One of the side effects of living through a global pandemic has been the movement away from working together in offices and toward working remotely from home. For many, this has been a temporary move, in anticipation of an eventual return to physical offices.
At Sparx, we were ideally positioned to go remote. But although we had a robust project management system already in place, moving to fully remote work was a full-scale stress test of our processes. We encountered our fair share of pitfalls doing marketing work from home.
In the world of Sparx, marketing consists of Creative (Design and Copy), Technology, Management/Operational, and Data. Each of the spokes of our “marketing wheel” is essential to a project’s success, but the challenges of remote work manifest differently for each segment. Working from home has meant that communication is increasingly important for all of us. With all that in mind, here are some tips for working from home effectively from each segment of the Sparx Publishing team.
Creative Communication: Design
When working together in a physical office, it can be easy to rely on whiteboards and paper sketches to quickly exchange ideas with coworkers. Large amounts of information can be distilled into a loose sketch or a one-minute conversation. Working from home requires more of an investment in communication.
“When working in a physical office, it can be easy to rely on whiteboards and paper sketches to quickly exchange ideas with coworkers.”
Getting Out of the House: Copy
Paying attention to what other companies or brands are doing to help employees maintain connection during this time is key. The world of remote work is new to many people and is in a period of rapid evolution. Keeping tabs on the conversation around communication outside your walls can help you stay up to speed while staying at home.
Just as important as keeping tabs on what others are writing is keeping tabs on yourself. Take breaks to stretch or move around so that you’re not sitting and staring at a screen for hours at a time. Tired eyes lead to typos, and sitting in one place without breaks can kill your posture.
“Take breaks to stretch or move around so that you’re not sitting and staring at a screen for hours at a time. Tired eyes lead to typos.”
Creating compelling copy requires a writer to consume more information than they put out in their work. One of the risks of writing from home is a lack of outside stimulus. Part of this problem can be solved with more time for research – making sure your work is connected to and references the larger world – but you also need stimulation from outside.
In practical terms, go for walks, talk to your friends on the phone, listen to music, and get out of the house whenever you can safely do so. The more you encounter the world outside your home, the more life you will inject into your writing.
Embracing Distractions: Tech
You can’t entirely separate work life from home life when you work from home. While it’s necessary to create some division, working from home means that in reality you will have to embrace, or find a way to cope with, some of the distractions that home life brings.
Family or roommates (or pets) might need your attention throughout the day, and it isn’t always healthy to ignore them in favour of productivity. If you have a crucial train of thought that can’t be interrupted, communicate a time when you can address their concerns. Put the conversation on hold for 10 or 15 minutes, and make sure that you follow up.
“If you feel blocked on a task, you can get up and give your dog some pets, be loud if you want, watch TV while you work if you can multitask, or listen to music.”
The distractions inherent in working from home can also be helpful. If you feel blocked on a task, you can get up and pet your dog, be loud if you want, listen to music, or watch a “background noise” TV show while you work if you need it to focus.
Although the lack of structure when working from home can leave you feeling unmoored, embracing it allows you to adapt quickly and move between tasks to take advantage of the ebb and flow of productive energy. Working from home means you have perks such as being able to move your “office” around easily and also access your pantry full of snacks at any time, which you don’t necessarily have in a traditional office setting. Take advantage of these perks.
Having said that, some boundaries are essential.
Make sure you clock out when you’re done work each day. Create some kind of physical separation between you and your workspace. Eat meals with your family, for both the health of your relationships and your own physical health. It’s a mixed blessing that it’s much easier to snack throughout the day when working from home.
It can also be more difficult to be physically active if, for instance, you used to commute by bicycle or stop at a gym on the way to or from the office. To stay active, you have to be intentional about making it a priority, whether that means planning a bike ride first thing in the morning, a run after work, or a midday calisthenics break.
Engaging the Team: Data
Working remotely doesn’t really change day-to-day reporting and analytics-related activities, but it does change the way that information is communicated to others. With a shared physical office, information can be presented in person, making it collaborative and interactive, which in turn makes it easier for an audience to understand.
“Working remotely hasn’t really changed my day-to-day reporting and analytics-related activities, but the way I communicate with people has really changed.”
When presenting data and analytics in a remote-work environment, it’s important to engage with the audience during a presentation. Ask for feedback and questions to make it more collaborative. As much as possible, tailor your presentation to everyone on the call. If people feel like they are getting some value out of a presentation, they will be more focused, making your job easier.
This is important in generating data as well. Engage with your team proactively, and chat with anyone who can help with the project. It makes your reporting more relevant if you know your team and their needs better. To that end, make sure to clarify the scope of projects with as much fidelity as possible. Employ video calls for briefings to make sure that expectations and scope are clear for everyone involved.
Cutting Through the Chatter: Operations
Communication is key when working from home, but it can be easy to get sucked into a never-ending stream of instant messages, emails, and job ticket comments. If you notice that people are going back and forth endlessly in messages or emails, schedule a quick conference call to get everyone on the same page. It’s better to take some time to talk things through than to have a dozen text-based conversations going at once.
“After six hours of video calls in a day, your productivity will drop to zero. Try to space out meetings if you can, to allow for some quiet work throughout the day.”
While meetings are an essential tool for cutting through the chatter, remember that Zoom fatigue is a real issue. After six hours of video calls in a day, your productivity will drop to zero. Try to space out meetings if you can, to allow for some quiet work throughout the day.
Finally, information is key when working from home. Producing and sharing information online – whether through words, graphics, charts, or analytics – continues to be important and powerful, keeping us all aware, informed, and connected regarding everything happening at work and in the broader marketing world.
Bringing It All Back Home
Doing marketing work from home has its own set of challenges, but leaning into effective communication can make your team just as agile as when working in the office together. Working from home can boost creativity and productivity, and teams that lean into their strengths will continue to produce high-quality results.
If you need help marketing your business, whether your company works from physical offices or from home, or if you have any other content marketing inquiries, contact Sparx Publishing Group today – we’d be more than happy to help! You can reach us here.
