Unplugging for a bit ....

This is the first post written here at MarketingInProgress.com since May 31.

For those of you keeping score, you know that’s not normal. I typically pump out at least three posts a week. Even during “slow” times, I’m getting at least one new post out the door a week.

But I went 0 for June and July, and I loved it.

As much as I love what social media has brought to the table in terms of publishing, marketing, communicating, connecting and all that implies, I have to admit: sometimes I just get sick of it. Sometimes the last thing I want to do is check my Twitter account, or write a new post. There are times to forge ahead and still make it happen, no doubt. But there are other times, like June and July for me, when you should just let it go.

The even better news? All the measurements of success for this blog didn’t diminish much at all during this season of famine. Which is a testimony to consistency over a long period of time. I’ve been adding content here at MarketingInProgress.com since January 2007. I’ve written almost 700 posts during that time, and they kept doing their thing, attracting targeted readers and adding value in some small way. Overall, I’d say my success metrics dipped by around 15% over the summer. Which is rather slight, given I didn’t do a dang thing for more than 60 days.

The point here is that there’s power in building a system. And that’s what a blog is: a content marketing system. You build and you build and you build, and the results compound. And while you keep personally adding to the system, the system also continues to build momentum, working pretty well on its own, at least over short periods of time.

The other cool thing is that I wasn’t planning this sabbatical. In fact, I was rolling along pretty well over April and May. I had some big plans for this site for June and July; some cool things to try out and move things forward. But life happened. So much so, that I decided to simply drop this site for a while and enjoy all the other opportunities and challenges that were being presented to me. I’ll touch a little more on it all over the next couple weeks, but here’s a quick rundown of what’s been going on:

• I went to the Direct Selling Association Annual Meeting in Miami. It rocked, and I completely loved hanging out with my colleagues/friends for a few days.
• I won an iPad, thanks to VeriFone (and yes, I’m loving it).
• I helped launch a new website for the Direct Selling Education Foundation, with some major help from friends.
• Good things happened at work (I got an unexpected promotion).
• Some unfortunate things happened at work.
• I went to a huge family reunion.
• I spent some time in San Diego over the 4th of July.

So life has been busy. And MarketingInProgress.com has been neglected. And I’m here to tell you, it’s OK.

I’m also here to tell you the sabbatical is over. Prepare yourself for more thoughts and rants on marketing today, how to make it really work and how we as strategic leaders can use it best. And be ready for a few new curveballs, too; I’ve got some ideas.

Sorry for vacation, and yet I’m not. In fact, I encourage you to take an online sabbatical yourself. Sometimes it’s exactly what we online marketers need.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/honeymoonmusic/4128241972/.

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