How to create a content marketing plan for 2024 (with free template)

Updated: 1 Decemeber 2023
Originally published: 23 November 2021

 

Want to know how to create a content marketing plan for 2024? Whether you are an established business owner who has been using content marketing for years or an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to start a new business in 2024 and use content marketing to promote your business this blog post will help you. Keep on reading to learn how to create a content marketing plan for 2024 and you can also grab my free template to get started.  

 

This page includes affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.

 

To help you create your own content marketing plan for 2024 I’ve created a workbook for you. Download your copy and you’ll be able to use alongside this blog post and create your very own 2024 content marketing plan.

Before I dive into the good stuff, I want to add a disclaimer. Normally when I refer to content marketing I talk about long-form content in the form of blog podcast, podcast episodes and videos. However, technically content marketing is defined, by the Content Marketing Institute, as “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content” and therefore in this blog post when I refer to “content marketing” I’ll be using the term to cover email, social media and long-form content. 

If you want to know more about content marketing and the benefits of using content marketing read this – ‘What is content marketing?‘

 

Step 1: Set Your Content Marketing Goals

The first thing you need to do is set goals for your content marketing. You should have a goal for any type of marketing you do and one of the biggest mistakes I see business owners making is not setting goals for their content marketing because it is a free, or cheap. They throw themselves into starting a podcast and opening a few social media accounts, but have no clear idea of what they hope to achieve other than to hit their sales revenue goals such as  £3k / £5k / £10k months. Now I have no doubt that if you were running a form of paid advertising (Facebook, Google, YouTube etc) that you would be very clear about the goals of the advertising and would most likely have a ROI (return-on-investment) that you’d like to achieve. Content marketing should be treated in exactly the same way.  

 

As a business owner do not get caught in the trap of creating content without being intentional. A great way to ensure you stay intentional is by setting goals for your content marketing.   

 

Your content marketing goals, like any marketing goals, should be supporting your overall business goals. If you don’t currently have business goals, then please do that before doing anything else. It is essential that you are clear on what you want to achieve in your business. It can absolutely change in the future, but you need to make a decision now about what you want to achieve at this moment of time (even if just for the next 3 or 6 months).  

 

RELATED: I walk you through the different types of business goals you can set in How to create a business plan for your coaching business.  Don’t worry, even if you aren’t a coach it will still help you set your business goals.  

 

 

Got a big vision for your business but struggle to turn that into clear goals and an action plan? Thinking strategically and creating plans doesn’t come easy for everyone, but it is my superpower! Book a 2024 Strategy Day and in just one day I’ll help you to turn your big vision into clear goals and an action plan you are excited to follow. You can find out more and apply for a 2024 Strategy Day here. 

Hopefully, if you are still reading this you have your business goals set. Now you can set your marketing goals ensuring that the achievement of those goals would be helping you to achieve your business goals.

Some examples of marketing goals are:

• Increase website visits by X%
• X number of discovery calls per month
• Improve conversion rate on sales page by X%
• Add X subscribers to my email list per month
• Increase open rate of emails by X%

In all of those examples you should have a number where X is. Making sure your goals are quantifiable is key to ensure that you can monitor your progress and ultimately know when you have achieved your goal.

 

Step 2: Choose Your Content Marketing Channels

 

Did you notice in the goal examples I set I didn’t specifically mention any metrics to do with social media or long-form content (blog, podcast, YouTube channel). This was purposeful because other than using email marketing (I think email marketing is an essential for all service-based businesses) it is up to you what marketing channels you decide to you.  

 

If you are already running your business you might be inclined to just carry on using the combination you have, but I would urge you to use this time to reflect on all the channels you are currently using and ensure that the ROI (return-on-investment) justifies you continuing to use it in the future.  

As I mentioned earlier for the purpose of this content marketing plan, I’m including traditional content marketing (long form, high-value content in the form of a blog, podcast, video), as well as email marketing and social media marketing.  

Ideally, I would recommend that you should use at least:

• Email
• 1 social media platform (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok etc)
• 1 long-form content (Podcast, Blog or Video show)

When you are choosing your marketing channels it is important to make the channel is a channel that your ideal client uses. There is no point in deciding to create a YouTube channel, but your ideal client rarely watches videos.

You should also make sure that the channels enable you to showcase your business in the best light. For example, if you are a photographer it would make more sense to use Instagram and a blog since they are both visual channels rather than having a platform.

As a minimum, all of the channels you choose should be used by your ideal client and enable you to showcase your business well. As an extra bonus, it should be a channel that you are comfortable using (however, you can learn new skills or outsource).

Not sure how to choose the right marketing channels for your business? I delve into this deeper in ‘How to choose the right marketing channels for your business’. 

 

Marketing your business effectively takes a lot. You need to choose the right marketing channels, learn how to use them all, ensure everything is working together and that everything is individually performing as well as it can be.

There is a lot to learn, decide and do.  But I can help you every step of the way. I’m a Chartered Marketer, with a decade of professional experience, as well as first-hand experience managing my own marketing. I have a 6-month business and marketing mentoring programme specifically for solo, micro and small business owners who are doing it all. I’m a marketing strategist, business mentor, accountability partner and cheerleader rolled into one. So if you want support every step of the way as you grow your business check out my signature programme here. 

 

Step 3: Outlining Your Content

 

Now that you know where you need to create content for it is time to work out what you will be creating.  

 

To make your life easier and ensure your content is strategic I highly recommend that you set some core content pillar. These pillars will form the basis of all of your content going forward and should directly relate to your business. For example, a financial coach might have pillars around: getting out of debt, saving, investing and achieving financial freedom.  

 

Your content pillars should be broad enough for you to be able to have lots to discuss under each pillar and should also directly relate to your services and/or products. This way it will be easier for you to relate your content to your services and make more sales.  

 

*Pro tip* – If you want to be a content marketing pro then for each of your pillars you would have a lead magnet. This way you can ensure that in your content you can direct people to your lead magnet, which then leads people to your services or products. 

 

The next thing you need to do is break your content pillars down further. Since you are currently trying to make your 2022 content marketing plan you’ll need to come up with 52 focuses. If you have chosen 4 pillars you’ll need to write 13 focuses under each pillar. 

 

The financial coach from earlier could expand their investing pillar as follows: 

• Investing apps 
• Investing in property 
• Investing in stock and shares 
• Making your first investment 
• Investing alone or with an advisor 
• Investing in your ISA 
• Investing platforms 
• Investing books 
• Investing and taxes 
• Investing for millennials 
• Investing for baby-boomers 
• Investing in bitcoin 
• Investing in gold 

 

You then complete this exercise for every pillar and magically you’ll have 52 ideas, which will form the basis of the theme for your week. You’ll then be able to use that theme for your long-form, email and social media content. 

 

 

Formats
In the outlining stage it is also to make a note about the various types of formats you’ll be making content in. Content comes in numerous different formats. At the basic level there is: 

• Visual (Static) 
• Visual (Moving) 
• Audio 
• Written 

 

Depending on the social media platforms you use there may be more specific requirements due to the features you decide to use. 

For example, if you have chosen Instagram as one of your channels you will still need to choose which features. For example, right now you can create: 

 

• Feed 
• Stories 
• Reels 
• Instagram TV 
• IG Live 
• Guides 

 

Each feature will have specific requirements so by making a list of all the different formats you want to use you’ll now have a theme for each week and a list of all the different types of formats you’ll need to find a way of using that theme in.  

 

Step 4: Set Your Publishing Plan

At this point you know where you need to create content for and you know what type of content to create. That leaves you to set the when.  

 

You should be aiming to be as consistent as possible, especially with your email and podcast, blog or video show. You want to get to the point where your subscribers are excited to ready for your Monday email to pop into their inbox or listen to your Friday podcast episode. This means you need to set a publishing plan and stick to it.  

 

Now I’m not one to encourage people to be realistic. I’m all about aiming high and dreaming big, but please be realistic when you are setting your publishing plan. You can always increase your frequency of publishing in the future, but set a frequency that you can currently manage.  

 

You will need to set schedule for each channel and then to make your life easier it is best to bring everything together so you can see what you are committing to on either a weekly or monthly basis. You can do this in whatever format works best for you. You may want to use a project management software (like Asana or Trello), a spreadsheet, a physical planner or even a good old piece of paper. 

 

I’m proper old school and have sworn by using a page per month calendar for years.  

 

This is how it may look on Trello

What you decide to use doesn’t matter, but just makes sure it works for you.

*Content Marketing Creation Tips*

Now this blog post is designed to help you create a content marketing plan for 2024, but I want to make you actually deliver on your content marketing plan. I know first-hand how overwhelming creating content can be. For years I managed multiple blogs, co-hosted a podcast, had a YouTube, ran multiple newsletters and created social media content for 3 different brands. Even just writing that list makes me feel tired. However, I kept on top of it by having a clear content marketing plan and then doing these two things.  

 

Firstly, I would work out what content could be created and scheduled in advance and what required me to be live.  

 

Secondly, I would batch create and schedule in advance as much content as I could.  

 

So if you want to be a proper content marketing pro once you’ve created your weekly or monthly publishing plan decide when you are going to create content.  

 

You can find out more about batching content here: How to save time by batching content. 

 

And when it comes to content creation I’ve done it all. So if you are worried about what tech or equipment you need don’t worry I’ve got your back. I share everything I use in ‘Content Creation: The tools and equipment I use to create content’.

 

Step 5: Monitor Your Progress

You are now ready to start following your content marketing plan, but before you rush off and start creating and posting there is one final step, which many business owners overlook – monitoring.  

 

Remember back at the beginning I made you set your goals that were quantifiable. For each one of your goals, you need to create a Key Performance Indicator (KPI). A KPI is simply a metric you can monitor to measure the progress you are making towards achieving your goal.  

 

Here are some examples of how you can monitor your progress 

 

Goal: Increase website visits by X%
Monitoring: Review website visits in Google Analytics 

 

Goal: Add X subscribers to my email list per month
Monitoring: Review your subscriber growth in your email service provider 

 

Goal: X number of discovery calls per month 
Monitoring: Review your calendar or scheduling software on the 1st of the  each month to see how many discovery calls you had in the last month. 

 

It is easy to skip monitoring, but it is essential that you monitor your progress. This is especially important when you are creating a content marketing plan for 2024.  

 

A year is a long time in content marketing. New platforms might arise, new features are added and algorithms change. So there is no point in making your plan and following it blindly for the whole year. You should be monitoring your progress on a monthly basis, as a minimum, and if you aren’t happy with the results makes changes to your plan. A plan is not set in stone.     

 

There you have it! You now know how to create a content marketing plan for 2024.

Don’t forget you can download the free workbook that goes with this blog post. You’ll be walked through the 5 steps so that by the end you have a content marketing plan for 2024 to follow.

 

I really hope this blog post has helped you to understand how to create a content marketing plan for 2024. 

 

Your content marketing plan can definitely get more detailed and complicated. This plan was very much designed for a business that follows an evergreen model. If you are using launches in your business check out ‘How to create a marketing plan to launch a new service’. The planning is the same whether it is a new service or existing service, except with an existing service you’ll hopefully have learnings from the last launch to inform your next launch.  

 

However, if you are a coach, consultant or service-based business owner that is always selling this content marketing plan will be sufficient.   

 

As hopefully you can tell I LOVE CONTENT PLANNING. If you are serious about being more strategic with your content in 2024 then a 2024 Strategy Day will be perfect for you.    

 

A 2024 Strategy Day is designed for ambitious coaches, consultants and online service providers who are ready to have their best year in business. There is a whole section of the day dedicated to sales and marketing where I’ll go help you plan for how to create content that is not only optimised for your chosen platforms but will also enable you to attract, engage and convert clients.  

Sound good? Apply for your 2024 Strategy Day here.

 

 

Know that just having a plan isn’t enough? If you want ongoing support I offer a 6-month 1:1 business and marketing mentoring programme. I’ll be by your side every step of the way providing advice, training, motivation and accountability to help you improve your marketing, sign more clients and grow your business. You can find out more about more, and apply, here.