As a business owner and entrepreneur, I frequently preach the benefits of taking time off. I truly believe that taking not only a week off every quarter, but also an extended period of time where you’re working less can help you maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Over the past three years, I’ve prioritized taking the summer off of creating new content and have implemented four key habits that have helped me ground myself and prepare for the busy season of fall and winter. I’m able to due this because I focus on sharing my content on evergreen, search engine platforms which means my content is still working even when I’m not!

If you’re considering taking some time off this summer or restructuring your schedule to allow more time for other things, this post will give you some summer habits I swear by.

Inside today’s episode of the Authentic Brand Builders podcast, we’ll dive into:

Why analysis is so important as a business owner, and my top platforms and tools I use to take a deeper dive.
What I do with my time when I’m not over here creating new content, and how these habits help me sustain revenue and prepare for the busy season.
The type of content I prioritze throughout the year to make this break possible and take some time to work less, and truly ground myself.

**I’ve included the main points below, but I encourage you to dive into the full episode via audio or video!

For the full content, and all the insider tips, listen to Episode 119 now.

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY | LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN ON YOUTUBE

Summer Habit #1: Analyzing Your Business Performance

One of the key habits I have created during my summer breaks is the practice of a deeper analysis of my business data and metrics.

Since I’m not creating new content, I have the capacity to dive deeper into tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and email marketing analytics. While I typically glance at these every 30 days, the summer offers an opportunity to truly analyze and see what the data is telling me on a bigger scale and for a longer period of time.

With this information, I’m better able to identify trends, spot opportunities for improvement, and make informed strategic decisions based on the data.

My favorite data points to explore are:

Google Search Console - Gives me amazing data on the keywords I’m ranking for, and how people are finding my site and content.
Google Analytics - Google Analytics (GA4) is not my favorite place to hang out, I much prefer to view my analytics through Squarespace for a simplified view. However, I will use this time to see which pages are getting the most traffic, and where it’s coming from to get a deeper understanding of my website traffic.
YouTube Analytics - One of the reasons I love YouTube is because the content just keeps performing for years. Because of this I love to look at my data to see if an older video is showing up in search, what keywords might be driving that, and use this information to optimize past content or plan for newer content.
Pinterest Analytics - Similar to YouTube, I love to see how my evergreen content is doing. I’m pretty deep in my Pinterest analytics throughout the year because I follow trends to get my content seen, but I use this time to deeper understand my boards, keywords, and pin design to make necessary changes.
Email Marketing (Convertkit) Analytics - This not only includes the types of emails and scheduled times my emails get the most engagement but also includes analyzing various steps of my email funnels as well.

Summer Habit #2: Updating and Organizing Content

During my summer content hiatus, I focus on updating and organizing my existing content to better optimize it and increase its relevancy. This habit is highly reliant on what I discovered in my previous analysis.

If I notice a Pinterest pin is trending upward and traffic has increased, I’ll go in an update the blog content.

If a blog post is gaining visibility on Google, I’ll go in and update the content to make it more

By revisiting older blog posts, videos, and podcasts, I can optimize them for SEO, update information, and enhance their value to my audience. This practice not only improves the quality of my content but also helps in elevating my content for search engines.

Summer Habit #3: Creating Limited-Time Offers and Special Series

Introducing limited-time offers and special series can add excitement and engagement to your business during the summer break. I love testing out new things that I might have been considering during this time.

By launching exclusive promotions or unique content series, you can create a sense of urgency and value for your audience. Last summer I launched the “Summer Shop” which included some of my top courses, typically only available in Brandmerry Academy, for individual purchase. It was a great opportunity for my audience and brought in additional revenue.

I also experimented with "Summer Sunday Letters" in 2022, which were focused on sharing more personal stories and anecdotes with my audience as I navigated my summer. I loved this so much because it reconnected me to my roots in storytelling, but also provided a more personal way for my audience to get to know me. I’ve continued this every year sense.

Summer Habit #4: Prioritizing My Well-Being and Self-Care

Perhaps the most important aspect of my summer break routine, and the purpose of it all, is the primary focus on self-care and well-being.

As entrepreneurs, we often overlook our own needs in the pursuit of business success, and that’s never been an option for me. However, taking this time to open my schedule, work less, and prioritize self-care, whether it's spending time outdoors, pursuing hobbies, or simply resting and rejuvenating, is essential for my long-term sustainability and creativity.

By honoring my physical, emotional, and mental well-being, I am able to return to work recharged and inspired, ready to tackle new challenges and opportunities.

Want to dive into some additional resources I have on taking scheduled breaks?

Here’s some content just for you:

CONCLUSION

I hope this post encourages you to priortize yourself this summer and make adjustments to your schedule, content, workflow, client load, etc… for a little self-care and well-being focus.

If you’re not quite in a place where you can step away from content creation, and are building your content and marketing efforts on social media, then this summer might be an excellent time to build more evergreen content.

Taking this break truly is possible because my content performs for me even when I’m not posting something new. To learn more about this strategy sign up for my free marketing class at brandmerry.com/marketing.

Tune in now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Podcasts to hear the full episode and all the tips.

P.S. Ready to build a revenue-generating brand? One that not only stands out online but also makes it easier than ever to create high-value content? Tune in to my free brand class and learn my Build a Better Brand Method. Watch now at brandmerry.com/class.

FREE GIFTS FOR YOU

--

FREE GIFTS FOR YOU --