Even with careful planning, you never know when something unexpected will hit. Maybe a team member is out of the office unexpectedly, maybe another project all of a sudden needs more attention, maybe your computer crashes. Hopefully all three of these things don’t happen at the same time but if even one of them happens, your best laid plans could be derailed.

Here are 4 practices that can give you a little leeway and flexibility so that you’re prepared in case something crops up—so you can be sure your website and digital marketing efforts keep running smoothly:

#1: Set Up Website and Online Marketing Automation

While you can’t (and shouldn’t) automate everything, there are lots of things you can:

• If you run an email marketing program (using MailChimp, for example), you can use their automation features to trigger emails based on certain actions your audience takes.
• Schedule Facebook posts in advance (directly in Facebook) and tweets (we like TweetDeck).
• Select the option, wherever possible, to receive email alerts for things such as WordPress updates, downtime notifications, security issues, etc. Instead of having to log in and check a bunch of different places, you’ll just have to check your email. And if you’re not available to address the issue, now at least you have a handy email to forward to a colleague who can.

#2: Establish an Editorial Calendar

By planning out your blog, email, and social media content months in advance, you’ll never have to scramble or play catch-up. Keep an ongoing list posts and ideas, then aim to queue them up at least a few weeks in advance. If you get a new idea for time-sensitive content, it can jump in front of your regularly scheduled content.

A good editorial calendar should have “evergreen” content mixed in with seasonal content. That allows you flexibility while staying relevant. Start by mapping out one month in advance, slotting in the things you’re sure will happen. Then fill in the gaps as you get ideas. Once you’re comfortable with one month, try building out three months at a time.

#3: Sign up for a Maintenance Plan

In addition to the web design and development services we offer, we provide ongoing maintenance for our clients. The services are adapted to what each client needs and can include:

• Handling updates to core WordPress software, themes, and plugins
• Ongoing website performance monitoring and reporting
• Running digital marketing campaigns, such as SEO, PPC, email marketing, and social media
• Website content updates
• Technical support

Our clients know we have them covered!

#4: Stay in Touch with Slack

Email is great for staying on top of to-do’s, but sometimes you need a more in-depth discussion. Sure, you can hop on the phone, but in case the timing doesn’t work out, chat is a great option.

Our team uses Slack. It’s free, super easy to use, and stores up to 10,000 messages in your company history at a time, which is great for checking in on anything that might have fallen through the cracks.

How about you? What tricks do you use to make sure a day (or three) off-schedule doesn’t send your business tumbling to the ground? How do you keep your website and online marketing running smoothly?