Does Building A Marketing Plan Still Scare You?

July 22, 2024
Spotlight Branding

It used to make me uneasy. We have met people in the marketing industry for over ten years who get anxious when building one. I want you to walk away from this blog with two basic concepts. First, marketing plans aren’t as complicated as you think. (Because I want you to have everything you need to be successful, here’s a link to our marketing plan template. Feel free to look at it while you are reading this because you’ll be able to see how simple a marketing plan can be visually.)  

The second point is about why people are scared. Marketing plans are not judged on how elaborate, creative, or pretty they are; their value is tied to results. People don’t want to put something out there that can be used against them, especially when it’s their job to produce. The advertising and marketing industry is packed with people who want to hide behind nebulous results. Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. Direct Marketing details a situation where a radio show tried to stop the person paying for ad space from inserting a tracking device into the ad read. Why? Because they didn’t want the buyer to know whether their ad worked. 

The takeaway here is that you can’t be afraid of failing. Not all your marketing efforts will give you the desired results, but you will use that data to your advantage. When you have a plan, you’ll know what is producing results, so you can hammer down on what is giving you a return. 

Here’s How To Start Your Marketing Plan (Get Going!) 

Any apprehension you feel is likely centered around your sheer number of options. We have already published a series of ten blogs about marketing plans, and today, I am writing to encourage you to get going and make one. In those posts, we included six categories of things to target. As a quick refresher, this is what they were:

  1. Referrals 
  2. Digital Advertising
    1. Google & Social Media included
  3. Social Media
    1. Organic Posts
  4. Email Marketing
    1. Emails To Your Lists 
    2. Emails to Paid Lists 
    3. Email Marketing Through a 3rd Party 
    4. Email Newsletters
  5. Events (In-Person or Digital)
    1. Webinars
    2. Workshops 
    3. Seminars
    4. Attending Local Events (Booths)
  6. Other (Catch-All)
    1. Print Marketing 
    2. TV
    3. Radio
    4. Podcast

Pick four of these things to do in one quarter. Like many other companies, all our goals at Spotlight Branding are attached to the S.M.A.R.T. acronym (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, & Time-Bound). Let’s say you want to host a webinar. That, in itself, is not good enough for a marketing plan. Here’s what it should look like so you can learn from it.

  • Specific: Our firm will host a 30-minute webinar entitled X about strategies for asset protection. 
  • Measurable: We will measure success by registering at least ten attendees, having at least 50% of registrants attend the live session, and receiving feedback from at least 2 participants via a post-webinar survey. 
  • Achievable: We will promote the webinar over the next four weeks to attract attendees by leveraging our existing email list, social media channels, and local business partnerships. [PERSON] will create engaging promotional content, and [OTHER/SAME PERSON} will prepare a presentation.
  • Relevant: This webinar aligns with our goal of increasing client engagement and educating the community about the importance of estate planning. This will ultimately lead to more informed potential clients and increased interest in our services.
  • Time-bound: The webinar will be held on [DATE] in four weeks. We will start promoting it tomorrow and continue marketing efforts up to the day of the event. The post-webinar survey will be sent immediately after the session, and we will review feedback within one week to identify areas for improvement.

Traction Is Valuable 

Pick one, even if developing four initiatives is too much for you to manage right now. The key is that you are making traction. It’s momentum, even if it fails. You’ll know what doesn’t work and will still be ahead because you’re taking control of your marketing. To be good at anything, you need to practice and find time to get more repetitions in. Don’t be afraid if no one shows up to your webinar because they will as you get better at this. Just get started.

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Spotlight Branding

Spotlight Branding is a content marketing and branding firm for lawyers and other professionals. Our goal is to help you create an online presence that positions you as a credible expert in your field, keeps you connected with your network in order to stay top of mind and increase referrals, and to become more visible online so prospects can find you!
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