal routines got pushed to the side. I’d still had a lot of good seed ideas during that time, but I hadn’t really taken the time to sort through and solidify them. 

Working through this made me think about how a lot of us spend our days, in output mode. We answer messages, move projects forward, solve problems, and check things off the list. 

Our days feel full and productive, but if all we do is produce, react, and move on, the quality of our work will start to decline.

Good output comes from intentional input.

That applies to a lot more than writing this newsletter. I see it in marketing all the time. When I take the time to gather better input from clients, look at what’s actually working, and think through my task before I start building, the marketing is stronger. It feels more personalized, believable, and grounded in experience instead of something generic that could apply to anybody.

Input doesn’t just mean reading more or collecting random ideas. You need to take time to think, ask better questions, gather important information, and clarify your ideas before you turn them into output. This prevents your work from turning into a complete mess.

Things go south when we stay in output-only mode too long. You start producing things that are hollow. Posts go out because it’s time to post. Decisions get made because something needs to be done. You move fast, but not always in the direction you want to. It happens in marketing, hiring, and just about every other part of running a business.

In today’s world of near frictionless communication and production, giving yourself room to think and plan is your most important job.

That’s one thing I think small business owners forget. Employees can often stay in output mode because someone else has already done the planning, given them instructions, and defined what needs to happen. Owners don’t really have that luxury. Part of the job is creating clarity for everyone else. If we skip that part, we usually end up paying for it later in wasted effort, weaker output, and more frustration.

That doesn’t mean you need to disappear into a cave to think for a week. Just give yourself enough time everyday to process what you’re seeing, ask the right questions, and make intentional decisions instead of reacting your way through the day.

Are you giving yourself enough of the right input to produce quality output, or are you just producing to keep up?

Later, Chad Beachy

P.S. I’ve been working on adding a junior marketing assistant or admin support role to North Valley Marketing. I’m still defining exactly what it will look like, but if someone comes to mind, feel free to send them my way.