Hormones and Marketing: How to Work with Your Body’s Rhythms for Maximum Results with Minimal Stress

Female entrepreneurs balance a few extra unique challenges we might not consider. Yes, it’s typical to have more on our plates, such as child care, household duties, caring for aging parents, etc. But there’s a whole other topic I’d like to address in today’s post. Hormone cycles.

As a mom of two daughters and a 49-year-old woman who is deep in the throes of perimenopause, I thought I was familiar enough with female hormones. However, I recently watched a video interview by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee with Dr. Mindy Pelz about intermittent fasting for women, which really opened my eyes. While the video does have excellent information on intermittent fasting, there was a twist to the conversation that got me thinking about how I handle my marketing as a female entrepreneur.

After watching the interview, I went down a rabbit hole of learning more about hormone cycles for women at various ages, child-bearing, peri-menopause, and menopause, to discover ways to help us all get in the flow. 😉

When I brought it up on our Get Leads & Clients Academy call this week, it became clear that this is a topic we should further explore.

In today’s post, I will share with you what I’ve recently learned about the female hormone cycles and how to leverage those rhythms into a marketing routine to make your life easier.

Let’s start with women who are in their childbearing years.

For many women, the menstrual cycle lasts 28 days of hormone fluctuations through this 28-day cycle triggering changes in energy levels, mood, focus, and clarity.

The follicular phase – “Let’s do this”

The first phase is the follicular phase which starts on day one of a period and lasts around 14 days until ovulation. During this phase, estrogen levels increase. Many women experience a boost of energy, creativity, and focus in this phase. This is the perfect time to tackle those big hairy goals you’ve set.

Here are some of the activities that feel easier during this phase in the cycle:

• Brainstorming and ideation: Increased estrogen makes it easier to be creative and solve problems.
• Strategic planning and goal setting: harness the extra energy and focus on evaluating what needs improving in your business and begin implementation.
• Creative projects and content creation: Leverage the extra creativity to batch content and other marketing assets.
• Networking and collaborations: During this phase, it’s normal to feel a bit more extroverted and outgoing, which makes it the perfect time to network.
• Promote yourself and sell your offers: Reach out to potential clients, follow up on leads, and close sales during this time when you’re naturally more focused, energetic, and outgoing. This is the perfect phase to plan your next live launch!

Bridging the follicular and the luteal phases is ovulation – “Let’s be social!”

During ovulation, all three sex hormones are present, estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone. This hormone cocktail has a tendency to make us feel more social, outgoing, and open. This is an excellent time to:

• Get visible on social media with live streams
• Attend networking and social events
• Host those webinars
• Batch record video content
• Do live group coaching sessions, etc.

The luteal phase – “Let’s reflect”

In contrast to the follicular phase, as we move through the luteal phase, which begins after ovulation and lasts until the start of the next period, estrogen drops and progesterone levels increase. This can make it harder to stay focused and productive. Energy levels wane, and we tend to draw more inward. So as you progress through the luteal phase and get closer to menstruation, you will want to lighten your workload and focus on some less demanding tasks.

• Get caught up and organized: Spend this time catching up on your admin tasks, working on some of the projects you started in the follicular phase, and getting organized.
• Nurture your audience: Follow up with contacts you made earlier in the month and work on deepening your relationships.
• Review and edit content: This is the perfect time to update old blog posts, edit your course, and polish up your social media profiles.
• Focus on personal and professional development: Sign up for that workshop or course you’ve had your eye on. Download a new book, and spend time learning and developing your skills.
• Reflect and evaluate your progress toward your goals, update your metrics, analyze and identify areas that need improvement and develop a plan you can implement during your next follicular phase!

For those of you who are in perimenopause (big hugs for you)

Starting as early as our 30s, but more commonly in our 40-45, perimenopause begins. As our cycles become less predictive and our estrogen levels decrease, the ability to focus and push gets harder. Personally, I’ve learned that sometimes it’s easier to relax and allow things to happen rather than white-knuckle and will them to happen. I also don’t have the same focus and energy I had in my 20s as I do now at almost 50.

We’re also dealing with a lot of new stress at this point in life. Raising teenagers, aging parents, more career demands, financial obligations (paying for college, looming retirement, health care), etc.

Unpredictable hormone fluctuations result in unpredictable brain fog and difficulty focusing.

Embarrassing but true sidenote: I actually put the honey jar in the bathroom linen closet the other day by mistake. I was looking all over for it, and my husband said it was in the bathroom closet. He thought I was doing some kind of a DIY facial or something. Nope. I was cleaning up the house, and my brain short-circuited for a moment.

So I’m leaning into my strengths and delegating the things that frustrate me. I’m also delegating things I know I don’t have the energy or mental clarity to do. “Yes, I could set up that Zapier automation, but thinking about it makes my head hurt, so I’m going to delegate it instead. There are better and more enjoyable things I can do with my time!”

I’m also prioritizing self-care by focusing on extra sleep, healthy food, time off, high-quality supplements, creative playtime, etc.

Here are a few things to help you with your business and marketing if you’re in perimenopause:

• Delegate like your life depends on it. (Your sanity does, at the very least!)
• Prioritize self-care! You know the old saying, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Give yourself plenty of time to sleep, healthy food, time to play, etc.
• Take breaks! Give yourself breathing room in your schedule for moments when your brain is foggy or to take a break when you’re tired.

For women who have moved past periods and havoc-wreaking hormone swings and are now enjoying menopause — congratulations!

Most women hit menopause in their 50s when they’ve gone an entire year without a period. Moving beyond the ages of constant hormone ups and downs will make it easier for you to establish a consistent marketing and business routine. You’ve also gained the wisdom to do anything you set your mind to and the boundaries to respect yourself and your energy levels while you do it. So here are some marketing tasks to consider.

• Create a consistent work schedule. Flexible routines are wonderful for productivity but allow you the freedom to follow your inspiration.
• Set clear goals and create a plan to achieve them, then work on the plan consistently.
• As kids leave the house and your freedom increases, continue learning and growing by incorporating conferences, workshops, memberships to professional organizations, etc., into your routine.
• And as always, prioritize self-care.

Wherever you are in your life regarding your hormones, balancing the rhythm of your body can help boost productivity, reduce stress, and create a more peaceful life.

If you’d like to go deeper on this topic, here are Amazon links to a couple of the books I’m reading:

• In the Flo by Alisa Vitti
• Fast Like a Girl by Dr. Mindy Pelz

To wrap this up, you can make a big impact on your productivity and creativity if you plan your work according to your hormone fluctuations. Learn how to leverage them to your advantage to grow your business more effectively. Whether you’re in your childbearing years, perimenopausal, or past menopause, taking care of your physical and emotional health is essential to your success as a business owner. So, prioritize self-care, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different strategies to find what works best for you. With the right mindset and tools, you can use your hormone fluctuations to thrive in both your personal and professional life.

Whatever hormone phase you are in, everyone needs systems that generate leads and clients while simplifying your marketing and making promoting your business easier. If you’d like help with that, book a clarity call today!