So I got to thinking today that being a single mom has really helped me get serious about my business. Nothing teaches you quite how to juggle than being a single mama. So I’m feeling a little silly today and thought I’d share with you my 5 ways to market like a single mom. Hope it brings a smile to your face.

1. Be Frugal where it counts. What will it cost? In marketing and branding sometimes it’s OK to be cheap.  I’ve seen it many times–someone is launching a new product and they NEED to get the word out YESTERDAY! So they spend 1/2 their marketing budget on a “no fail” seo package or a really slick postcard campaign. The only problem is…they didn’t do their research to see if their ideal market would even be interested. Doh! They jumped before thinking! Weigh all of your options before spending the majority of your marketing dollars in one place.  The best/cheapest marketing is word of mouth and branding your business can really help with that!  Plus give yourself a budget–and stick to it.  If it’s too expensive right now it wasn’t meant to be.

2. Organize or be eaten alive. Between work, laundry, sports, school and grocery shopping, every mom knows that you better get your schedule in order or your life will eat you up and spit you out into a pile of unbrushed hair, toothpaste and pantyhose.  So take a little advice from me:

So buy or make a calendar that is solely for the purpose of your branding & marketing strategy, write in any major events to come in the next 6 months, then write in any vacations, or personal events that may spring up and distract you. PLAN out 6 months of marketing and branding tasks (but be realistic in your expectations). Next set a deadline every week to do something meaningful for your brand and start ticking things off your list. It’s passe’ to spank yourself nowadays so if you do not meet these deadlines so just take away your favorite treat for a week. But don’t forget to reward yourself should you complete your tasks on time.

Next, Use Microsoft’s Sticky Notes and Notepad. If you have Windows 7  take advantage of the Sticky Notes and Notepad applications. Use Sticky Notes for ideas that pop-up mid-stream during your day. Then during the last 10 minutes of your day copy and paste that text into a Notepad document and save it in your “branding or marketing” folder on your computer. This can also be done easily with OneNote or Evernote.

3. Put on a little makeup, honey. Every single mom knows that just because you’re a mom doesn’t mean you need to look like one. (Heck, you wanna be single forever?) So, while looks aren’t everything don’t forget to put your best foot forward. Spend a little on graphics–freshen up your website, dob a bit of “concealer” on the dark circles of your under-slept emails and slap some “lip-gloss” on your blog.   Show the world you care enough about your business that you want to make her look her best.

4. Take a moment to breathe every day. Set aside a specific time every day to focus only on branding & marketing, even if you can only squeeze in 30 minutes.  That way if ideas pop up during your day, you can simply jot them down and relegate them to that time of day when you have time to really process it. You will start looking forward to this special time of day like you would a relaxing candle-lit bath, well almost.

5. Build a support system. I will tell you first hand, as a single mom you do enough on your own if you’re going to survive you’ll need some help.  The same is true in running a business. Things are a LOT easier with a support system, so get out there and make some friends.  Find people who are like-minded and have a passion for success.  They will be a shoulder to cry on and your biggest supporters when times are rough.  They’ll even vouch for you and tell the world how wonderful you are, because, after all they know you really are THAT awesome. So start using Facebook, Twitter and other great networking opportunities to offer a hand to others and get some support when you need it too.

Ok that was fun. Let me know what you think–any other tips out there?