As 2005 winds to a close, many of us are planning our strategies for 2006 or even 2007.  We are reliving the successes (and steps to success) of the past 10-12 months, revisiting the stumbling blocks (and how we overcame them) and reviewing our team rosters and the strengths and weaknesses of our crew and ourselves.

In another month or so you may be considering what your personal "resolutions" for 2006 will be; you might want to take a moment and brainstorm the same concept for your business or organization as well.  Whether you are a freelancer or sole proprietor of a small business or the PR/marketing professional for a large corporate entity, one thing remains the same: planning is ESSENTIAL to preparedness for what is to come.

Whether you earn credit for continuing education or not, constantly researching resources and tracking trends is a big part of being a successful leader and business person.  If you have always incorporated detailed plans into your annual business reviews, have they worked?  Or have you been too concrete and unable to be flexible when the winds changed?  On the flip side, have you stumbled willy-nilly through the past year and been "lucky" (or unlucky!) with the results?  Perhaps it's time to plan ahead a bit.  Your willingness to go with the flow will help you remain flexible...but putting some forethought into your efforts will help streamline and promote confidence when your associates and team step back to look at their year ahead with you.

That said, PRMama received some resources today that may well be of interest to you as you look back at 2005 and look ahead at 2006 and beyond.  Check out this Marketing Calendar Template and the accompanying article about Creating and Using a Marketing Calendar Effectively.  You might get some good use out of them!  (And writers, don't you hesitate to visit these links too!  Becoming a successful writer is NOT just about doing the "creative stuff".  It is about creating a career by building a business...the business of marketing YOU and your work.)

Til we meet again, happy trails!

~Melonie K. Murray

"PRMama"

Comments

Well said!

4:11 AM, Nov. 1, 2005, posted by Entrepreneurs

Great suggestions as always, Mel!

I was particularly glad to read this: "Becoming a successful writer is NOT just about doing the "creative stuff". It is about creating a career by building a business...the business of marketing YOU and your work."

Amen! Too many writers think their work is done when the manuscript is finished. Nope! Only about half of it.

Writing for publication IS a business.

Mary Jo Tate