Recently, I’ve been talking a lot about finding your marketing mojo and motivation during really busy spells and difficult times.

These chats have been with my Twitter Brilliance peeps – in our forum, and on our monthly member’s call, with peers and mastermind friends.

Plus, it’s an internal dialogue I’ve been having with myself. Usually in the dead of the night. Or in front of a blank computer screen, as the pesky cursor blinks and torments me wickedly.

Losing our mojo is something as a solo-worker we have to face head-on. It’s just us steering our ship, and it’s with us that the buck starts and stops.

Succeeding in business means putting our best selves out there constantly.

Even when we don’t feel like it.

It doesn’t matter how often you tell yourself:

GIRL, SNAP OUT OF IT!

It can take herculean effort, hustle and guts not to just go hide.

Unfortunately, hiding and marketing don’t mix. Especially in this ‘always on’ social media world.

To build a loyal following and community who love what you do (and then do your marketing for you with loyal custom, social proof, recommendations and referrals) you need to apply consistent effort.

But I totally get that’s not always possible.

Social media is supposed to be FUN, and when you’re in a funk and don’t feel like being sociable it’s hard to get that funtime vibe going.

Maybe you’re re-grouping, figuring out which way to go in your business, how you want to communicate that to the outside world. Or you feel stuck. Or, you’re just really BUSY!!

We can’t simply disappear for a few weeks or months and expect everything to take off where we left it.

And, pre-loved profiles don’t look good for your brand, especially in the eyes of those who stumble upon you and are looking to be wowed by your awesomeness.

So, what to do? Well, here’s what I do…

When I feel like hiding I activate ‘maintenance mode’.

There are times when just doing the minimum to keep my brand ticking over is ok. It has to be. My energy is needed elsewhere. No point resisting it – it is what it is and I know the funk won’t last. Time to lay off the pace.

It’s during these times when you’ll be massively grateful for your a stash of pre-written social media updates and good, solid systems.

At the best of times these are great time savers and do wonders for attracting your perfect peeps with well informed messages but during maintenance mode? Boy, they really come into their own.

It’s what I teach inside Twitter Brilliance and with my private mentoring clients.

Load em up and get ‘em out on auto. Just check in on your profiles once a day to reply to any mentions.

This is the time to be re-active. I turn the dial down on the hustle and up on my faith that it will all work out.

Sure, during these times your numbers don’t grow, there will a noticeable decrease in activity around your profiles, you’ll probably see less web and blog traffic – but it IS recoverable when the time comes to put more effort into your marketing.

Maintenance mode won’t be the downfall of your business – it is never just one decision that will make a business fail but a number of them – so lay off the pressure for a little bit… (just don’t stay away too long).

What about finding your mojo and learning to LOVE your social media again?

There comes a time when you need to resurface. You can’t stay hidden forever. You’ve got too much to offer and big dreams to make happen. So here are my three tips for loving social media again…

1. My absolute top tip is zoozshing up and refreshing your accounts. Finding new people to connect with is one of my favourite ways to accomplish this.

Ideally, people who inspire, motivate and crack you up with hilarious anecdotes (I’m thinking of you, ).

2. Indulge in the time suck a little (YES, really). Remember what drew you to social media in the first place, why you enjoy it and how much fun it REALLY is!

If that means stalking your fave celebrities…go for it. If you must.

3. Get back into conversations don’t sit and watch from the sidelines. Be generous (it feels gooood), respond to others, especially your new BFFs. Re-connect and open yourself up to being lifted by the company of friends.

I’d love to know…

Have you ever lost your marketing mojo and how did you deal with that? Let me know in the comments below along with your own ‘love social media again’ tips…