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Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their digital marketing agencies.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating a digital marketing agency business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a digital marketing agency business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan Template here >

What is a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your digital marketing agency as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Digital Marketing Agency

If you’re looking to start a digital marketing agency or grow your existing digital marketing agency, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your digital marketing agency to improve your chances of success. Your digital marketing agency business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Digital Marketing Agency Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a digital marketing agency are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for digital marketing agencies.

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How to write a business plan for a digital marketing agency.

If you want to start a digital marketing agency or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your digital marketing agency business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of digital marketing agency you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a digital marketing agency that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of digital marketing agencies?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overv iew of the digital marketing industry.
• Discuss the type of digital marketing agency you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of digital marketing agency you are operating.

For example, your agency might specialize in one of the following types of digital marketing agencies:

• Full Service Digital Marketing Agency : this type of digital marketing agency tends to be larger than most other types of agencies and offers a variety of digital marketing services. Businesses often partner with full-service digital marketing agencies because they have the experience doing specific projects that the businesses need done, such as lead nurture campaigns or a website redesign. These agencies can also bring added muscle to existing marketing departments at a lower cost than it would take to build them out with new hires.
• SEO Digital Marketing Agency: this type of agency focuses primarily on helping their clients’ websites and website content rank high on search engine results.
• Social Media Digital Marketing Agency: this type of digital marketing agency helps companies establish and maintain an effective social media presence. They produce social media content and manage their advertisements on social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram. Other services offered are responding to customer interactions on social media platforms and can also manage influencer outreach for cross promotion and/or affiliate marketing.
• Web Design Digital Marketing Agency: this type of agency is a team of creative designers who build customized and optimized websites for their clients’ businesses.

In addition to explaining the type of digital marketing agency you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of clients served, the number of clients with positive outcomes, reaching X number of clients served, etc.
• Your legal business structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the digital marketing industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the digital marketing industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your digital marketing agency business plan:

• How big is the digital marketing industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your digital marketing agency? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your digital marketing agency business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: large companies, small businesses, and nonprofits.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of digital marketing agency you operate. Clearly, nonprofits would respond to different marketing promotions than large companies, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other digital marketing agencies.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes social media platforms, apps, and freelancers. You need to mention such competition as well.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of clients do they serve?
• What type of digital marketing agency are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide non digital marketing services?
• Will you offer products or services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a digital marketing agency business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type o f digital marketing agency that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide website design, SEO management, social media management, or public relations?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of yo ur plan, yo u are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your digital marketing agency. Document where your agency is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your digital marketing agency located in a busy retail district, a business district, a standalone office, or purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your digital marketing agency marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Reach out to websites
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your digital marketing agency business, including client communication, planning and scheduling advertisement campaigns, staff meetings, billing clients, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to book your Xth session, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your digital marketing agency to a new city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your digital marketing agency’s potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing digital marketing agencies. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a digital marketing agency or successfully running an advertising and/or public relations agency.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance s heet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you book 5 clients per day, and/or offer advertising packages that can be customized ? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your digital marketing agency, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a digital marketing agency:

• Cost of equipment and office supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a list of digital marketing services you plan to offer.  

Writing a business plan for your digital marketing agency is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the digital marketing industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful digital marketing agency.  

Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my digital marketing agency business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your digital marketing agency business plan.

How Do You Start a Digital Marketing Agency?

Starting a digital marketing agency is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your Digital Marketing Agency
• Create Your Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Digital Marketing Agency
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Digital Marketing Agency (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Digital Marketing Agency with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Digital Marketing Agency
• Buy or Lease the Right Digital Marketing Agency Equipment
• Develop Your Digital Marketing Agency Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Digital Marketing Agency
• Open for Business

Where Can I Download a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free digital marketing agency business plan template PDF here . This is a sample digital marketing agency business plan template you can use in PDF format.

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OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how Growthink’s business plan advisors can give you a winning business plan.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing

• Great for beginners
• Ready-to-use, fully customizable Subcategory
• Get started in seconds

Digital marketing is a fast-paced and ever-evolving field, making it crucial for entrepreneurs and businesses to have a solid plan in place. With ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing, you can easily map out your objectives, target audience, marketing channels, budget allocation, and key performance indicators, ensuring that your digital marketing efforts are focused and effective. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting out, this template provides the structure and guidance you need to promote your products or services online and achieve measurable business growth. Get started today and watch your digital marketing strategy soar!

Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing Benefits

A business plan template for digital marketing offers a range of benefits to entrepreneurs and businesses looking to excel in the digital space:

• Provides a strategic roadmap for achieving business goals and objectives
• Helps identify and target the right audience for maximum impact
• Guides the selection and optimization of marketing channels for effective promotion
• Assists in allocating budget resources efficiently and maximizing ROI
• Enables tracking and measuring key performance indicators for continuous improvement
• Facilitates collaboration and alignment within the marketing team
• Allows for regular evaluation and adjustment of digital marketing strategies to stay ahead of the competition.

Main Elements of Digital Marketing Business Plan Template

ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing is the perfect tool to help entrepreneurs and businesses set clear objectives and track progress in their digital marketing efforts. Here are the main elements of this template:

Custom Statuses: Keep track of the progress of each task with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do, ensuring that every aspect of your digital marketing plan is accounted for.

Custom Fields: Use custom fields like Reference, Approved, and Section to add important details to your tasks, such as relevant documents, approval status, and specific sections of your business plan.

Custom Views: Access different views to gain a comprehensive understanding of your digital marketing plan. Explore the Topics view to see all the different areas of your plan, the Status view to track the progress of each task, the Timeline view to visualize your plan over time, the Business Plan view to get an overview of your entire strategy, and the Getting Started Guide view to help you navigate the template effectively.

Collaboration and Tracking: Utilize ClickUp's collaboration features, such as task assignments, comments, and attachments, to collaborate with your team and ensure everyone is on the same page. Track your progress, set due dates, and receive notifications to stay on top of your digital marketing plan.

With ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing, you can streamline your digital marketing efforts, stay organized, and achieve your business goals effectively.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing

Crafting a comprehensive business plan for your digital marketing efforts is essential for success. Follow these four steps to effectively utilize the Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing in ClickUp:

1. Define your objectives and target audience

Start by clarifying your business goals and objectives. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales? Once you have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, identify your target audience. Understanding their demographics, preferences, and pain points will help you tailor your digital marketing strategy to effectively reach and engage them.

Utilize custom fields in ClickUp to outline your business objectives and create personas for your target audience.

2. Conduct a thorough competitor analysis

Research and analyze your competitors to gain insights into their digital marketing strategies. Identify their strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling propositions. This analysis will help you identify opportunities for differentiation and areas where you can outperform your competition.

Use the Board view in ClickUp to create cards for each competitor and track their key marketing strategies, such as social media presence, content marketing, and SEO efforts.

3. Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy

Based on your objectives, target audience, and competitor analysis, create a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. This should include specific tactics for each digital marketing channel, such as social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, email marketing, and paid advertising.

Utilize the Gantt chart in ClickUp to visually map out your marketing strategy and set deadlines for each tactic.

4. Implement, track, and optimize your campaigns

Once your strategy is in place, it's time to implement your campaigns. Launch your digital marketing efforts across various channels, monitor their performance, and track key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, and engagement. This data will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your campaigns and allow you to make data-driven optimizations.

Use the Dashboards in ClickUp to track and analyze your digital marketing metrics in real-time, allowing you to make informed decisions and continually optimize your campaigns for maximum results.

By following these steps and utilizing the Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing in ClickUp, you'll be well-equipped to create a comprehensive and effective business plan for your digital marketing efforts.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing

Entrepreneurs and businesses can use the ClickUp Business Plan Template for Digital Marketing to effectively plan and execute their digital marketing strategies.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a comprehensive digital marketing plan:

• Use the Topics View to outline the key sections of your business plan, such as objectives, target audience, marketing channels, budget allocation, and key performance indicators
• The Status View will help you track the progress of each section, with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do
• Utilize the Timeline View to set deadlines and milestones for each section of your business plan
• The Business Plan View provides a holistic overview of your entire digital marketing strategy, allowing you to see how all the sections fit together
• Create a Getting Started Guide View to provide step-by-step instructions and resources for team members to follow when executing the digital marketing plan
• Customize the template with custom fields like Reference, Approved, and Section to add more context and organization to your business plan
• Update statuses and custom fields as you progress through each section to keep team members informed and on track
• Monitor and analyze the progress of your digital marketing plan to ensure you're achieving your business goals
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Create a Digital Marketing Plan: 9 Step Strategic Guide

Nov 27, 2020 | Read time: 11 min.

Patrick Lane , Sr. Marketing Manager

• A digital marketing plan helps you determine the most effective strategies for your business and then put those strategies into action.
• Without a well-defined digital marketing plan in place, you’ll likely end up wasting money and not making the impact you want.
• A digital marketing plan can include business and marketing goals, strategies you’ll use to meet those goals, timelines, digital channels, and more.

Contents Jump to

Digital marketing has become exponentially more complicated since the early days of the internet. Back then, businesses rarely created a digital marketing plan. And those that did, focused mostly on websites, banner ads, and email marketing.

Now, you have dozens of digital marketing channels and platforms to choose from. Should you focus on SEO or PPC ? Blogging or webinars? Social media or email? Podcasts or video marketing? Augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR)? How much should you spend and when can you expect to see results?

Trying to choose the best options for your brand can feel daunting, overwhelming even.

What you need is a digital marketing plan.

A clear plan helps you determine the most effective strategies for your business and then put those strategies into action. A digital marketing plan helps you organize your initiatives so that you’re continually connecting with your audience, engaging them, and driving them to action. With a digital marketing business plan, you think ahead, coordinate among departments, and integrate your digital marketing for greater impact.

Read on, and learn nine steps to structure a digital marketing plan.

What is a digital marketing plan?

MARKETING TERM DEFINITION Digital Marketing Plan A digital marketing plan is a document in which you strategically map out your digital marketing objectives, as well the actions you’ll take to achieve those objectives.

Among other things, it can include business goals, digital strategies, and competitive landscape analysis as well as timelines, budgets, digital channels, and more.

Think of a digital marketing plan like a roadmap of sorts. You know where you want to go, and the plan provides you with a specific route to follow. 

Without a well-defined plan in place, your digital marketing efforts will be inefficient and ineffective. You’ll likely waste money and see diminished returns.

Digital Marketing Plan Template

Create a winning digital strategy that connects with the right consumers at the right time.

How to create a digital marketing plan

Now, let’s talk about the various digital marketing plan components as well as the specific steps to follow as you develop your strategy.

1. Define your digital marketing goals and business objectives

Clear, measurable, and attainable digital marketing plan objectives help you define exactly what you want to achieve and measure. Be clear and concise when you set these goals. You should also include specific numbers and timeframes to benchmark your progress.

For example, avoid goals that state you will update your lead generation system , boost conversion rates, or improve digital customer experience . Those are a bit too vague. You can’t measure your results and it’s not apparent what steps you should take to reach that goal.

Instead, a much better goal is to double organic search traffic in the next 12 months. This provides you with a deadline, a framework for setting milestone goals, and specific actions to take (optimize your site, create amazing content, and conduct strategic outreach for SEO, etc.).

“ SMART goals are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. TERAKEET

2. Define audience segmentation and buyer personas

A key reason why digital marketing is important is because it allows you to target your audience with great precision.

For any digital marketing campaign to be successful, you need to know who you’re targeting. Segmenting your audience and then building buyer personas for each of those segments can provide you with insights about what types of marketing will be most effective. 

For example, say you sell IT services. Part of your audience might be small businesses with less than $500,000 in revenue. You might also sell to large corporations with significant IT needs. Your buyer personas and marketing strategies for each of these segments will look very different. Messaging that resonates with a small business owner probably won’t resonate with the head of a large IT department, and vice versa.

Start by defining the different segments in your target audience. From there, begin building out the personas of your ideal customer within each segment. Here are 9 great examples of personas to get started.

Your buyer persona information will vary depending on whether you’re B2B or B2C and the price of your product/service. Some demographic and additional information you may want to include is:

• Social media platforms
• Pain points
• Products/features desired

Your goal in creating personas is to get inside the minds of your target customers and to see things from their perspectives. When you understand what matters most to them, you can make a digital marketing plan that speaks to their deep desires and big challenges. 

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3. Conduct a competitive analysis and determine market share

If you want your marketing efforts to be effective, you need to know who you’re up against. A competitive analysis allows you to identify your competitors, calculate your market share , and determine the marketing strategies they employ.

When doing your competitive analysis, consider the following types of things:

• Which audience segments are they targeting?
• What digital marketing channels are your competitors using? 
• Where are they strongest?
• Where are they weakest?
• What portion of their traffic is earned/owned/paid?
• What’s their positioning in the market?
• What’s their claimed differentiation?
• What type of messaging and specific language do they use?
• What is their tonality and brand personality?

A thorough competitive landscape analysis will give you insights into how you can use online marketing to surpass your competitors. For example, you may realize that your competitors’ positioning and differentiation are well known, so you’ll benefit from crystalizing your own in contrast. Or, you may discover they’re strong in social media marketing but weak when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) performance.

4. Conduct a SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) is the counterpart to a competitive landscape analysis. It offers a framework to analyze your business against other forces in your market. Use this process to identify what’s working, spot potential organic growth opportunities , and prepare for external threats.

Start by analyzing the strengths of your company. What are your primary advantages over your competition? Which things do you do particularly well? What unique resources do you have at your disposal?

Next, look at your weaknesses. What elements of your business aren’t working particularly well? What things keep you from making sales? Where do you fall short of your competitors?

The third step is to look closely at the opportunities available to your company. Are there any market trends you can take advantage of? Can you utilize new technology that your competitors can’t? Is there an under-served segment in your audience? 

Finally, identify any potential threats to your business. Could a competitor steal market share? Are there any obstacles blocking business growth ? Are there potential financial issues on the horizon? 

The data from your SWOT analysis will help you develop your digital marketing plan. Your plan should cater to your strengths, mitigate your weaknesses, move toward opportunities, and proactively avoid potential threats. All in the name of helping you to increase sales.

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5. Calculate your digital marketing plan budget

The next step in creating the best digital marketing plan for your brand is to calculate your budget. The budget will define how much you have available to spend on digital marketing activities, as well as guide you toward specific channels, strategies, and tactics.

The amount you budget for digital marketing will vary based on a number of factors, including:

• Position within the industry
• Previous results
• Profitability of a strategy, tactic, or campaign

How much will you allocate to brand awareness campaigns ? What about to specific campaigns and offers? Are you going to allocate a certain amount of digital marketing budget for customer retention? Do you know how much to spend on SEO?

It’s important to establish your budget upfront. However, remain flexible so you can capitalize on opportunities for greater SEO ROI . If you notice that a certain campaign just isn’t generating positive ROI, then you may be better off eliminating that spend. Similarly, if you see that a certain campaign (or channel) is producing outsized results, consider shifting the budget and allocate additional dollars towards what’s working well. If you have a specific return-on-spend in mind that’s highly profitable, then keep increasing the budget as long as you’re keeping your acquisition costs under the target.

In this way, your budget can be a dynamic, evolving support mechanism of your digital marketing initiatives.

6. Define your digital marketing channels

Before you develop a content strategy , you’ll need to define the primary digital marketing channels you’ll be using. Your choice of channels needs to take into account your audience, goals, and budget.

For example, say your goal is to drive 30% more targeted traffic to your website. One way to do that is through PPC ads, which can give you an immediate boost. However, Google Adwords can also be expensive.

To improve ROI, turn to more cost-effective channels, like SEO and content marketing. These channels take longer to produce results but also deliver a far lower acquisition cost, giving you more bang for your buck. Plus, SEO and content marketing results compound over time, setting you up for longer-term sustainable success.

When defining your digital channels, consider where your audience spends most of their time. If you’re in a B2B industry, you may want to focus on channels like LinkedIn or webinars. If your audience is younger, you may want to consider influencer marketing on Instagram. Focus on how you can deliver value to your audience within the channels they favor most.

And don’t assume your audience doesn’t care about great content. Some of the best content marketing examples come from a broad range of companies with completely different customers.

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7. develop your digital marketing strategies and tactics.

After defining your channels, you need to develop the digital marketing tactics and strategies you’ll use within those channels.

For example, if you’re going to focus on search engine optimization, you need to determine the keywords you’re going to target and how you’re going to target them. You may decide to create a comprehensive content hub , online courses, SEO topic clusters , or a series of online tools. Or you may decide to provide more detailed, superior how-to information, or to deliver insights on upcoming trends, or to deliver content featuring celebrities.

If you’re focused on b2b lead generation , you may want to create case studies that showcase your results. As you think through your digital marketing plan look for ways to differentiate yourself from the competition. For instance:

• Dollar Shave Club caught people’s attention by being funny and irreverent in a traditionally boring industry. 
• Tableau offered a free online tool and garnered backlinks from more than 56,000 websites.
• LEGO created an online, interactive community with more than 300,000 in monthly organic traffic.

The more crowded the market space, the harder you’ll need to work to capture attention and achieve true optimization across your digital marketing portfolio. No matter what, when you build your digital marketing strategy , be true to your brand.

8. Create a marketing calendar

A marketing calendar allows you to map out exactly when you’ll implement your digital marketing campaigns and initiatives. It also creates accountability, ensuring that you hit deadlines and effectively execute the plan throughout the year. A calendar also helps ensure that you are consistently reaching each of your various audience segments throughout the year.

Try to map out 12 months in advance, and break down your calendar into each month of the year. This will provide you with an overall framework, along with sufficient time to prepare and execute on each delivery. For example:

• In January you’ll release a training webinar. Before you can release it, you need to create a slide deck, build a landing page, design social media graphics, etc.
• Throughout January and February, you’ll promote the training webinar across multiple channels, including social media, email, video, and PR. 
• In March, you’re going to start a blog that will be updated weekly. To make this happen, you need to decide on topics, assign them to writers, coordinate with a designer, create a blog calendar, organize videos to be embedded, etc.

Be realistic when creating your editorial calendar . Give yourself sufficient time to get everything done in a quality manner, and make sure that each deliverable is clearly assigned to a specific individual.

Popular marketing scheduling tools include CoSchedule , Contently , and Trello .

9. Measure the results and KPIs of your digital marketing plan

The final step in creating a digital marketing plan and strategy is to measure your results through the definition of metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). You need to compare the outcomes of your marketing efforts to the baseline as well as original goals. If the results are underwhelming, adjust and optimize, and then measure again.

Be sure to measure each channel so that you, as a marketer, can identify what’s working most successfully for your brand, and what may need to be cut.

Keep your entire marketing team informed through dashboards. Popular marketing dashboard tools  include includes Klipfolio , TapClicks , Grow , and Domo .

Great digital marketing plans encourage integration

The process of developing a digital marketing plan encourages marketing integration which fuels greater business impact. Customers can’t ignore your brand when you consistently engulf them in your messaging, offers, and calls to action. As a result, you will achieve more, with less, by efficiently and intelligently repurposing and atomizing your marketing assets.

Whether your company is an established ecommerce brand or a brick-and-mortar juggernaut, you need to have a digital marketing plan. Although it takes time, effort, and coordination, it’s worth the work. Your marketing will be much more effective, and you’ll achieve greater marketing results for the business.

A digital marketing plan is like a blueprint. It should cover the steps and tactics to achieve the broader outcomes defined by your strategy. Your plan should cover all of the digital channels you use, including social media, email, advertising, public relations, and your website.

1. Set goals 2. Define your audience 3. Conduct a competitive analysis 4. Conduct a SWOT analysis 5. Determine your budget 6. Identify your channels 7. Develop specific tactics 8. Create a calendar 9. Measure results

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How to Write a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan (with PDF Template)

SEOptimer now serves over 2,000 digital agencies around the world and through the years we've had the chance to connect with many of our agency customers to understand their early days in starting their agency. This is incredibly interesting to us because it helps us understand where and how they plan to grow so we can help build the features they need in SEOptimer.

This article is the 3rd in our series focused on starting a new digital agency. For some useful prior reading be sure to check out our previous articles:

• How to Start a Digital Marketing Agency : a comprehensive guide covering typical agency business models, services, hiring, training, new business, day to day management and more!
• Digital Agency Lean Canvas : a digital agency business model on a single page! The lean canvas is a popular documentation methodology borrowed from the tech startup world.

Don't be dismayed if it feels like there's a lot of other competing digital agencies in your city. This is perfectly normal. Digital marketing services like local SEO, for example, are dominated by small agencies. Search Engine Land reported that over 50% of local SEO agencies have 10 or fewer clients. Forbes Council Member Jon Hall says, this keeps the industry "weird" - aka diverse as its not dominated by a small handful of big agencies.

The first step in launching a new digital marketing agency is to write a plan. In this guide, we'll cover two of the more traditional ways to define a business plan document with handy downloadable templates:

• Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan Document (DOCX & PDF) Template
• Creative Agency Business Plan Deck (PPTX) Template

Why do you need a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan?

The days of mandatory 50+ page business plans are long gone. The choice is now yours as to whether you define your digital agency business plan in an in-depth strategic document or not. Some agency founders find it useful to brainstorm this way and document their thought process in a long-form fashion across many pages. Other founders prefer creating shorter slide decks, others opt for a 1-page lean canvas version or some even write their plan in a wiki or business planning tool.

There is no right or wrong way to document your plan. You need to find the documentation method that suits you best. If you're unsure what suits you best, the following factors may help you decide:

Consideration #1: Who is the audience?

Think about who this document is for. Who will read it? In some cases it will just be you and the founding team. If you are raising money, obviously your investors will be a key audience.

You might also have business partners or board members who may be an audience too. When thnking through all these different groups, work backwards from the most optimal presentation format.

Consideration #2: Seek an unbiased third-party opinion

Devin Schumacher is the Founder of SEO agency SERP and says it's easy to get swept up in your own overly optimistic projections.

"Ask an experienced agency founder you trust or admire to sanity-check your plan. Seeking an objective opinion from a third-party detached from your new business is vital."

Devin makes a great point. This type of peer review methodology is commonplace in other industries but sometimes lacking amongst agency founders. Make sure you get at least 1 other unbiased opinion from someone who has already achieved success in your niche.

Don't fall into the trap of asking a friend or your accountant or someone you know personally to review your plan. Doing so will give you a biased opinion. You need an unbiased opinion from someone willing to give you objective feedback.

Consideration #3: Stand your ground

The whole point of a business plan is to take the time and effort to research the market, your competitors and potential clients. This document will distill all your insights into a strategic plan you can operationalize. As is always the case, unexpected distractions masquerading as opportunities (rightly or wrongly) will pop up in your field of view demanding your attention.

Perhaps it's a new client opportunity with a project slightly adjacent to your niche. Perhpas a hiring opportunity for a role you didn't plan to hire yet. Sometimes the hardest thing is to say no, when you're in the mindset of taking every opportunity for growth.

During these situations, revisit your agency business plan and remind yourself of your focus area niche and how you planned to grow within that niche.

Consideration #4: But, be ok with change

In fact this balance between sticking to the plan and pivoting the plan needs to be navigated by every digital agency founder. It's not easy and often you will be second-guessing yourself.

"Every agency owner I know has had to massively adjust their target audience, pricing structure, competitor analysis, and service offerings based on the way they grow over the first 2-5 years."

Rebekah says that founders need to be prepared for change, afterall, digital marketing is in constant flux and evolution, so change is the norm and we need to write business plans with flexibility in mind.

Trust your performance metrics and continue to do the things that have the biggest quantifiable business impact.

Typical Business Plan structures

We mentioned previously that there's no right or wrong way to document your business plan. So with that said, let's look at some typical marketing agency business plan templates that you can use. After considering all the factors above, choose the structure that works for you and your stakeholders best. We've outlined six of the more common options below:

Option #1: Written business document

This is the more traditional (and still valid) way to describe your business. A written business plan document in MS Word or Google Docs is still the most common way to document your digital marketing agency business plan.

This type of business plan is considered "long-form", ie: longer in length and suited to more descriptive language. Expect to write longer rationales, longer explanations with plenty of space for evidence, research, insights and strategy. This type of plan will likely be 30+ pages and feel comprehensive. This comprehensiveness is especially needed if external investors or business partners are involved who need to be convinced of the robustness of your plan.

Option #2: Slide deck

The PowerPoint Presentation (or Google Slides or Keynote) has become the go-to corporate communication format. Digital agency founders spend most of their time communicating to staff, clients and stakeholders in PowerPoint so it makes sense to use this format for the purposes of communicating the agency's overall business plan.

The fundamental difference between this option and the written document, is that a slide deck is a presentable format. So typically you might be in the room with your business partners, walking through the presentation on the screen. Whereas in option #1, a written document is not a compelling way to present an idea. It's much more suited as a sent document to be consumed in isolation. That's not to say that a slide deck can't be utilized this way, it's just more common that you would be presenting and talking through your plan with the slides serving as a visual backup to what you say.

There's also a good argument for doing both (ie written document AND slide deck). It comes down to who all the stakeholders are (eg investors, business partners or just you) and whether you intend to present your plan or just document your plan.

Option #3: Lean canvas

The Lean Canvas developed by leanstack.com is a business plan on a page split into 10 boxes. This planning document has become very popular in the tech/startup world and has since been adopted in many other industries, including digital agencies. Be sure to check out our previous article explaining how to use a Lean Canvas for your agency .

The entire business plan fits on a single page which means you obviously need to sweat on every single world and ensure only the most important details are included. We are big supporters of this format because this helps you prioritize and focus your efforts down to the fundamental aspects of your new business.

Option #4: Wiki

In the context of a business, a Wiki is usually an internal website with multiple interlinking articles. The biggest Wiki in the world is Wikipedia and if you want to get really meta, check out Wikipedia's wiki about wikis :

"A wiki (/wɪki/ WIK-ee) is a hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience directly using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project."

Wiki's are generally perceived as internal knowledge bases so if your business plan has executional detail, this might be a good format for documenting processes and methodologies for staff.

Option #5: General Planning tool

Tools like Notion and Trello have grown massively in recent years as more people are working remotely and more work in general is being done collaboratively online.

These types of planning tools are designed to be multi-purpose and fall somewhere between a wiki and a specialized business planning tool.

How to construct the business plan

Now that we've covered the typical business plan structures let's look at the specifics of how you actually go about constructing the business plan and each of the main tasks you need to perform and sections of the business plan.

Market research data gathering

Customer/client research.

Rebekah Edwards, who we spoke to previously stresses the importance of market research with as many potential clients as you can. She interviewed several businesses in their target market when developing their service offerings and pricing. Some of the questions she thought were most helpful included:

• With no other information, what do you think X would cost from an agency? (X being the service in question.)
• What is the biggest roadblock for you to accomplish X in-house? (X being basic content/SEO projects, such as article creation/editing/uploading or strategizing new keywords.)
• How would you typically search for a digital marketing agency? (Referrals, social media, Google search, etc. — this helped us understand how to best market our services)
• If you already work with a digital marketing agency of any kind, what stood out? Why did you sign on the dotted line?
• Have there been digital marketing agencies you've specifically decided not to work with for any particular reason? What were the red flags or the issues with a fit that led you to say no?
• What matters most to you when working with a digital marketing agency? (Examples: data/analytics, frequent communication, hitting deadlines every time, price, niche of expertise, etc.)

Answers to these questions are invaluable as they help you position and market your new digital agency based on customer insight.

Competitor research

The importance of competitor research goes without saying. It's vital you have a good understanding of how your competitors are going to market, how they sell, who they target and what their rough price points are. If you have a friend who owns a small business, ask them to mystery shop at a competitor so they can report back to you what the sales process was like.

The way you position and sell your services should be informed by a combination of both customer insights and competitor insights. Addressing client needs whilst maintaining a unique selling proposition will set your new digital agency up for success!

Building out the business plan

Download our template: digital marketing agency business plan document.

To make edits to the document make sure to download our DOCX template which you can edit directly in Microsoft Word. However if you would prefer a printable PDF, we also provide this option too. Use these templates as a starting point to help you draft your digital marketing business plan:

Below are some of the highlight areas of the plan:

Market Research Findings

We suggest conducting three types of research to inform your marketing agency business plan:

• Qualitative research like one-on-one interviews, focus groups and meetings with prospective clients
• Quantitative reserach like online surveys, mass emails and multivariate testing
• Competitor analysis to determine their strengths and weaknesses

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and Service Offering

Nailing your USP will be tough especially if you are in a competitive industry / city. Use the previous market research tasks to discover where the gaps are in the market and leverage these insights to position your new agency to be competitive AND different. Perform a SWOT analysis based on your new USP. Then you can determine your actual service offerings and pricing strategy.

Go-To-Market (GTM) Plan and Org Structure

Define your target market - the exact client types who you want to sell to and list the marketing and advertising activities that you will perform that would be most effective in reaching these types of people.

Also list your people (this might not be many on day 1!), sources of advice and support as well as the strategies you'll use to retain your staff and build their skills and knowledge.

Goals Sales Forecasting

This marketing agency business plan template includes goal setting for the next year and goal setting for the next 3 years. This page is structured to help you set SMART goals.

SMART goals are:

• Specific : In the '[Enter a goal]' section describe your goal clearly and ensure you attach a person responsible in the 'Who's responsible' section.
• Measureable : Ensure the actions you list in the 'Actions to achieve goal' have an objective outcome
• Achievable : Ensure you sense-check your goals with your team and all agree that they are attainable
• Relevant : Ensure this is a priority goal and will help your new agency grow
• Time-bound : Enter a due date to ensure the goal doesn't get forgotten

Use the Cash flow forecast table as a simple way to visualize cash-on-hand in your first 12 months. Add rows to estimate your monthly expenses like payroll, rent, utilities, subscriptions, insurance, fees and other ongoing costs.

Tools and Tech

Finally, list out all the tools and technology your new agency will likely need to run an efficient operation. We've listed SEOptimer for you already because it's one of the best, low-cost lead generation tools for your agency. Over 2,000 digital agencies use SEOptimer to generate white label site audits and embed an audit form on their agency website to capture new lead details.

Creative Agency Business Plan Slide Deck PPTX Template

If you prefer a slide deck template, use this creative agency business plan example in PowerPoint format:

Tim's background is in digital marketing working for both large and small digital agencies and diverse client types. He has a passion for tech, software and staying up to date on the latest search engine news.

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How to Create a Digital Marketing Plan: 4 Steps

• 08 Feb 2024

Digital marketing is essential; it helps you connect with customers via online channels and enhance brand awareness. To ensure your campaigns succeed, you need an effective digital marketing plan and strategy.

Not all businesses understand strategic planning's importance. According to a Smart Insights report , only 17 percent clearly define their digital marketing strategies.

If you want to create a digital marketing plan, here’s an overview of what it needs and four steps to take.

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What Is a Digital Marketing Plan & Why Is It Important?

Technology has revolutionized business, but that doesn’t mean traditional marketing tactics are obsolete.

“There are certain aspects of marketing that remain true no matter how technology changes,” says Harvard Business School Professor Sunil Gupta, who teaches the course Digital Marketing Strategy . “One of these aspects is the importance of developing a plan to effectively use your marketing resources.”

A digital marketing plan is a comprehensive strategy outlining how your company will use digital channels to promote its products and services. Unlike traditional marketing tactics, it focuses on identifying your target audience and connecting with consumers via online platforms and channels.

Your plan’s significance can’t be overstated. It provides a strategic focus while optimizing your marketing efforts and budget. More importantly, it ensures your company remains agile and responsive to market dynamics and maintains a competitive edge.

Adaptability is particularly crucial in times of uncertainty. According to HubSpot , 20 percent of marketers pivoted their established marketing plans last year due to the potential for a recession.

To help craft your digital marketing plan, here are four steps to ensuring it’s comprehensive and can weather market challenges.

4 Steps to Creating a Digital Marketing Plan

1. set goals & objectives.

The first step to creating your digital marketing plan is understanding what goals and objectives are essential to succeed.

“Companies often have multiple objectives, and you’ll need to prioritize and balance these goals,” Gupta says in Digital Marketing Strategy . “Often these goals are tied to the overall strategy of the company.”

For example, if you don’t work at a big-name company, you may want to focus on brand awareness. If you’re a market leader, you may want to expand your target audience by highlighting a new or revised product or service.

The best way to determine your company’s objectives is by identifying its challenges and opportunities throughout the customer journey , which has three stages:

• Awareness: Introducing customers to your brand or product to address a problem they have
• Consideration: Making customers aware of your brand or product while they evaluate alternatives
• Decision: Using information gathered during the previous stages to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions

“Which stage of the funnel you focus on and how you allocate your budget across different stages depends on the specific context of your brand and where you feel is the greatest barrier for your growth,” Gupta says in Digital Marketing Strategy .

Your company's strategic decisions hinge on which customer journey stage they pertain to. For example, to increase conversion rates at the consideration stage, you could allocate more resources to producing targeted, personalized content.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Your digital marketing strategy is only effective if you know who you’re trying to attract. That’s why identifying your target audience —the consumers most likely interested in your products or services—is the next step to crafting your digital marketing plan.

To determine your target audience, collect data related to:

• Demographics: General information like age, gender, and occupation that help you make implicit assumptions about customers
• Customer behavior: Behavior patterns related to your products or services, such as purchasing history and website interactions
• Consumer motivations: Primary motivations when making purchases, such as convenience, value, or status

You can use your insights to employ tactics like segmentation —organizing your customers into groups.

“While you can try and market a product to everyone, consumers have different needs and preferences,” Gupta says in Digital Marketing Strategy . “What appeals to one group of consumers may not appeal to another.”

By segmenting your customers, you can provide personalized experiences—even when their needs or market conditions shift.

Related: 3 Most Common Types of Customer Needs to Be Aware Of

3. Define Your Value Proposition

Once you know who to target, you can communicate your value proposition .

“If you want to convince consumers to buy your product, you need to give them a compelling reason to purchase your brand instead of a competing brand,” Gupta says in Digital Marketing Strategy .

To start, you need to know your:

• Target audience
• Unique value
• Competitive set
• Justifications for brand value

You can then combine these components into a value positioning statement:

For [target market] , [Brand X] is the only brand that offers [unique value claim] among all [competitive set] because [reason to believe] .

According to Digital Marketing Strategy , you can analyze your value claim’s validity and potency using the three C’s of brand positioning:

• Consumer analysis: Understanding your target audience’s behaviors, needs, preferences, and motivations.
• Competitor analysis: Evaluating your competitors' strengths, weaknesses, and market position to enhance your strategy.
• Company analysis: Assessing your value proposition, capabilities, resources, and performance to identify areas for strategic improvement.

Effective brand positioning requires being faithful to your value claim and ensuring it’s feasible and favorable.

“As you work to create a value proposition, remember: A brand’s position is not just defined by the brand itself,” Gupta says in the course. “A brand co-creates its position with its consumers as they interact with each other and react to emerging cultural trends.”

4. Establish Metrics

Metrics are critical to your marketing plan. Without key performance indicators (KPIs) , it can be difficult to tell whether it’s effective.

Common marketing KPIs include:

• Impressions
• Click through rate
• Conversion rate

“At the simplest level, you need to measure what you set out to achieve with your marketing objectives,” Gupta says in Digital Marketing Strategy . “And certain metrics will be more relevant for specific stages of the funnel.”

For example, you can focus on metrics like impressions —the number of times your brand-specific content was displayed—to determine your strategy’s effectiveness at the awareness stage.

With a well-crafted digital marketing plan, you can use metrics to optimize your strategy as priorities shift throughout the customer journey.

Create Your Own Digital Marketing Plan

If you want to be a more strategic marketer, you need a digital marketing plan. With one, you can solidify your company’s position, enhance your digital marketing skills , and satisfy customers.

“Determining your marketing goals, who you’re reaching, understanding the uniqueness of what you have to offer them, and how you’ll measure the value of your marketing efforts isn’t always easy,” Gupta says in Digital Marketing Strategy . “However, as you clarify these components and create your plan, you’ll have a much clearer path ahead toward identifying, acquiring, and retaining customers.”

One of the most effective ways to learn how to craft a plan is by enrolling in an online marketing course, such as Digital Marketing Strategy . Through real-world case studies and interactive exercises, you can understand how to position your brand for success.

Do you want to create a digital marketing plan? Explore Digital Marketing Strategy to discover how. If you’re interested in exploring online education but aren’t sure where to start, download our free guide to online learning success .

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How to Write a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan in 2023

When you try to find out a thing or two about writing a digital marketing agency business plan, you are bombarded by an endless barrage of more or less annoying acronyms such as SCOMS, SUCUTS, AMBERS or something along those lines -none of the aforementioned are actual business plan acronyms, at least to the author’s knowledge.

In other words, various business gurus are trying to sell you a prepackaged solution that is supposed to work for any company, no matter what it does or how it makes its money.

Like with all prepackaged solutions, the results are, at best, mediocre.

For a digital marketing agency , due to the exceptionally fluid and innovative niche, such an approach is almost guaranteed to fail. Instead, you have to dig in, brew yourself a gigantic pot of coffee, and really get down to it.

Of course, since we are living in the year 2023, there will be some specific things to look out for, too.

1.Who Is It for?

Inexperienced business owners almost invariably ignore the basic and eternal truth of writing a digital marketing agency business plan: focusing on the audience. 

Internal Purposes

For example, you may be coming up with a business plan that will be used mostly for internal purposes. You will be laying out your goals and means to achieve those goals for your employees. You will let them know what is expected of them and what kind of performance will be considered satisfactory. It will also let them know how the company is doing and try to convince them to stay on board.

An internally-oriented business plan is also a great way to understand where you stand realistically , which is often a problem for digital marketing agencies.

 Investors and Partners

Another kind of digital marketing agency business plan is aimed at investors and partners. This kind of business plan is intended to reinforce their trust and belief in your digital marketing agency. It goes without saying that this kind of business plan will be finance-heavy, dealing with cold, hard numbers.

Potential Customers

Finally, your digital marketing agency business plan may be aimed at your existing and potential customers. It will be a borderline marketing tactic where you will point out all of the amazing things you are planning to accomplish and the tools that you intend to use. It can also be a great way to advertise the wide array of your services and introduce new ones.

For example, if you just started expanding and are now offering digital marketing strategy services , your customer-oriented business plan is the perfect “delivery mechanism” (to borrow from pharmaceutical terminology here) for this announcement.

It should be pointed out that your digital marketing agency business plan should also start introducing certain terms and concepts that will be more effective in the future, such as AI in digital marketing , natural language processing, data analytics, account-based marketing and so on.

There is nothing wrong with being ambitious in your digital marketing agency business plan, especially if it is aimed at investors and potential customers.

2.Know Your Market Very Well

A big part of knowing whether your agency will be successful is understanding your audience. Make sure your plan is clear about the definition of your target market—who will you be selling to and how many other agencies are already selling similar services?

Your ads won’t work if they don’t appeal to what your potential customers want or need. Research and find out as much as possible about the people you want to sell to.

Many business owners fall into the trap of believing that their products or services are “for everyone”— that is, anyone would be interested in or need the products. But even if you define your business as a full-service digital marketing agency that appeals to a broad market of diverse consumers, you need to identify who your ideal consumer is.

3.Numbers. Numbers. Numbers.

Whether you like figures or not, having a thorough understanding of the numbers that impact your business is a crucial component of an agency business plan. It does not matter who the audience for your former digital marketing business plan is, you will have to be excruciatingly precise with your numbers.

When you dig deep enough, a digital marketing agency business plan is never about the words. It is about the numbers.

• How many clients do you have at the moment?
• How many more do you plan on attracting?
• What are you doing to keep your clients?
• How much does your client retention cost?
• How much are you paying your outside partners?
• What kind of growth rate are you expecting?
• How do you plan on selling your services?
• How much will it cost to sell them?
• Are you planning on taking out a new business loan?
• What is your employee turnover rate?

All of this and much, much more has to be backed by numbers.

Simply put, without the numbers backing your claims, no one is going to believe you – not your employees, not your potential investors or partners, not your customers.

If you avoid numbers in your business plan , they will notice it and once they do, the first place they will go to is that you are trying to hide something.

One word of warning – this does not mean you should divulge absolutely everything about your finances. That being said, some transparency with your numbers can go a long way.

4.Focus on People

The people from the subheading above are your people, your employees.

The reason why they are making a feature in an article about a digital marketing agency business plan in 2023 is that 2023 will hopefully finally be the year when digital marketing agency owners and managers realize the value of the people in their employ.

The situation is such that employee loyalties are all but becoming a thing of the past and in an industry such as digital marketing, this is perhaps even more pronounced than in some other, “slower” industries.  In addition to this, people are finally talking about the debilitating costs of high employee turnover which occurs when companies do not value the people who work for them.

It is because of all of this that you need to feature your people heavily in your digital marketing company business plan. (Of course, this is especially true if your digital marketing agency business plan is of the internally-oriented kind.)

You should outline all the ways in which you plan on retaining your best people and help them do their jobs better and raise their job titles .

You should write down all of the investments you will make in them and in making your company a better place to work. You should flesh out a clear-cut and results-driven hiring policy, as well as an onboarding one.

Everyone who gets a hold of your plan needs to understand that you are a digital marketing agency that understands the realities of the evolving workplace and that values its employees above everything else.

5.Be Realistic and Honest

Business plans should avoid fluff, be realistic and honest. The biggest mistake entrepreneurs can make when writing a business plan is to be overly optimistic with sales and future cost estimates.

Make sure your business plan demonstrates the compelling reasons why customers need your agency’s services and how you will achieve competitive differentiation in the digital marketing industry. Make the financials realistic, and look at worse-case scenarios so you get a view of what could go wrong and what you would need to do to put things right.

Must-Haves of a Solid Digital Marketing Agency  Business Plan

Your business plan is more than just pages of objectives; it’s the embodiment of your vision and commitment to navigating the intricate world of digital marketing. So, this isn’t about just “making it” but about leading, innovating, and setting benchmarks.

If you’re unfamiliar with crafting a business plan or simply want to expedite the process when starting a digital marketing agency , consider leveraging artificial intelligence, editing the outputs and putting them into the final form. We offer prompts designed by ChatGPT-4 that can be utilized with GPT to maximize the advantages of AI in your planning.

1. A Comprehensive Market Analysis

Understanding the nuances of the digital marketing space is essential. Beyond just recognizing industry leaders or listing potential competitors, you should delve deep into identifying market gaps, emerging trends, and potential threats. 

Can you identify areas of innovation that haven’t been tapped into yet? What about shifts in consumer behavior due to technological advancements or global events? 

By providing detailed market analysis, you’re not only setting your agency up for a proactive approach but also showcasing to stakeholders that your strategies are rooted in research and foresight.

ChatGPT Prompt for Market Analysis:

“Provide a detailed market analysis for the digital marketing industry in 2023, focusing on emerging trends, potential threats, and untapped areas of innovation.”

2. Leveraging AI for Strategic Planning

It’s 2023, and artificial intelligence isn’t just a buzzword—it’s an integral component of any forward-thinking strategy. When building your business plan, illustrate how AI will fit into your operations and service offerings. 

You can do this by showcasing how AI-driven insights can refine target audience segments, optimize ad spend, predict emerging consumer trends, or even enhance user experience on digital platforms. Think of AI as more than just a tool—it’s a collaborator that can significantly enhance your agency’s efficacy and efficiency.

ChatGPT Prompt for Strategic Planning:

“How can artificial intelligence be integrated into a digital marketing strategy in 2023? Provide insights on AI-driven tools and methodologies for audience targeting, ad optimization, and predicting consumer behavior.”

3. Clearly Defined Business Goals and Objectives

Every successful journey begins with a clear destination in mind. Your business plan should resonate with this philosophy. Are you aiming to be a local leader or have aspirations to expand globally? Do you want to specialize in a niche or provide a comprehensive suite of digital marketing agency services ? 

Break down these goals into quantifiable metrics—whether it’s revenue milestones, client acquisition numbers, or expansion timelines. Then, layer this with actionable strategies, ensuring that your objectives aren’t just aspirational but also achievable.

ChatGPT Prompt for Business Goals and Objectives:

“List clear and quantifiable business goals for a digital marketing agency aiming to expand its operations in 2023. Break these down into short-term and long-term objectives, with strategies to achieve each. “

4. Detailed Financial Projections and Budgeting

Transparency is key when it comes to finances. 

Your business plan should provide crystal-clear financial forecasts, including revenue predictions, operating costs, profit margins, and potential ROI. But remember, it’s not just about showcasing profits. 

Address potential financial risks and have contingency plans in place. You can also highlight planned investments, be it in technology, talent, or infrastructure. If you’re approaching stakeholders, they should be able to understand not just the ‘how much’ but also the ‘why’ behind each financial decision.

ChatGPT Prompt for Financial Projections:

“Draft a financial projection for a digital marketing agency in 2023, detailing expected revenue, operating costs, and potential ROI. Also, highlight potential financial risks and contingency plans.”

5. A Strong Emphasis on Talent Acquisition and Retention

People make businesses, and in the realm of digital marketing, this statement holds even more weight. Your plan should detail how you’ll attract top-notch talent to drive your agency’s vision. 

Think recruitment drives, partnerships with top universities, or even apprenticeship programs. However, acquisition is just one side of the coin. Retention, often overlooked, can be your competitive advantage. 

Detail out plans for continuous training, mentorship programs, competitive benefits, and perhaps even a glimpse into the agency culture you aim to cultivate. Making it clear that employees aren’t just resources, but invaluable assets will set your agency apart.

ChatGPT Prompt for Talent Acquisition and Retention:

“Provide strategies for talent acquisition and retention for a digital marketing agency aiming to establish itself as an industry leader in 2023. Include methods for recruitment, training programs, and creating a nurturing agency culture.”

Wrapping Up

If you are looking for a bulletproof, step-by-step business plan template for your digital marketing agency growth , we are sorry to disappoint. The reason why this article does not fit that description is that such a template does not exist.

We aimed to provide the most important things to keep in mind when coming up with a digital marketing agency business plan for 2023. 

The rest will be up to you.

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What Is a Digital Marketing Plan? (Steps to Create One + Examples)

Learn how to create an effective digital marketing plan in 7 steps. What to include and view examples to guide your strategy for success.

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What Is A Digital Marketing Plan?

Why do you need a marketing plan, 7 steps to create a digital marketing plan, example of a digital marketing plan, learn more about digital marketing.

In today’s world, Digital marketing is the only way to increase your visibility on Google and social media networks and get valuable leads and clients for your business.

To make this happen, you must have a good and effective digital marketing plan that will account for all important aspects of online marketing, and this is exactly what you’ll learn in this post.

A digital marketing plan is a document that describes in detail how to promote a company’s products or services online. It outlines what techniques to use to connect with your target audience and which digital marketing channels to utilize to drive online traffic and increase conversions.

Here is a quick example to help you understand this better. John owns a SAAS company selling accounting software to B2B companies.

A digital marketing plan for his case will include things like:

• How to identify his target audience
• How to set SMART digital marketing goals
• An analysis of competitor’s marketing strategies
• What channels to use to reach his audience
• What kind of content to publish on his website
• Which keywords to target with SEO
• Email campaigns to nurture and engage with potential customers

And other marketing tactics to help him achieve his business objectives.

A digital marketing plan will outline the strategy, focus on the most important actions, and help you use your marketing efforts and money wisely. It will also ensure that your company can quickly adapt to any changes and stay ahead of the competition.

I always tell my clients and students that without a solid plan, it’s like driving with your eyes closed. Don’t underestimate the importance of creating a plan before starting your campaigns.

Let’s see the steps to follow to make a good plan.

• Set Your Digital Marketing Goals and Objectives
• Define Your Target Audience and Build Buyer Personas
• Analyze Your Competitor’s Strategies
• Choose Your Digital Marketing Channels
• Define Your Marketing Budget
• Create a Marketing Calendar & Execute Your Plan
• Monitor Results & Adjust Your Strategy

1. Set Your Digital Marketing Goals and Objectives

Before you do anything else, you should set long-term and short-term goals for what you want to achieve with digital marketing .

Any goal you define should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) and align with your business objectives.

For example, if your goal is to get more traffic to your website, you can set a long-term goal of increasing your traffic by 20% in 2 years. To achieve this goal, you should set short-term goals to increase your traffic by 5% in the next 6 months.

To align marketing goals with business objectives, think about what it takes to grow your business and set one or more goals to achieve that.

For example, if your business objective is to increase monthly revenue, you can translate that into the following marketing goals:

• Get more traffic from Google by ranking higher for these transactional [create a list] keywords.
• Optimize landing pages to increase conversion rate by 0.5%.

When setting goals, always look at your current performance and set challenging but realistic goals.

For more information, read: How to set digital marketing goals for long-term success .

2. Define Your Target Audience and Build Buyer Personas

The next step in crafting a winning plan is to define, in as many details as possible, who your target market is. I know from experience that this is a step many companies leave behind, believing they know their customers well.

Creating detailed buyer personas will help you uncover the unique characteristics of the different types of customers you should target in your campaigns.

For example, creating campaigns for young women with children differs from targeting single men. That’s the beauty of digital marketing. You can use your buyer personas to set up sales funnels for each group and market them based on their interests and needs.

When creating buyer personas, you should gather information about your customers, including:

• Personal Information
• Professional Information
• Goals and Challenges
• Ways of Learning
• Purchasing Behavior

You can use our template below to get started.

3. Analyze Your Competitor’s Strategies

When creating your digital marketing plan, you should closely examine your competitor’s strategies, particularly SEO techniques and paid ads campaigns. The reason is simple: your digital marketing campaigns don’t have to be perfect, but they need to be better than your competition’s because this is how you’ll win customers.

For example, to rank higher for a keyword in SEO, you don’t have to create superb content—you just have to create better content than your top competitors.

Find out who your main competitors are, examine their market share, promotional strategies, and, in general, their online presence. Don’t copy them, but get ideas and look for gaps in their marketing that you can exploit.

You can use the guides below to perform a competitor analysis.

• How To Find Your Competitor’s Ads
• How To Find Competitor’s Keywords
• How To Do An SEO Competitor Analysis

4. Choose Your Digital Marketing Channels

The next step is to specify which digital marketing channels you’ll use in your campaigns. As mentioned above, you can set multiple goals (long-term and short-term) involving one or more marketing channels.

The most common types of digital marketing to use in your plan are:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Social Media Marketing
• Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
• Content Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Affiliate Marketing
• Influencer Marketing
• Video Marketing

For each channel, you should set SMART goals and assign ownership to those responsible for the implementation. For example, if you work in a company with an in-house digital marketing team, you can agree with the SEO manager about the goals of SEO for next year and how these can be achieved.

5. Define Your Marketing Budget

When setting your marketing budget, it’s important to consider various factors. Digital marketing packages cost a few hundred to several thousand per month if you outsource all your marketing.

Follow these tips to utilize your budget efficiently:

Allocate a portion of income on marketing: The first thing to decide is how much to spend on marketing. A higher percentage might be necessary for startups and businesses looking to grow aggressively, while a lower percentage for established businesses aiming for steady growth might be more appropriate.

Choose which services to outsource and what to do in-house: Outsourcing all your marketing to an agency will incur a higher cost than following a hybrid model. Some tasks (like posting content on your social media pages) don’t require expertise. To save money, it’s better to handle these tasks in-house and hire an agency or consultant for the tasks that require expert knowledge, such as ongoing SEO work and PPC management.

Allocate your budget to the channels that generate the highest ROI: In an ideal world, you could use all marketing channels to promote your business, but that’s not the best approach. Run pilot campaigns on different channels to see what’s working best, and then allocate your budget to the most profitable channels. From experience, these are likely to be SEO and Google Ads.

Start with a low budget and gradually increase it: Even if you can afford to spend more on particular campaigns, starting with a low budget is highly recommended. As a rule of thumb, you should keep spending money on a campaign as long as it generates a positive ROI. When you reach top performance, move your budget to other channels.

This is usually the case with Google and Facebook Ads. Allocate a low budget to give the system time to optimize your campaigns, and then gradually increase it until the CPA (cost per acquisition) is at acceptable levels. When the cost to get a lead or make a sale exceeds a certain threshold, it’s time to spend money on other campaigns or channels.

6. Create a Marketing Calendar & Execute Your Plan

Once you gather all the information in your document, it’s time to create a marketing calendar and set a date for each important task or campaign. Normally, you won’t execute all actions at once. As noted above, your plan should include both short-term and long-term goals.

To stay organized, create a calendar and decide who will execute a task and when. Your plan should include specific dates to review your progress and adjust your strategy.

Remember to account for holidays and the time needed to prepare the necessary material for each campaign. This includes time-consuming tasks like creating content (blog posts and videos), researching, etc.

Once your calendar is ready, you’ve completed the first step in executing your digital marketing plan, but you should not stop there. It may sound unnecessary to stress this, but we’ve seen many companies fail to execute their plan.

The most common reasons were setting unrealistic goals and overestimating the return from paid campaigns, resulting in running out of budget faster than expected.

7. Monitor Results & Adjust Your Strategy

No marketing plan can be executed from start to finish without changes. I’ve been doing this for 20+ years and have never seen a campaign perform as originally planned. This means monitoring your campaigns regularly is crucial to your success.

You must track the right metrics and KPIs to monitor a campaign effectively. Each channel has its own set of important metrics you should track. For instance:

For SEO campaigns – you should track keyword rankings, website traffic, impressions, and organic CTR .

For PPC campaigns – you should track ad CTR, keyword quality score, impressions, and cost-per-click (CPC).

The above is just a small example. Read our digital marketing metrics post for a complete list of all KPIs and instructions on measuring them.

Here is a pro tip for you: To make data-driven decisions, you should try to gather all data in a single place, and Google Looker Studio (Free) is a great tool for this. Looker Studio can connect to several sources, including Google Search Console, Google Ads, and Google Analytics, and you can combine the data into meaningful reports and dashboards.

View the gallery of ready-made report templates to get started.

Here is a short overview of how the above tips can be transformed into an actionable plan for a website selling dog food.

Step 1: Set Your Digital Marketing Goals and Objectives

• Improve website traffic, enhance brand visibility, and optimize conversion rates to increase online dog food sales by 30% within the next two years.
• Short-term objective: Increase website traffic by 15% through SEO and content marketing.

Step 2: Define Your Target Audience and Build Buyer Personas

• Buyer Persona: Dog Owners
• Personal Information: Pet owners aged 25-45. They value the health and well-being of their pets.
• Professional Information: Middle to upper-income professionals or families.
• Goals and Challenges: Looking for nutritious, convenient dog food options. Challenges include finding affordable, high-quality dog food.
• Ways of Learning: Social media, blogs, online reviews.
• Purchasing Behavior: Prefers shopping online, responsive to recommendations and loyalty programs.

Step 3: Analyze Your Competitor’s Strategies

• SEO Analysis: Identify the top three competitors with strong organic visibility for high-value keywords such as “organic dog food” and “best dog food brands.”
• Content Gaps: Lack of comprehensive guides on dog nutrition and health which can be an opportunity to create value-added content.
• Social Media Presence: Competitors have moderate engagement rates, so there is an opportunity to create a more engaging, community-focused social media strategy.

Step 4: Choose Your Digital Marketing Channels

• SEO: Focus on content creation around high-value keywords and on-page SEO improvements.
• Content Marketing: Write pillar content on dog health and nutrition.
• Social Media Marketing: Post regularly on Instagram and Facebook, showcasing customer stories and behind-the-scenes videos on how our products are produced.
• Email Marketing: Monthly newsletters featuring exclusive promotions, nutritional tips, and new product launches.

Step 5: Define Your Marketing Budget

• Allocate 40% of the marketing budget to content creation and SEO optimization.
• 30% to social media advertising and influencer partnerships.
• 20% for email marketing tools and campaigns.
• 10% reserved for unforeseen opportunities and marketing tools.

Step 6: Create a Marketing Calendar & Execute Your Plan

• SEO: Publish bi-weekly blog posts. Begin on-page optimizations.
• Social Media: Host monthly live Q&A sessions with a veterinarian.
• Email Marketing: Send a weekly newsletter sharing new blog posts and exclusive discounts for subscribers.
• Content Marketing: Release a free eBook on dog nutrition.
• Social Media: Partner with dog influencers for product reviews.

Step 7: Monitor Results & Adjust Your Strategy

• SEO: Monitor keyword rankings and website traffic using Google Analytics.
• Social Media: Track engagement rates and follower growth.
• Email Marketing: Analyze open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.

Remember, success in digital marketing doesn’t happen overnight. It requires constant monitoring, tweaking, and a deep understanding of your audience. Making a digital marketing plan is just the beginning.

• How to Create Digital Marketing Campaigns
• Examples of Successful Digital Marketing From Known Brands
• How To Design An Effective Digital Marketing Strategy
• Best Digital Marketing Certificate Programs

Alex Chris is a digital marketing consultant, author, and instructor. He has more than 18 years of practical experience with SEO and digital marketing. Alex holds an MSc Degree in eCommerce and has consulted with Fortune 500 companies in different industries. He blogs regularly about SEO and Digital marketing, and his work has been referenced by leading marketing websites. Connect with Alex on Twitter and LinkedIn .

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How To Write a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan + Template

Creating a business plan is essential for any business, but it can be especially helpful for digital marketing agency businesses who want to improve their strategy and/or raise funding.

A well-crafted business plan not only outlines the vision for your company, but also documents a step-by-step roadmap of how you are going to accomplish it. In order to create an effective business plan, you must first understand the components that are essential to its success.

This article provides an overview of the key elements that every digital marketing agency owner should include in their business plan.

Download the Digital Marketing Business Plan Template

What is a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan?

A digital marketing agency business plan is a formal written document that describes your company’s business strategy and its feasibility. It documents the reasons you will be successful, your areas of competitive advantage, and it includes information about your team members. Your business plan is a key document that will convince investors and lenders (if needed) that you are positioned to become a successful venture.

Why Write a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan?

A digital marketing agency business plan is required for banks and investors. The document is a clear and concise guide of your business idea and the steps you will take to make it profitable.

Entrepreneurs can also use this as a roadmap when starting their new company or venture, especially if they are inexperienced in starting a business.

Writing an Effective Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan

The following are the key components of a successful digital marketing agency business plan:

Executive Summary

The executive summary of a digital marketing agency business plan is a one to two page overview of your entire business plan. It should summarize the main points, which will be presented in full in the rest of your business plan.

• Start with a one-line description of your digital marketing agency
• Provide a short summary of the key points in each section of your business plan, which includes information about your company’s management team, industry analysis, competitive analysis, and financial forecast among others.

Company Description

This section should include a brief history of your company. Include a short description of how your company started, and provide a timeline of milestones your company has achieved.

If you are just starting your digital marketing agency , you may not have a long company history. Instead, you can include information about your professional experience in this industry and how and why you conceived your new venture. If you have worked for a similar company before or have been involved in an entrepreneurial venture before starting your digital marketing agency, mention this.

You will also include information about your chosen digital marketing agency business model and how, if applicable, it is different from other companies in your industry.

Industry Analysis

The industry or market analysis is an important component of a digital marketing agency business plan. Conduct thorough market research to determine industry trends and document the size of your market. 

Questions to answer include:

• What part of the digital marketing agency industry are you targeting?
• How big is the market?
• What trends are happening in the industry right now (and if applicable, how do these trends support the success of your company)?

You should also include sources for the information you provide, such as published research reports and expert opinions.

Customer Analysis

This section should include a list of your target audience(s) with demographic and psychographic profiles (e.g., age, gender, income level, profession, job titles, interests). You will need to provide a profile of each customer segment separately, including their needs and wants.

For example, the customers or a digital marketing agency may include small businesses, medium-sized businesses, and enterprise businesses. Within each of these segments, there may be further subsegments.

You can include information about how your customers make the decision to buy from you as well as what keeps them buying from you.

Develop a strategy for targeting those customers who are most likely to buy from you, as well as those that might be influenced to buy your products or digital marketing agency services with the right marketing.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis helps you determine how your product or service will be different from competitors, and what your unique selling proposition (USP) might be that will set you apart in this industry.

For each competitor, list their strengths and weaknesses. Next, determine your areas of competitive differentiation and/or advantage; that is, in what ways are you different from and ideally better than your competitors.

Below are sample competitive advantages your digital marketing agency may have:

• Strong industry knowledge
• Proven track record of success
• Robust marketing strategies
• Depth of services offered
• Skilled team of professionals
• Innovative technology

Marketing Plan

This part of the business plan is where you determine and document your marketing plan. . Your plan should be clearly laid out, including the following 4 Ps.

• Product/Service : Detail your product/service offerings here. Document their features and benefits.
• Price : Document your pricing strategy here. In addition to stating the prices for your products/services, mention how your pricing compares to your competition.
• Place : Where will your customers find you? What channels of distribution (e.g., partnerships) will you use to reach them if applicable?
• Promotion : How will you reach your target customers? For example, you may use social media, write blog posts, create an email marketing campaign, use pay-per-click advertising, launch a direct mail campaign. Or, you may promote your digital marketing agency via word-of-mouth marketing.

Operations Plan

This part of your digital marketing agency business plan should include the following information:

• How will you deliver your product/service to customers? For example, will you do it in person or over the phone only?
• What infrastructure, equipment, and resources are needed to operate successfully? How can you meet those requirements within budget constraints?

The operations plan is where you also need to include your company’s business policies. You will want to establish policies related to everything from customer service to pricing, to the overall brand image you are trying to present.

Finally, and most importantly, in your Operations Plan, you will lay out the milestones your company hopes to achieve within the next five years. Create a chart that shows the key milestone(s) you hope to achieve each quarter for the next four quarters, and then each year for the following four years. Examples of milestones for a digital marketing agency include reaching $X in sales. Other examples include expanding into new markets, launching new services, and hiring key personnel.

Management Team

List your team members here including their names and titles, as well as their expertise and experience relevant to your specific digital marketing agency industry. Include brief biography sketches for each team member.

Particularly if you are seeking funding, the goal of this section is to convince investors and lenders that your team has the expertise and experience to execute on your plan. If you are missing key team members, document the roles and responsibilities you plan to hire for in the future.

Financial Plan

Here you will include a summary of your complete and detailed financial plan (your full financial projections go in the Appendix). 

This includes the following three financial statements:

Income Statement

Your income statement should include:

• Revenue : how much revenue you generate.
• Cost of Goods Sold : These are your direct costs associated with generating revenue. This includes labor costs, as well as the cost of any equipment and supplies used to deliver the product/service offering.
• Net Income (or loss) : Once expenses and revenue are totaled and deducted from each other, this is the net income or loss.

Sample Income Statement for a Startup Digital Marketing Agency

Balance sheet.

Include a balance sheet that shows your assets, liabilities, and equity. Your balance sheet should include:

• Assets : All of the things you own (including cash).
• Liabilities : This is what you owe against your company’s assets, such as accounts payable or loans.
• Equity : The worth of your business after all liabilities and assets are totaled and deducted from each other.

Sample Balance Sheet for a Startup Digital Marketing Agency

Cash flow statement.

Include a cash flow statement showing how much cash comes in, how much cash goes out and a net cash flow for each year. The cash flow statement should include:

• Cash Flow From Operations
• Cash Flow From Investments
• Cash Flow From Financing

Below is a sample of a projected cash flow statement for a startup digital marketing agency .

Sample Cash Flow Statement for a Startup Digital Marketing Agency

You will also want to include an appendix section which will include:

• Your complete financial projections
• A complete list of your company’s business policies and procedures related to the rest of the business plan (marketing, operations, etc.)
• Any other documentation which supports what you included in the body of your business plan.

Writing a good business plan gives you the advantage of being fully prepared to launch and/or grow your digital marketing agency . It not only outlines your business vision but also provides a step-by-step process of how you are going to accomplish it.

If you are seeking funding from investors or lenders, it is especially important to have a well-written business plan that demonstrates the expertise and experience of your management team, as well as your company’s potential for financial success. By taking the time to write a detailed and comprehensive business plan, you will give your digital marketing agency the best chance for success.  

Finish Your Digital Marketing Business Plan in 1 Day!

Wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your digital marketing business plan?

With our Ultimate Digital Marketing Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

How to Create A Digital Marketing Plan and Strategy

Liza Wickham

9 min. read

Updated October 27, 2023

The days of billboards and newspaper ads are long gone. In today’s world, digital marketing seems to be the go-to way of growing your business. Video and social media ads have taken over.   

After all, the internet takes up a major part of our day-to-day lives. And now, with over 59% of the global population having access to it, there’s no better place to advertise your company than on the internet.  

However, digital marketing comes in many different forms. There is Search Engine Optimization, content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, and more. Because of this, figuring out the best strategy to advertise your business can seem difficult and overwhelming. And it could be unless you start by developing a digital marketing strategy.

• How to create a digital marketing strategy

Now, when creating a digital marketing strategy, it may be a good idea to consult with a marketing or brand identity agency . But if you’re just starting your business or want to keep this process in-house here are the key points to keep in mind when creating a digital marketing strategy. 

1. Set goals 

First and foremost, you need to establish your goal. Knowing what you want to achieve is important because it will dictate the course of your digital marketing strategy.  

To do this, try using SMART criteria . This is a tool that will help you create clear, attainable, and meaningful goals. SMART stands for: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.  

Do you want to generate more leads? Or sell more products? Maybe you want more people to subscribe to your newsletter or you want to focus on building brand recognition. 

Be as specific as possible when setting your goals. Simply saying that you want to sell more products is not enough. However, establishing that you want to increase your sales by 10% within the next three months will give you a better idea of how to get there.  

2. Evaluate your existing digital marketing presence  

Once you’ve figured out what you want to achieve, it’s time to take a step back and analyze how your existing digital marketing strategy is working.  

To do this, take a look at your main marketing channels. These may include your website, social media pages , email marketing or content marketing efforts, SEO or pay-per-click advertising. Analyze what’s working and what needs to be improved to help you determine where you should focus your efforts.

If your website currently serves as your only digital marketing presence, do some research into which other channels may benefit your brand. What social media platforms do your potential customers frequent? Will email marketing help boost your sales? 

If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at what your competitors are doing . This can help give you ideas on how to get your brand in front of your target audience.

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3. Understand what the digital sales funnel is  

You have the baseline for your strategy, but before diving headfirst into executing your digital marketing strategy, you need to understand the digital sales funnel. So, what is it?  

A digital sales funnel is a marketing concept that depicts the buyers’ journey, starting from being a stranger to your company and ending up as being one of your loyal customers .  The digital sales funnel includes the following stages:  

Discovery 

Where people get to hear about your company for the first time. 

When some level of brand recognition has been established and the user is looking into your company and your products, becoming a potential customer. 

Purchase 

Where potential customers have turned into current customers. 

Loyalty 

Where people connect with your brand and turn into long-term customers. 

Understanding what stage your audience is at and what their expectations are can help you better curate your messaging. This is important to understand because users will react to your ads differently, based on the stage they are at. You need to construct your CTAs, social posts, and other copy based on these stages. 

4. Build buyer personas  

The next step is to get inside the mind of your customer. Imagine who your customer is, how old they are, what their values are, what they do for a living, and more. By doing this, you’ll gain a better understanding of who your audience is and how you will reach them. This practice steps beyond identifying a target market and actually has you create a faux buyer persona that helps you visualize your ideal customer.

These buyer personas need to be specific, just like the goals we talked about earlier. Conduct thorough market research , and leverage the steps you’ve already taken when defining your sales funnel as a starting point. From there, start to talk to your potential customers in forums, social media groups, or by requesting one-on-one interviews. 

In many ways, this will function like the validation process you ran when starting your business, just with a focus on messaging, digital ads, and your overall online presence.

5. Find your customers within your digital sales funnel 

Now that you’ve figured out what type of audience you’re looking at, it’s time to imagine your buyers scattered across all stages of the digital sales funnel.  

Why? Because, as we have previously mentioned, the buyers will react differently to your ads, depending on the stage they are at. Therefore, each one of these stages requires a different marketing approach.  

Let’s say that you’re running a car repair shop . From regular maintenance to restoration, and even fine-tuning ― you do it all. Think about how people will be able to find you depending on the stage they are at.  

For example, a customer at the discovery phase would be someone who had experienced an unexpected breakdown. And now, they’re looking for a mechanic to fix the issue immediately.  

They’ll most likely do a quick search on Google and might even look at online reviews. In this instance, you’d want to be one of the first to pop up in their search results for “car repair shop near me.” And you’d want to have a handful of positive reviews attached to your listing. To get there, you’ll need to optimize your SEO for that given term by having the right copy, an efficient site, readily available contact info, among other on-page elements.   

Another customer within the research phase may be someone looking for a new paint job or to add an after-market car stereo to their vehicle. They’re not in a rush and are willing to wait and do enough research to qualify reaching out to you. In that case, you’ll want your ads to present where they are. 

So why not run a Facebook ad campaign showcasing your past restoration projects?   Seeing that you made an old car look brand new, might just be enough to convince this potential customer that his car could really use a paint job.  

There will be a lot of trial and error during this stage. More than likely, you’ll continue to test and iterate on your ad positioning over time. For now, start with your buyer personas and where you expect them to be in your sales funnel. You can always adjust your ads, targeting, digital channels, and overall efforts depending on customer response.

6. Create a content strategy  

Now, you need to put everything together and create a specific marketing strategy for each channel. Your content strategy may include blogs, webinars, eBooks, podcasts, videos, and more. Define your goals and determine which types of content can help you achieve those goals.

For example, if you want to improve your ranking in search results, you might work on a keyword strategy, or ask users to post reviews on Google business so you can improve your local SEO score.  Or, if you’re looking to gain brand recognition, you’ll want to make sure you’re active on social media. 

Just be sure that no matter what content you develop, that you follow these best practices:

• Get to the point: Focus on the most important points and make sure your content is valuable to your reader.
• Speak directly to your audience: In order to connect with your audience, you must understand them. What are they looking for? What questions do they need answered? What problems do they need solved? How can you help?
• Use your unique value proposition: A value proposition tells your potential customers what they can expect from your brand. Along with valuable copy, be sure to create engaging headlines.
• Be consistent: Make sure your brand is consistent across all channels. Define your brand’s personality, tone of voice, and other unique traits. Ensure that every piece of content you create truly reflects your brand.

7. Keep track of your results 

Once you’ve got your marketing strategy up and running, it’s time to observe and see how it’s working. There’s always room for improvement. That’s why you need to constantly keep track of the performance of your project. Find out what strategies are doing well and what could go better, then make changes accordingly. 

Just be sure that you establish key metrics that you want to track upfront. This could simply be final transactions or appointment bookings, or something a bit broader like social shares and backlinks. Knowing what metrics matter can help you quickly identify and pivot away from any problems that arise. 

Digital marketing is a continuous process 

When creating a digital marketing strategy, always be specific with what you want to achieve, know who your target audience is, and determine how they will react to your ads based on the phase they’re at in the funnel. 

You’re not going to get this right every time. You may find that the channel you chose, the medium, and even the imagery just doesn’t resonate with your customers. Don’t let that shake you. Instead, learn from those results and try again. 

The same can be said if you see success. Don’t stop there, keep iterating on what works to find what works even better. That’s the beauty of leveraging digital marketing, there’s always room for improvement and so many ways to do it. You just need to lay the groundwork to know how best to approach it.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Experienced Marketing Coordinator with a history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. Skilled in digital marketing, blogging, and content writing. Strong media and communication professional with a Master's degree in English.

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• Digital marketing is a continuous process 

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The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Strategies & How to Improve Your Digital Presence

Discover how to create a successful marketing strategy for your business to seize growth opportunities and boost revenue.

FREE MARKETING PLAN TEMPLATE

Outline your company's marketing strategy in one simple, coherent plan.

Updated: 03/27/24

Published: 03/25/24

Am I right in assuming that a major part of your marketing strategy today is digital? Probably.

Consumers and businesses alike are almost always online and on the go – and you want to be able to reach them and observe their behavior and where they spend their time.

But when you're growing a business, this ever-changing digital landscape can quickly become an overwhelming one. With a number of other responsibilities and tasks that you need to do, how can you also efficiently create, fine-tune, and maintain an agile digital marketing strategy?

I've put together this guide about marketing strategies to help you improve your digital presence and grow better.

What Is a Marketing Strategy?

What Is a Digital Marketing Strategy

What Is a Digital Marketing Campaign?

Create a Digital Marketing Strategy

Types of Digital Marketing Strategies

Digital Marketing Campaign Examples

What is a marketing strategy.

A marketing strategy is a plan for reaching a specific marketing-related goal (or goals) in a focused and achievable way. It takes into consideration what your business is currently doing well and what you're missing in regards to the objective you set, then developing tactics to help you meet your goal.

If you run a small business, I get that you may not know how to jumpstart your strategy. Thankfully, this digital marketing strategy template will help you get there with its actionable tips and templates to set you up for success. And did I mention that it’s free?

Now, back to the topic at hand: are you confused about the difference between a marketing strategy and marketing tactics? I’ll cover that below.

Digital Marketing For Small Business

Everything you need to know to get started with digital marketing. You'll learn about:

• Content Marketing
• Marketing Analytics

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Strategy vs. Tactic

The difference between a strategy and a tactic lies in their scope, level of detail, and time frame. A strategy is a high-level plan that guides your direction and long-term goals and how you plan on accomplishing them. Tactics, however, are specific actions and methods used to implement your strategy and achieve short-term objectives.

You can think about it like this: strategy is planning, and tactic is doing. Having a strategy without ways to act on it (tactics) is daydreaming, and taking actions with no common goal or plan (strategy) wastes your time.

Let's dive a bit deeper into the differences between the two.

Characteristics of a Strategy

Marketing or not, there are three parts to any strategy :

• A diagnosis of your challenge
• A guiding policy for dealing with the challenge
• A set of targeted actions that are necessary to accomplish the policy

Depending on the scale of your business, your marketing strategy may include several moving parts, each with different goals. With that said, working on your strategy can become daunting at times.

So, if you're ever feeling overwhelmed about your marketing strategy, I recommend referring to these three steps to keep you focused on achieving your objectives.

Characteristics of a Tactic

While strategies provide a framework for your overall vision, tactics determine the specific steps taken to execute that vision.

A good tactic should:

• Be specific, actionable, and measurable
• Align with the overall strategy
• Have a relatively short time frame

Depending on your marketing strategy, your tactics may include email marketing campaigns, publishing a blog , or organizing an event.

Now, let's look at digital marketing strategy.

What is digital marketing strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is a plan for using online channels to establish an internet presence and achieve specific marketing objectives. These channels can include organic search, social media, paid ads, and other web-based mediums such as your website. Ultimately, the goal is to boost your business’s visibility and attract new customers.

A strong digital marketing strategy helps your business achieve specific digital goals through carefully selected mediums. Similar to marketing strategies versus marketing tactics , “digital marketing strategy” and “digital marketing campaign” are also often used interchangeably. How do they differ?

I'll discuss that in the following sections.

What is a digital marketing campaign?

Digital marketing campaigns are the building blocks and actions within your digital marketing strategy that move you toward a specific end goal.

For instance, if the overarching goal of my digital marketing strategy is to generate more leads through social media, I might run a digital marketing campaign on X (formerly Twitter.) I'd share some of my business's best-performing gated content on the platform to generate more leads through the channel.

Let's tie it all together to help you create a digital marketing strategy you execute with your digital marketing campaigns.

How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy

1. build your buyer personas..

For any marketing strategy – digital or not – you need to know who you're marketing to. The best digital marketing strategies are built upon detailed buyer personas ; creating them is your first step.

Featured Resource: Organize your audience segments and strengthen your marketing with these templates to build your buyer personas . They'll help you organize your insights and have a clear visualization of your target audience.

Buyer personas represent your ideal customer(s) and can be created by researching, surveying, and interviewing your business's target audience.

I have to note that it’s important that the information you gather is based on real data whenever possible. Making assumptions about your audience can cause your marketing strategy to go wrong.

Buyer personas are especially helpful if you have a niche audience. For example, I run Breaking the Blueprint , a HubSpot Blog column for minority business owners and entrepreneurs — a more specific group than the general HubSpot audience.

I could publish content based on what I think they might look for and benefit from, but I’m much more effective, impactful, and helpful if I dig deep and uncover their specific interests, needs, and challenges.

To get a well-rounded picture of your persona, your research pool should include customers, prospects, and people outside your contacts database who align with your target audience.

But what information should you gather for your buyer persona(s) to inform your digital marketing strategy?

That depends on your business — it‘s likely to vary by whether you’re B2B or B2C or sell a high-cost or low-cost product.

I’ve outlined some starting points that you can fine-tune and tailor to your particular business:

Quantitative and Demographic Information

• Location: Use web analytics tools to easily identify what location your website traffic is coming from.
• Age: Depending on your business, this may or may not be relevant information. But if it is, it's best to gather this data by identifying trends in your existing prospect and contact database .
• Income: If relevant, I recommend gathering sensitive information like personal income through persona research interviews, as people might be unwilling to share these details via online forms.
• Job Title: You can get a rough idea of this from your existing customer base, and it is most relevant for B2B companies.

Qualitative and Psychographic Information

• Goals: Depending on what challenge your product or service solves, you may already have a good idea of the goals of your buyer persona. Cement your assumptions by speaking to real customers and internal sales and customer service reps.
• Challenges: Speak to customers, sales and customer service reps, and any other customer-facing employees to get an idea of the common challenges your audience members face.
• Hobbies/Interests: Ask customers and those who align with your target audience about their hobbies and interests. For example, if you‘re a fashion brand, it’s helpful to know if large segments of your audience are also interested in fitness and well-being to inform future content and partnerships.
• Priorities: Talk to customers and target audience members to find out what‘s most important to them in relation to your business. For example, you’re a B2B software company, knowing your audience values customer support over a competitive price point is very valuable information.

By combining all of these details, you'll be able to create buyer personas that are accurate and highly valuable for your business.

2. Identify your goals and the digital marketing tools you'll need.

Your marketing goals should always be tied back to the fundamental goals of your business.

For example, if my business‘s goal is to increase online revenue by 20%, my marketing team’s goal might be to generate 50% more leads via the website than the previous year to contribute to that success.

Download this Template

Whatever your overarching digital marketing goal is, you must be able to measure the success of your strategy along the way with the right digital marketing tools.

For instance, HubSpot's Reporting Dashboard brings all of your marketing and sales data into one place, so you can quickly determine what works and what doesn't to improve your strategy for the future. My favorite feature is that you can customize your dashboards with the drag-and-drop editor to ensure your reports feature the metrics that matter most.

3. Evaluate your existing digital channels and assets.

When reviewing your existing digital marketing channels and assets to determine what to incorporate in your strategy, it's helpful to first consider the big picture — this will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed or confused.

Gather what you have and categorize each vehicle or asset in a spreadsheet so you have a clear picture of your existing owned, earned, and paid media.

Owned, Earned, Paid Media Framework

To do this effectively, I recommend using the owned, earned, and paid media framework to categorize the digital “vehicles,” assets, or channels you‘re already using and decide what’s a good fit for your strategy.

Owned Media

Owned media refers to the digital assets your brand or company owns, like your website , social media profiles, blog content, or imagery.

Owned channels are what your business has complete control over. The HubSpot Blog is an example of owned media, but this can also include some off-site content you own (e.g. a blog you publish on Medium).

Earned Media

Earned media , also called earned content, is anything written about or created about your business that doesn’t come from paid advertising or sponsorships. It’s published by a third party, like press mentions or media outlet coverage, people sharing your content via their networks, user-generated content, and even word-of-mouth marketing from satisfied customers.

Essentially, earned media is the recognition you receive from these efforts.

Paid media is the opposite of earned media, and it refers to any vehicle or channel you spend money on to catch the attention of your buyer personas.

This includes things like Google Ads, paid social media posts, native advertising (e.g. sponsored posts on other websites), or any other medium through which you pay in exchange for increased visibility.

I’ll go over an example now that I’ve outlined the framework.

Owned, Earned, and Paid Media Framework Example

Say I have an owned piece of content on a landing page on my website that's been created to help me generate leads. I know I want to incorporate different parts of the framework rather than just working with owned, earned, or paid media alone.

To amplify the number of leads the content generates, I ensure it's shareable so my audience can distribute it via their social media profiles. In return, this will increase traffic to my landing page. This is the earned media component.

To support my content's success, I might post about the content on my Facebook page and pay to have it seen by more people in my target audience.

This is how the three parts of the framework can work together, although it's not necessary for success. For instance, if my owned and earned media are already both successful, I might not need to invest in paid methods.

I recommend evaluating what solution will help you best meet your goals and then incorporating those channels into your digital marketing strategy.

Featured Resource: Keep track of your paid media efforts with HubSpot's free Paid Media Template .

Download the Template

4. Audit and plan your owned media campaigns.

At the heart of digital marketing is owned media — and it almost always comes in the form of content. That‘s because nearly every message your brand broadcasts can be classified as content, whether it’s an About Us site page, product descriptions, blog posts , ebooks, infographics, podcasts, or social media posts.

Content helps convert website visitors into leads and customers while improving your brand's online presence. And when this content is search engine optimized (SEO), it can boost your search and organic traffic.

Whatever your digital marketing strategy goal is, you'll want to incorporate owned content. To start, decide what content will help you reach your goals.

Continuing with the example from above, my goal is to generate 50% more leads on my website this year. My ‘About Us’ page is probably useless to my strategy unless it’s somehow been a lead-generation machine in the past.

If you’re feeling stuck, below I’ve outlined a brief process you can follow to work out what owned content you need to meet your digital marketing strategy goals.

Audit your existing content.

I promise marketing audits are significantly less scary than any other type of audit and much simpler.

Just make a list of your existing owned content, then rank each item according to what has previously performed best concerning your current goals.

For example, if your goal is lead generation, rank your content according to which pieces generated the most leads over the last year (such as a blog post, ebook, or site page).

The idea here is to figure out what‘s currently working, and what’s not so that you can set yourself up for success when planning future content.

Identify gaps in your existing content.

Based on your buyer personas, identify any gaps in the content you have.

For example, if you're a math tutoring company and know through research that a major challenge for your personas is finding effective ways to study, create some.

By looking at your content audit, you might discover that ebooks hosted on a certain type of landing page convert really well (better than webinars, for example).

In the case of this math tutoring company, you might make the decision to add an ebook about “how to make studying more effective” to your content creation plans.

Create a content creation plan.

Based on your findings and the gaps you‘ve identified, make a content creation plan outlining the content needed to help you hit your goals.

This should include:

• Promotional channels
• Why you're creating the content
• The priority level of the content

This can be a simple spreadsheet and should include budget information if you plan to outsource the content creation or a time estimate if you’re producing it yourself.

5. Audit and plan your earned media campaigns.

Evaluating your previous earned media against your current goals can help you get an idea of where to focus your time. Look at where your traffic and leads are coming from (if that's your goal) and rank each earned media source from most effective to least effective.

If you use an analytics tool, you’ll likely have an option to filter leads by source. If you’re a HubSpot user, the Sources reports in HubSpot’s Traffic Analytics tool is where you’ll find this information.

Recommended Reading

16 Benefits of Email Marketing Your Marketing Team Must Know

The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing

30 Brilliant Marketing Email Campaign Examples [+ Template]

12 Email Marketing Trends Marketers Should Know [According to My Inbox]

2. Video Marketing

Video, specifically short-form, is the number one trend companies leverage in their marketing strategy.

Given this, it’s no surprise that the fastest-growing platforms are a video haven, especially TikTok. Of the marketers already using the platform, 56% plan to increase their investments in 2024, making it the platform poised to grow the most this year.

The increase in investment is also because video marketing is more effective than ever. In fact, 96% of video marketers surveyed by Wyzowl reported that video is an important part of their strategy, the highest it’s ever been in nine years.

One of the reasons videos are so effective is because they allow you to communicate with your audience in a more personal way. Plus, short-form video takes less bandwith and effort to create, you can still share a lot of information, and shorter videos align with the fast-paced attention span of many watchers.

By making video an integral part of your digital strategy, you can showcase your brand’s creativity and explore more content formats, such as product demos, explainer videos, expert interviews, customer testimonials, and more.

Online Marketing Benefits of Video Marketing

• Boosts SEO: Since Google includes video content in its search results, implementing video as part of your marketing strategy can improve your search engine visibility. Plus, video content can be optimized with relevant titles, descriptions, and keywords, making it easier for search engines to understand and categorize the content.
• Better Retention: Video is easier to remember than text-based content because it allows you to use storytelling techniques and communicate important messages more effectively. Video has the power to invoke emotions and create a connection with your audience, making it easier for them to consume and remember your content.
• Enhances Reach: Video is highly shareable on social media due to its easily digestible nature. As people share your video content with their own social media networks, it exposes your brand to new audiences.
• The Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing
• The Best Video Marketing Channels to Grow Your Brand
• The Video Marketing Playbook

22 Video Marketing & Advertising Campaigns You'll Actually Enjoy Watching

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is optimizing your web content, structure, and technical aspects to improve its visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). The ultimate goal of SEO is to increase organic, non-paid traffic to your website from search engines like Google and Bing.

If your product pages aren’t earning traffic, SEO is your best bet to get those pages in front of those searching for those products and services. Investing in an on-page SEO strategy is important to ensure your content engages and converts users.

According to our survey, website/blog/SEO is the second-most used channel among marketers, but they say it offers the best ROI. I’m not surprised by this because of my own experience. More often than not, I’m looking to Google to find answers to my questions, and so are my other consumer peers — among all generations, people prefer to find answers to their questions with search engines.

Image Source

And, while social search (which I’ll cover below) continues to gain steam, consumers still find the best answers on search engines.

Not sure how to get started? Download our starter pack below.

Featured Resource: SEO Starter Pack

Download Your Free SEO Pack

Online Marketing Benefits of SEO

• Increases Organic Traffic: Optimizing your digital content for search engines can help you rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords that your audience is using. As your ranking increases, so does your brand’s visibility and your website’s organic traffic.
• Improves User Experience: When it comes to getting higher rankings, optimizing your website for users is just as important as optimizing for search engines. I recommend ensuring that your website is easy to navigate and has a clear information hierarchy so users can quickly find what they are looking for. In doing this, you not only improve the user experience, but you also increase the chances of users staying on your website longer, engaging with your brand, and ultimately, becoming customers.
• Provides Long-Term Benefits: Unlike paid advertising, which requires ongoing investment, optimizing your content for search engines can provide long-term benefits by driving consistent and ongoing organic traffic to your website. Yes, it can take longer to reach your goals, but the payoff includes saving your business money and building an authentic brand reputation.
• The Ultimate Guide to SEO
• How to Create an SEO Strategy & How to Do Keyword Research for SEO

19 SEO Tips Straight From the Mouths of HubSpot's SEO Team

• The SEO Evolution: Expert Insights into the Future Landscape of Search

4. Content Marketing

Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage your target audience. Instead of bombarding your audience with ads and promotional messages, content marketing focuses on providing your customers with information that is actually interesting and useful to them.

Ultimately, the goal of content marketing is to build trust, establish thought leadership, and drive profitable customer action. Since buyers view around three to five pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep, content marketing is how you give them what they’re looking for.

Despite also falling victim to the “Is X marketing tactic dead???!??” by a few dissenting voices (some even call it a massive waste of your time !), blogging is one of the most popular forms of content marketing. You might call me biased because I’m a blogger writing about why blogging is important, but you can also trust the 92% of marketers who told us that they’re boosting their investments in blogging in 2024.

It’s a major play for businesses that want to attract customers who are genuinely interested in their products and services. And well-written, well-researched blog posts often answer an urgent need for a potential customer. For instance, HubSpot sells marketing software , and our users are typically marketing professionals who create plans, campaigns, and editorial calendars for their employers.

Recognizing this, Hubspot offers a free blog maker to help you get started on publishing content that resonates with your audience, ensuring you can easily share your knowledge and insights without the technical hassle.

The key is not to blog just because: blog with the intent to solve for the customer. To effectively do so, it’s important to understand your target audience and their pain points . That way, you can write highly targeted content that’s genuinely helpful for readers, especially since consumers say they read 1-4 blog posts per month .

Another trend in the content marketing space is generative AI, and 85% of marketers say it will change how they create content this year. Those who already use it say it helps them create high-quality, better-performing content.

Online Marketing Benefits of Content Marketing

• Boosts Web Traffic: Regularly publishing fresh and relevant blog content can improve your SEO rankings, attracting more organic visitors to your website. Plus, sharing content on your social media pages and other channels can help you stay engaged with your audience while increasing visibility.
• Establishes Experience, Authority and Credibility: Sharing your expertise and insights through blog articles and other content helps establish you and your company as thought leaders in your industry. You can engage with your audience and provide them with useful information that speaks to their pain points, building trust and positioning yourself as a reliable and knowledgeable resource.
• Generates Leads and Conversions: By creating engaging and relevant content, you can attract potential customers interested in your business and move them through the buyer’s journey. You can also convert readers into leads by including CTAs that encourage readers to take action, such as subscribing to a newsletter or registering for a free trial.
• Why Blog? The Benefits of Blogging for Business and Marketing
• How to Create a Successful Blog Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide
• Blog SEO: How to Search Engine Optimize Your Blog Content
• Blogging Mistakes to Avoid According to HubSpot Bloggers
• How to Fit AI Into Your Content Marketing Strategy [+ Its Biggest Pitfalls], According to Jasper's Head of Enterprise Marketing

5. Paid Advertising

An organic content marketing strategy is only a portion of the story. It’s just as important to implement non-organic plays, such as paid advertising. Not only will this help you drive more brand awareness, it will also help you reach audiences who can’t find your business organically yet.

I recommend paid advertising if you’re still growing your blog or business and not getting as much traffic as you want. There are a few types of advertising you can consider adding to your digital strategy:

• Social Media Advertising
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
• Online Advertising

Nearly every platform has an option for you to advertise — either through a display network (such as Google’s ) or through its built-in ad system (such as Instagram’s, Facebook’s, and LinkedIn’s self-serve advertising portal).

Here’s one example of an ad on LinkedIn :

Online Marketing Benefits of Paid Advertising

• Targeted Campaigns: Platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram enable you to target your ads to specific audiences based on their demographics, interests, behaviors, and more. This helps ensure that your ads are seen by the right people who are more likely to be interested in your products or services.
• Measurable Results: No matter which platform you advertise on, you’ll be able to track the success of your ad campaigns by analyzing performance metrics such as impressions, clicks, and conversions. By analyzing this data, you can identify which ads and targeting strategies are most effective and make informed decisions to improve future campaigns.
• Flexibility: Paid advertising gives you the option to adjust your campaigns, targeting options, and budget based on your marketing goals and audience preferences. This can help you stay agile and responsive in the fast-moving digital marketing landscape and ensure that you are getting the most from your advertising budget.

6. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is another way to generate brand awareness online and boost your digital strategy. It involves creating and sharing content on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others, to attract attention, drive website traffic, and generate leads.

Social media marketing is also great for building communities around your brand. You can speak directly to your audience, engage with followers through comments and messages, and have discussions to connect with them on a more personal level. The stronger your relationship with your audience, the more loyal they will be to your brand.

Online Marketing Benefits of Social Media Marketing

• Increases Brand Awareness: With billions of active social media users, you can reach a wide audience and increase your brand’s visibility. This is especially true if you participate in relevant social media trends, run paid campaigns, create and promote branded hashtags, and collaborate with other brands.
• Boosts Engagement: A strong social media presence can help create a community around your brand and build a strong relationship with your followers. Plus, you can use tactics like contests and giveaways to encourage specific actions that support your marketing goals, such as asking users to tag a friend or write a review.
• Rich Insights and Analytics: Social media platforms typically provide robust analytics tools that allow you to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, track key metrics, and gain insights for continuous improvement.
• Social Media Marketing: The Ultimate Guide
• How to Create a Great Social Media Strategy in 2024 (+New Data)

The HubSpot Blog's 2024 Social Media Marketing Report: Data from 1400+ Global Marketers

• How to Run a Social Media Contest That Gets Tons of Engagement
• The Fastest Growing Social Media Platforms [New Data]

6. Influencer Marketing

The global market for influencer marketing has more than tripled since 2019, making it more popular than ever. By partnering with influencers, brands can create content that promotes their products or services while leveraging the influencer’s reach. Of marketers who used it in 2023, 86% say it was effective for their business. I don’t see this slowing down in 2024, considering that most marketers are only increasing their investments.

There are many ways you can partner with influencers, such as sponsored content, guest blogging, product collaborations, influencer takeovers, and more.

Before initiating a partnership, it’s important to research and ensure they have an engaged following within your industry or niche and are aligned with your values and messaging.

Featured Resource: The Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing

Online Marketing Benefits of Influencer Marketing

• Brand Exposure: Partnering with influencers allows you to tap into the influencer’s existing audience and reach, which can significantly boost your brand’s awareness. By leveraging an influencer’s platform and following, you can expose your products or services to a larger audience and gain visibility among potential new customers.
• Authentic Content Creation: Influencers are skilled in creating engaging and authentic content that resonates with their followers. By partnering with influencers, you can tap into their creativity and expertise to develop compelling content that promotes your brand’s offerings in an organic and relatable manner. Plus, user-generated content created by influencers can showcase real-life experiences with your brand, which can influence buyer decisions and foster trust.
• Trust and Credibility: Influencers are seen as trusted authorities within their niches. When they endorse or recommend a brand’s products or services, it adds credibility and trust. This can positively influence consumer perceptions and increase the likelihood of potential customers trying or purchasing from your brand.

Influencer Marketing Strategy Checklist & Template

• What Will Influencer Marketing Look Like in 2024?

13 Influencer Marketing Campaigns to Inspire and Get You Started With Your Own

The Top Channels for Influencer Marketing

7. Podcasting

According to Edison Research, the number of Americans (aged 12+) who have listened to a podcast in the last month is up 30% from 2013.

While audio marketing and platforms like Clubhouse are different from podcasting , the idea is the same: you can educate and engage an audience; all they need is a device that plays audio.

When digging into the data, I found that podcasting and other audio content aren’t as popular as other strategies on this list. This makes sense because podcasting isn’t a channel offering the immediate ROI you might want. Dan Stillgoe, Blend’s Marketing Manager, spoke to my colleague Caroline Forsey and told her the same thing.

He said , “It's true that you can't directly attribute leads or revenue from a podcast, but that's not its purpose. Podcasts are a long-term brand-building channel that can improve affinity and connection for your brand like no other channel. When you realize the long-term and surrounding benefits, podcasting becomes a clear and obvious investment.”

He added, “Podcasting is the perfect way to craft content that's engaging and authentic — something buyers are beginning to crave in this AI era.”

For inspiration, check out the HubSpot Podcast Network :

2. Omsom : Social Media

Asian food brand Omsom creates starter kits for home cooks who want a simple way to cook Asian cuisine without sacrificing authentic ingredients and flavors. The brand leverages its TikTok profile to share behind-the-scenes content, recipes, and culturally relevant content.

In a recent video, the brand's co-founder shared how it sources one of its key ingredients and how it chose the more difficult route to preserve the integrity of the food.

@weareomsom here's why we choose to make our lives harder as food founders! #business #sourcing ♬ original sound - Omsom

Here‘s what Omsom did right:

• Highlighted its brand values while still building excitement around the product,
• Includes its website link in its TikTok bio,
• Offers a discount to customers who find it through the video-sharing platform.

Sharing behind-the-scenes content is a great way to connect with your audience and share details that will simultaneously highlight your mission and/or values.

3. The General : Paid Advertising

After reports that consumers thought the brand was untrustworthy due to its low-budget ads, The General decided to revamp its entire marketing strategy.

In a commercial featuring basketball superstar Shaq, the brand addressed the elephant in the room and introduced a new and improved look.

The General’s ad is a great example of effective crisis management:

• It addresses negative perceptions head-on, showing viewers that it's in tune with its target audience and their needs,
• It builds back credibility by emphasizing how long it’s been in business and the number of people it has helped.

Grow Better With Marketing Strategies That Improve Your Digital Presence

As I mentioned above, your final strategy document will be individual to your business, so it’s almost impossible for me to create a one-size-fits-all digital marketing strategy template.

As you create your own, remember that the purpose of your strategy document is to map out the actions you’re going to take to achieve your goal over a period of time. If it communicates that, you’ve nailed the basics of creating a digital strategy.

If you're eager to build a truly effective strategy to help grow your business, check out our free collection of content marketing templates below.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Guide to Creating a Digital Business Plan: Essential Steps for Success

Creating a digital business plan is a critical step in launching or expanding your online venture. It's more than a roadmap; it's the strategic backbone that guides every decision you make in the digital space.

Starting with a clear understanding of your objectives, which should be grounded in research and data analysis, you'll be better positioned to evaluate the feasibility of your business idea.

A digital business plan isn't static; it evolves as you gain deeper insights into your market, competitive landscape, and customer behavior.

To build a strong digital business , it's essential to align every element of your online strategy with your company's broader goals. Whether you're aiming to increase traffic, generate leads, or boost sales, the tools and tactics you choose must fit seamlessly into your overall plan.

Tailoring your approach to the unique dynamics of the digital ecosystem can help you overcome challenges and capitalize on the opportunities that today's online world has to offer.

As you're crafting your digital business plan, remember to include detailed cash flow projections and performance metrics. Your plan should also outline the assumptions your projections are based on, such as assumed sales volume and operational expenses.

Incorporating a thorough competitive analysis will further strengthen your strategy, providing you with the insights to position your business effectively in the marketplace. With careful planning and a robust digital business plan, you're setting the stage for success in the digital realm.

Vision and Goals

Your digital business plan hinges on the clarity of your vision and the specificity of your goals. These elements provide direction and form the bedrock for long-term success.

Defining Your Vision

Your vision encapsulates where you want your business to be in the future. It’s ambitious, yet achievable—a clear articulation of what sets your company apart and how it will shape the industry landscape. Consider it a north star, guiding every strategic decision you make.

• Drafting a Vision Statement: Express in a sentence or two what your digital business ultimately aims to achieve.

Establishing Clear Goals

Goals translate your vision into actionable steps. They should be SMART: S pecific, M easurable, A chievable, R elevant, and T ime-bound. This framework ensures that you're setting targets that are clear and quantifiable.

• Short-term Goals: These might cover things like launching a new product or growing your social media following within six months.
• Long-term Goals: Consider where you want your business to be in five years. This could include market share you aim to capture or revenue targets you hope to hit.

Market Analysis

In shaping your digital business plan, market analysis is the cornerstone that'll ensure you're aligned with customer demand and equipped to outmaneuver competitors. It's the detailed examination of your industry landscape that'll steer your approach.

Target Audience

Identify your potential customers : Begin by narrowing down who your target audience is. Consider demographics like age, gender, income, and location. Understand their needs, preferences, and how your product or service fits into their life.

• Demographics : Age, Gender, Income, Education, Location
• Psychographics : Interests, Values, Lifestyles

Competitive Analysis

Know your competition : Identify direct and indirect competitors and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Focus on how you can leverage your competitive advantage to stand out. Use market research to learn from their positioning and customer feedback.

• Direct competitors : Similar products/services
• Indirect competitors : Different products/services that satisfy the same need

Understanding Customer Behavior

Study consumer behaviors : Look into how potential customers make purchasing decisions and what influences them. Analysis of these behaviors will guide your marketing strategies and product development , ensuring they resonate well with your audience.

• Influences : Social media, peer reviews, marketing campaigns
• Purchasing patterns : Online vs. in-store, one-time vs. subscription-based

Business Model

Crafting an effective business model is crucial as it defines how you'll offer value to your customers and generate income. It's a core part of your digital business plan, outlining the products or services you're selling and the ways you'll earn revenue.

Products and Services

Your offerings are the lifeblood of your business. They should not only meet a need or solve a problem but also stand out in the digital marketplace. When mapping out your products and services, consider the following:

• Value Proposition : Clearly express the unique benefits your products or services offer.
• Alignment with Customer Needs : Ensure that your offerings align with what your customers are actually looking for.

Here's a quick summary of what to think about:

Ensure your products or services are adaptable to the changing digital landscape, be it through technology upgrades or new, innovative features.

Sales and Revenue Streams

Turning your products and services into revenue requires a clear sales strategy and diversification of income sources. Consider these key components:

• Sales Channels : Identify where you'll sell your products—will it be through your own website, third-party platforms, or both?
• Pricing Structure : Determine how you'll price your offerings. Will you use a one-time fee, subscription model, or a freemium approach with premium upgrades?

For your revenue streams, think about:

• Diversifying to protect your business from market fluctuations.
• Creating a mix of recurring and one-time income that can scale as your business grows.

Your sales strategies should be flexible to adapt to customer feedback and market trends. Keep them agile for long-term sustainability in the digital economy.

Marketing and Sales Strategy

Your marketing and sales strategy is a critical component of your overall digital business plan . It's the roadmap that guides how you attract, engage, and convert your target audience into loyal customers.

Branding and Positioning

Your brand's position in the market is what sets you apart from competitors. Craft a unique selling proposition (USP) that resonates with your audience and consistently reflect this in all aspects of your marketing.

• USP : Define a clear and memorable statement that captures the essence of your brand.
• Visual Identity : Keep your logo, color scheme, and design elements consistent across all mediums for immediate recognition.

Content Marketing Strategy

Content marketing is about creating valuable, relevant content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. It's a long-term strategy that focuses on building a strong relationship with your target audience.

• Blog Posts : Provide informative and engaging articles that address your customers' needs and pain points.
• E-books and Whitepapers : Offer in-depth content that educates your audience and positions your brand as a thought leader.

Social Media Marketing

Social media platforms can increase your brand awareness and foster a community around your business. These platforms are also powerful tools for promoting content and engaging directly with your audience.

• Platform Selection : Choose platforms where your target audience is most active.
• Consistency : Maintain a regular posting schedule and a cohesive message across your chosen platforms.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO increases your website's visibility in search engine results pages. High rankings mean more exposure, driving organic traffic to your site which can lead to increased conversions.

• Keyword Research : Identify terms and phrases that your target audience uses to search for solutions you offer.
• On-page SEO : Optimize your website's content and HTML elements to rank higher on Google.

Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing remains one of the most effective channels for maintaining relationships with leads and customers. Personalized campaigns can drive engagement and sales with relatively low costs.

• Segmentation : Group your audience based on behavior or demographics to tailor your messages.
• Automation : Set up email workflows that are triggered by specific actions, like signing up for a newsletter or abandoning a shopping cart.

Digital Infrastructure

Building your digital infrastructure is a vital step in aligning your business with modern technological advancements. It lays the foundation for your operations and supports your digital strategies , ensuring that you're efficient, competitive, and resilient in a digitally-driven marketplace.

Website Development

Your website is the cornerstone of your digital business. When developing your site, focus on both form and function:

• Design : Ensure your website is visually appealing, aligns with your brand identity, and provides an intuitive user experience.
• Performance : A fast-loading website is critical. Optimize your site to load quickly in any browser, minimizing bounce rates and maximizing user satisfaction.

Online Presence and Engagement

Having a strong online presence is more than just being found. It involves engaging with your audience through various digital channels:

• Digital Marketing Plan : Create a well-rounded digital marketing plan that includes strategies for SEO, content marketing, and social media to drive traffic and engage with your target audience.
• Analytics : Use analytics tools to track your online performance and understand user behavior. This data is essential in refining your digital strategies for better engagement.

Digital Tools and Software Automation

Leveraging the right digital tools can transform your business processes:

• Technology : Identify and implement digital tools that enhance your productivity such as CRM software, project management tools, and cloud computing services.
• Digital Transformation : Embrace software automation to streamline your operations. From marketing to customer service, automation can significantly reduce manual workload while boosting efficiency.

Execution Roadmap

In crafting your digital business plan, it's crucial to carefully outline your execution roadmap. You'll need to set clear milestones and plan growth strategies that are pivotal for your business's long-term success.

Milestones and Benchmarks

It's all about knowing where you're heading. Set specific milestones and benchmarks to measure progress across your digital business journey. These should be tied to quantifiable outcomes and aligned with your overall strategic objectives.

• Establish Milestones : Think of these as key achievements on your path to digital transformation. For instance: Quarter Milestones Q1 2024 Launch new online customer service platform Q2 2024 Achieve 25% increase in digital sales Q3 2024 Deploy analytics tools for customer data
• Benchmarks : These are your performance reference points. Compare your progress against industry standards or past performance figures to assess your traction and make necessary adjustments. Benchmark Goal Industry Average Customer acquisition cost Decrease by 15% $60 Digital campaign ROI Increase by 20% 4x spend

Growth and Scaling Strategies

How will you escalate your efforts to meet demand? Your roadmap should include strategies to intelligently scale your operations and sustain growth without compromising quality or overextending resources.

• Automation of tasks to reduce labor costs and increase efficiency.
• Outsourcing non-core services to specialists as your business grows.
• Calendar Planning : Keep a detailed calendar to synchronize your growth efforts with market opportunities and customer needs. For instance, you might target product releases to coincide with industry events or seasonal trends.

Remember to consider the following tactics for sustainable growth:

• Diversify your service offerings to mitigate risk.
• Optimize your user experience (UX) to retain customers.
• Continually analyze data to inform decisions and pivot when required.

Performance Measurement

In your digital business plan, performance measurement is crucial to understand how well your strategies are working. This involves analyzing data to gain insights, conducting experiments to refine tactics, and tracking productivity and success through metrics.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs are quantifiable measures that help you gauge your company's performance against your strategic goals. When selecting KPIs, you should consider:

• Relevance : Choose indicators that directly reflect your business objectives.
• Clarity : Make sure KPIs are clear and understandable for all stakeholders.
• Measurability : Each KPI should be easily measurable to accurately track progress.

Examples of KPIs could include :

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Retention rates

Analytics and Reporting

Analytics tools provide the raw data and insights you need to evaluate your digital efforts.

For effective analytics and reporting, you should :

• Set up analytics platforms on your digital properties to collect data.
• Implement regular reporting cycles to maintain up-to-date insights.
• Leverage A/B testing or other experimental methods to optimize digital strategies.

Keep in mind that the way you interpret and act on the analytics is as important as the data itself. Regular reporting helps maintain a clear view of your business's performance and guides actionable steps to improve productivity and performance measurement outcomes.

Risk Management and Contingency Planning

In the fast-paced digital business landscape, you can't afford to ignore potential hiccups. Risk management and contingency planning are crucial in staying ahead and ensuring business continuity should challenges arise.

Identifying Potential Risks

To safeguard your digital business plan, it's essential to first identify the various risks that could derail your progress. These risks can broadly fall into several categories, each with its own set of challenges:

• Technological Risks: Issues like data breaches, system failures, or rapid obsolescence due to the speed of technological innovation.
• Operational Risks: These include supply chain disruptions, technical glitches, or loss of key staff.
• Market Risks: Changes in market trends, consumer behavior, or new regulations that could impact your business model.
• Strategic Risks: Competitor actions or shifts in the industry that could undermine your position.

Understanding these risks helps you anticipate and prepare for potential problems, ensuring the resilience and flexibility of your digital strategy.

Developing Contingency Plans

Once you've pinpointed the risks, developing robust contingency plans is your next step. This process involves:

• Outline Potential Scenarios: Document what could happen for each identified risk.
• Craft Response Strategies: For each scenario, devise a plan that details the steps you’ll take, resources you'll need, and who’s responsible.
• Establish Monitoring Systems: Implement systems to watch for signs of risks materializing so you can respond with speed and precision.
• Test Your Plans: Run simulations to evaluate the effectiveness of your contingency plans and make necessary adjustments.

These proactive steps don't just mitigate the damage of unforeseen events—they also position you to pivot and embrace innovation, turning potential setbacks into opportunities for growth.

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Rich Kainu is the founder and a main contributor to Deal In Digital. He has over 12 years of experience in digital product creation, sales, and marketing as well as content creation strategies..

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Digital Marketing Plan

• 1.  What is Digital Marketing?
• 2.  Digital Marketing Strategy Frameworks

How to Create a Digital Marketing Plan

Creating a successful digital marketing plan.

• 4.  Digital Marketing Campaign Management
• 5.  Digital Marketing Project Management
• 6.  Digital Marketing Roles and Responsibilities
• 7.  Digital Marketing Project Manager
• 8.  Digital Marketing KPIs and Metrics
• 9.  Digital Marketing Tools and Software
• 10.  Digital Marketing Templates
• 11.  FAQ
• 12.  Glossary

Traditional marketing plans revolve around the 4Ps of marketing – product, place, price, and promotion. Digital marketing focuses on a whole new set of Ps for success – process, people, platforms, and performance. 

As technology changes the way we live, work, and interact with each other, digital marketers must keep up with the pace, using modern digital marketing tools and techniques to ensure success. Let's get into detail about the 4 Ps required to create a compelling digital marketing plan.

The digital marketing planning process starts with planning and ends with reviewing the marketing project or campaign. The process is a series of steps that allow digital marketers to identify customer needs, analyze market opportunities, and create marketing campaigns to reach their target audience.

To create engaging digital marketing plans, you must accurately define the customer persona in your buyer journey. You must stay open to understanding the people who buy your product. ‘People’ also includes the internal marketing team and other stakeholders. Ensure you carry everyone along in your marketing progress by sharing regular, relevant updates.

3. Platforms

Different digital marketing platforms attract different types of people. For example, you can find the Gen Z market mostly on TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube, while baby boomers are on Facebook and Linkedin. To develop an effective digital marketing plan, consider the digital platforms to invest in and build your audience.

Internal platforms like your company's project management software are also essential in creating effective digital marketing plans. These software tools help document and track every step of the digital marketing planning process and enhance collaboration between teams. 

4. Performance

Gathering and analyzing the performance of your digital marketing plan and activities is crucial for long-term success. Create a schedule and system for reviewing past campaigns with your team to gain data-driven insights about your efforts. Ensure your digital marketing plan and performance metrics are aligned and relevant to your organizational goals . Use digital marketing analytics software to gather current data and stay ahead of trends.

A good digital marketing plan helps transform your marketing strategies into actionable tasks and activities. Use digital marketing plan templates to outline and capture critical tasks, timelines, requirements, and resources needed.

Steps to create a digital marketing plan

Follow the digital marketing plan steps below to set your team up for success:

Step 1: Define your marketing goals and budget

Having a clear goal before creating a marketing plan will save you lots of time and mistakes. A goal helps you create a digital marketing plan outline and break it into tasks and activities. 

The best way to define your goals is by using the SMART goals framework . SMART means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Undefined goals have ambiguous targets such as 'increase sales' or 'get more customers.' SMART goals are more specific, e.g., 'gain 1000 new leads in 90 days.'

The budget is another aspect of a digital marketing plan that needs clarity early on. Knowing your budget limit ensures you maximize every dollar and don't overspend on non-performing marketing campaigns. You can allocate a budget to each phase of your campaign, e.g., a budget for SEO, Facebook ads, content, and influencer marketing.

While your total budget may be a hard limit, the amount allocated to each marketing channel should be dynamic to enable testing and iterations based on performance. For example, if you notice your Facebook ad campaigns produce higher ROI than influencer marketing, you may choose to reallocate your influencer marketing budget to spend more on Facebook ads.

Step 2: Build buyer personas to define your ideal audience

Once you're clear about your goals and budget, creating buyer personas to segment your target market is the next major step.

A buyer persona is a fictional character a company creates through research that outlines different characteristics of potential customers. An accurate buyer persona will help you create highly-targeted marketing campaigns. 

Depending on the defining attributes of your buyer persona, you may group them by demographics, interests, goals, or other relevant characteristics.

Step 3: Analyze your competitors and market position

Conducting industry and competitor analysis before developing your digital marketing plan is beneficial. It helps you identify your biggest competitors, their market share and position, and the strategies they use in their digital marketing campaigns. 

Carry out a SWOT analysis of your product and your competitors' offering to discover what your company's strengths and weaknesses are. Analyzing your market position within your industry helps inform what product benefits or features to highlight in your marketing language and what your content should focus on.

Step 4: Choose which digital marketing channels to focus on

The digital marketing channels you choose should depend on your marketing goals and your target market's online behavior. You may decide to focus on building owned and earned marketing channels, lean towards paid ads for wider reach, or try a hybrid of both.

Many companies operate an omnichannel digital marketing strategy, taking potential customers on a buyer's journey through several platforms. For example, using short-form videos on TikTok to get customers' attention and then leading them to your Instagram page, where you have testimonials and reviews from previous buyers, showing social proof. With a clear and consistent call-to-action in your Instagram bio and post captions, you direct potential buyers to your website, where they finally decide to purchase your product. 

Choosing the right digital marketing channels allows you to meet your customers where they are and engage with them on their terms before selling them your product.

Step 5: Set defined metrics to review and improve performance  

A digital marketing plan is only as good as the results it produces. Establish relevant metrics to monitor performance and track the progress of your digital marketing campaigns once you begin. Data-driven marketing campaigns are the most practical way to get the best results from digital marketing efforts.

Tie in metrics to tasks assigned to your team. During the project, gather essential data such as revenue, new leads, new subscribers, click-through rates, and other vital data relevant to your business. 

Remember, data insights are only fruitful when you test and use them to improve your initial digital marketing plan.

Step 6: Get stakeholder buy-in

Armed with information about your goals, customers, market, competition, marketing channels, and metrics, you're almost ready to translate your marketing strategies and ideas into a well-laid-out plan. 

The quickest way to do this is to use digital marketing plan templates to sketch all your marketing plan and project requirements. Share this draft with key stakeholders and decision-makers to gain buy-in before making the plan more concrete. 

Share the rationale behind your digital marketing planning process decisions. Get feedback from your team and stakeholders, and then improve your initial digital marketing plan draft. 

Step 7: Break marketing projects into actionable tasks

Now you're ready to develop your digital marketing plan with due dates and tasks assigned to specific team members or external collaborators. Remember that drawing up a marketing plan is not a one-and-done deal. Observe your marketing environment and make changes to the plan as needed. 

Now you have a digital marketing plan, you're ready to get to work implementing it. Allow some wiggle room for trying new ideas and switching from tactics that aren’t working. Using marketing project management tools like Wrike provides a bird-eye view of your marketing campaigns and projects.

Further reading

Digital Marketing Strategy Frameworks

How to Plan a YouTube Marketing Strategy

What Is a Digital Marketing Workflow?

What Is Digital Marketing Management?

Digital Marketing for Small Business: Here’s How You Can Do It

Digital marketing success doesn't have to be determined by the size of your business, or its budget. In fact, small businesses actually have a distinct advantage in the space.

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You’ve probably heard this before: Many small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) have great products and services, but struggle to be seen. Digital marketing for small businesses can be tricky at first, but it’s a crucial skill that helps SMBs connect with their community and customers . 

According to our research , 67% of SMB leaders say community support has been important to their company’s survival. Now SMBs can go small and big with digital marketing tools that once seemed reserved for large corporations with generous marketing budgets.  

Success isn’t just having access to these tools – it’s also about learning how to use them to connect with customers in meaningful ways. How can you use digital marketing to differentiate your brand and carve out a unique space in a crowded marketplace?

What you’ll learn

What is digital marketing for small businesses.

• How can small businesses use SEO to help with marketing?
• Can small businesses excel at content marketing?
• How can small businesses use social media marketing?
• How should a small business approach email marketing?
• How do you measure the success of your small business digital marketing efforts?

In this post, we’ll walk you through strategies for using your digital platforms to amplify your voice, extend your reach, and build enduring relationships — even with modest resources. 

Being an SMB has its challenges. Learning how to make digital marketing work for you to personalize communication can create lifelong customers that give your business a stable base. Let’s take a deeper look at what digital marketing for small business really means, and the steps you can take to get started today. 

Small biz, big results

You don’t need a big budget or a team of marketers to find more leads, grow your engagement, and earn more revenue. See how the right technology can pay off for your small business.

Digital marketing for small business can take many forms: social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and much more.

When your business uses online channels and strategies to promote your products or services and engage with target audiences, you’re using digital marketing. For small businesses, this means capitalizing on a cost-effective method to reach a broader audience and compete with larger competitors. 

Say you’re a local bakery hoping to increase foot traffic and online orders. You can use social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to showcase your baked goods. Your aim is for people to follow you and engage with your content and promotions. As you get to know your customers, you can better tailor messages to demographics, interests, and geographical locations, yielding higher returns on investment.

Digital marketing for small businesses revolves around optimizing websites, creating valuable content, using social media, email marketing, and search engine marketing (SEM). These strategies help SMBs establish a strong online presence, engage with target audiences, and drive conversions – all while staying within your budget constraints. 

( Back to top )

How can small businesses use SEO to help with marketing?  

SEO refers to the practice of optimizing a website to improve its visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). For small businesses, SEO is invaluable as it enhances online presence, drives organic traffic, and boosts brand credibility. 

By optimizing website content, improving site structure, and targeting relevant keywords, your small businesses can increase your chances of being discovered by prospects searching for related products or services. Having a visible, search-friendly website reduces dependency on paid advertising and establishes long-term sustainability in online marketing efforts.

As a small business, your resources might be more limited. But that doesn’t cut you out of the game. You can still conduct keyword research to identify search terms that prospects are using for similar products. By integrating these keywords into the content throughout your website – page titles, headings, meta descriptions, and body text – you signal relevance to search engines.

One way a small business can use local SEO tactics is by improving their Google My Business listing with information such as address, phone number, and business hours, to appear in local search results. Make sure to follow up and encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. A boost in credibility will improve local search rankings.

Keyword research involves identifying relevant search terms that potential customers use to find products or services. Tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush can help you discover high-traffic keywords with low competition. By integrating them into your website content, including titles, headings, meta tags, and body text, you’ll improve search engine visibility and attract targeted traffic.

Building backlinks, or inbound links from other websites to yours, is essential for SEO and a great digital marketing for small business practice. It signals authority and trustworthiness to search engines. 

You can acquire backlinks by creating high-quality content that others naturally want to link to. This means reaching out to industry influencers or bloggers for collaborations, or listing their business on reputable directories and local listings. Make sure your focus is on acquiring links from reputable sources; otherwise, you can acquire penalties from search engines.

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Can small businesses excel at content marketing .

Yes! Absolutely, small businesses can excel at content marketing . It’s not about having a giant marketing budget or a large team. It’s about creating valuable, relevant, and engaging content that resonates with your target audience. 

Whether it’s blog posts, social media updates, videos, podcasts, or infographics, content marketing allows your small businesses to showcase your expertise, personality, and unique offerings to attract and retain customers. When you understand your audience’s preferences, you can craft content that educates, entertains, or inspires, building trust and loyalty over time. Here’s how you can get started.

Plan before you build a campaign

There are some key steps to understand before getting started. Here are some questions you should answer before you build your strategy:

• Who is your target audience?
• What are your customers’ needs and pain points?
• Generating new leads or increasing sales?

These objectives will guide content creation and help you aim for success.

Audit your current content

Next, do an audit to assess existing assets and identify content gaps or opportunities. This helps prioritize topics that align with the objectives and audience interests you’ve defined. Consider your budget, time, and expertise, and plan accordingly. If resources are limited, focus on creating high-quality evergreen content that provides long-term value. It will feel more feasible than producing daily blog posts or videos.

Meet your customers where they are

Another step is to determine the channels and platforms where your target audience is most active. Whether it’s social media, email newsletters, blog posts, or video content, choosing the right channels ensures maximum reach and engagement. Be organized and establish a content calendar to maintain consistency and ensure a steady flow of content. This helps avoid sporadic posting and keeps the audience engaged over time.

Monitor your content’s performance

Plan on regular monitoring of your content. Use metrics like website traffic, engagement rates, and conversion rates to evaluate performance. How can you make positive changes to your strategy if you don’t know how your audience preferences are changing?  

With those steps in place, you’re ready to promote your content. Do that by using the following cost-effective and easy digital marketing for small business tactics: 

• Using social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn help you share your content with followers and engage with potential customers . Use relevant hashtags, create appealing graphics or videos, and stay current with features like stories or live streams to boost engagement.
• Sending out newsletters or email campaigns featuring blog posts, special promotions, or product updates keeps the audience informed and engaged. Personalizing emails based on subscriber interests or behaviors can further enhance engagement and drive conversions.
• Partnering with influencers to share or endorse your content exposes it to a broader audience and adds credibility to the brand. Similarly, guest posting on reputable websites or participating in online communities and forums relevant to the business’s niche can attract new audiences and drive traffic back to the business’s website.
• Repurposing content across different channels and formats can maximize reach and longevity. For example, turning blog posts into videos, infographics, or podcasts enables you to cater to different audience preferences and extend the lifespan of the content.

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Discover how Marketing Cloud Engagement can help you use email marketing to build long-term relationships with your audience. Start with this lesson on Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform.

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How can small businesses use social media marketing? 

No matter the size of your business, there’s a social media marketing platform right for you. Despite all the choices you have, it’s important to get the most bang for your buck and focus on meeting your customers where they already are. 

Go where your customers are

Foremost, identify the platforms where your prospects are most active. Rather than trying to maintain a presence on every social media platform, you can focus on a few platforms where your target audience is most engaged.

If yours is a visually-driven business such as a clothing boutique or restaurant, you may want to showcase high-quality videos via Instagram or Pinterest.  If you are a small consulting firm or law office, you might benefit more from LinkedIn, where you can establish thought leadership, network with industry professionals, and share informative content.

Learn more about your customers

When developing digital marketing for small business, knowing your customers is critical. On the plus side, as an SMB, you’re often closer to your customers than most big corporations. 

You can figure out what’s best for you when you consider your demographics (age, gender, location, interests), the nature of your products or services, and the type of content you plan on creating. If budget allows, you can conduct market research. How are your competitors’ social media presence? Can you test different platforms to see which yield the best results? 

Develop a content calendar

In terms of creating content for social media, you should aim for consistency rather than quantity. Developing a content calendar with a mix of curated and original content, including product/service updates, behind-the-scenes glimpses, customer testimonials, and relevant industry news, ensures a steady stream of content without overwhelming resources. 

Could you showcase employee stories, or offer exclusive product sneak peeks? This can humanize your brand and make your followers feel more connected. Use relevant hashtags, tag other users or businesses, and participate in industry conversations to increase visibility and attract new followers.

Listen and respond with respect

Inspiring engagement and building trust is key to building relationships on social media. When you allocate time to respond to every comment, message, and mention, you’re showing your appreciation for customer feedback. Be an active listener and always maintain a friendly and professional tone. Address concerns or complaints empathetically. 

Encouraging user-generated content through contests, hashtags, or customer features can create a sense of community around the brand. Asking questions or soliciting opinions encourages followers to share their thoughts. Hosting polls, quizzes, or surveys can also spark interaction and provide valuable insights into customer preferences. Anything interactive (contests, giveaways, challenges) encourages user-generated content. 

It bears repeating that measuring and analyzing performance metrics such as reach, engagement, website traffic, and conversions helps your SMB understand what’s working and what’s not. The market might be competitive, and you don’t want to overtax your precious resources. When you prioritize efficiency, consistency, and engagement, small businesses can be a standout with social media. 

How should a small business approach email marketing?  

You’re going to want to integrate the email marketing best practices tied to building a quality email list, engaging subscribers, and driving conversions. 

Develop your email list

The email list is the foundation of your email marketing efforts. To build your email list , emphasize the value of signing up by offering incentives such as exclusive discounts, free resources, or valuable content. Implement a sign-up form on your website, social media profiles, and during checkout processes to capture leads at various touchpoints.

Delegate and automate

Once your email list is established, make sure to have a devoted team member whose primary focus is building content. For some SMBs, that might just be you, which is why it’s even more important to learn the importance of segmenting your email list based on demographics, interests, or purchase history. 

Automation tools are a huge benefit in digital marketing for small business, because they can help you streamline the process of sending targeted email campaigns based on subscriber behavior. 

Catch the reader’s eye

Stay competitive in the market with emails that are visually appealing and mobile-responsive. Use compelling subject lines to capture attention and encourage opens, and include clear call-to-action buttons to guide subscribers towards desired actions. 

Consistency is key in email marketing. And with the unique challenges and opportunities of an SMB, establishing a regular sending cadence can show the respect you have for your subscriber’s inbox. Whether it’s weekly newsletters, monthly promotions, or seasonal updates, an SMB has a special opportunity to really connect. 

Stay on top of performance metrics

Monitoring email metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates will cost you nothing but time, and it will be worth it. A/B testing subject lines, content, or sending times allows for optimization based on data-driven insights.

To be effective, SMB email campaigns must address specific challenges and opportunities. Here are some key considerations:

Personalization on a budget

You may not have the resources for advanced personalization tools , but that doesn’t mean you can’t tailor email content to individual subscribers. Use the data you’ve collected during sign-ups to address your subscribers by name. You can get around spending a ton on software and still segment your email list based on demographics, preferences, or past behaviors.

Local relevance

SMBs often serve local or niche markets, so incorporating local references or community-centric content in email campaigns can resonate with subscribers. Highlighting local events, partnerships with other businesses in the area, or showcasing customer stories from the community helps build a sense of belonging and strengthens the connection between the business and its audience.

Value propositions and offers

Given a more limited budget, you must communicate your incentives for subscribers right away, and with clear, consistent messaging. Whether it’s exclusive discounts, early access to new products, or informative content that solves a problem or meets a need, articulating the benefits of subscribing and engaging with email content encourages action.

Resourceful design and content

Just because you’re small, does not disqualify you for professional design or copywriting. There are plenty of user-friendly email marketing platforms with customizable templates that require minimal design expertise. Focus on creating concise and engaging content that communicates your brand’s message effectively and prompts action without overwhelming subscribers with unnecessary information.

How do you measure the success of your small business digital marketing efforts?  

While large enterprises may have dedicated teams for analyzing email metrics and optimizing campaigns, your small business needs to be resourceful in measuring your email marketing efforts. When building digital marketing for small businesses, keeping a close eye on these metrics can make all the difference.

Essential metrics you should focus on include:

Website traffic

Monitoring the number of visitors to the website, as well as the sources of traffic (organic search, social media, referral, etc.), helps assess the effectiveness of digital marketing channels in driving website visits.

Conversions

Tracking the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form, indicates the effectiveness of marketing campaigns in generating leads or sales.

Engagement metrics

Analyzing metrics like likes, comments, shares, retweets, and click-through rates on social media and email marketing campaigns provides insights into audience engagement and content performance.

Return on investment (ROI)

You can calculate the ROI of your digital marketing efforts by comparing the cost of marketing campaigns to the revenue generated, giving you an easy look at how well your initiatives are paying off.

Google Analytics is a free tool that provides comprehensive insights into website traffic, user behavior, and conversions. By installing the Google Analytics tracking code on your website, you can access valuable data such as traffic sources, user demographics, and conversion rates.

Simplify analytics by focusing on key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Implementing UTM tracking codes for links in emails allows for more granular tracking of website traffic and conversions. For social media analytics, platforms like Facebook Insights, X Analytics, and LinkedIn Analytics offer free built-in tools to track engagement metrics, audience demographics, and post performance. 

Let’s say a small online boutique recently launched a digital marketing campaign to promote its new collection of handmade jewelry. By tracking website traffic using Google Analytics, the boutique owner can see how many visitors are landing on the website. They can analyze traffic sources to determine which channels, such as social media, email marketing, or paid advertising, are driving the most visitors to the site.

In addition to tracking website traffic, the boutique owner also monitors conversions to assess the effectiveness of the campaign in generating sales. They set up conversion tracking within Google Analytics to track the number of visitors who make a purchase or add items to their cart. By comparing the number of conversions to the total website traffic, the owner can calculate the conversion rate and determine the campaign’s success in driving revenue.

In this scenario, if the digital marketing campaign resulted in a significant increase in website traffic and a high conversion rate, it indicates that the campaign resonated well with the target audience and effectively earned sales for the boutique. Conversely, if the campaign generated a lot of traffic but a low conversion rate, it may indicate that there are issues with the website or checkout process that need to be addressed to improve conversion rates.

Digital marketing for small business offers cost-effective strategies to reach a broader audience. With digital channels available such as social media, email marketing, and search engines, you can compete more effectively, establish a strong online presence, and connect with customers. 

As a small business grows, the challenge becomes sustaining momentum. One way to do that is to invest in advanced tools and technologies. This could include upgrading to a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) system or adopting sophisticated analytics platforms to gain deeper insights into customer behavior and campaign performance. 

Good digital marketing has the power to level the playing field for SMBs, enabling toe-to-toe competition with larger businesses. With the right amounts of creativity, innovation, and strategy, you can connect with audiences on a personal level, and differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace. 

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Keara runs SMB and upmarket Field Marketing at Salesforce. She has experience in building marketing engines from the ground up and leading high-performance marketing teams. One of her passions is finding ways to help organizations drive new customer and revenue growth through a rapid experimentation and innovation framework.

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How to Create a Successful Digital Business Plan in 2023 4 min read

Developing an effective digital business plan is critical for achieving digital transformation for any business. Whether your venture is large or small, keeping up with the constantly changing state of the online marketplace and social media channels can be challenging and overwhelming. Investing even a few hours in the beginning to create a concrete plan will save you time in the long run and help build a sustainable foundation for growth. Discover how to construct an actionable game plan and lay out the best digital initiatives for crafting a successful digital business plan in 2023.

What is a digital marketing strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is an effective way to get your message out to the right people. Utilising online resources enables you to connect with potential customers who are most likely interested in what you have to offer. Uncovering the source of a company’s profits, its purpose, and how it operates is essential in crafting an effective digital marketing strategy. Understanding these elements enables you to design a digital business plan that aligns with both business objectives and customer needs.

As part of any digital strategy framework , a brand must assess the value and benefits of its own communication channels (owned media), as well as external sources such as earned and paid ads. Earned media is any type of non-paid publicity that comes from another source rather than directly from the company itself. In contrast, paid media requires companies to pay for advertising space or time in order to get exposure.

Why do you need a digital marketing strategy?

The importance of a reliable digital strategy framework cannot be overstated, as it allows companies to effectively reach their target audiences through multiple channels such as social media platforms. Some of the key benefits of developing an effective digital marketing strategy include:

Outperform the competition

A digital marketing strategy gives businesses the opportunity to outshine their competitors. By harnessing creativity and encouraging innovation in product design, development, and promotion, digital marketing strategies can help propel your business toward success while leaving competitors behind.

Maximise profits

A carefully-devised digital marketing plan can help businesses increase sales and maximise profits. By analysing consumer preferences, tracking customer behavior, and leveraging data analytics, a digital marketing strategy allows companies to optimise their campaigns in order to attract more leads and boost revenue.

Stay current

In today’s competitive business landscape, staying current is essential for companies if they want to stay ahead of the competition and remain successful. A digital marketing strategy allows businesses to stay current and up-to-date with the latest trends, technologies, and practices in their field. By leveraging innovative marketing techniques, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and outperform their rivals.

How to create a digital marketing strategy

Develop a buyer’s persona.

One of the first examples of digital strategy is understanding your target customers. Creating detailed buyer personas allows you to better identify and communicate with your ideal customer, which enables you to create more effective campaigns. Bypassing the traditional data collected by digital marketers such as age, gender, occupation, preferences, and location, this goes beyond to provide a deeper insight into the target audience.

Quality digital marketing and social media campaigns start with understanding the people who are most likely to purchase your products or services. Buyer personas provide a great way of gaining insight into these potential customers, and there are plenty of free templates available online that you can use as a starting point!

Determine your digital marketing tools and goals

To ensure your business is successful, always make sure that the objectives of your advertising strategies are aligned with the overarching goals of your company. For example, if your goal is to drive more traffic and leads within the first quarter of 2023, then a specific digital marketing tool that you should be using is search engine optimisation (SEO), particularly for brands that have a global audience.

By analysing your current website and identifying traffic-generating opportunities, you can begin to improve its ranking on search results pages.

Assess existing digital marketing channels

Take a close look at the digital technology you currently leverage, including content marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and social media marketing. Evaluate their impact on your business goals to decide which advertising strategies have seen success – then refine them for next year. Additionally, consider if any online advertising methods should be added to the mix for maximum value.

Streamline your customer’s access

To effectively reach potential consumers, your website traffic must be significant. This is essential for positive success in the online business world. Your online marketing plan should guarantee that your prospects and visitors don’t feel overwhelmed when trying to reach out. Consequently, it is vital to display CTAs plainly and prominently on the landing page as well as other pages of your website.

Monitor the success of your digital strategy

In addition to these examples of digital strategy , it is important to assess how successful your digital and content marketing strategy has been. By tracking the results of your campaigns and activities on digital platforms – such as website traffic and optimisation on search engines, engagement levels, and sales data – you can begin to further refine and optimise for even better results.

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How to Write A Killer Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan

Short on time, let's get started, ready to accelerate your agency.

Do you have a business plan for your digital marketing agency? If not, you’re missing out on a brilliant tool to help you structure growth and progress over time. 

Many people think of creating a business plan as being a tedious, time-consuming process. The truth is, it can take a couple of weeks or even months to perfect your plan. However, with the right knowledge in place, you can create a killer digital marketing business plan with relative ease.  

We’re here to share that knowledge with you and get you on the right track. 

In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about why business planning is so important, how to create your own digital marketing agency business plan, and how to implement it for ongoing success. 

What is a Business Plan?  

A business plan is a detailed document that creates a picture of your agency as it is today and details your growth plan over the next three or five years. Your business plan will structure and explain your key business goals and your strategies for how to reach them.  

Most plans include plenty of market research to support these strategies and provide proof that they will provide the results you want to see. 

Why Do You Need a Digital Marketing Business Plan?  

Your digital marketing business plan should include your key short-term and long-term goals and digital strategies. It should also cover an analysis of your competitor landscape, and other information like budgets, timelines, the channels you aim to target, and more. 

Your business plan will act like a roadmap that shows you exactly what you need to do to work towards your desired path. You probably already know where you want to get to, and your plan will supply you with a specific, logical route to take to get there. 

You’ll also need a complete business plan to secure funding and attract investors and stakeholders. Virtually all businesses use a business plan to obtain funding from investors. So, the clearer and more convincing your plan is, the more likely people will be to invest time and money into your venture.  

Of course, your plan should include a projected marketing budget that will show you exactly how much you need to spend to market your services effectively to the right audiences. If you can get your brand in front of your target market without breaking the bank, you’ll be in a great position to maintain profitability in the long run. 

Common Business Plan Structures  

A business plan usually contains a scope of between one and three years – and in some cases, up to five years. Most business plan structures include sections for sources of revenue, cost management strategies, new service development strategies, marketing budgets, and projected profitability figures.  

They also include existing financial performance reviews, objectives, and strategies to achieve them, and your value proposition. Along with sales and marketing tactics, operational strategies, financial forecasts, hiring and staffing strategies, and any foreseen potential challenges. 

The purpose of a good plan is to align your goal opportunities with strategic activity, resources, and effort to achieve your desired growth. Luckily, there are plenty of templates available online that break down your digital marketing business plan into simple, easy-to-understand categories. This helps to ensure that you include all the information you need without leaving anything crucial out. 

How Do I Develop My Digital Marketing Strategy?  

There are five key stages to developing your agency’s digital marketing strategy .  

Step 1: Planning  

Every solid digital marketing strategy needs a plan. We highly recommend using data to assess the efficacy of your current marketing practices and develop tactics to improve them.  

You can craft a plan using KPI dashboards, customised analytics, and SMART goals to craft a step-by-step improvement strategy for your digital marketing, lead generation, and sales approaches. 

Step 2: Reaching out to leads  

Once you have a plan in place, it’s time to enhance your marketing funnel by reaching out to as many leads as possible and building awareness of your agency. Use the latest, most effective online marketing approaches like paid advertising and SEO to drive traffic to your site. 

Step 3: Take action  

By this, we mean interacting meaningfully with your target audience through your website and social channels to generate as many quality leads as possible. Once you’ve reached your audience, take action to guide them through your marketing funnel towards making a purchase.  

Content marketing is especially effective in this regard. It helps to entertain, educate, and engage potential leads, helping to persuade them to become customers. 

Step 4: Convert your leads  

Strategies like nurturing leads, optimising your conversion rates, and retargeting past customers are all excellent ways to convince your leads to become loyal customers.  

You should consider using website personalisation and social commerce to your advantage. Data shows that 87% of eCommerce shoppers use social media to help them make purchase decisions! 

Step 5: Engage your customers  

Now that you’ve successfully transformed leads into customers, there are many ways to increase sales from them by keeping them engaged in the long term. Use tools like personalised website, email, and social media communications using customer data to create customised marketing campaigns.  

You can obtain this data using A/B testing, customer personas and content mapping, customer feedback, website surveys, and more. Predictive analytics tools are also great for finding out the best times to engage with your customers and follow up with them. 

How Do I Create My Business Plan?  

As we mentioned earlier, we’re big fans of using business plan templates to structure digital marketing efforts and strategies. Using a template is the best way to ensure that you include every piece of information you need to secure funding from investors and drive your agency forward. 

Your plan should include: 

• An executive summary 
• Company overview 
• Industry analysis 
• Customer and competitive analyses 
• Marketing and operations plans 
• Management team structures 
• Financial plans 
• Balance sheets and a cash flow statement 
• An appendix and summary 

How Do I Successfully Implement My Business Plan?  

Once you have your business plan in hand, it’s time to gather your team and inform them of the details. Additionally, you can share any metrics (like sales or conversions) that need to be prioritised. Establish timelines and milestones for reaching these goals.  

Delegate tasks and responsibilities to the right team members and create systems that will allow you to measure your results and progress. Remember to schedule regular business plan review sessions as well. This is a working document that will need to be updated frequently as your goals and the greater market shift. 

A Plan For Progress   

Every agency needs a strong digital marketing business plan to structure and guide its progress towards its greater goals. Use our tips to create a complete, comprehensive plan that will secure your success. 

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• 📈 Identify your target audience, market, and competition to understand the landscape of your industry.
• 📊 Set measurable goals and KPIs to track your progress and evaluate the success of your digital marketing plan.
• 💻 Develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that includes tactics such as SEO, PPC, content marketing, social media, and email marketing.
• 👨‍💼 Assign responsibilities and establish a timeline for each step of your digital marketing plan to ensure accountability and efficiency.
• 📱 Use digital tools and platforms to automate and streamline your marketing efforts, such as Google Analytics, HubSpot, and Hootsuite.
• 👍 Continuously evaluate and adjust your digital marketing plan based on data analysis and customer feedback to optimize your results.

How to Write a Marketing Plan

By Joe Weller | March 28, 2024

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A  marketing plan is a guide for achieving marketing initiatives on a set timeline. It includes analysis of a company's target audience, competitors, and market sector. Teams can build an organized strategy with that information to reach their goals.  

Inside this article you’ll find a detailed, step-by-step guide to writing a marketing plan, with a free, downloadable  marketing starter kit for beginners .

A  marketing plan includes analysis of the target audience, the competitors, and the market so that teams can determine the best strategy for achieving their goals. The plan’s length and detail depend on the company's size and the scope of the marketing project. A marketing plan is useful for all types of marketing, including digital, social media, new product, small business, B2C, and B2B. Follow the steps below to write a comprehensive marketing plan. 

1. Prepare for Success 

Before you begin writing your marketing plan, set yourself up for success by conducting thorough market research and assembling a team with diverse skills in marketing strategy, content creation, digital marketing, and data analysis. Be sure to consult all your team members as you progress through these steps. It might also be helpful to assign leaders to complete different sections of the plan, depending on their areas of expertise. For example, you might assign the market analysis section to a team member with strong analytical skills and experience in data analysis.  

2. Use a Marketing Plan Template

Download a free marketing plan template to ensure consistency and thoroughness in your final marketing plan.

For more template options, see this collection of  free marketing plan templates and examples.   

3. Identify Your Target Customers

To identify target customers for your marketing plan, collect information about their location, demographics (such as age, gender, and income), interests, values, and purchasing behaviors. This knowledge enables you to focus your marketing goals and tactics to meet their specific needs and preferences.

A  customer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer that provides valuable insights for strategic decision-making. Use one of these  customer persona templates  to craft a detailed profile of your ideal customer.   

4. Conduct a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is an important part of any marketing plan, because it helps identify a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in relation to the market environment. To start, divide a page into four quadrants and label each as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Next, brainstorm with your team to fill in each section. Be as honest and specific as possible, considering factors such as market trends, competition, and your own resources and capabilities. This information will allow the team to capitalize on strengths, prepare for challenges, and make sound strategic decisions throughout the marketing plan. 

See this collection of  marketing plan SWOT analysis templates  for additional guidance.   

5. Conduct a Market Analysis 

A  market analysis is an assessment of a market's size, growth, trends, customer segments, and competitor dynamics. Include it in your marketing plan to provide critical insights for strategic decision-making, helping to tailor products to customer needs, differentiate from competitors, and identify new opportunities. 

To conduct a market analysis for your marketing plan, determine each of the following factors:    

• Market Size: This is the total potential sales that a particular product or service can achieve within a defined market. Determine the market size by estimating the number of potential buyers for a particular service and multiplying that by the estimated number of purchases over a specific timeframe. (Number of Target Customers) x (Number of Purchases in a Given Time) = Market Size Imagine your company sells wireless headphones, and you estimate that the average consumer purchases a new pair every two years. If your market includes 1 million target customers, and assuming each customer buys one pair of headphones every two years, the calculation for annual market size would be as follows: (1 million target customers) x (0.5 purchases per year) = 500,000 pairs of wireless headphones per year   
• Market Growth Rate:  This measures the change in a market’s size over a specific time period and is typically expressed as a percentage. To determine the market growth rate, use the following formula: [(Current Market Size − Previous Market Size​) ÷ Previous Market Size] × 100% = Growth Rate For example, if the market for wireless headphones was worth $1 billion last year and is worth $1.1 billion this year, the market growth rate would be as follows: [($1.1 Billion – $1 Billion) ÷  $1 Billion] x 100% = 10%  

Market Share:  This is the percentage of total sales in an industry generated by a particular company over a period of time. It provides a benchmark for assessing performance relative to competitors. Use this formula for calculating market share: (Company’s Revenue ÷ Total Industry Revenue) x 100% = Market Share  

Tip:  Keep in mind that the market size, share, and growth rate are all estimates. It’s impossible to be exact. To obtain the most accurate numbers, review the latest industry reports and seek insight from experts.  

• Market Demand:  This is the amount of a product or service a consumer is willing to purchase and how much they are willing to pay for it. To determine market demand in a market analysis, begin by conducting comprehensive research on consumer behavior, preferences, and purchasing patterns related to your product or service. Use tools such as surveys, SEO analytics, and interviews to gather data on potential customer interest and willingness to pay, and analyze competitor pricing and offerings.  
• Market Trends:  This is the growth or decline direction of a product or service’s price over a specific timeframe. To identify a market trend, monitor industry developments, consumer behavior, and technological advancements over time. Review industry reports and expert analyses to understand broader market movements and future projections. Summarize these observations and include them in your plan to highlight the direction in which the market is heading.        

Market Segments:  The broader market includes specific groups, categorized by shared characteristics. Generally, there are four types of market segments: geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral. In your marketing plan, detail how you'll target each segment by adapting your strategies to their unique characteristics. This targeted approach ensures more effective engagement with each segment.   

• Competitor Analysis:  A competitor analysis involves examining your competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, market positioning, product offerings, and marketing strategies. Describe how you'll conduct a comprehensive evaluation of key competitors by analyzing their market share, pricing, distribution channels, and promotional tactics. For more guidance, try downloading this competitor analysis template. Use it to identify areas where your rivals succeed and why. Their strengths indicate areas for improvement, while their weaknesses indicate opportunities.  

6. List Your SMART Goals 

Include SMART goals in your marketing plan to ensure that objectives are specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound, providing a clear direction for strategic actions and performance evaluation. Start by identifying key performance areas that align with your overall business strategy. Then, for each goal, apply the SMART framework. 

Here are two examples of SMART marketing goals:   

• By Q4 end, increase search results page (SERP) position from 14th to the top three for keywords pertaining to our brand and lead to more organic traffic. 
• Increase social media following, reach, and engagement by 25 percent in six months and 50 percent in one year.

Learn more about SMART goals and find a customizable SMART goals worksheet  in this comprehensive  guide to writing SMART goals . 

7. Create a Marketing Strategy

A  marketing strategy is the plan for achieving your SMART goals.   

“A marketing plan should include strategic and tactical elements,” says Gayle Kalvert, Founder and CEO at  Creo Collective , a full-service marketing agency. “From a strategic standpoint, it is critical that the marketing plan aligns to the overall goals of the organization. Tactically, what initiatives will the marketing team execute, and why? Tactics with no strategy lead to spotty results and poor-quality leads.”

Use one of these  marketing strategy templates to get started. A successful marketing strategy will include the following elements: 

7a. Customer Buying Cycle

The  customer buying cycle is the path a potential customer follows from first having exposure to a product or service to becoming an advocate for it. Understanding this process allows marketers to effectively target communications and strategies at each stage in their marketing plan. 

Pro Tip: “Consider your persona’s buyer's journey and ensure marketing has a role at each stage of the journey, especially after the close,” says Kalvert. “That is when customers can become advocates, sources of referral, and great subjects for marketing content for future buyers.”

7b. Unique Selling Proposition

A  unique selling proposition (USP) is a specific benefit or advantage that sets your product or service apart from the competitors. By including a USP in a marketing plan, you help ensure that the team communicates why customers should choose your offering over others. 

For example, Google’s USP is its powerful and accurate search algorithm that delivers relevant search results faster and more efficiently than its competitors.

7c. Branding 

Branding is the development of a unique identity, image, and experience for a company. Marketers convey a brand through messaging, tone, logo, colors, and web design. The marketing strategy needs to align with the company’s brand in order to maintain consistency in messaging and experience, which ultimately builds customer trust.

7d. Marketing Mix A marketing mix refers to the set of actions that a company takes to promote its brand or product in the market, typically encapsulated by the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. Go through each of these steps when including the marketing mix in your strategy:  

• Product: Describe the product and the problem it solves for your target customers. What makes your product or service different from the competition? Why is it special? 
• Price: Explain how much your target customer is willing to pay for the product or service based on its real and perceived value. What do your competitors charge for a similar product? Will you run any seasonal promotions or discounts? 
• Place:  Describe where your product or service will be available for purchase by your target customers. Will you sell it online, through retail partners, or both? How will you manage logistics and supply chain to ensure your product is accessible to your target market?
• Promotion:  Detail the strategies you will use to communicate your product’s value to consumers. This includes advertising, public relations, social media marketing, email campaigns, sales promotions, and direct marketing tactics.    

7e. Channels 

Identify the specific mediums and platforms — or  channels — where you’ll share your message to your target audience. These should include distribution channels, communication channels, and engagement channels. 

As you list them, explain how they will be used to effectively reach and engage with your target audience. For example, if you’re marketing a new fitness app, one distribution channel would be a direct download from the App Store to reach fitness enthusiasts directly on their smartphones. An engagement channel could be an in-app community feature for users where they can share progress.

Here is a brief list of popular marketing channels:  

• Affiliate marketing
• Email marketing
• Social media
• Website marketing

7f. Tactics Tactics are the specific actions you will take to reach the goals outlined in your strategy. They cover everything from the creation and distribution of marketing materials to the scheduling of campaigns to the platforms used for advertising and engagement.  Detail the specific actions and tools you will use to execute your marketing strategy, along with timelines, responsibilities, and budget allocations for each activity. This includes specifying the exact steps for product promotion, customer engagement, content creation, digital marketing efforts, and any other methods chosen to reach and convert your target audience. “Equally as important as using data is to build in time and resources to be flexible,” says Kalvert. “The marketing landscape is evolving at such a rapid pace. Tactics that worked last year may not work this year. Be open to experimenting with new tactics and adjusting your approach based on feedback and results.”

8. Determine the Budget 

Start by estimating the costs associated with each tactic and channel outlined in your strategy, taking into account factors such as content creation, platform fees, and personnel costs. Next, prioritize spending based on the expected ROI for each tactic. Finally, document the budget in a clear, detailed format within your marketing plan, including an itemized list of costs for each tactic, total expenditure, and a contingency fund.

For more resources and help estimating marketing project costs, take a look at this collection of helpful free  marketing plan budget templates . 

9. Create a Calendar

Create a calendar to schedule and track deliverables. Include time for brainstorming, planning, executing, and analyzing results. List objectives, start dates, end dates, due dates, and responsible parties. Keep the calendar in a central location so that team members can easily access it.

10. List Marketing Tools and Technology

List any marketing tools or technologies your team will use to help achieve their goals. These can include email marketing software, blogging software, social media management software, or any other programs you plan to use.

11. Identify Metrics and KPIs

Identify the metrics for measuring and tracking your marketing goals. Metrics and KPIs eliminate ambiguity so that you can accurately measure progress. Select indicators that directly reflect the success of your marketing objectives, such as conversion rates, website traffic, lead generation, and customer acquisition costs.

12. Write an Executive Summary

Once you’ve completed all the sections in your marketing plan document, return to the first section to write the executive summary. Completing this section last ensures that you have a thorough understanding of all key elements before summarizing them. 

Concisely highlight the main objectives, target market, and key strategies of the plan, providing a snapshot of the market analysis and expected outcomes. Outline the budget, resources required, and the metrics for measuring success. This section serves as a compelling overview, enticing stakeholders to delve into the plan.

For more detailed information on executive summaries, see this guide to  writing an effective executive summary. You can also download a helpful template from this collection of  free executive summary templates

Marketing Starter Kit for Beginners

Download Marketing Starter Kit for Beginners

Get everything you need for creating a marketing plan with this free, downloadable marketing plan starter kit. The kit includes an executive summary template, a customer persona worksheet, a SWOT analysis template, a competitor analysis template, a SMART goals worksheet, a marketing strategy template, and a calendar template with a budget tracker, all in one easy-to-download file.

In this kit, you’ll find the following:  

• An executive summary template for Microsoft Word to help you introduce the content of your marketing plan.    
• A customer persona worksheet for Microsoft Word to collect information about your ideal customer.  
• A SWOT analysis template for Microsoft Word to guide strategic decision-making based on the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 
• A competitor analysis template for Microsoft Word to help you compare and evaluate your competitors. 
• A SMART goals worksheet for Microsoft Word to ensure each marketing objective follows SMART guidelines. 
• A marketing strategy template for Microsoft Word to outline the plan for achieving your goals. 
• A calendar template with budget tracker for Excel where you can organize, track, and manage marketing deliverables and their costs. 
• A marketing plan template for Microsoft Word to ensure consistency and thoroughness in your final marketing plan.

Master Your Marketing Plan with Real-Time Work Management in Smartsheet

The best marketing teams know the importance of effective campaign management, consistent creative operations, and powerful event logistics -- and Smartsheet helps you deliver on all three so you can be more effective and achieve more. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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11 Best Digital Marketing Strategies for Startups To Boost Your Business

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Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Effective Marketing Strategies for Startups

11 Best Digital Marketing Strategies for Startups

Having a solid digital marketing strategy is the best and most efficient way to grow a Startup business. Without a proper plan or strategy, spending more time and money isn’t going to work for the business growth, especially in the case of Startups.

With proper planning and the right approach, a Startup marketing strategy will turn a great idea into a thriving business. Effective digital marketing services will let your Startup stay ahead of your competitors.

This blog briefs you on the list of the best digital marketing strategies every startup should follow to achieve growth.

How to Determine Effective Marketing Strategies for Startups?

Investing in digital marketing will deliver a fruitful return to your business. According to the data published in Statista , money spent in the digital advertising market is expected to reach USD 740.3 billion in 2024. This shows the interest businesses showing in digital marketing.

A well-established and reputed internet marketing agency will provide you with all kinds of tools for your startup to grow. However, before stepping into various promotional services, as a Startup company owner you need to outline your marketing strategy.

Let’s see how to outline the digital marketing strategy for start-ups.

• Set Your Goals – Defining goals for a Startup company isn’t an easy task. For many start-ups, goals are divided into two categories: creating brand awareness and driving new customers. The goal of a Startup company varies on how you define the success of your business. It is important to develop and prioritize your business goals for outlining an effective marketing strategy.  
• Define Your Target Audience – It doesn’t matter what type of business your Startup involves, reaching the right set of audiences is the key to your business success and growth. Let your marketing team decide which type of audience your business needs. Once decided, focus on creating a plan to drive the target audience group within the allocated budget. Startup companies often run out of budget before starting to drive the target audience due to improper planning.
• Determine Your Market Place – Many Startups fail to grab a position in the market because their products or services do not match the demands of the market. To avoid that, Startups must research and study the marketplace to determine what is needed to satisfy the growing demands. To be successful, start-ups shouldn’t be narrow and focus on accessing a large pool of audience at the right time.
• Fixing Budget – Marketing budget is the key for a Startup company because it determines the revenue forecast. At the same time, without a proper spending plan, succeeding in a marketing campaign is always going to be impossible. Startups should focus on their operational cost, business goals, and marketing channels for fixing their marketing budget. So that you can easily expand your business to reach previously untapped audiences.  

To run a successful Startup business, you need to be creative and should make a big splash with out-of-the-box thinking. Here are the 11 best digital marketing strategies you should follow to increase client retention rate and maximize conversion opportunities.

1. Leverage the Power of Influencers

Leveraging the power of influencers would be the game changer in the world of Startup marketing. For a Startup company building a large customer base would be a hectic task, especially when starting the marketing campaigns right from scratch.

Utilizing the influencer’s followers will make it much easier for startups to reach a high amount of audience. Moreover, the chances of audiences turning customers will be high among the trusted followers of influencers. However, it is mandated to make use of the right influencers whose niche is relevant to Startup’s business.  

2. Launch a Referral Program

Referral programs are the most effective way to develop a huge customer base very quickly. The referral marketing strategy will help startups to reach a huge audience without taking much effort. Getting a reference from a trusted person will attract more people towards business, referral programs are the best for driving more traffic.

More importantly, your Startup Company will get heavily promoted by your customers who act just like ambassadors. This allows startup owners to focus more on product creation. Launching a referral program is a great way for startup companies to build a viral interest in the audience on what they offer.

3. Create a Content Marketing Plan

Having an incredible content marketing strategy for your Startup will offer more value to your company’s prospects. Content marketing is a kind of continuous marketing effort that yields more fruitful results in the long run.

It is a mandate for startups to create a content strategy that attracts more audiences and encourages them to interact with the brand through available mediums.

4. Start Your Blog

Setting a blog platform for Startup businesses involved in WWW can be a fantastic way of improving user experience. Blogs act as a platform where users/consumers share their personal reviews with other users. It is a platform where you can get an opportunity to improve your Startup to meet the user’s expectations.

Also, blogs play a huge role in boosting product promotion without any hard effort from your end. Your happy customers will promote your products/services to target audiences.

5. Target a Specific Community to Build a User Base

A Startup company needs to have a clear understanding of what type of customers they are looking for so that it will be easier to build a strong user base quickly. Once you finalize your ideal customer community, you can target it with effective campaigns.

Having a large online-based community will be handy for a Startup to promote products/services virally.

6. Build Your Website Representing Your Brand

Establishing the web presence of a Startup business is the first and foremost way to build your brand. Startup marketing starts with the website, so it is important to build a website that represents your business.

A website for a Startup should reflect the brands because it acts as a front door to businesses in the virtual world. While designing your Startup website pay more attention to homepage design, website hierarchical structure, loading speed, and user-friendliness.

7. Raise Brand Awareness Through Social Media Marketing

In today’s digital landscape, social media marketing plays a crucial role in building brand awareness. It is the most effective way of spreading your products and services to the world. At the same time, Startup businesses need to maintain an active presence on their social media network.

Startups with limited resources and budgets should plan wisely while doing social media marketing; otherwise, it will overkill your brand. Social media platforms are a great way to interact with customers and build a positive user experience.

8. Engage with the Audience Through Email Marketing

Email marketing has evolved and entered into a new phase, where brands and Startups use personalized emails to their subscribers to convey their new launches, discounts, and so on. When compared with all other marketing tactics, personalized emails have a significant amount of high return on investment (ROI).

With the emergence of automated emails, start-ups can send emails to their customers or target audiences based on their interests.

9. Run Retargeting Campaigns

Retargeting, also known as remarketing, is a kind of campaign specially run to attract people who have already visited your website through ads and have not purchased any of your products or services. Doing retargeting campaigns will generate more sales for start-ups at a low cost because targeted people already know about your brand and product.

Popular marketing platforms like Google Ads and Facebook offer a variety of options for start-ups to do retargeting campaigns with a special offer or a limited-time deal.

10. Utilize Top-Tier Publications to Get Massive Exposure

Publishing content in top-tier publications like Forbes, HuffPost, India Times, The Hindu, and so on will give massive exposure and traffic. Startups can make use of it to grow their business. Start building a strong bond between the journalists and editors of top publications; this will help your startup get new customers.

At the same time, don’t be over promotional while publishing on those popular publications; it will spoil the plot and damage your brand reputation.

11. Measure Your Results

Startup businesses need to put efforts into digital marketing services. At the same time, it is important to measure the results driven by those digital marketing activities. This will let you know how you can improve your digital marketing strategies to drive better results.

Startups can prefer hiring a reputed digital marketing agency to track down their marketing results and get insights to improve their strategy.

Let’s Conclude

Startup marketing is nothing new; it’s about driving growth to the Start-up business through marketing services. There are so many strategies and channels available, picking the right one based on your target audience’s behavior and nature is important to promote your startup in the right direction.

Pick the right marketing strategies for your startup from the above list and be more creative than others, it will drive your business toward success. You can also hire marketing professionals from reputed and full service digital marketing agencies to leverage more for your startup’s success.

FAQ on Digital Marketing Strategies for Startups

The outline of both marketing strategy and marketing plan look similar but there is a significant difference between them. Marketing plans are driven by the business goals and their purpose is to find the right path for achieving the goals.

But marketing strategy is driven by the business strategy you are using. The purpose of marketing strategy is to find out the answers for your business existence and find the way you need to deliver your products or services to your consumers.

Yes! Start-up marketing differs significantly when compared with generic marketing. A generic marketing strategy is mainly used to gain a competitive advantage for a well-established business. However, the purpose of a start-up marketing strategy is to position the newly born company in its chosen industry.

The website acts as a primary platform where the audience engages with the Start-up business. It creates a strong foundation for start-ups to establish their online presence. A well-designed website aligned with business goals is indispensable for Start-up marketing efforts.

Once you have clear thoughts on your business idea and market potential for your Start-up business, you can start investing in pre-launch marketing campaigns. Starting your marketing campaign right after the beta stage of your product or service would be ideal to increase customer acquisition.

To establish a foothold in today’s competitive market, effective marketing is inevitable for a Start-up. Having an effective marketing strategy is highly recommended for a start-up even before the launch of its products or services. Marketing strategy should be developed based on the short-term goals and long-term objectives of a Start-up.

In today’s business landscape, startups will face an uphill task to achieve growth and success. With limited resources and short time frames, traditional marketing will be ineffective for start-ups. Also, with the shift in consumer preference and to meet the expectations of consumers, start-ups must focus on a more personalized approach to engage with the target audience.

Written by Prashant Pujara

Prashant Pujara is the CEO of MultiQoS, a leading software development company, helping global businesses grow with unique and engaging services for their business. With over 15+ years of experience, he is revered for his instrumental vision and sole stewardship in nurturing high-performing business strategies and pioneering future-focused technology trajectories.

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How to Write an Online Business Plan in 2024

Written by Vanessa Petersen on July 26, 2023 Blog , Sell Online .

You’ve committed to turning your ecommerce or online business idea into something real. You want your small business to produce revenue and change the course of your life, but what’s your first step in realizing your dream? Developing a plan. If you’re not sure about how to write an online business plan, you’ve come to the right place.

One of the most essential tasks involved in starting any kind of business is to write a business plan. An online business plan won’t look that different from a traditional business plan and will include many of the same elements.

In this post, we’ll show you how to write an online business plan, including all the components and sections. We’ll also walk through how WooCommerce can help you put your plan to action and achieve your business goals.

Why write a business plan? 

Starting your own business is a great experience and something that will shape your life, fill you with self-confidence and independence, and inspire other people around you. A new business is also a serious endeavor that will take time, money, sweat, lots of decisions, and a degree of risk.

A traditional business plan template helps you document and keep track of your business goals, challenges, opportunities, and all the steps and processes involved with making your idea work. It will help you conduct thorough market research and set you up for success.

When you write a business plan, it can confirm that you’ve found the best online business to start , or provide clarity about the need to pivot.

It details all the things you will need to do in order to successfully launch and grow your business, and may include revenue projections, timelines for specific goals, concept art for products, and architectural drawings for any brick and mortar aspects of your business. 

Business plans help create a structure for your company’s development and keep you grounded in reality, focused, and not distracted by less important matters. 

If you have more than one person helping run the business, the business plan also keeps everyone unified around the same set of goals and objectives. 

Another reason to write a business plan is for situations where you are presenting your idea to someone else and asking them to invest. In that scenario, your business plan is also a sort of sales document. It makes the argument for why your business idea is so good and well-considered that an investor should want to be a part of it. 

But even if you’re self-funding your entire business — which is more common with online businesses — you still want to write the plan for the reasons given earlier.

The benefits of running an online business

Starting an online business or ecommerce store offers many of the same great benefits as any other business, but without as much risk. If you’re thinking of starting a business, here’s why an online one is a great option:

It has low startup costs

Without a storefront, you eliminate so many costs of running a business. With all the bills that come with having property — like rent, parking, furnishings and decor, etc. — there’s a much higher investment required to start a brick-and-mortar-based business. Online businesses still have startup costs, but they are much lower. 

It gives you freedom over your schedule

With an online business, you have more freedom to set your own hours, because you don’t always have to be open during the usual times. You can build your business to suit the lifestyle you want. Rearrange your time to get things done in the fastest possible way and take time off when you need it. 

You can start small

Once you have a location, it’s yours, and you have to make it work. With an online business, you can start very small, offering just a few products or even just a single service. You can more easily test the waters without making huge commitments with inventory, and other physical investments.

You can more easily pivot

If your online or ecommerce business doesn’t do as well as you expected, it’s easier to pivot and adapt to something new because you haven’t committed so much to making your original idea work. There are many business success stories where the business owner adjusted their idea after gaining some experience, and then it took off. It’s a lot easier to do that when you aren’t tied to a physical location.

But, there’s one thing online businesses have in common with every other type of business: You need a robust business plan to help guide your idea from concept to a successful reality that makes money and fulfills your dreams and goals. 

So, let’s get into business planning. 

How do I write my own online business plan?

Most formal business plans and business plan templates include seven sections, plus an executive summary. You’ll need to keep in mind who you’re writing your business plan for. If you are taking this to potential investors or will be seeking a business loan, your business plan needs to sell the idea of your business as a great investment opportunity and communicate the skills, expertise, and commitment you personally bring to the table. 

Here are the key sections of a traditional business plan format:

• Executive summary
• Company description
• Market analysis
• Organization and management
• Service and product line
• Sales and marketing plans
• Financial projections
• Funding request (if working with investors or partners)

Here’s a brief look at each step of creating an online business plan:

Draft an executive summary

In the executive summary, the first section of almost every business plan template, you’ll present your vision and focus on building excitement. If the business plan is a sales document, the executive summary is the lead. It gets the reader engaged and excited to hear more. 

Your executive summary should achieve two goals:

• Deliver the basic facts about your business
• Motivate the reader to keep going and get them excited about your idea

What facts should you include? Whatever helps the reader understand your business idea. Describe the industry and niche. Mention the target market. Briefly state the needs or problems your products and services will be solving. Touch on the potential for growth in terms of revenue and customers. 

For motivation, describe your mission statement and company values. What will set you apart from the competition? What is your value proposition as a business owner? What makes you different? Again — keep this brief. You’ll elaborate later. 

It might be a good move to write all the other sections first, then finish with the executive summary so it will be the most concise and best version of how you describe your business.

Write a company description

Here, you’ll give a brief overview of your company. What are your strengths, skills, and areas of expertise as a business owner that will position you for success? If you have a compelling story behind why you’re starting your business, you can include that too.

Conduct a SWOT analysis 

If you’re not sure where to start, consider doing a SWOT analysis , which is a diagram outlining your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 

It’s a common part of many business plans and will help paint a realistic picture of what your business can achieve, and what stands in the way. You won’t include all of this in the company description, but your strengths and opportunities may fit here. 

Create a mission and vision statement

The company description is also the place to create a mission statement and a vision statement. What’s the difference between these? 

The vision is where you’re going, the mission is how you’ll get there. A vision statement paints a picture of a future reality for your customers and perhaps the world at large, as a result of your company’s influence. A mission statement expresses how you will achieve that.

The company description can elaborate on your vision and mission beyond just a single sentence, and later you can fine-tune what you write into a succinct pair of statements. Feeling some writer’s block? See company description templates by industry for some inspiration.

Include any unique attributes

If your company will involve particular attributes such as manufacturing, supply chains, dropshipping, affiliates, coaching or advising, online courses, or other relevant particulars, include that in your company description, too. 

State your business location, industry, niche, and other details

Also, state the location of your business, even though it’s online. Name your industry and niche target market again, and describe the nature of your company. For example, is it an ecommerce business, a consulting firm, delivery service, wholesale, or ad-based website? These are just some of many types of online business structures. 

You may also want to include whether your business is in any special class of business that might position it for special loan or grant opportunities like women-owned businesses or veteran-owned businesses.

After reading your description, readers should have a good understanding of what your business is about, why it exists, and how it works. Here’s a detailed look at company descriptions , with an example.

Perform a market analysis

A market analysis uses industry research to assess the scope of your business’s target market and describe the current competition in your industry. It can help you estimate the potential for success and prepare for the challenges you may face when you launch your online business or ecommerce shop.

Doing this research, and including it your business plan, can also help you:

• Identify industry trends
• Pinpoint opportunities 
• Diminish risks and reduce costs
• Generate new ideas for products and services
• Learn from the failures and shortcomings of your competitors
• Find ways to stand out from your competitors
• Discover new markets
• Refine your marketing plans

Now let’s dig into the elements involved in a thorough market analysis.

Understand your audience

Here, you will explain in detail who your target customers are and why they want or need what you’ll be selling. What problems or needs does your product solve? What will motivate people to buy from you? And why can’t they get it somewhere else just as easily? An ecommerce business competes against other ecommerce businesses as well as brick-and-mortar stores and shopping malls. Stores with omnichannel strategies compete with both. Why would someone choose you?

Share your key customer demographics, psychographics, and interests. Who will you be serving? What drives them? 

What are their values? If your product, service, or personal brand will appeal to a customer segment that also shares particular values, that’s a strength, not a weakness, and you can use that to win them over. 

Perform customer segmentation

Break down different categories of target customers your business plans to serve. One category could be age. Another might be life situations such as retirees, parents, divorcees, or living with older relatives. You could create a segment of people with particular health conditions, or who live certain lifestyles. 

But you can also get way more specific than that. Runners are different from hikers, who are different from bikers, yoga enthusiasts, and gym enthusiasts. Different supplements, philosophies about food, motivations for eating various foods — all of these present near endless possibilities for more narrowly defining your customer segments, all under the broad category of ‘health.’ And you might serve multiple segments. 

The more customer segments you know, the more effectively you can market to them. In an online store, good product descriptions call out the various customer segments that product is designed for.

Also, give a sense of the potential size of your target market. How many people need what you’re selling? Show how this market is large enough to justify your business and drive revenue. You might do this by studying revenue reports from other companies in your industry. Or look at specific products related to yours and research their sales and revenue performance. 

You may also perform a survey of some kind, or an online quiz, and use that to express the needs your potential customers have that aren’t currently being met.

Perform a competitive analysis

Study your competition. What are they doing well? What areas are they underserving? Where are they underperforming? Make note of what other companies in your industry are struggling with or failing at so that you can deliver something more valuable and gain a competitive advantage.

It could be product quality, customer service, or selection. Maybe their ecommerce store is badly designed and hard to use. Perhaps there’s a huge industry serving the masses, but customers who have more particular tastes or needs aren’t being well-served by the big companies. Those customers might spend more on something that delivers what they really want. 

Maybe your key competition has been rocked by scandal. Maybe a company went out of business, was sold, or closed down due to retirement and there’s an opening in the market you want to leverage. 

The main point of the competitive analysis is to persuade investors that there’s an underserved market that your business plans to cater to. You must be able to promise something that no one else is currently delivering. Otherwise, why should your business exist? Put them at ease by demonstrating proper market research.

Refer to your SWOT analysis and present any potential threats from the competition here, too.

Outline management and organizational structure

Next, present your management and legal structure. Is your company an LLC, sole proprietorship, S corporation, partnership, or some other arrangement? Who’s in charge of what? If you have different departments, list out the leadership for each one. If relevant, you might even include some information about the expertise of your leaders concerning the areas under their charge and the tasks they’ll be performing.

Remember — if your business plan will be used to persuade investors to help fund your business idea, this sort of information will reassure them that your company has strong and competent leadership. 

If there’s a chain of command, use a diagram or other method for laying out who reports to whom. 

List your products and services

What are you selling? You’ll touch on this briefly in the earlier sections, but here is where you’ll expand on the details. If you have an array of similar products, such as food flavors or clothing variations, list as many as seem relevant. But focus on the spirit of the business plan — you’re simply communicating what your business is about, not listing every SKU in your projected inventory. 

Also, include information about your products such as quality, durability, expirations, patents, and whatever else will give a clear picture of what you’re selling.

For service businesses and memberships that may include multiple packages, bundles, or tiers, describe each of these so your readers get a sense of how you’ll appeal to different types of customers and price points. 

Develop a sales and marketing strategy

Having products is great, but how do you intend to sell them? How will people find your business? How will anyone know you exist? And once they know, what will motivate them to buy from you and not from your competition? What is your unique value proposition — the thing that sets you apart from your direct competitors?

You’ll need to develop an initial marketing plan to help promote your business, products, and services to your target customers.

And remember, competition isn’t limited just to other businesses. Sometimes, competition is against the customer’s time, or their budget, or mere indifference — the conflict between doing something and doing nothing. Your SWOT analysis should touch on several of these potential barriers to the success of your online business.

Your marketing plan will obviously change over time, but give your readers and potential investors a sense of how you plan to launch and grow your business. 

Discuss media channels you plan to use, such as pay-per-click (PPC) ads , social media , email marketing , affiliate marketing , direct mail, referrals, joint ventures, search engine optimization (SEO), webinars, influencer marketing , and live events. Describe the ones you actually plan to use, and explain the core strategy you’ll begin with and how you will measure success. 

Also, include a sense of your marketing budget. If you will have a dedicated marketing team, or actual sales professionals using a particular process or sales script, discuss that as well. 

For ecommerce businesses, include a discussion of how you plan to leverage platforms like WooCommerce, which features a host of extensions that can help manage your business , engage customers, save money, and promote growth .

Make financial projections

You’ve made a lot of claims in your business plan, but how will your investors be convinced of your future success? At some point, you have to show them the money. 

If this is a brand new business with no income, where will your finances come from for the first year? Give realistic financial projections for anticipated profits and losses, as well as growth expectations for the first five years. Include financial documents if you have them, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Include costs of employment, manufacturing, and other investments both one-time and ongoing.

Your financial projections should reference your:

• market analysis 
• anticipated sales volume 

Investors will feel more confident when they can see your business plan does not rely entirely on just one or two ‘wins.’ For example, if your entire plan hinges on selling on eBay or Amazon , what happens if Amazon suspends your store, changes the terms, or you struggle to get noticed there? 

If your plan depends on winning over a few Instagram influencers, what if they don’t come through? It’s really easy to say what you hope will happen. But actually making it happen is another thing. Business success happens more easily when you apply a multi-channel marketing and sales approach. 

Your financial projections will feel based in reality, when you can demonstrate some prior successes, either in other businesses you’ve already launched, test audiences, local sales you made, prior experience, or data from other businesses. 

Explain your funding request — if applicable

If you intend to ask investors to help fund your business idea, present your request in the final main section of your business plan. If you’ve already secured funding from other sources, include that here as well. An investor will feel better knowing they are not the only one who believes in the potential of your business. 

Will your funding request be for a one-time payment, monthly, annually, or at some other interval? How do you plan to repay their investment? Will you allow them to charge interest? How much ROI can you promise them? 

How WooCommerce can help

WooCommerce can help you build a scalable online business that supports your business plan. No matter what you’re selling, WooCommerce offers a suite of flexible tools that allows you to customize your store to meet your needs and goals. 

Here are just some of the benefits your business will enjoy when you choose to build your store with WooCommerce:

• Sell absolutely anything you can imagine . From physical items and digital downloads to subscriptions, memberships, bookings, courses, and affiliate products, WooCommerce provides everything you need. Want to run a wholesale store? You can do that, too!
• Harness the power of WordPress . Since WooCommerce is a plugin specifically for WordPress, you can take advantage of powerful features like the block editor and blogging capabilities. 
• Capture payments securely. Choose from a large number of payment gateways, from popular options like PayPal and Stripe, to more niche processors for specific locations and types of regulated products. And with tools like WooPayments , you can keep customers on-site, capture a variety of currencies, and even accept digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Customize your shipping options. Offer free shipping, charge based on weight, set fixed prices, or calculate shipping costs based on real-time carrier rates. You can even use extensions like Table Rate Shipping to create complicated shipping rules based on conditions that you set. And with WooCommerce Shipping , you benefit from discounted shipping labels and the ability to print right from your dashboard. 
• Connect to your social media channels. Use extensions to sync your store with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. You can even sell on those platforms alongside your store without having to update inventory and information manually.
• Integrate with marketing tools. Quickly connect your store to any number of marketing tools, from email platforms like MailPoet to CRMs like Jetpack CRM . You can also implement a number of marketing strategies, from abandoned cart emails to loyalty programs.
• Keep track of your numbers. Ecommerce accounting is a big part of running an online business. While you can easily view data in your dashboard, you can also sync with tools like QuickBooks to make your accountant’s life a little bit easier.
• Manage inventory. Update your inventory levels manually or connect to tools like Scanventory to sync with your warehouse. Running low or out of stock? Add a wishlist option so customers get an alert as soon as it’s available.

As you can see, WooCommerce is well-equipped to handle any type of online store and support you as you grow. Here are a few more reasons that WooCommerce should be your go-to choice for implementing the ecommerce side of your online business plan:

WooCommerce itself is free! Many extensions for WooCommerce can also be found for free in the WordPress.org plugins library or on the Woo Marketplace . If you need to start your website with a limited budget, but want to build on a platform that can grow to support a thriving, high-traffic store, WooCommerce is an excellent option.

You have full control over your store

Unlike other ecommerce solutions that are tied to the platform’s own web hosting, WooCommerce is designed to be used with WordPress along with any hosting provider of your choice. You are also free to use whatever payment processor you want without any additional fees from WooCommerce. You can also customize your site’s appearance and functionality more extensively than you can with other ecommerce platforms and with less (or no) coding knowledge.

Thousands of free and premium extensions

There are over 800 free and premium extensions for WooCommerce on WooCommerce.com alone and over 1,000 in the WordPress.org plugins library . There are also hundreds of independent developers and agencies that offer premium and custom extensions for WooCommerce so that you can customize your store with the exact features you need. 

Excellent support and large community of users

WooCommerce is used by over 3.9 million stores — 23% of all online stores worldwide . The support team is available to answer questions and the documentation library is extensive and thorough. There are also plenty of independent resources for learning how to use WordPress and WooCommerce.

Dedicate time and resources to put your online business plan in action

A successful business plan is one that empowers and guides the business owner to launch their online or ecommerce business, and possibly secure funding. But it only works if you use it.

One advantage of starting an ecommerce store or online business is that you aren’t as locked down by deadlines. With a physical location, once you start paying the rent, you better have your business plan ready to put into action. 

But the beauty of being online is that you have more flexibility on the front end. Despite having more wiggle room with your timelines, you still need to keep your momentum going forward. Staying on track with your business projects and goals is one of the keys to reaching profitability sooner and turning your business plan into reality. A few quick tips:

• Schedule your time. Block out hours and specific days to work on your business.
• Treat it like a job, not a hobby. Build on your momentum week after week.
• Always keep learning. Research your industry, competition, target audience, and potential customers. Learn marketing — you can never know too much.
• Try stuff! Take risks, make calls, create campaigns, write content.

Your business plan template should give you a concrete list of tasks and business objectives. Once you write a business plan, then you can implement it.

Frequently asked questions about writing an online business plan

What are the seven steps of a business plan.

The seven key elements of a business plan are the executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, services and products, marketing plan, and financial projections. If you’re making a funding request, that would be an eighth section.

Where can I find business plan templates?

You can find a free business plan template online, for general business plans as well as for specific industries. However, since each business is different and your plan must be authentic and specific to your company — a business plan template can only get you so far. 

If you need design inspiration for your own custom business plan template or want to start with a pre-designed template that you can customize, you can purchase one for a relatively low cost through a stock resources site like Envato Market or Creative Market .

Do I need a business plan if I am already running an online business or ecommerce shop?

Business plans aren’t only for people who are launching new businesses. You can create a business plan at any time to help you maintain or change the direction of your store or just to get a better picture of the health of your business. Below are a few different types of business plans that you might want to consider for your established online business:

• Operational business plan. Outlines the structure of your business operations, staffing, and logistics.
• Feasibility plan. Feasibility plans are like mini business plans that cover new business ideas and outline steps for implementation.
• Growth business plan. This plan is for businesses that want to demonstrate opportunities and plans for growth to attract investors.
• Maturing business plan. This plan is for businesses looking to merge with or acquire other companies, significantly expand, or go public.
• Strategic business plan. Any time your business wants to shift strategies regarding products or marketing or any other major changes to your previous business plan, you’ll want to create a new strategic business plan to address your new goals and the steps involved in achieving them.

What software should I use for my online business plan?

Your business plan should include some images, graphs, and graphic elements in the layout, so you’ll want to at least use word processing software to put your business plan together. If you have access to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Canva, or Adobe Creative Cloud, you’ll have some other options that might lead to a more professional layout.

Here’s a list of free and paid software that can help you put together your online business plan outline:

What do investors want to see in a business plan?

The most important piece of information to show investors in your business plan is potential for profitability. Investors don’t want to throw money at a sinking ship, no matter how cool and exciting the business sounds. 

Most investors also want to make sure that they’ll see a decent return on their investment in a relatively short time period — probably around 5-7 years. How much of a return they’ll expect will depend on your industry and what kind of investor they are. 

Investors will also want to see that you clearly understand your business, your industry, and that you have concrete, actionable steps for achieving, maintaining, and growing profitability. They’ll want to make sure that the key people on your team also understand your business and the roles they play and they’ll want to see that each person has a good amount of experience in their field and the required skill sets to fulfill their job duties, if not go above and beyond. 

Any details you can include that highlight unique aspects of your business will also be important. Any area where you have a competitive edge, are offering a unique or proprietary solution, have established any celebrity endorsements, have the backing of other investors, or have secured special grants will be of special interest to investors.

Create your plan for success

Now that you understand what goes into creating a formal business plan, it’s time to write one! Take the time to think through and consider each aspect of the list included in this article, and you’ll be well on your way to finding success.

And WooCommerce is here to support your business every step of the way, with powerful and flexible tools that help your business grow. Start selling online today !

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