{"id":8182,"date":"2017-01-30T09:00:20","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T16:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/?p=8182"},"modified":"2017-01-30T09:00:20","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T16:00:20","slug":"how-to-make-a-marketing-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-make-a-marketing-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Marketing Plan for Your Small Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At Bluehost, we love small-business success stories, whether the business revolves around<\/span><\/i> pies<\/span><\/i><\/a>,<\/span><\/i> food trucks<\/span><\/i><\/a>,<\/span><\/i> minimalism<\/span><\/i><\/a>,<\/span><\/i> life coaching<\/span><\/i><\/a>, or<\/span><\/i> graphic design<\/span><\/i><\/a>. If you run a small business or are considering starting one, we want to help you make your business a success story too. For our \u201cNew Year, New Business\u201d series, we\u2019ll be providing insights, methods, and resources for building and growing a small business.We\u2019ve covered<\/span><\/i> how to develop a business plan<\/span><\/i><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>how to DIY and delegate basic business tasks<\/span><\/i><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>how to conduct market research and build your brand<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and <\/span><\/i>how to build a website for your business<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i>
Unless your target audience consists of <\/span>baseball-playing ghosts<\/span><\/a>, your potential customers aren\u2019t going to come to you <\/span>\u2014<\/span> you\u2019ll need to spread the word about about your business and what it has to offer. In other words, you need a marketing plan. <\/span>
We\u2019ve already covered how to <\/span>conduct market research<\/span><\/a> to understand your key audiences, how to <\/span>build a brand<\/span><\/a> around your business\u2019s unique value proposition, and how to <\/span>create a website<\/span><\/a> that conveys your value and resonates with your key audiences. If you\u2019ve tackled those things, you\u2019ve laid the foundation for a strong marketing plan.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing Basics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The definition of marketing can sometimes get blurry, because it overlaps with other disciplines such as advertising and PR, but put simply, <\/span>marketing is what you do to attract and retain customers.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marketing Funnel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Marketing<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Before you dive in, it\u2019s helpful to understand the typical path a person takes on the way toward becoming your customer. This path is illustrated by the <\/span>marketing funnel<\/b>. <\/span>
The most well-known version of the funnel is the AIDA model, attributed to turn-of-the-century advertiser Elias St. Elmo Lewis. The steps in this funnel are:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n