In Part 1 of Have You Created Your Marketing Calendar?, we covered what is a marketing calendar and why business owners should have one. Below are examples of activities to include in your marketing map, and administrative tasks related to accurate monitoring and determining your return on investment (ROI) of time, money and effort.
Examples of activities to map in your marketing calendar/plan:
article submissions
blogging dates/topics
social networking
pay-per-click activities
video marketing campaigns
podcast production and distribution
on and offline networking
media releases
product development/sales
virtual joint venture activities
setup an affiliate program
implement a referral program
major and minor trade and association events
on and offline presentations and teleseminars
holiday-related promotions
Track your results
Make sure your website copy and marketing materials are relevant and valuable, and stay current on industry trends and competition, etc. Always check and recheck to ensure everything is on track and/or if you need to make changes.
Don’t forget to handle the administrative tasks associated with managing a marketing calendar. Check and double check your numbers. For example, number of visits to your website, ezine sign-ups, teleseminar attendees, response to promotions, etc. These steps will also assist in determining return on investment (ROI).
There is no “right or wrong way” to create your marketing plan. It’s about what works best for you. Creating a marketing calendar is just one step in the process of mapping your steps and results, as well as is a record for later reflection and assessment.
By tracking your results, you can discover what is working, what you need to work harder on, and what you need to stop spending time and money on.
Remember
A marketing calendar is an essential tool for planning and implementing marketing strategies, scheduling marketing events and tracking costs and progress.
Have you created your marketing calendar? Share one of your strategies with us.
What is a marketing calendar?
A marketing calendar is typically a 12 month description of what you plan to do, from a marketing perspective. It is the creation of a system and process you can monitor your marketing activities by, on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
A marketing calendar assists in launching your marketing vehicles (tools) that can drive you to your goal in a structured and thought-out manner. It helps you effectively coordinate all your marketing efforts, assists in establishing a budget, crystallizes your focus, provides consistency, and allows you to see the value in your marketing program. It is a vital tool in your marketing arsenal.
Why create a marketing calendar?
One of the main reasons for creating a marketing calendar is to monitor results, preventing marketing lapses that cause the “feast and famine” effect many businesses experience. The calendar helps track regularly actionable occurring activities, such as writing and submitting articles to online directories, creating blog posts, participating in social networking activities, posting videos, etc.
It is an important tool that lets you know exactly when you need to:
begin doing a specific marketing tactic
see each step you need to take to implement a specific strategy
identify gaps in your marketing schedule throughout the year
Part 2 of Have You Created Your Marketing Calendar will identify types of activities to include in your marketing calendar, steps to follow and a call to action.
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