Every great story starts with a plan.
That plan might be as small as getting from here to here, but along the way a more developed plan arises from trial and error. Think of any great movie you’ve ever seen. Whether the adventure started with a plan or not, one is eventually formed.
The same is true when it comes to the story of your brand. You need a plan.
Whether you have a launch coming up or are just planning for the 1st quarter, I like to break down whatever my end goal is into smaller pieces. (You can check out this post all about creating goals and breaking them down into milestones and simple steps.)
When planning for the 1st quarter, I start with the goal at hand. It might be a launch of a new product or a special promo, it could be a goal to hit a certain profit margin or to hit a sustainability milestone. It could even be a big event that your brand is hosting or sponsoring. From there I write down all the channels I can use to market as well as all the tasks that need to get done before that date.
It’s simply plugging in dates and more steps into each of these categories.
Do you want to talk about it on social 2x a week? Put those dates in and try and get specific about the messaging. Do you want to mention it in the monthly newsletter? Add in those dates. Where on the website will it go and what’s the deadline for it to be up? What about partnerships, are there partners you need to be keeping into touch with and providing graphic to?
Get everything in one doc so that it looks something like this:
Goal: Launch New Product on X/X/2021
Social:
Instagram Post X/X/2021 – Talking about the idea
Facebook Live X/X/2021 – Share the story behind the idea
Instagram Post X/X/2021 – Highlight the pain point it solves
Email:
Monthly Newsletter X/X/2021 – Mention at the bottom with a link to the website
Newsletter X/X/2021 – Pre-order
Monthly Newsletter X/X/2021 – Last chance for special pricing
Website:
Landing Page SetupX/X/2021
Once you have everything you can possibly think of for this Goal written out, move the dates onto a calendar and assign responsibility to different team members.
It’s great to have an entire plan in one place to reference AND to have each task on your calendar so it doesn’t get dropped.
Planning for the 1st quarter is a HUGE part of getting clear with your brand. When you have a plan, you know where you’re going and what everyone’s responsibilities are. It holds you accountable and helps you to not drop and balls in the juggle of a big event/goal coming up.
Start with the goal then break down the plan. From there it’s all about checking things off your calendar and hitting those milestones.
You’ve got this, and I’m always here if you need a little more clarity! Just sign up for my FREE 30-min strategy call and I can answer all your questions to help clear things up.
