How to Start Your Marketing Calendar for the Year.

Last week, I was chatting with a friend who owns his own business. Naturally, the topic of marketing came up—no surprise there! We were discussing his marketing plans for the year, and his initial comment was, “I don’t even know what I’m doing next week, let alone this summer!”

My advice to him was simple: start small and build from there.

Whether it’s writing a term paper in school, preparing a big sales proposal, or creating a marketing plan for your business, the best approach is to start with an outline. Break it down into major pieces and go from there.

Here’s how you can get started:

1. Pull up a calendar and look at the seasons, major holidays, and life events.
2. Ask yourself: How do these apply to your business? Not all of them will, but some definitely will.
3. Use these as a starting point to create manageable and actionable pieces for your marketing plan.

Here are some suggestions to consider:

Seasonal Ideas:

• Spring: Air conditioning checkups, summer vacation planning, spring fertilizing, gardening, college/trade school enrollment, taxes.
• Summer: Camping gear, boating season, family vacations/reunions, farmers markets.
• Fall: Heating unit checkups, fall fertilizing, lawn aeration, snow removal, hunting season, harvest, insurance open enrollment.
• Winter: Snowbird vacations, winter boots and gloves.

Holiday Ideas:

• 4th of July: Picnics, parties, camping.
• Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa: Retail shopping, family gatherings, donations.
• New Year: Weight loss, fitness, education.
• Thanksgiving: Food, charitable donations.
• Minor Holidays: What minor holidays pertain to your business? For example, Oktoberfest is huge for the craft beer industry.

Life Events:

• Graduation season, back-to-school season, birthdays, wedding season.

Sports:

• Football, soccer, baseball, golf, fishing, cycling (my favorite), basketball, volleyball, tennis, etc.
• Playoffs, postseason, preseason.

Industry-Specific Events:

• What major events happen in your industry? Think about local or national tradeshows, product announcements, or other key dates.

Next Step: Plan Ahead! Timing is everything. For example, sending out advertising for graduation-related products in July is too late. Think about when people plan for their events and align your marketing calendar accordingly.

When planning your marketing efforts, consider how different channels can complement each other:

• Radio and Digital Marketing Channels: Use radio to build broad awareness and digital channels to target specific audiences. For example, a radio campaign can drive traffic to your website, while digital ads can retarget those visitors to encourage conversions.

Also, consider the lead time needed for:

• Developing creative materials for both radio and digital campaigns.
• Setting up tracking mechanisms to measure the effectiveness of your digital efforts.
• Coordinating schedules to ensure your radio spots and digital ads run in sync for maximum impact.

Put reminders in your calendar NOW to start planning. Remember, start small and build from there—and keep doing it!

If you’d like to brainstorm ideas, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to help.

www.dhirubhai.net/in/greggood

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four-hour days.” – Zig Ziglar

Happy Hunting!

Greg Good

Summit Media