July - the hardest J month

Let's talk about July - because even though we know it is July, I think we forget it IS a J month.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm usually anti-excuse and a non believer to the J month theory. I truly believe every mountain can be climbed and every battle can be won.

However, sometimes we have to accept reality, which is of all the J months, July is the hardest. We're in the thick of summer, we have a national holiday and we're in between shopping seasons.

Yes, it has been ROUGH, but not devastating; it just looks different than what we're used to every other month of the year.

Throughout the year, I can bet on sales being slow through a week with a holiday falling on a Monday. (Presidents Day, MLK Day, Labor Day, etc). It just never fails that sales will be a bit slower, but typically pick back up by the following Saturday.

This year 4th of July was in the dead middle of the week. It basically became a full, weeklong holiday for a lot of people.

Clients have messaged me, "I know I haven't been active, but why is it slow?" or "I know I haven't been able to film new content, but why is it slow?"

Y'all more power to you taking time with your families! I love to see it! But if you're tapped out, your customer won't be tapped IN.

That's not to say all is lost, you should panic or you should pause your marketing activities. That just means we need to set realistic expectations.

The first of which is that your marketing partners are NOT magicians. We can't just manifest sales out of thin air.

Secondly - you gotta come to play. There is a reason Prime Day is in July - Amazon is prepared for it to be slow, so they come prepared with a plan to make up potential losses. Are you doing the same?

I have clients who reach out prior to vacation wanting to make sure we have a plan for new content, new ads, etc in order to keep things from slipping.

It's not too late to do your own Prime Day, refresh old inventory, or offer Christmas in July.

It's also ok to spend time with your families, go on vacay or work on some part of your business you've been putting off.

No matter what direction you go, just be sure to keep your expectations in check through July 31st. Don't be too hard on yourself.