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I’m escaping the Online Marketing Hamsterwheel for a week – to do some necessary changes to Marketing in Minutes and to prepare new content. This is the last episode of Marketing in Minutes until it will return on October 29.

So I thought it would be fitting to end this season of Marketing in Minutes with an episode on why, when, and how to take a break from your online marketing activities.

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This episode of Marketing in Minutes was recorded with the following equipment:

Alesis Multimix 4 – Behringer Ultravoice XM8500 – Samson SR850

In this episode of Marketing in Minutes I will tell you why I believe that every entrepreneurial activity sometimes needs a break. And no, it’s not because I think you need to rest… (you have to decide that for yourself)

You need breaks because otherwise, you won’t improve.

In this episode, you will learn why.

More Information

I mention episode #5 of Marketing in Minutes in this episode, you can find it here: Marketing in Minutes – How does SEO work, exactly? – Podcast Episode

The Social Traffic Code – a social media traffic strategy that you can implement step-by-step.

Episode Transcript

Full episode transcript below.

This is Episode number 26 of Marketing in Minutes – and the topic is: When to take a break!

And I’ve chosen the topic for a reason – Marketing in Minutes is taking a break. But only for a week. Today, I’m going to explain why I do this, and more importantly, how you know when it is time to take a break.

I’m Jonathan Gebauer and this is Marketing in Minutes.

Welcome back to Marketing in Minutes by The Social Ms – the podcast that gives you everything you need to know about one Marketing topic per episode. I’m Jonathan Gebauer and today, let’s talk about when, why, and how to take a break from your online marketing activities.

***

So, Marketing in Minutes is taking a break from publishing for a week. And there are two reasons for that – and I’m going to give both of them to you in a second.

But before I do that, let me assure you of one thing: Marketing in Minutes is not going away. I have a lot of fun doing the show, I’m happy with the results so far, and I have a lot of ideas for the future!

So no, the show isn’t going anywhere.

So why am I taking a break?

***

When I started Marketing in Minutes, it was an experiment. I needed to see whether the concept would really work out, if I could continuously produce content that had the quality I was going for, and whether the combination of storytelling and marketing knowledge would really fit into 10-minute episodes.

I succeeded… for the most part.

What I had to work out first was how to script an entertaining but still valuable episode. And I succeeded on that. There are some episodes I’m really proud of. For instance the episode on SEO and how it works.

Seriously – that episode is really great, it’s episode number 5 and if you have ever wondered why we do SEO the way we do it, there’s your answer.

I also kept to my schedule.

But there is the first problem – when I started, I made a content plan that would keep me on schedule. According to my plan, I would be one week ahead which would give me enough time to script, record, edit and publish episodes on time without fearing to have to rush anything.

Well, I’m not one week ahead any more.

And the last couple of episodes suffered from that. They felt rushed. And I don’t want that – as far as I know, Marketing in Minutes is the only podcast of it’s kind, and I want to give it the time and effort it deserves.

So, you can see why I need a break, right? I need to be a week ahead again – to get better content to you.

A second reason for the break is that I want to make some changes to how I produce the show. I want to make it better – and I need a bit of calm time to work it all out. This includes the way I produce the show, but also how I want to connect with my listeners.

So that’s why I’m taking the break!

***

But that’s a very specific situation. I want to give some value in this episode – general value. I want to give you the specific reason when I believe every entrepreneur should take a break.

Because we all need it from time to time – not just because we need the rest. I’m not going to stop working over the next week. But because if we don’t take that break, things aren’t going to improve.

And here is why.

***

The best friend and the worst enemy for an online entrepreneur is what I call the Entrepreneurship Hamsterwheel.

It’s the state we all know, in which we do repetitive tasks over and over again day by day. Our job is mostly made up of these tasks. As online entrepreneurs, we need to be in a state that allows us to perform these tasks over and over again. We do our daily social media and SEO tasks. We check our advertising campaigns. We write blog posts, record podcasts or create videos.

Over and over again. To be able to do that, we are in a constant Hamsterwheel state – and we wouldn’t be able to do that with being in that state.

But being in that state doesn’t allow for change. At least not big changes. Sure, you can change your advertising campaigns, change your process for writing a post slightly, or other small changes like that.

But what happens when you prepare to launch a product, and you need to finish your daily tasks at the same time so you can’t find the time to prepare the launch?

Yeah, I know, it’s going to fit in somehow… But your work is going to suffer from that. The problem with the Hamsterwheel state is that you always feel that you are going to fit everything in. And you will probably succeed. But you will not give it the best work you can – you will finish with something that is good enough, but nothing you will be proud of.

I probably would’ve been able to get back on schedule with Marketing in Minutes. I would be able to record three episodes in a couple of days easily – but I wouldn’t be proud of what I created.

And even if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to implement the bigger changes to the concept that I want to implement.

So right now, it’s time to take a break.

***

So now you know when it is time to take a break. But wait – I don’t think you really understand what I mean by taking a break. Don’t book your holiday tickets just yet, a break isn’t there to stop working altogether.

As you probably noticed, I’m taking a break from publishing, and not from creating.

A blog is a media company, a podcast is a media product. You have to start acting like a media creator. And that means that breaks aren’t just there to relax – they are there to prepare changes in your business and to prepare new media.

You are taking a break for the same reason why TV shows are produced in seasons.

Also – I didn’t say take a break from everything. Identify the part of your business that needs the biggest overhaul and take your break from that, to give yourself time for that overhaul.

And never take a break without having a schedule for your break. If you do that the chances are that you will never start again.

***

So that was it for today, the last episode of Marketing in Minutes before the first one week break.

In a way, this is the end of the first season of my podcast.

I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I do – if you do, do me a quick favor: Leave a review on the shows itunes page or Apple podcasts. It really helps to grow an audience – and it’s a lot easier to make a better show if you get more feedback!

In any case – the Marketing in Minutes podcast will return on Monday October 29 – and I will make sure to be ready and give you an episode I hope you will love!

For more information on today’s topics check out the show notes at blog.thesocialms.com/mim-26. And also check out our book, The Social Traffic Code!

I’m Jonathan Gebauer and you’ve been listening to Marketing in Minutes.

That’s it for today – take care, bye!

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