Retention Schedule Template: Fill & Download for Free

One of the most important and essential parts of having an effective Instagram presence is using the right and relevant tools that clearly communicate your brand’s identity and the value of your products.Here are the main tools and tips you should be used as a business owner.Research the competition - I use Vaizle for analyzing Instagram analytics. The data in Vaizle is in a form that is very easy to understand. You can perform both qualitative and quantitative analysis. It is not surprising that your competitors are already using social media which means you can learn from what they’re already doing. A competitive analysis allows you to understand who the competition is and what they’re doing well.Posts Scheduling I use Hootsuite for scheduling Instagram posts. Since it allows direct publishing, I schedule the posts in advance so that my feed remains consistent. I also like Later for scheduling as it allows you to see a preview of how your overall feed will look before actually posting content on Instagram.Going LIVE regularly Live stream videos and stories are essential to your business and brand. For businesses and influencers, it's better to go live to IG from a computer because the quality is 10 times higher. It also helps with audience retention because your camera is steady. To go live on IG from my PC or Mac use YellowDuck .tv.Create content - Since Instagram is a visual platform, it is very essential to post good quality, engaging content. I use Canva and Lightroom to make my content more attractive.Lightroom: Edit your pictures with this app in just a few clicks and tricks. It helps you transform your feed in a consistent or desired color flow and theme.Canva: It’s a photo-editing and a designing tool that will help you beautify your Instagram Account. Choose an existing template from a wide range or make one on your own, in the way you think of it. Since Instagram is all about visuals, engage your audience with appealing posts, stories, carousel images, and ads.Hashtag Research I use these tools to create hashtags for my Instagram posts.All HashtagsHashtagifyThese are tools to help you with scheduling, analytics, reporting, hashtag research, organic follower growth, and more.Hope could help you.

It definitely works, but not for everyone, and not for every kind of project.Pros & Cons of the Pomodoro Technique:Pros:Creates interruption-free workflow.Discourages multi-tasking.Makes you more conscious about how you use your time.Creates a nice work-reward system — you fully focus on a task for 25 minutes then enjoy a stress-free break.When used for learning, taking a break every 25 minutes can vastly increase memory retention.Cons:Some types of tasks (especially creative ones) are better left uninterrupted every 25 minutes.It’s too rigid for some people.Depending on the work environment, it might be difficult to completely avoid interruptions for 25 minutes.Some jobs don’t allow frequent breaks.It is indeed, as Arialdo Martini has mentioned, basically a Time Boxing technique (which I'm quite a big fan of, see how I lay out this method in my answer here) with few additional rules. However I still find it to be a very simple technique, in fact I think the power lies in its simplicity.What not so many people talk about is the importance of planning/scheduling and keeping track of your Pomodoros. (You can download all the Pomodoro Planning/Tracking Spreadsheet templates for free here.)1. Planning your PomodorosThis approach is better for keeping your schedule flexible. You just simply decide how many Pomodoros you'll commit to each project/task. Then you track your completed Pomodoros in a spreadsheet that might look like this:2. Scheduling your PomodorosThis one is more suited for those that need to introduce some more structure into their lives and work routines. You can either use a spreadsheet for this or a calendar/scheduler, e.g. Google Calendar.What has been working for me is using a to-do app like TaskLabels alongside Outlook Calendar. I then use a combination of longer time blocks (vide Time Boxing technique) and Pomodoros. The latter act as shorter bursts of fast paced and focused action. I always try to get as much done in those 25 minutes as possible.Depicted is the TaskLabels + Calendar combo, back when I still used Google Calendar:Also make sure you pick the right timer tool. My absolute favorite one for both PC and Mac is Tomighty.I've included more tips & tricks for Pomodoro method in my article: Using the Pomodoro Technique with Schedulers and To-Do Apps. You also get to download some cool Pomodoro planning/tracking spreadsheets for absolutely free.

As long as you mean "doesn't cost me money," then it's doable. This will, however, cost time. Since you've got a startup, I'm guessing you're already prepared to spend time, so here's what you'll want to do:Step 1: Forget about mass mailingIf you're a startup looking to do free email marketing, you're too early to be sending emails to thousands of people. Your goal should be to contact somewhere around 50 - 100 ideal potential customers per week. Any more than that, and you won't have the resources to properly nurture everyone through the sales pipeline, your conversion rates will stink, and your retention rates will be non-existent.Step 2: Identify your targetsNow that you know you aren't emailing thousands of people, building your email list just got easier. Go to LinkedIn and find 100 people/companies that match your ideal customer. Then try to guess their email addresses using some combination of their name and company domain.You can check whether or not you've guessed correctly by using a tool like Rapportive.By the way, if you don't know who your ideal customer is, this is your opportunity to figure it out. You should be changing your search parameters every week, targeting different types of people, and using the results of your reach-outs to understand your target audience.Step 3: Send a personalized emailDON'T USE A TEMPLATE!!!!! Write a custom email explaining who you are and why -- specifically -- you want to talk to that person.Here are some cold emailing pro tips:Keep the email short. No more than 5 sentences.Include a tracked link to your website in the first sentence. I'm biased toward using RocketBolt (my Co.), but you could even do it with Google Analytics and UTC codes.Have a clear, simple ask. The ask should be along the lines of "Can we talk?" as opposed to "Will you buy?"Propose two specific dates/times to talk. This will make scheduling much easier.Step 4: Follow-UpYour response rate is going to be low, so make sure to follow up.I use a cool sales hacker tool called Autopest that does automatic follow-ups. You could also pre-schedule follow-ups with a tool like Boomerang. Or set calendar reminders and send follow-ups manually. Either way, this is the most important step.Step 5: Repeat!Do this for about a year. You'll (hopefully) get pretty good at it and have more than a 50% positive response rate of people who are at least semi-interested in you and what you do, which means you'll have built a mailing list of around 2,500 (52 weeks x 100 people per week x 50% conversion rate) highly targeted, well-qualified leads.Plus, you should be able to push through some sales, too!