As I move through the final part of my MBA program, I have realized that there are a variety of ways to get things done when it comes to business.  I personally prefer to do something the simplest way possible – as long as it is highly effective. I value my time and yours, so I thought I would create a post that would give you the simplest, yet most effective way to create your marketing plan. It’s not too complicated (which is the way I like it) so you should be able to to take this outline and run with it… and I really hope that you do!  If you’re following a plan, you’re almost always going to be more efficient and effective in your business building efforts because it’s like having a roadmap to reach your goals.

Here are my 5 steps to creating a highly effective marketing plan:

1. Determine your budget and set your goals. When I say “budget” I’m not just talking about money – I’m also talking about time! You see, I LOVE free marketing strategies like Facebook and Twitter. But,  just because they don’t cost you any money doesn’t mean they won’t cost you time. In fact, usually it’s the free marketing strategies that cost the most time, in comparison to the paid ones. So, if you want to tackle some paid marketing strategies – how much money can you budget towards your marketing plan each month?  If you’ve got more time than money (or plan on using a combination of both paid and free strategies), then how much time do you have to devote to your efforts each month?  And finally, what are the goals of your marketing campaign? Do you want X number of leads and X number of new people sponsored in your business? Write it all down and be specific!

2. Determine your target market. This is so important because it will determine some very crucial factors in your marketing plan – like where you market, how you market, and who you’re speaking to in your ads. As an Internet network marketer, my target market is other network marketers and those seeking and/or interested in a home business. I prefer to focus on other network marketers about 75% of the time because these individuals do not need to be convinced about how powerful network marketing is. No matter what industry you’re in or what business your marketing, you absolutely must determine your target market because this is your audience. Once you know who they are, then you can determine where you need to launch your marketing campaign and the strategies you will be using.

3. Determine your marketing strategy. Now that you know who your target market is, you can decide on the strategy you will use to get their attention (i.e. market to them).  Let’s say you want to focus your marketing efforts online – Great! However, there is more to it than just choosing the internet as our marketing medium. Take it a step further and choose the strategy that you will use online. I think all Internet network marketers should be using a strategy similar to the one I’ve diagrammed below. It’s basic but it shows how you use online marketing techniques like blogs and Facebook to drive traffic to your lead capture page (if you’re marketing the website your primary business gives you and not capturing leads, you need to go here now). After your new prospect enters their information in your capture page, it’s important that you follow up with them via phone and email (notice I said and, not or).  At that point, you want to build rapport with your new prospect, get to know that person, find out what they’re looking for, and determine how you can help them. If you think they could be right for your business, invite them to meet you to discuss it further (or to an opportunity meeting, a webinar, or a conference call – whatever your business makes available to you). Then follow up again after that!

4. Choose your marketing techniques. I personally like to have between 4-7 different marketing techniques working for me at any given time. That’s mainly because I strive to keep a steady stream of leads coming in for me and my team. However, if you’re just starting out and have never marketed online, you may want to focus on only 1-2 strategies. Laser focus can be a very powerful thing!  The various online marketing techniques can be broken down into categories something like this:

1) Social Media Marketing
•    Facebook
•    Twitter
•    Forums
•    Blogs
2) Content Marketing
•    Video Marketing
•    Article Marketing
•    Press Releases
•    Web 2.0 sites (Squidoo, Hubpages, etc.)
3) Paid Marketing
•    Pay Per Click (Google, Yahoo, MSN others)
•    Ezines Solo Ads
•    Banner Advertising
•    Facebook Social Ads

5. Set your schedule and stick to it! Once you’ve completed all the steps above, you need to map out your schedule to decide what days and times you’re going to implement your marketing plan. This is very important to your success. Use something like Google Calendar or an Excel spreadsheet to block off the times you’re at your day job working, in church, spending time with family, in class, or whatever your obligations might be. In between, before, and after all of those obligations, you need to find the blocks of time you have available to build your business and work your marketing plan. Then commit to doing the daily tasks of marketing your business that will help you accomplish your  goals.

That’s it! I’d love your feedback, so let me know what you think, ok? If you have anything you want to add to this plan, or if you found this post helpful, I’d love to heard about it!

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