If someone would have told you 20 years ago that you could be a successful professional in the marketing world without ever stepping foot in a corporate office, you probably would have thought they were crazy. But that’s exactly where things stand today.
The Rising Trend of Remote Working
Remote working is no longer being tossed around as an opportunity simply worth considering. If you look at most industries, remote working is a standard practice enjoying widespread adoption from small and large businesses alike. By 2020, half of the entire workforce is expected to be working remotely in some capacity. Currently, somewhere around 71% of companies analyzed in one study are actively hiring remote employees to fill positions within their organizations.
The benefits of working remotely are plentiful – both for employers and employees. According to Remote.co, remote work increases worker productivity, drives employee efficiency, lowers stress, boosts morale, reduces employee turnover, and leads to greater employee engagement, among other things.
As a marketer, you’re in a perfect position to reap the benefits of remote work. The marketing profession is highly conducive to this sort of setup, and there are opportunities to either do contract work as a freelancer or find a full-time remote position with a company.
4 Tips for Being a Productive Remote Marketer
Working remotely isn’t for everyone. There are unique challenges that come with working outside of a traditional office. You have to make sure you’re setting yourself up for success.
Here are a few tips to help enhance your productivity, should you decide to pursue this venture.
1. Over-Communicate
The biggest obstacle to remote working is communication. When you aren’t in the same physical location with your other team members, it’s easy to lose sight of something or misconstrue a piece of information. This can be highly detrimental and may lead to confusion and/or frustration.
As a remote employee, the onus is on you to over-communicate everything with your employer, coworkers, and clients. It’s better to be redundant or say something obvious than to not say it all.
2. Make Sure You Have the Right Tools
As a remote marketer, you need to make sure you have the right tools. Little things that you haven’t had to deal with in the past will suddenly become major sticking points if you don’t deal with them.
Take connectivity as an example.You can’t afford to be without an internet connection for long periods of time, which makes relying on someone else’s WiFi problematic. You’ll need a quality mobile hotspot, such as the unlocked Novatel Mifi, to ensure you’re always able to get online.
Then there are things like a good quality pair of noise cancelling headphones, such as the Bose QuietComfort 35 headphones, which allow you to work anywhere without getting distracted.
Small tools and technologies like these may not seem important, but they can make a huge difference over the long haul.
3. Establish Some Consistency
When you don’t have to be at the office at a particular time and physically interact with others, it’s easy to get distracted and procrastinate, but this isn’t something you can let happen. In order to remain productive and profitable, you have to establish some consistency. This means setting a schedule and sticking to it as if you were in a traditional office setting.
4. Connect With Your Team
Another thing you lose when you work remotely is the ability to build camaraderie with your team. You aren’t carpooling to work, eating lunch, and rubbing shoulders with each other on a daily basis, which makes it challenging to create meaningful relationships. But just because you’re working remotely doesn’t mean you can’t stay connected. Thanks to a number of helpful collaboration tools, it’s possible to stay in touch and interact, even when your team is spread out across the country. Make sure you utilize these resources.
Unlock Your Full Potential
Working remotely has its positives and negatives. In order for you to experience more of the former and less of the latter, you need to be strategic with your decisions. By prioritizing productivity, you can avoid the pitfalls that ensnare so many oblivious marketers, instead reaping the rewards that flexibility and independence can offer.