A Digital Detox for the Online Business Owner?
May 21, 2019 by Christina Kenaston
I was at a monthly meeting of local moms the other day and one of them started talking about her plan to ditch social media and be more present in her daily life. Several other moms chimed in, saying it was a great idea and a very important thing to try in this “face glued to my phone” age.
Personally, I love the idea for my personal life. We all absolutely spend too much time scrolling on our phones. It interrupts conversations. It distracts from true connections. It keeps us awake when we should be sleeping. It’s given all of us an incredibly short attention span. Even my kids pretend to scroll the screens of their toy phones. It’s incredible how quickly social media took over our lives.
The digital detox sounds great in theory, but what does it mean for those of us who run an online business? Social media is by far the best, cheapest, and easiest method to advertise your products or services and find your ideal client. You can create business pages for free and create a long list of followers fairly quickly. But if everyone is starting to think they spend too much time on social media, will our online businesses start to suffer? What if this “social media detox” trend really takes off?
I found myself quickly spiraling down a rabbit hole of anxiety as I envisioned a social media-free future for my business.
I would not have discovered the job I currently have if it weren’t for Facebook. I would not have made the connections that brought me my first two big clients. I would not have accumulated this wealth of knowledge about my industry.
After the great Facebook/Instagram crash of March 2019, everyone started talking about the importance of having an email list. You can’t control social media. You don’t own anything on social media. But you can control your email list.
Not that long ago, I swear everyone was talking about how no one uses email anymore. But maybe we’ve realized just how fickle social media is and we’ve gone back to the good old-fashioned inbox.
I like the idea of utilizing an email list. I haven’t heard anyone talk about an “email detox” or “ditching the inbox” for a while because it’s taking over their lives. For some reason, it seems easier to ignore the inbox, so we feel less chained to it. (How many of you have over 1,000 unread emails in your inbox?)
I enjoy email marketing. You aren’t restricted by any of the rules that govern social media platforms. It’s much easier to be creative with what you’re presenting to your subscribers. Plus, I know if I take the time to read an email, it means I’m actually interested in its topic. Email marketing really is the most profitable means of marketing.
Small Business Trends says the 7 benefits of Email Marketing are:
1. Generate More Leads
2. Improved Sales
3. Improved Conversion Rates
4. Reduced Marketing Costs
5. Identifying Better-Quality Leads
6. Integrating with Other Media to Boost Response
7. Shorter Sales Cycle
If you want a more in-depth look at those benefits, click here.
**If you’re interested in implementing email marketing for your business or upcoming book/product launch, let’s chat! One of my specialties is content writing for email marketing. You can find a list of all my writing services here.**
In the end, I find myself in a quandary over whether I should implement my own digital detox. I run my business almost solely on social media. I post daily in hopes of finding new clients. But at the same time, I know my family would appreciate me spending less time tied to my phone. My eyesight would appreciate less time staring at a screen. I’d connect with my kids and husband more often. It sounds so appealing.
What I propose is a “One Day a Week Social Media Detox”. Pick Saturday or Sunday if you want, so you don’t feel like it’s affecting your business as much. I always find it easier to stick to something like this if I have others keeping me accountable.
So, who’s with me? Can we stay off social media just one day a week? I’ve heard other online business owners talk about the benefits of ditching social media for short periods of time. Let’s figure out why they found it so appealing.
This story originally appeared on the Pursuit of Peace blog.
