What a marketing plan includes
A marketing plan answers five questions in order: where are we, who are we for, what must marketing achieve, how will we reach them, and how will we know it worked. The canonical sections (summary, situation, audience, goals, positioning, channels, budget, KPIs) all serve one of those five. The natural first step is a SWOT analysis: it answers “where are we” honestly, and a plan whose bets visibly follow from the SWOT is a plan the team believes.
How to write a marketing plan, step by step
- Run the SWOT first. Ten minutes of honesty about what is working saves a quarter of spending on what is not.
- Describe one customer, not a market. Who they are, what they are trying to get done, and, critically, where they look when they need someone like you. That last answer chooses your channels for you.
- Set 2-3 goals with numbers attached. From current value to target by date. “More visibility” is a mood; “leads from 30 to 45 a month by December” is a goal.
- Write the positioning sentence. For [who], we are [what], that delivers [why-us], backed by two or three real proof points. Every channel and piece of content inherits from this line.
- Choose few channels, on purpose. Each channel gets a reason, an action and a cost. The commonest small-business failure is not the wrong channel but five channels on a two-channel budget.
- Set the budget, the anchors and 5 KPIs. Then review monthly: score the KPIs, keep or kill each bet, and let the plan learn.
The one-page marketing plan
For many small businesses, the one-pager is not the summary of the plan; it is the plan, and the full document exists to justify it. Six lines: who we’re for, what we promise, two measurable goals, two or three channels with one action each, the budget, and the monthly review date. If those six lines are true and reviewed monthly, you are out-planning most competitors of your size; the template above includes this version at the bottom, ready to put on the wall.
Free marketing plan template (plain text, Google Docs, Notion)
Three ways to a written plan. The plain text pastes cleanly into Google Docs or Notion, one-page version included.
The plain-text template
The full eight-section plan plus the one-pager at the bottom.
MARKETING PLAN · [Business] · [Year or launch] Owner: [name] · Written: [date] · Reviewed: [quarterly] 1. SUMMARY (write last, 3-4 lines) Where the business is, what marketing must achieve, the bet. 2. WHERE WE ARE [The SWOT in brief: what’s working for and against you. Do the SWOT first; it feeds everything below.] 3. WHO WE’RE FOR [The customer, specifically: who they are, what they’re trying to get done, where they look when they need you.] 4. GOALS (2-3, each measurable) - [e.g. Leads from 30/mo to 45/mo by December] - [e.g. Repeat business from 35% to 45%] 5. POSITIONING & MESSAGE [One sentence: for WHO, we are the WHAT, that delivers WHY-US. Plus the 2-3 proof points that back it.] 6. CHANNELS (pick few, on purpose) [Channel] → [why this one] → [what we’ll do] → [cost/effort] … 7. BUDGET & TIMELINE [Total for the period, split by channel; the calendar anchors.] 8. KPIs (5 max, from your KPI set) [Metric] → [current] → [target] → [checked monthly] --- THE ONE-PAGE VERSION (often all a small business needs) Who we’re for: […] · What we promise: […] Goals: [2, measurable] · Channels: [2-3, one action each] Budget: [amount] · Review: [monthly date]
The AI prompt
Prefer to use your own AI? Copy this into Claude or ChatGPT with your goals and context, and it drafts both versions.
--- title: Marketing Plan Generator description: A prompt that drafts a small-business marketing plan (full and one-page versions) from your own goals and context. author: readywhen source: https://readywhen.ai/marketing-plan-template homepage: https://readywhen.ai license: CC BY 4.0 (free to use and share with attribution to readywhen) version: 1.0 updated: 2026-07-18 keywords: [marketing plan template, small business marketing plan, one page marketing plan, marketing strategy] --- # Marketing Plan Generator _By readywhen. Full guide + free template: https://readywhen.ai/marketing-plan-template_ You are drafting a marketing plan for a small business. Ground every section in what the owner tells you; never invent market data. ## Principles - Start from their SWOT or current situation; the plan’s bets should visibly follow from it. - Goals are 2-3 and measurable, from current value to target by date. - Positioning in one sentence: for WHO, we are WHAT, that delivers WHY-US, with real proof points only. - Channels are chosen, not listed: few, with a reason each, matched to where the customer actually looks. An owner-operator’s plan dies of channel sprawl. - Always produce both versions: the full plan and the one-pager. For many small businesses the one-pager IS the plan. - Budget honesty: if the number given can’t fund the channels chosen, say so and cut channels, not credibility. ## What I need from you What the business does and for whom · what’s working and not (or paste a SWOT) · goals in your own words with current numbers · budget and who does the marketing · what you’ve tried before. Ask me for anything missing before you write. --- _Made by readywhen. readywhen drafts the plan from your own reality: your customers, results and calendar, then keeps the KPIs scored. https://readywhen.ai/marketing-plan-template_
Let readywhen do itRecommended
Fifteen empty sections is how plans die unwritten. readywhen drafts the plan from your own SWOT, results and calendar, channels chosen with reasons, both versions included.
readywhen drafts the plan from your own reality (your SWOT, your best clients, your calendar) in ~45 seconds, so planning starts at editing, not at fifteen empty sections.
Let readywhen draft your marketing plan from your own context
The heavyweight templates fail small businesses in a specific way: fifteen empty sections, each demanding research an owner has no time to do, so the plan never gets written and marketing stays improvised.
readywhen starts from what already exists: the SWOT you ran, where this year’s best clients actually came from, the goals implied by your own numbers, the anchors already on your calendar. It drafts both versions, bets few channels with the reasons stated, and at each monthly review scores the KPIs from the same sources, so the plan stays a working document instead of a January artefact.
Works with your existing tools
Marketing plan FAQs
What should a small business marketing plan include?
Eight sections: a summary written last, where you are (the SWOT), who you’re for, 2-3 measurable goals, a one-sentence positioning with proof points, chosen channels with reasons and costs, budget and timeline, and up to five KPIs reviewed monthly. Plus the one-page version for the wall.
Is a one-page marketing plan enough?
For many small businesses, yes: who you’re for, what you promise, two measurable goals, two or three channels with one action each, the budget, and a monthly review date. If those six lines are true and actually reviewed, the one-pager is the plan and the long document is its appendix.
How many marketing channels should a small business use?
Two or three, chosen because that is where your customer actually looks, each funded and staffed properly. The classic failure is not picking a wrong channel but running five on a two-channel budget, so nothing gets enough repetition to work.
How often should I update the marketing plan?
Score the KPIs monthly and keep or kill each channel bet; rewrite the plan itself twice a year or when something structural changes (a new offer, a new audience). A plan reviewed monthly learns; a plan written in January and reopened in December is archaeology.
Is there a marketing plan template for Google Docs or Word?
Yes. Copy the plain-text template on this page into Google Docs, Word or Notion, or download it as a file. All formats are free.
Can’t I just use ChatGPT or Claude to write my marketing plan?
Yes. Paste your goals and context with the prompt above, and you get a grounded draft of both versions. readywhen is the version that already knows your reality: the SWOT you ran, where your best clients came from, what’s on your calendar, and it keeps scoring the KPIs after the plan ships, which is where most plans stop being used.
More templates for marketing that gets done
SWOT analysis
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, drafted from your own context.
Content calendar
A month of posts in grid and Kanban views, filled from your own updates.
Campaign brief
The whole initiative on one page: goal, audience, message, channels.
Stop improvising the marketing.
Draft your plan free with readywhen
About the author and editorial standards
About the author. Sançar Şahin is co-founder and CMO of readywhen. readywhen catches everything you say you’ll do and helps you move it forward: drafted, chased or flagged, ready when you are. He builds readywhen in public on LinkedIn.
Editorial standards. No paid placements. The plan structure reflects common marketing practice (the AMA-style outline among others) rather than a single authority. How this page was made: Sançar built the multi-agent research and drafting system behind it, checks its work at several phases, and approves the final page himself. To flag an error, email hello@readywhen.ai.
Last updated: 19 July 2026.