How to Build a Digital Marketing Plan

Let's talk marketing plans. Here is what I usually see in a marketing plan: => A kitchen sink of tactics covering everything we do / will do. => Countless charts & spreadsheets with excruciating details. => Details on all the wonderful things marketing has done. => An undercurrent of justifying marketing's existence.  Instead, what I want to see is the following: => A plan aligned with the company's business objectives. => The key initiatives required to make this happen. => A rationale & logical justification for why the plan is achievable. => The investment, resources, and timing needed to deliver the plan. => The key risks and mitigation plans. => Alternative approaches considered.   This breaks down into the following framework: 1-2 Objectives with key results aligned to the company's business objectives. 3-4 Strategic Initiatives to deliver on the Objectives over the planning horizon. 4-5 Tactics per Strategic Initiative that provide enough detail on priorities.   *** You should be able to summarize this on one slide ***   The rest of the plan outlines the justification for why the plan will work, the required investments, and the risks/contingencies.   In this plan: => Don't describe everything you will do, only the key initiatives. => Focus on the "gap" - the difference btw your run rate and goals. => Use prior successes to explain your confidence in this plan.  => Use data to justify your assumptions.  => Your goals may take multiple quarters; be clear on progression. => The plan should be detailed a quarter out - high level after. => Articulate why you will have success vs. competition. => Ensure you can deliver the first quarter of the plan. => Make the ask - "you want us to do X, we then need Y" investment. => Tell a story backed by data and logic.   A plan isn't for your team. It's for everyone else.  Your leadership, board, and employees.  The purpose is to build confidence and align priorities with the rest of the organization.   I've used this structure for billion-dollar divisions at large public companies, mid-market technology companies, and VC-backed startups.    Each time I've gone into a company, I've assumed there would be a better marketing planning process, only to find myself implementing the above.   Give it a shot, and if you need help - don't hesitate to reach out.   #b2bmarketing #b2bsales #GTM #leadership

I built a process at Morning Brew & storyarb to create a powerful engine for organic growth. - At the Brew, we scaled to 1,000,000 newsletter subscribers within 4 years, the majority of which we acquired organically. - At storyarb, we got to $150k in monthly revenue within 12 months & launched a 1,600-person virtual content conference in 30 days on a shoestring budget. I'm going to give you my entire process & how I'm applying it to storyarb (in the full article below). Fair warning: this post will be lengthy. THE PROCESS: 7 STEP MARKETING MACHINE To develop a thoughtful marketing plan, you need to be clear on a few things: your customer, your channels, your goals, and your metrics. Step 1: Who is our ideal customer (and what proof is there of that)? Create your Market of 1. Get as specific as humanly possible. Write a one-pager describing your avatar. What do they do. What do they need. What are their behaviors. Have a real person? Even better. Pull their Linkedin URL. Write down everything you know about them. Step 2: List out all of the hubs (marketing channels) that give us access to lots of spokes (our ideal customer)? Examples: newsletter, digital conference, ambassador program, SEO, in-person event, channel partnerships, subreddits, producthunt, IRL activation, etc. Step 3: Calculate your marketing math. - What are your 1, 3, and 6 month revenue goals? - What is the average value of your ideal customer? - How many more customers are needed in 1, 3, and 6 months to hit revenue goals? - How do you define a qualified lead? - What is the conversion rate of a qualified lead to a closed won customer? - How many qualified leads are needed in 1, 3, and 6 months to hit your closed won customer number needed to hit revenue goals? Step 4: What are the marketing channels you are going to prioritize & what is your prediction of how many qualified leads they will drive? Prioritizing channels isn’t easy, especially when you have no historical data & resources (time/money) are limited. A helpful way to compare & prioritize channels is by creating a simple matrix that allows you to compare channels across a number of categories: - Cost - Effort - Predicted Effectiveness Step 5: Who will own each channel? A channel owner is responsible for: - Setting the specific channel’s strategy - Tracking performance - Reporting performance to marketing owner - Recommending changes based on performance Step 6: How long will you be testing the channels before looking at performance and making adjustments/prioritizing top performers? Early on, I suggest quarterly. As your business matures, monthly. [X TIME LATER] Step 7: What were the results from the marketing strategy? - Are we on/off track to hit our goals? - What were the highest performing/lowest performing channels? Step 8: Based on results what does the go-forward marketing plan look like? Return to Step 4.. Read on for storyarb marketing machine case study...

I’ve had a lot of amazing marketing experiences in my career: • Helped Facebook scale to 50M users • Grew Mint from 0 to 1M users in 6 months • Currently run AppSumo doing 9-figures in revenue • 100,000 copies of Million Dollar Weekend Here’s how I create a marketing plan: == 1) Identify the problem you’re solving The #1 question to answer is “What problem am I solving?” I don’t do any marketing until I know my product is desired! No amount of marketing will solve a product problem == A few years ago, we built a site called MeetFam. It was an automatic email tool for e-commerce sites. We tried every marketing strategy you could think of: • Direct outreach  • Paid ads • Blog posts • Social media But guess what? No one wanted it. I even begged! So how do you know if you’re solving a problem people are excited about? == The Dollar Test: First, are they EXCITED to give you money? If you have to convince them, they’re not. == 2) Identify your ideal customer At AppSumo, we have customer avatars of who we’re serving. The more specific you are, the better. If you have 0 idea who your customer is. Survey them. Pro tip: Ask your existing customers where they hang out! == The best marketers fall in love with their customers. You can’t create an effective marketing strategy without first knowing:   1. Who your customers are 2. Where they hang out == 3) Pick ONE hyper-focused goal “Mark, we’re not profitable. Let’s try selling tickets inside Facebook events,” I pleaded. He said no. Then he took a dry-erase marker and wrote on the board: GROWTH. You don’t grow fast by doing many things, but by doing ONE thing extremely well. == Most people set vague goals. A goal needs to have a number and a time frame: • 150,000 email subscribers in 12 months Then you can break your goal into a timeline of smaller targets. == 4) Create your marketing experiment list Marketing is about TESTING things to see what to double down on. Most people stick with losers too long and don’t stick with winners long enough. Create a list of channels and expected sales. == 5) Double down on what works Once you start marketing, really look at what’s working. Maybe offline events are working – so how do you do 10 of them a day? I constantly remind my team to “Double down, double down, double down!!” == Even more importantly, stop doing stuff that’s not working. Our goal this year is 150k active subscribers. Not Instagram. Not TikTok. Not Threads. It’s Twitter / YouTube → Email Do less, but better. == How to create your million-dollar marketing plan: 1/ Identify the problem you’re solving 2/ Identity the customer you’re serving 3/ Pick ONE hyper-focused goal 4/ Create your marketing experiment list 5/ Double down on what works Follow Noah Kagan for more content like this!

How to Create a Killer Marketing Plan That Drives Results In today's hyper-competitive landscape, a killer marketing plan isn't optional—it's essential. Whether you're launching a new product, entering a new market, or recalibrating for growth, your marketing plan should be a clear, strategic roadmap that aligns goals with measurable outcomes. Here’s how to build one that works. 1. Market Overview: Know the Terrain Start with a deep understanding of your environment. Size up your market and define your current and target market share. Conduct a robust SWOT analysis—strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats—across functions like R&D, finance, distribution, and marketing. Then, analyze your customers: - Who are they? - Where are they? - What drives their decisions? - What segments offer the most growth potential? A thoughtful positioning strategy that aligns with what matters most to your audience is key. Use data to back up your assumptions and sharpen your competitive edge. 2. Objectives: Define Success Outline clear, measurable goals. These should be specific, time-bound, and aligned to broader business objectives. For example: - Acquire 1,000 new customers in the next 6 months - Increase lead conversion by 25% by year-end Make sure your objectives cascade across teams to ensure alignment and accountability. 3. Strategies: Connect Vision to Action Now define the programs that will drive your objectives. Each strategy should map directly to a goal and include: -Target segments -Value propositions -Channel approaches -Budget and resource allocation Think of strategies as the “what” behind your plan—your focused plays for growth. 4. Tactics: Get Into the Details This is the execution engine. Break down each strategy into tactical steps: -What campaigns will you run? -What partnerships will you form? -What content or events will you deliver? Each tactic should have owners, timelines, and KPIs. The tighter the coordination, the better the outcomes. Competitive and Sales Insights Don’t forget to map your competitors—what are they doing, where are they vulnerable, and how do you compare on pricing and product strength? Then, align your sales resources accordingly. Build a unified front between marketing and sales to capture market share and maximize ROI. Your Distinctive Advantage What’s your secret sauce? Whether it’s technology, talent, or trust, your plan should clearly articulate why you’ll win in the market. When done right, a killer marketing plan isn't just a document—it’s a launchpad for growth, alignment, and impact. #marketing #marketingplan #growth