The freedom of being a “one-person marketing team” is incredible. You have all the flexibility that you need to help your business find success. But what’s the downside?
You’re the only one in the driver’s seat—and it can be thrilling, exhausting, and utterly terrifying. The good news is that it doesn’t need to be (overly) challenging.
Let’s delve into how to take your many-hat-wearing game to the next level, including the good, the bad, and everything else about one-person marketing teams.
What’s so difficult about being a one-person marketing team?
Identifying the problem is the first step in solving and optimizing. A one-person marketing team poses unique challenges and incredible pressure to you as the sole member.
It can be tough to organize tasks into bite-sized chunks and processes when you face tons of tasks daily. The good news is you can avoid burnout and exhaustion by prioritizing decompression, mental health, and sanity breaks.
Any hacks for one-person marketing teams?
To streamline your process, you can start trying several things today. Below are three simple steps to follow.
1. Get organized
We mean it. Organization doesn’t look like millions of sticky notes that are easily lost. Instead, finding a project management tool that works for you is essential to navigating the continually changing and fast-paced environment of marketing and execution.
There are entire libraries of virtual project management tools if you’re looking for options that are easy to integrate, offer you to-the-second updates, and archive tasks steps.
If you want to go more analog or for your personal records, you can always work via Google Docs or Sheets to keep yourself on track.
Speaking of staying on track…
2. Use KPIs and other accountability tools
It is so easy to get lost in the weeds as a one-person team. It’s even easier to get burned out and into a “frozen” state, where overwhelm and stress can abound.
Finding an accountability teammate from a different department or using KPIs and other goalposts can keep you moving forward, and help keep you motivated and accountable for those key deliverables. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have an editorial calendar so that you can clearly and effectively communicate your marketing plans with other orgs at your company.
3. Seek feedback
Feedback is crucial to your growth as a manager and your success as a company. Looking for opportunities for feedback from peers and supervisors can help you reach new levels of success and dial in new ideas and initiatives that can grow your business’ opportunities to earn.
Everyone brings a unique perspective to the table, which can be especially helpful to break through any barriers or creativity blocks in your way on specific projects.
Essential project management tools for one-person teams
If you’re wearing all the hats, you might like a project management tool that moves just as fast as you do.
The ideal project management tool will allow you to track tasks visibly, either with an archive of previous steps taken or with visual aids. It should also have features to keep you motivated and accountable, such as separate goal trackers or engaging features to encourage and celebrate your wins.
Ideally, you’ll be able to collaborate with this tool and work with your teammates to accomplish organization-wide goals.
Sound too good to be true? It isn’t. We’ll save you a few clicks—here are a few top options below.
- Trello: This tool is great for visually driven people who want to visibly see their progress.
- Asana: This is best for larger teams and has engaging processes to keep you on track and actively collaborating.
- Fabulous: This is a great tool to start new habits and build your daily routine/process with.
- Monday.com: This is the best part of Trello and Asana both, offering a visually engaging, collaborative, and FREE tool for our one-person pros.
Project management frameworks for one-person teams
Your project management framework can work seamlessly with your project management tool, saving even more time (and your sanity.)
RACI
RACI is very clear about everyone’s roles, which makes it ideal for startups or teams who experience a lot of overlap. You’ll walk away with a clear hierarchy and understanding of roles and responsibilities.
Agile
Agile is best for breaking big tasks into smaller ones and encourages flexibility. If your work landscape is continually changing and you’re dealing with shifting goalposts, this is the best strategy for you.
Turning your general role into a strength in marketing
Wearing all the hats isn’t all bad for you. In fact, you can turn the experience into a suite of strengths for future use. Here are a few tips:
- Stay savvy: You’re in a unique position that allows you to stay on top of all the latest marketing trends. You can pivot this role into anything you want later on. Take advantage of it.
- Niche down (a little): Some specialization isn’t bad. If you have free time, pour it into mastering one skill at a time based on need and interest.
- Communicate your needs: Practice confidence and communicate your needs to your team. You’re all working toward the same goal in the end, and you’ll perform better when you get the support you need.
Do you have any tips for collaboration and teamwork?
Here are some top tips when working with teams in project management tools and frameworks:
- Get clear: Clarify everything and answer questions as they arise. Communicating effectively and meeting needs this way will help you break down roadblocks later.
- Stay on top of it: Regularly check in with your team to make sure everything is on the right track. Fifteen minutes is all you need.
- Be flexible: Life happens and goals can change. Remaining flexible can boost morale and engagement while decreasing stress.
You can thrive as a one-person marketing team
Despite its difficulties, you can thrive as a one-person marketing team. By getting deliberate about the strategies and frameworks in place to support you and communicating your needs to other members of the organization, you can protect your motivation, sanity, and engagement at work.
We know that with these tips, you have the information you’ll need to find your next level of success. If you need more help, look no further than Verblio. To learn more about how we can help you grow your business, click here.
