Marketing planning often feels intimidating, especially if you’re running a small business with limited time, lack of resources, and a never-ending to-do list.
But a strong marketing strategy doesn’t have to be complicated – just clear, sustainable, and flexible enough to support you and your business goals.
Here’s how to get started building yours for 2026.
P.S. if any or all of this feels overwhelming, please don’t hesitate to book a free consultation call with me. I can help you set meaningful goals, audit your business marketing efforts, and create an impactful strategy for the year ahead.
Step 1: Make Time for Positive Reflection and Celebration
Far too often as business owners we’re focused on what’s next, rather than what we’ve already accomplished.
So, before you map out where you’re going, take some intentional time for reflection, gratitude, and celebration.
Acknowledge your wins and accomplishments from the year, as well as the work and dedication that went into making those a reality.
This reflection can span your life and business. From new clients to improved systems to work you’re proud of, or even the resilience you showed during challenging seasons, looking back can help shift your mindset from, “I didn’t do enough” to, “Look at how far I’ve come.”
In the Magnificent Marketers Club, as part of our 2026 planning series, my friend and co-founder Karen shared some of the game-changing reflection questions she uses with herself and her clients.
Here are a few you can dive into:
- What goals were accomplished this year? Could I have stretched myself further?
- What did I create this year that didn’t exist before?
- What support or tools did I add to my business that made things easier?
- Are there people or connections I’ve created or strengthened that are noteworthy?
- Has there been a shift in my mindset this year that’s a big deal?
- How did I grow as a person? As a business owner?
- What challenges am I proud of overcoming?
- Did I uphold the boundaries I set? Did I clearly communicate these boundaries to others?
- Was the work I did this year aligned with my core values? How did I give back to my community?
- What were my working hours like? Did I take vacation? Did I make time for rest and self-care?
- What positive feedback did I receive throughout the year?
- What moments made the hard days worth it?
Even if the year hasn’t fully lived up to your expectations, there are bound to be moments and milestones that you can look back on thoughtfully. Reminiscing on these can help put you in the right frame of mind to plan intentionally for the new year, rather than reactively.
Step 2: Note Opportunities for Improvement
Once you’ve grounded yourself in what worked, gently turn your attention to what didn’t. While not-so-fun, falling short in some areas is an inevitable part of being a business owner.
Remember,
“You cannot create results. You can only create conditions in which something might happen.”
– Anne Bogart
This reflection isn’t about criticizing yourself, but about gathering information so you can make better decisions and refine your efforts moving forward.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself (again, I have to thank Karen for many of these!):
- Which goals fell short? What obstacles stood in your way?
- What didn’t go the way you expected this year?
- What did you dislike most about your business this year?
- What did you want to do but backed out of?
- What do you think could be improved in the future?
- Which tasks or initiatives felt particularly difficult?
- What do you need to let go of?
- What values do you think you compromised this year?
There’s an opportunity to learn in almost everything you do. As you reflect on these questions, do so with the kindness you’d give a loved one who you want to see succeed. And for more of these insightful questions, join us in the Magnificent Marketers Club for access to Karen’s entire reflections journal.
Honest reflection can help you unlock the clarity that will guide your strategy in the new year.
Step 3: Review Your Stats and Insights
An honest period of reflection and review will set you up for the most realistic goal setting for 2026.
Instead of guessing what worked, your analytics can show you exactly which of your efforts had the most impact.
Take time to review:
- Website analytics
- Sales numbers and sources
- Engagement on social media
- Email open and click-through rates
- Content that performed unexpectedly well
Notice any patterns that begin to emerge.
Ask yourself questions like,
- How consistent were you across marketing platforms? Which platforms felt easy to show up on? Which platforms caused a lot of friction?
- Is there a sweet spot between platforms you enjoyed showing up on and content that your audience responded to?
- What does a review of your analytics tell you about your audience, clients, customers, and yourself?
We’ve dug into this concept in more depth in previous blog posts, which are great resources worth reviewing!
Check-out:
- How to Prove Your Marketing is Actually Working (and Adjust When It’s Not)
- Make Your Marketing Work for You: Tracking Email and Social Media Metrics
- Leveraging Year-End Insights to Grow Your Business
Each of these posts provide more details on the importance of informed decision making, rather than pulling numbers from thin air or basing your goals on unrealistic targets you simply don’t have the resources to achieve.
By reviewing previous sales, analytics, and results from marketing campaigns, you can prioritize the efforts that are most likely to drive growth and create space for success in the year ahead.
Step 4: Use the Start, Stop, Keep Method
Use this brainstorming exercise as a way to compile all of the mindsets, concepts, tasks, or activities you want to review in your business.
The goal here is to find clarity on what you want to start, stop, or keep in your business.
Start:
What do you want to start doing to enhance your chances of success? Identify new habits, systems, offers, or efforts that would meaningfully support your goals.
Stop:
What simply isn’t working? What behaviours, practices, or processes are hindering your progress, wasting time, or draining your energy? Can you let go of these?
Keep:
What is already working for you? Hold onto these activities, and consider how you can refine or build on them to find further success in the new year.
Don’t overthink it! This simple exercise is incredibly effective for clarifying your direction, but only if you’re honest with yourself.
Step 5: Set Your Primary Goals for 2026
Now that you’ve reflected on your year, it’s time to decide what you want the next one to look like.
Start by deciding what success looks like for you this year. Are your motivations financial? Impact driven? Is it simply important to do work that fills your cup?
Once you determine your motivations you can set related goals.
Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to tackle too much. Instead, focus on 3–5 measurable goals that align with your values and vision.
For example,
- If you’re hoping to build community, one of your goals might be to grow your email list.
- Looking for an influx of cash? It might be time to launch a new offer, or try to increase referrals.
- If you’re hoping to increase impact, you might look to increase your output of marketing efforts like social media posts or emails by a specific percentage or weekly post count.
These goals will become the foundation for your marketing decisions for the rest of the year; providing a destination that you can work backwards from to map your marketing efforts and tactical choices.
Step 6: Choose Your Focus Channels & Build A Marketing Plan Around Consistency
You don’t need to show up on every platform. Especially as a small business owner, that’s a fast track to burnout. However, it is important to be consistent in the places you choose to focus your energy.
Pick one or two primary platforms based on the goals you’ve set, and taking into account where your audience spends their time.
For example,
- Social media can support visibility and connection.
- Email can nurture deeper relationships and drive conversions.
- Blog posts can build trust and establish credibility.
Set realistic expectations for posting frequency. Consistency doesn’t mean posting daily — it means showing up regularly in a way that feels doable for you, and that lets your audience know you’re still active, paying attention, and there for them.
Use these suggestions to help yourself stay consistent:
- Batch or schedule content so you don’t have to think about content creation as often. You can always add in additional posts when you’re feeling inspired.
- Where it makes sense, blend personal and business posts. This allows you to talk to your audience in new ways, while building trust and a sense of connection.
- Repurpose posts, blogs, and videos across platforms. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you post.
- Don’t overthink your content. Just because information is second nature to you doesn’t mean it’s obvious for your audience!
- Create monthly, seasonal or quarterly themes to focus your content and approach topics in new ways.
- Keeping a running list of ideas in a project management tool, to look at for inspiration when you’re feeling stuck.
These suggestions can help you save time, keep your message consistent, and ensure your content strategy feels sustainable.
Step 7: Track, Measure, Adjust Marketing Metrics
Your marketing plan isn’t something you create once and forget about. It’s a living strategy that evolves with you.
As you look to the year ahead, ensure you’re marking time in your calendar each month or quarter to review your analytics.
Ask yourself questions like:
- What’s performing well?
- What content is driving inquiries or sales?
- Where am I spending energy that’s not paying off?
- What feels aligned with how I want to work? What isn’t?
Look at engagement across platforms, conversion rates, email opens and clicks, lead inquiries, number of consult calls, and whatever other metrics are important to your goals.
As you review your analytics, keep your baseline in mind. Don’t compare your stats to other business owners or marketing gurus online. Instead, look back at how your efforts performed in the past, and focus on refining those.
Regular check-ins give you the insights you need to refine your strategy as you go, building on what’s most effective.
The goal is progress, not perfection.
Plan with Purpose
Your strategy won’t be perfect from the jump. But allowing yourself this planning time is imperative for giving you a starting point to build from.
Start small, stay consistent, and give yourself permission to evolve. You’ll be amazed at how much clarity and confidence come from having a plan that supports your business goals and lifestyle.
With a clear plan in place, your marketing becomes less of a chore and more of a meaningful tool that will support your growth, goals, and the version of your business you’re working toward.
If you want a quick refresh on how to use last year’s performance to inform this year’s strategy, check out my previous post: Leveraging Year-End Insights to Grow Your Business.
Happy planning!
