Marketing in Mercury Retrograde: What to Rework (Instead of Panicking)

Mercury retrograde has become the marketing world’s favorite scapegoat.

Wi-Fi down? Mercury must be in the microwave again. Forgot to attach the file? Mercury Gatorade. Sent a typo-filled email blast to 5,000 people? Mercury Retrograde strikes again.

And while I’m not here to defend tech glitches or communication meltdowns (they’re real), I am here to say this: Mercury retrograde doesn’t mean you have to stop everything or pause all your content until it’s over. It just means it’s time to rethink your pace and your process.

In fact, if you’re in marketing or running your own business, Mercury retrograde can be the perfect time to rework your systems, sharpen your messaging, and reconnect with what actually matters. Think of it as a cosmic audit. Annoying, yes, but also necessary.

Here’s how to work with Mercury retrograde instead of letting it mess with your head.

What Mercury retrograde actually does

Let’s back up for a second (lol, get it? 🤪).

Mercury governs communication, technology, transportation, and anything involving data, messaging, or information. Think of Mercury like the project manager on your cosmic team – coordinating your calendar, syncing your Slack, delivering your text messages, and proofreading those emails before hitting send.

So when Mercury goes retrograde (meaning it appears to move backwards in the sky) all of that smooth coordination gets a little glitchy. Emails go missing. Meetings get rescheduled. Launches don’t land the way you expected.

But “going retrograde” isn’t actually as bad as people make it seem. In astrology, it just means a planet is in review mode. It’s retracing its steps, giving you an opportunity to do the same. To look at things more closely, through a different lens.

Astrologers often say anything that starts with “re-” is favored during Mercury retrograde: review, revise, repurpose, rework, reconnect. Take this time to slow down long enough to notice what’s off and realign it.

In business and marketing, that’s a goldmine.

What to rework in your marketing (instead of panicking)

Your messaging

Retrograde is a great time to thoroughly reread your website, your pinned posts, your IG bio, your “about” page, or anything that’s meant to tell people who you are and what you do.

Does it still reflect you? Does it sound like the you who exists now, not the version of you who wrote it six months ago?

Sometimes the biggest difference between crickets and conversions is just clearer messaging. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back during Mercury retrograde and cringed at something I wrote months earlier. That’s called growth. And Mercury retrograde gives you permission to update it.

Your offers and content strategy

You don’t need to burn your business down and start over. But if your offers don’t feel right or your content doesn’t feel aligned, this is your moment to pause and rethink.

Ask yourself: Are my offers still what I want to be known for? Is my content attracting the people I actually want to work with? Am I saying what I mean, or just saying what I think I should?

Retrograde is perfect for revisiting old ideas you left in a folder somewhere. That workshop you never launched? That content series you abandoned halfway through? Go dig them up. There might be magic there.

Look back at your last few months of posts. What got engagement? What flopped? More importantly, where did you feel most like yourself, and where were you forcing it?

Your systems and sequences

Honestly, when was the last time you updated your email sequence?

Your welcome flow from last year might be outdated. That nurture sequence could probably be more nurturing. That automated sales funnel could use a copy refresh or different CTAs.

Mercury retrograde is a perfect time to clean this up. Check your automations, your backend setup, anything that’s supposed to be working on autopilot. Clean out the digital dust and make sure everything still works and sounds like you.

Because tech issues are more common during retrograde anyway, might as well get ahead of them.

Your calendar and launch plans

This isn’t necessarily the time to start a massive new campaign, but it’s a great time to plan one.

Use retrograde to audit your content performance from the past quarter, reschedule any launches or promos that feel rushed, and adjust your marketing rhythm to match your actual capacity.

And if something’s already in motion to launch during mercury retrograde, there’s no need to panic. Just stay flexible and double-check everything. Everything will be fine!

Reflect before you react during Mercury Rx

The biggest trap during retrograde is reactivity.

Things feel off, so we rush to fix them. Or we panic and pull back completely. But Mercury retrograde is about slowing down, not freaking out.

Take a breath. Step back. Reflect. Sometimes the clarity you’re looking for isn’t in doing more, it’s in reviewing what’s already there.

This year, I’ve been focused on building my personal brand figuring out how to blend my background in branding and content strategy with my passion for astrology. I’ve tested different ideas, offers, and messaging. I’ve second-guessed myself, pivoted, and started over more times than I can count.

During this past retroshade (the period right before and after Mercury goes retrograde) things started to click for me. I revisited past projects, reread old bios, and even found old notes and journal entries that helped me see things more clearly.

That’s when I landed on the tagline that now sits at the core of my personal brand: the marketing girl who does astrology.

All because I slowed down enough to really listen to myself.

Why you should incorporate Mercury Retrograde into your yearly strategy

Mercury retrograde happens three to four times a year, usually lasting about three weeks each time, and the shadow period lasting about two weeks before and after. That’s multiple built-in opportunities to pause, review, and refine your marketing without waiting for burnout or a crisis to force your hand.

Instead of treating these periods like chaotic interruptions, you can reframe them as seasonal audits. Your cosmic maintenance schedule, if you will.

You probably already block out time for quarterly reviews or content planning sessions. Mercury retrograde can be the energetic counterpart to that. Your cue to revisit content performance, refresh your messaging, rethink your offer positioning, reconnect with past clients, and realign with your actual goals.

When you plan for it, Mercury retrograde becomes a strategic cadence instead of a surprise. And honestly? It’s so much better than scrambling to fix things when you’re already overwhelmed.

I’ve started syncing my own business audits with Mercury retrogrades, and the shift has been significant. The reflection feels intentional instead of reactive. I’m not fixing what’s broken. I’m strengthening what’s already working and course-correcting before I need to.

So what does this mean for you?

Mercury retrograde isn’t a marketing death sentence. It’s a reset button.

And if you let it, it can help you get way more aligned with your messaging, your strategy, and your actual goals. You don’t have to pause your business. You just have to pause the autopilot.

Instead of panicking, focus on auditing your messaging, revisiting your content and offers, updating your email flows, refining your backend systems, and reflecting on what’s working (and what’s not).

You don’t have to hide until it’s over. Work with mercury retrograde strategically. Treat it as regular maintenance for your business, not a cosmic emergency.

Remember: audit, refine, and get ready to move forward with actual clarity instead of just momentum.

Want to make retrograde work for you? If you’re ready to use this Mercury retrograde to clean up your content, refresh your brand, and move forward with more clarity, I offer 1:1 Brand + Content Strategy sessions to help you rework your messaging and visibility strategy. Astrology optional. Alignment required.