What are some steps to creating a marketing plan? Does creating a marketing plan send shivers down your spine? Don’t get into that impostor syndrome and remember that this is something every business owner deals with. It may sound very technical but it isn’t intimidating as it might seem to be. You don’t need to go back to school and get a degree in the marketing field in order to find the head and tail for your biz and start figuring things out!

Watch the full interview here or click here

Follow these simple 4 step-process by Michelle Short in creating a marketing plan that is totally repeatable! You will be equipped with a marketing strategy which will surely take your business to the next level. So, let’s dive into the details.

Here are the 4 stages of marketing planning process and how you can come up with your very own marketing plan:

1. Be clear on the message you want to convey to your audience.

The first one of the steps to creating a marketing plan is important because marketing at its basic is getting your stuff in front of a bunch of people.
Before putting yourself out there, be very clear about your message otherwise you don’t sound like you know what you’re talking about. You also need to make sure that the people you get in front of could potentially be your client. After knowing your audience, the next part is finding the pain points of your target audience.

Probe, dig into the root of their problems. Understanding your customer is the key! Once you have identified their pain points, you will then be able to understand what needs to be fixed and that is where YOUR expertise comes in!

2. Set up your resources.

This is the second step to creating a marketing plan. Check what it is that you need to establish so your customer can find you. It can be a website, a landing page or your social media presence but work on the basic first. There is no need to become techie to set up your own website for your business, and you don’t have to hire an expensive web designer, either when you’re just starting! But if you got that covered, then go ahead and hire an expert which will definitely shorten the work from your end.

3. Exposure.

How do you get your message out there? Find your strength. If you’re a writer, get your blogs or articles published. Join a networking group. Answer questions in Quora or Networking Group. Get in front of other people’s audiences in the beginning while you’re building your audience. There are “n” number of ways to get massive exposure but we need to narrow it down to where your talents are.

4. Schedule.

Now having put yourself out there, and as you gain traction, start managing your calendar. The key is to zone in on the target you want to reach. You have to have a plan like showing up every week and work on your marketing in a scheduled way. Once you have a schedule, you can see whether it is feasible to ramp it up or not and start scaling. So everything that you do, put it on the calendar!

There you have it, the 4 steps to creating a marketing plan. These steps should help to set you on the right track to hit your goals!