One thing that kept cropping up for me when I was teaching at a recent event was the fact that so many of you are getting overwhelmed with your marketing; not so much with the list building or connecting with potential clients, but your actual marketing planning.

The busier you get in your business the harder it becomes to keep a handle on things. Just some of the issues that cropped up at the event I was at were:

• You’re being asked to speak at events or telesummits and don’t know how this fits into your overall marketing plan.
• You want to launch a new product or program but are not sure how all the different moving pieces fit together.
• You want to create a series of list building events, but are not sure how to map all of these out so that they don’t conflict with one another.

For all of these scenarios there’s one very easy solution … create a marketing calendar.

A marketing calendar is a very powerful business planning tool, and an essential one for your business if it’s to grow and flourish. With a marketing calendar, you can see at a glance:

• Upcoming promotions that you need to prepare for.
• If any of your promotions conflict or overlap with one another.
• If you can accept that offer to speak at a telesummit or event (and be able to promote it too).
• Whether you need to move things around a little to allow for an unexpected opportunity.
• What you need to be doing and by when.

My private clients get taken step-by-step through creating their own marketing calendar using my strategic Marketing Action Plan (MAP) tool, but today I thought I’d share with you a really simple way to create your own marketing calendar.

The Simple Marketing Calendar

You just need a calendar, solely for marketing, to lay it all out on. And one of my favorite tools for doing this is to use Google calendars. It’s easy to set up; it’s easy to move things around; and it’s easy to overlay it with your regular business calendar. Also, as Google calendars sync with your smart phone (and iPhone too, I believe), you always have instant, up-to-date access.

If a Google calendar’s not your thing, you can also use a dry-wipe planner from your local office supplies store, and hang it in your office. The dry wipe feature means that it’s easy for you to move things around without it becoming too messy. Post-It notes also work well too!

Whichever method you choose (and you might have your own preference) creating a marketing calendar is essential to the success of your business … and your sanity!

(c) 2012 Tracey Lawton

If you want more step-by-step for setting up your business management systems, then you’ll need the Easy Office Organization Home Study System that will teach you exactly how to set yourself up for long-term business success and profits.  It’s a complete, 28-lesson program, complete with 18 done-for-you templates, and 7 worksheets, plus there are tools, scripts, examples, mind maps, checklists, and resources throughout the entire program.  Nowhere else will you find it as easy to pull together all the necessary elements, in clear language, and very specific assignments.

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