Small Business Owners! Here's How to Create a Marketing Plan

Let’s be real, most small business owners don’t create a marketing plan. They jump straight into posting on Instagram, sending a random email, or running a last-minute ad when things feel slow. And then? Crickets.

The problem isn’t effort—it’s direction. Without a marketing plan, your marketing ends up feeling like a guessing game. You’re throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks.

The solution: a marketing plan that actually connects your goals, audience, and content. And here’s the good news—it’s easier than you think when you use Enji.

Below, we’re going to talk about:

The benefits of a marketing plan
The core elements of a marketing plan
How Enji helps you build a marketing plan
Step-by-step on how to create a marketing plan

The Benefits of a Real Marketing Plan

First, we have to address the question you’re maybe asking yourself: Why should I bother with a marketing plan at all? Well, because when you create a marketing plan that’s tailored to your business, everything else gets easier.

Focus — No more wondering “what should I post?” You’ll know exactly what to share, when, and why.
Consistency — A plan helps you show up regularly without burning out because you feel pressure to do something everyday.
Measurability — You can track your progress and keep improving, instead of guessing.
Better ROI — Instead of scattering your time and budget, you’ll double down on what works.

In other words: a plan makes marketing manageable—and gives you the confidence to stick with it. It’s easier to see something through when you feel like you know what you’re supposed to be doing. For real.

The Core Elements of a Small Business Marketing Plan

A marketing plan doesn’t need to be 20 pages long. In fact, the best ones are simple and actionable (we’re big fans of the one page marketing plan). Here’s what to include when you create a marketing plan:

Your Goals

What do you actually want from your marketing? More sales? More bookings? Brand awareness? List growth? Your marketing goals drive every decision from there.

Think of them as the “north star” for your marketing—without them, it’s easy to get lost chasing trends or throwing random posts into the void of the internet. A clear goal also helps you measure success. For example, if your goal is to book five clients each month, you’ll know exactly whether your efforts are paying off. The more specific and realistic your goals, the more useful your plan will be.

Your Customer Personas

Who are you trying to reach and attract? Get clear on your ideal customer’s needs, struggles, and habits so your content speaks directly to them. Your customer personas go way beyond demographics like age or location.

Seriously ask yourself: what keeps them up at night? What questions are they Googling (or asking ChatGPT)? What motivates them to take action? The better you can picture your audience as a real human with emotions, preferences, and quirks vs. an imaginary character, the more effective your marketing will be.

Your Marketing Channels

Where will you show up? Social media, email, blogging, ads, PR? Choose the channels that your ideal customers are on and will help you reach your goals. The temptation is to be everywhere at once, but spreading yourself too thin usually backfires. Instead, start with one or two channels where your ideal customers already spend their time.

For example, wedding photographers might thrive on Instagram and Pinterest, while consultants could see more traction on LinkedIn and email. It’s about choosing quality engagement over quantity of platforms.

Wondering how much marketing you really need to do? This free webinar will help you figure that out!

Your Content

What’s the message you want to share? Your content should reflect your brand voice, solve your audience’s problems, and build trust. This is where your personality and expertise shine. Your content can teach, inspire, or entertain but it should also always tie back to your goals and your customer personas.

A good mix might include behind-the-scenes posts, helpful how-tos, and testimonials from happy clients. Consistent messaging builds recognition, and over time, that recognition turns into trust and trust drives sales.

Your Schedule

How often will you post or email? The key is to choose a realistic rhythm and marketing routine you can stick with—not a pace that burns you out in two weeks. (Again, this free webinar is a good thing for you to watch.) Some businesses thrive posting daily, but for many solopreneurs, two times a week on one platform plus a weekly email is a perfectly manageable start.

What matters most is consistency. A steady rhythm trains your audience to expect and look forward to hearing from you. And if life gets hectic (as it always does), scheduling tools can help you stay consistent even when you’re not online.

How Enji Builds Your Marketing Plan in Minutes

The hardest part of marketing is starting. That’s why Enji is designed to help you create a marketing plan in just a few minutes. Here’s how it works:

Plan Your Marketing

Marketing Strategy Generator: Answer a few quick questions and instantly get a one-page marketing plan built for your business.
Marketing Campaign Templates: Ready-made frameworks so you’re not reinventing the wheel every time you launch something new or want to run a promotion.

Do Your Marketing

AI Copywriter & Idea Generator: Get post and blog ideas and then get help writing them in your brand voice
Calendar & Scheduler: Drag-and-drop planning plus automatic publishing across platforms.

Review Your Marketing

KPI Dashboard: See what’s working and what’s not so you can make smarter decisions with your time and budget.

This isn’t just a tool—it’s like having a marketing consultant on your team (minus the payroll).

Step-by-Step: Creating Your Plan in Enji

If you’ve been avoiding creating a plan because it feels overwhelming, here’s how simple it really is with Enji:

Start your free trial and answer the setup questions in the Strategy Generator.
Get your one-page marketing plan instantly. Yes, instantly. Just play a game of 20 questions with Enji to get it. It takes 5 minutes.
Use the AI tools to fill your calendar with content ideas and draft posts.
Schedule your posts so you’re consistent from day one.

What Business Owners Are Saying

Here’s what one business owner had to say about using Enji to stay consistent and strategic:

“As a marketing strategist, I know the importance of a solid marketing strategy AND consistently showing up. And holy bananas, does Enji make that easy! It helps me stay consistent with posting and stay present on the platforms and ways that work for my business, BUT ALSO helps me stay present and up to date with some of the less obvious aspects of marketing that are often overlooked, like KPIs and keeping everything tracked and up to date. I LOVE ENJI! Truly! I recommend it to all of my clients!” – Laura of Cheeky Copy

If even the strategists are leaning on Enji to simplify their work, you know it’s built with real small businesses in mind. And that’s the real magic here—Enji isn’t just for beginners trying to figure it all out, it’s also trusted by seasoned marketers who could easily build their own plans from scratch (but why would they want to?).

Creating a Marketing Plan For Your Small Business

Here’s the takeaway: random posts and scattered marketing will only take you so far. If you want consistency, growth, and confidence, you need to create a marketing plan—one that connects your goals, audience, and content.

And with Enji, it’s not just possible, it’s easy. You can go from overwhelmed to organized in minutes and finally show up for your business in a way that works.

Ready to get started? Try Enji free today and create a marketing plan that actually helps you grow.

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Tayler Cusick Hollman

Enji Founder and Small Business Marketing Expert

Tayler is one of the Founders of Enji (marketing tools for small business owners who need to plan, do, and review it themselves). With over a decade of marketing experience, she has helped thousands of small business owners create simple marketing plans that help them get results. When she isn't thinking about how to solve the "I do my own marketing" problem, you'll find her skiing, mountain biking, or climbing rocks somewhere.

Try Enji's marketing tools for small business owners for free at enji.co

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