You did it – you up-leveled your email marketing software, and have your shiny new Infusionsoft account. Or…you’ve had your Infusionsoft account for a while, and you’re ready to really get it working for you. So, what’s next? Do you jump in and start setting up products, creating campaigns, building landing pages, designing email templates and go for it? The short answer – NO!

Like anything else in business, you need to PLAN AHEAD and set up Infusionsoft so it works for YOUR business. If you don’t think about how you want to maintain your Infusionsoft account and how you will actually use the data, you could wind up with a mess later on.

Consider these 3 tips to avoid an Infusionsoft catastrophe:

1. Think about the future.

It’s time to change your mindset from working with your old CRM. Infusionsoft isn’t just about entering data today –i t’s about how to use the data collected today for ongoing marketing and automation. This means taking a look at your entire marketing process, or as Infusionsoft calls it — Lifecycle Marketing. You want to map out what this looks like for your business, see if you have any gaps and then you’ll know what you really need.

Infusionsoft Catastrophe

2. Be methodical with your setup.

An organized Infusionsoft account makes for a happy Infusionsoft user. Take time before you start importing lists and building out campaigns to consider how you want to organize your tags, your campaigns, what product categories you want, etc. The time you spend in the beginning will be so helpful down the road.

For example, if you use tags to kick-off any type of automation, you’ll want a way to easily see this. You may not remember in 6 months that if you apply the tag: “New Prospect” the person automatically receives a welcome email. So when you or your assistant run a report later and see some contacts without the tag, you apply it. But…they aren’t really new and don’t need the welcome email. Uh-oh….now you have a few hundred confused contacts.

PRO TIP: Use “Automation” as a tag category, and you’ll be able to see at-a-glance which tags make stuff happen. The effort to organize is worth it – you’ll thank me later.

3. Ask for help.

Infusionsoft has a User Forum, Help Center, Facebook Group, and more that you can access for free to get support when you’re stuck. You can also work with a team (like us!) that can guide you through setting up your new Infusionsoft account, organizing your existing account or even doing an audit to recommend ways you can improve how you’re using Infusionsoft. Don’t be afraid to ask for support. We were all new once and love to help. Asking for advice now can save you a lot of time later.

Create your Infusionsoft strategy now to save yourself frustration and a potential catastrophe later. Use the tips above and check out other Infusionsoft articles and resource from the blog to guide you along the way, and reach out for expert support.