HOW TO PLAN YOUR QUARTERLY MARKETING STRATEGY
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If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I absolutely LOVE planning! Nothing makes me happier (well, at least in my business) than sitting down and planning out my month, my week, my day.
In addition, I am OBSESSED with creating systems to make things run more efficiently in my business.
And one thing I was really struggling with was knowing exactly what I was going to be promoting each month. Or, as my coach would say, how are you planning on bringing in new leads and sales this month?
Because when we get down to the nitty gritty in your business, if you don’t talk about what you have to offer, do you actually have a business? And if you’re not making the income you want, well, maybe it’s time to start promoting more often (or better, take your pick).
Each week, I would sit down to write an email to my list and I’d have no idea what I was going to talk about. I love, love love giving you tips + hacks on productivity and time management, but sometimes it feels stuck on what to talk about.
Email marketing is my absolute FAVORITE way to connect with my followers and audience. Yes, social media is great and a big part of my business, but I love myself some long-form content and storytelling, so email is where I really tend to shine. But, it was sucking my soul to actually sit down and write an email because I had NO IDEA what to talk about.
Last year, I made the executive decision that I was going to sit down every single quarter and plan out exactly when I would be launching, when I would be running promotions, and how I was going to bring in new traffic and sales to my business every single month (at least for the next 3 months).
And let me tell you, it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. When I sat down with my coach a few weeks ago for our monthly 1:1 call, it was so nice to be able to say, “Yup, my next launch is {this date} and I’ll be talking about this sale on {this date}.”
No more figuring out what I’m selling or how I’m going to bring in traffic, leads, and sales.
Ready to do it for yourself and have the rest of the year (or an entire year) planned out for your business? Here are the 4 steps I take and what I teach my Beyond Busyness members (and it doesn’t take more than 30 minutes):
STEP ONE || CALENDAR IN ALL YOUR PERSONAL AND FAMILY IMPORTANT DATES AND HOLIDAYS
OK, I actually forgot to do this the first time I mapped out my launch calendar and scheduled my launch for when I would be in Sedona on a mastermind retreat. WHOOPS. So, I had to start over and make sure I had these dates first.
I wrote down the days my kids were off school (because hello, launching when your kids are at home is NOT FUN). I wrote down when I would be out of town or had specific things during the day that would make it harder for me to launch. And I put in anything I felt that was important to remember.
STEP TWO || DETERMINE YOUR METHOD FOR BRINGING IN TRAFFIC + SALES
Hate to break it to you, but if you don’t know how you’re bringing in traffic or sales to your business, it’s hard to have a business. You’re functioning off a wish + a prayer.
Now, I’m not saying that just planning things out it’s going to go perfectly, or you’re going to have a kick ass launch, or your ads are going to go for pennies. But, having some strategy for bringing in traffic and sales is going to help you execute and then adjust for the next month or quarter (or year).
Ask yourself these 2 questions each month:
- How am I bringing in traffic this month? This can be through social media, Pinterest, running ads to your freebie, etc. The goal is to get people on your email list or at least interested in working with you either now or in the future. My favorite methods for bringing in traffic is posting on social media (I have links to my freebie in my profile), Pinterest (you’ll notice that each blog post has a way to download my free offer or you’re greeted by a popup), and (if it’s in the budget) running Facebook ads.
- How am I making sales this month? Basically, what are you promoting and how are you promoting it? Are you doing a webinar or challenge to launch your program or service? Are you emailing your list? Are you talking about how people can work with you on social media? Do you have an email sales funnel setup for your subscribers to go through when they download your freebie? My main way for making sales is almost always through email promotions. I rarely make sales on social media (that’s one of my traffic sources), but I know that getting them on to my email list, nurturing them with blog and podcast content, and eventually selling, they’re more likely to buy from me.
STEP THREE || DECIDE WHEN AND HOW OFTEN YOU PLAN TO LAUNCH
While I don’t love launching, I’ve learned that it’s pretty essential if I ever want to make sales and have a business. I only open the doors to my group coaching program Beyond Busyness a few months a year and I want to make sure I know EXACTLY when I’m doing that so I can plan around kids’ schedules and my other business.
I do this first before scheduling in ANY other promos so that I can work backward from cart open + close to when I’m sending out invites or running ads. Then I can schedule out the rest of my promos and content.
STEP FOUR || SCHEDULE IN THE REST OF YOUR SALES, PROMOS, +/OR EMAILS
One of the things I am known for in my business is CONSISTENCY. There is rarely a week where I miss sending out an email because I know exactly when I send them. I have the system in place so it’s easily scheduled into my work day.
But, knowing WHAT to send was the issue. Because I had my launch dates all scheduled in, I could now figure out when I would send out sales emails for my Slay Your Schedule, Power Hour Coaching Sessions, and any other promos I want to run or collaborations I want to be part of.
From there, it is easier to figure out what to talk about in email, on social media, etc. without spending time racking your brain with what you’re going to talk about.
A few things I want you to keep in mind when/if you decide to do this for yourself:
Be flexible with yourself. I made a major mistake the first time I mapped this all out and had to start over, but it was NOT the end of the world. Things are going to come up and I’m going to have to move things around. I highly recommend using pencil or dry erase because you are definitely going to find conflicts and need to move them around.
I found that I wanted to be able to see it all at one time in one place, and my Google Calendar just wasn’t the place I wanted to have it. I ended up putting it in my bullet journal/planner to start with, but ended up printing out some blank calendars on Canva, putting everything on those, and taping them to the wall next to my desk. It’s so nice to just look over and see everything without having to worry.
I love doing this every quarter (and it gets me super excited) because this is one less decision I have to make that will take time out of my day – and I believe it will do the same for you too!
Want some accountability with doing this yourself – or to ask questions to help you have your most productive quarter ever? I offer LIVE Marketing Planning Workshops for the members of my 12-week Beyond Busyness group coaching program – and you can watch the workshop replay any time if you want to go through this every single month for yourself!
