June 2026
We're halfway through the year. Let that actually land for a second.
And if you're anything like most of the small business owners I talk to this time of year, you're feeling a quiet pull to ease off the gas. Summer's here. People are on vacation. Engagement feels lower. So why bother posting as much, pitching as hard, or planning ahead?
Here's why: because that exact mindset is the reason your competitors are about to disappear for three months (and you don't have to)!
I want to go deeper on this than I have on socials, because this isn't just a content tip. It's a strategic window most small business owners walk right past every single year.
So. Let's talk about why summer is the best time to build your Q4, and exactly how to use it.
The Myth: "Nobody's paying attention in summer"
I believed this for years. And let’s be real — I wanted to take a break during the summer and spend more time with the family. I'd watch my engagement dip in July and assume the algorithm was punishing me, or that my audience had also checked out. So I'd post less. Which, of course, made my reach drop even further. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Here's what I didn't understand for the longest time: The algorithm doesn't take a seasonal pause. It rewards whoever shows up consistently; and in the summer, the bar for "showing up" drops because so many of your competitors stop trying. The businesses who keep posting in June, July, and August aren't fighting for attention in a crowded feed. They're often the only ones still in it.
The same is true with media pitching. Journalists don't stop writing stories in summer; they still have editorial calendars to fill. What changes is the volume of pitches landing in their inbox. Less competition for their attention means your pitch has a real shot at being seen, read, and responded to.
So the real question isn't "should I still be visible in summer." It's "what am I going to do with the space everyone else just handed me?"
The Deeper Strategy: Visibility now. Foundation for later
Staying visible this summer isn't just about today's engagement. It's about who remembers you in October.
Think about your own buying behavior for a second. When you finally decide to hire someone: a designer, a contractor, a consultant, you don't decide WHO you’re going to hire the same minute you decide TO hire someone. It’s two separate decisions.
Then you quietly watch them for weeks or months before ever reaching out. Following along. Watching. Building trust.
Your future Q4 clients are doing the exact same thing to you right now, in June. They're not ready to hire yet. They're watching. And if you go quiet for the summer, you simply won't be in the consideration set when they're finally ready to say yes in the fall.
This is why I think about summer visibility as planting, not harvesting. You're not necessarily going to see the result of a July post in July. You're going to see it in September (October, November!), when someone messages you and says, "I've been following you for a while now, and I’d love to talk."
The System: How to stay visible without burning out
This is the part I really want you to walk away with, because "just post more" isn't useful advice.
1. Lower the bar for what counts as "showing up"
You do not need to post your best work all summer. You need to post something consistently. A behind-the-scenes photo. A quick thought. A question to your audience. Perfection is not the goal in June, being present is.
2. Batch your visibility, not just your content
Most people batch create captions and graphics. Fewer people batch their media outreach. But it works the same. Set aside a block of time each week to research and identify 5 journalists, publications, and/or podcasts you want to pitch before Labor Day. Then spend an hour contacting them. Do this every week in July.
3. Separate "today" content from "later" planning
Here's the mistake I see most often: people either stay fully present (posting, pitching) or fully future-focused (Q4 planning) — never both. The businesses that win the second half of the year do both at once. Spend 80% of your energy on staying visible right now. Spend the other 20% jotting down Q4 themes, campaign ideas, and a running list of journalists to reach out to in September. You're not executing Q4 yet. You're just making sure June-you doesn't leave October-you empty handed.
4. Track what's actually working.
This is the one most people skip. At the end of each summer month, look back: which social posts got real engagement? Which pitch got a response? Don't guess your way through summer — let the data tell you what to repeat.
A moment of honesty
No one really wants to do work in the summer — including myself. This is the first year that I am going to be intentionally executing everything I just wrote a whole newsletter about. (I keep it real around here, y’all.) And I know it will work in my favor because last year I gained a new client in Q4 based off of things I was posting a couple months before. In the summer. I wasn’t consistent by any means, but I was showing up.
The bottom line
Summer isn't a content graveyard. It's a quiet runway. The businesses who treat it that way are the ones who walk into October already warmed up, already visible, already trusted, while everyone else is fighting to be heard.
You don't have to do more. You just have to not stop.
WHAT I'M POURING
Gloria
What can I say, it’s summer, kids are about to be home full time. And it’s so.damn.hot.
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WHAT I'M Listening to
I took a break from podcasts this month and I have been really monopolizing the FOCUS stations on Spotify. I have been jumping from Deep Focus to Creative Focus. It’s been really great.
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PR Tip of the month
Open your notes app right now and write down three journalists, podcasts, or publications you'd love to be featured in before the end of the year. Don't pitch them yet — just name them. You can't hit a target you haven't written down.
That's your assignment. Go.
