It’s the ‘dog days’ of summer.  According to Wikipedia, the expression ‘dog days’ refers to the hot, sultry days of summer in the areas around the Mediterranean Sea. Early civilizations would celebrate the rising of Orion’s dog constellation in July and August. The image of ancient people lounging around at night as they cooled off from a hot day, looking to the skies to watch the dog constellation arise, evokes thoughts of rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, not many of us are out start gazing these days, but the phrase still sticks.  In late summer, people often plan to ‘just wait to start marketing’ in September. While I am a huge proponent of time off in the summer, I think waiting for September to start marketing is not a stellar idea.

Summertime is a great time to be planning and executing on your marketing plans.  The reality is that marketing during the summer months is no different than the rest of the year. Yes, people take vacations, but there are plenty of people still around. In fact, their schedules may be a little lighter, making it easier to schedule in person lunches and activities. If you have a continual marketing and business development strategy, then you need to work it every month of the year. Following are a few tips for summertime marketing activities:

• Polish up your social media accounts.  Create full profiles, connect to people you know, ask for introductions to people you want to know and begin building the habit of posting status updates routinely.
• Clean up your database.  Confirm you have correct emails, phone numbers, mailing addresses, etc… so that you are ready to roll with those holiday cards or advisories.
• See people in person.  Summer is a great time to get out of the office and visit your clients and referral sources.  Go for a walk, grab an iced tea together or head outdoors for a quick lunch visit.
• Join a trade association that industry leaders are involved in. Reach out to the group, find out which opportunities will fit your needs and get committed to attend the fall meetings.
• Plan your calendar for the fall.  Take this time to review who you want to connect with this fall and book appointments with yourself to reach out to someone every week.
• Reach out to your referral sources to say hello and find out what they are working on.

There are many things you can do to market your services in the summer.  Don’t take a vacation from developing your business.  Instead, take advantage of the freedom you may not always have during the year to get out of the office and in front of your clients.