Your One Hour Per Week Marketing Routine
Most small business owners are juggling client work, admin, decision-making, and real life, all at once. Marketing usually gets whatever energy is left over, which means it either expands to fill all available time… or gets avoided entirely.
So here I am with a simple, realistic marketing routine you can return to each week, even when things are busy, without turning marketing into another source of stress. All you need is one hour per week. Ready? Let’s get into it.
What the one-hour marketing routine is
Let’s start with defining what the purpose of this routine actually is. This is not a growth hack, or a content calendar, and it's definitely not about doing more.
Instead, this simple marketing routine is about staying visible enough to stay relevant, making steady progress instead of starting from scratch each time, and keeping your marketing aligned with your actual capacity.
One focused hour, done consistently, is far more powerful than sporadic bursts of effort followed by long gaps.
The mindset shift that makes this work
Before we get into the routine itself, one important reframe:
Marketing doesn’t need to feel productive to be effective.
Small, repetitive actions often feel boring — but they compound over time. The goal of this routine isn’t excitement or momentum. It’s continuity.
If you finish the hour feeling like you could do more, that’s a good sign.
The one-hour marketing routine
You can do this all in one block, or split it across the week. What matters is the order and intention — not perfection.
1. 10 minutes: orient yourself
Start by grounding yourself before doing anything else.
Ask:
What am I focusing on this month?
What’s one thing I don’t need to think about right now?
What does progress look like this week?
If you use your Marketing Focus Sheet, this is the moment to glance at it.
This step prevents you from defaulting to reactive or random marketing.
2. 20 minutes: one visibility or trust action
Choose one small action that helps people:
find you, or
trust you a little more
Examples:
refine one piece of existing content
share one post, update, or story
write a short email or caption
improve one paragraph on your website
share something behind the scenes
You’re not trying to “cover everything”. You’re showing up once.
3. 15 minutes: one conversion-supporting action
This isn’t about selling aggressively.
It’s about reducing friction and answering questions people already have.
Examples:
explain your process or offer more clearly
share a customer experience or review
answer a common question you get asked
clarify who something is (or isn’t) for
gently remind people how they can buy or book
Think reassurance, not persuasion.
4. 10 minutes: tidy, capture, or reflect
Use the final minutes to make next week easier.
Options:
note one idea that came up while working
review one simple metric (enquiries, sales, visits)
write down what felt easy or difficult
park ideas you don’t need to act on yet
This step reduces the mental load you carry between marketing sessions.
5. 5 minutes: stop on purpose
This part matters more than it sounds.
Stop when the hour is up.
Not because the work is finished — but because you are.
Leaving with energy is what makes consistency possible.
What this routine looks like over time
Week to week, this routine might feel small.
Over months, it creates:
clarity about what works
less resistance to marketing
better messaging through repetition
a growing sense of confidence
Most importantly, it keeps your marketing alive — even during busy or intense periods.
A final reminder
You don’t need:
a full strategy
daily content
constant optimisation
You need something you can return to.
One hour.
Once a week.
Done with intention.
That’s enough to keep things moving — and often, it’s more than enough.
