A global pandemic brings a whole new meaning to summertime blues.
- August is heading out the door but without as many vacation stories.
- Kids may actually look forward to going back to school.
- Hopefully, safely.
Thinking about the summertime blues encourages me to put a more positive spin on our business life. Exploring my mind is a curious journey, but life is a constant inspiration.
Pick your favorite summertime music hits. Use those to play a new tune on your next business blog post. Or to put a positive spin on business activities.
I’ll share three of my favorites. I expect many of you will be too young to know them. That’s okay. Hopefully, you’ll get where I’m going with this idea.
Summertime Blues No More
The inspiration for this title was from the hit song, Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran. It’s been rerecorded numerous times. I think the most recent was by Alan Jackson.
But when I thought about school and summertime, three songs came to mind.
Hit #1 – School’s Out
Alice Cooper described waiting for school to get out in the summer as one of the greatest three minutes of your life.
Summertime has always meant kids are everywhere.
- Amusement parks
- Local malls
- Movie theaters
The big difference in 2020 – kids were inside – a lot. And Mom and Dad were right there with them.
Business Blog Post Ideas
How can you use this to inspire positive blog post ideas? Try these on for size.
- What has been the greatest three minutes/event/win for your business?
- Because so much was closed during the pandemic, how did you pivot your marketing strategy?
- What pandemic lessons can you apply to your business? (e.g., when marketing strategies didn’t go as planned, or something unexpected happened, or what you learned about customer service during a pandemic)
- If you worked from home, how did you balance work and mom/dad duty?
Business Activities
Think about your greatest summertime memories from your childhood. Recapture that joy.
- Tackle your biggest challenges with the creativity of a child – try the unconventional
- Schedule time for something you love to do in your business – and do it!
- Read one of those business books you’ve been putting off – (bonus: review it on your business blog)
School may have been out but the learning continued, mixed with a sense of adventure. Or in the case of the pandemic, a sense of new experiences (good and bad). Focus on the good.
Hit #2 – Wipe Out
Every summer, my family traveled from our home in Ohio to Lucky Strike Cottages in Trent River, Ontario. It is a favorite vacation memory.
The lodge had a jukebox (I told you I was old) that I loved to select tunes from. My favorite was playing Wipe Out by the Surfaris. No matter your age, check out this hit. How can you not smile?
A surfing wipe out can be a simple dunk in the ocean or a life-ending crash. Hit #2 captures the exhilaration and danger of a wipe out.
Inspired by this great hit, the following are a few positive spins for your business.
Business Blog Post Ideas
- Describe the excitement and fear of business risks you took.
- Share how you rode out the pandemic (and still are).
- How did you rise above the chaos?
Business Activities
- Is your marketing frantic drumming or rhythmic magic? Make the magic happen.
- Create a wave of excitement with a new marketing campaign, an ebook.
- Wipe out your fear and try something new in your business (bonus: write about the ride).
The pandemic has shown that if you wipe out, there is always another wave to ride. Stay positive!
Hit #3 – Saturday in the Park
Who says Saturday in the park must stop with the end of summer?
Business Blog Post Ideas
- Share feel good stories about customers – people can really use a smile or a laugh
- Write about people who make you happy in your business (mentors, a special boss, colleague).
- Celebrate successes through case studies
Business Activities
What celebration traditions do you have in your business? No traditions? Start some.
- Written thank yous to your clients during the holidays (or any time)
- Personalized welcome letters to new clients
- Summer blow-out sale on products or services
- Time off to say thank you – to you or employees
Make more Saturday in the Park moments. Act like “every day’s the Fourth of July” (or whatever holiday that makes you happy).
Cool Listening
Hopefully, this post will get your business rockin’ and your sales popping.
- What top three songs come to mind when you think about summer?
- How do they inspire you to chase away the summertime blues?
- Share your ideas in Comments.
Rock on.
Note: This August 31, 2021 post updates the original that was published on August 27, 2012.
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I can hardly believe August is almost over.
I’m not sure I’ve ever balanced work and life well – I love my work – while it’s not quite play, writing is one of my favorite things to do… and my kids, when they were home, learned to put up with it.
I can’t believe August is headed out the door, Anne. It’s fairly recent that I’ve begun to find balance, but I’m still a work in progress. Hopefully, always will be. 🙂
Around this time I often have The Doors song “Summer’s Almost Gone” in my head.
Another classic, John. 🙂 Thanks for sharing it. Now, it’s in my head. 😉
And now I have Alice Cooper in my head. And that’s a GOOD thing. 🙂
I sit on a swing in the garden. Nothing brings me down to earth faster and back into my happy place like just kicking and swinging.
And you brought me a smile. 🙂 Thanks, Lori.