The Hidden Time-Saving Potential of Marketing Automation (And Why You're Missing It)

You didn’t become an interior designer or stylist to spend your days bouncing between Canva, Gmail, and Instagram — rewriting the same enquiry replies and wondering why marketing feels like a second full-time job.

You’re not the only one asking:

“Why does this take so long?”

“Surely others are doing this faster?”

They are — but here’s the truth:

They’re not doing it all manually. They’ve got systems running behind the scenes.

When you're stuck in the loop of manual marketing, here’s what’s really happening:

• You’re burning through hours you could spend designing or planning.

• Your content becomes inconsistent.

• You feel behind, out of touch, and overwhelmed.

And over time, marketing starts to feel like a burden — not a tool for growth.

Here’s the shift:

You don’t need to do more. You need to stop doing it all yourself.

Marketing automation isn’t about removing the human touch. It’s about removing the repetitive, time-consuming tasks — the ones that drain your energy and take you away from what you love doing most.

It’s like having an invisible assistant who:

• Sends follow-ups when someone doesn’t reply

• Confirms bookings without you lifting a finger

• Posts your content at the right time

• Guides potential clients from curious to committed — without you chasing

If you're thinking, “Where do I even start?” — start small. You don’t need to automate everything overnight. Even small changes can save hours of admin and mental load.

Here are 3 things you can automate this week:

1. Schedule Your Instagram Posts

Posting in real time eats away at your creative flow.Batch your content, schedule it all at once, and let the platform do the rest.

→ Tools like Later, Buffer, or Planoly can help — and yes, we can guide you through these too.

2. Set Up a Simple Follow-Up Flow

Still chasing leads manually? Here’s a better way.

Here’s an example of a follow-up email sequence we create:

• Day 1:

  Subject: “Thanks for reaching out – here’s what happens next”

  Body: Friendly confirmation, overview of your process, and a link to book a call or view your portfolio.

• Day 3:

  Subject: “Still deciding? Here’s what clients say…”

  Body: Share a short client testimonial and remind them of the value you offer.

• Day 7:

  Subject: “Quick check-in – any questions I can answer?”

  Body: Keep it warm and helpful, not pushy. Reopen the door to a conversation.

3. Automate Your Onboarding Process - This is going a bit bigger, but i am happy to talk you through the process as we can help with this. Alternatively your website developer should be able to set it up on the back-end of your website if it has that capability.

Your subscriber or client’s first impression matters. Automation ensures it’s professional, consistent, and effortless — for both of you.

What could that look like?

• Step 1: Someone signs up to your newsletter and instantly receives a welcome email. It thanks them, sets expectations, and shares how often you’ll be in touch.

• Step 2: A week later, they receive a free resource or info session invite tailored to their interests.

• Step 3: They’re invited to your private Facebook group or community space.

Important note: You don’t have to set any of this up yourself. As part of our onboarding, we build these automation flows for you — including tools like GoHighLevel.

One thing I’ve consistently heard from my clients is this: “I don’t have time to learn another platform.”And I completely get it — we’re all time poor. That’s exactly why I’ve developed a complete automation system that supports your customer journey and sales funnel without adding to your to-do list.

→ We set this up for you during onboarding, so it’s running in the background while you’re focused on your design work.

You don’t need to overhaul your whole system.Just remove the first layer of manual work — and you’ll be shocked how much lighter your week feels.

If you don’t automate at least one thing, you’ll still be in the same place six months from now — posting between meetings, rewriting enquiry replies, and wondering why your calendar feels so empty.

So here's the deal:

Book a free 30-minute session — no fluff, no jargon. Just real ideas you can act on, with automation we set up for you.

If you are not subscribed, you can do it here WHY? Over the next 3 emails, I’ll walk you through:

• The exact tools we use with designers

• Real examples from solo businesses just like yours

• A checklist to help you spot what to automate first

You didn’t start this business to burn out.

Let’s build systems that protect your time and get you back to doing what you love.

Read more about Automation here.