Essential Elements of a DTC Marketing Calendar
Updated: September 15, 2021
by BROCKTON CONWELL
CEO at Kintsugi Digital
CEO at Kintsugi Digital
"Getting organized is half the battle. Follow along as we 'un-complicate' the process of monthly marketing planning for DTC brands."
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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The task of building a cohesive marketing plan (that successfully drives growth) can be daunting. Content plans for multiple channels, promotional strategy, and allocating budget... it's overwhelmingly complex. 🤯 But — it is so important.
Getting organized is half the battle in DTC warfare, and successful execution of said plan can make or break YoY growth.
As a Fractional CMO to several businesses, we build comprehensive eCommerce marketing plans for multiple brands every month. The framework and general template is almost always the same (and the core components are consistent across various product verticals: apparel, golf, CPG, etc.)
Our plans are surprisingly simple. No software, all in Google Slides. 📄 Usually just 10-15 slides. Easy to follow.
Yet... they've been the foundation used for scaling brands from $500K to $5M — or even launch to $500K in just 6 months.
If you're a brand manager, marketing leader, or founder: follow along as we "un-complicate" the process of monthly marketing planning for DTC brands.
Getting organized is half the battle in DTC warfare, and successful execution of said plan can make or break YoY growth.
As a Fractional CMO to several businesses, we build comprehensive eCommerce marketing plans for multiple brands every month. The framework and general template is almost always the same (and the core components are consistent across various product verticals: apparel, golf, CPG, etc.)
Our plans are surprisingly simple. No software, all in Google Slides. 📄 Usually just 10-15 slides. Easy to follow.
Yet... they've been the foundation used for scaling brands from $500K to $5M — or even launch to $500K in just 6 months.
If you're a brand manager, marketing leader, or founder: follow along as we "un-complicate" the process of monthly marketing planning for DTC brands.
1. Growth Planning feat. Key Marketing Moments
This is Step One. A channel-agnostic brainstorming session around marketing opportunities for the month ahead.
We call them marketing moments: key programming that can be constructed around products, offers, holidays, and/or events.
Stepping back, in the macro view of a full year, this looks like Black Friday, Product Releases, Father's Day (if relevant), etc. But, not every month has a major sitewide sale opportunity like BFCM (and of course, that shouldn't be the case anyway). So, how can you fill a monthly calendar with marketing moments?
Some months are easier to fill with moments than others ✨ enter creativity ✨, but we shoot for 3-4+ moments per month / one per week.
Why moments? They provide anchors for content programming. The opportunity to build out a revenue-driving email/social calendar becomes much more substantial when several key marketing moments are defined. Media buyers can build retargeting/retention campaigns around specific monthly promotions.
You get the idea, right?
Again — this is Step One. Brainstorming ideas with a sub-set of the full marketing team is usually a good approach here to identify and lock in moments.
Only after these are finalized and approved are you ready to move to the next phase of calendar building. ✅
This is Step One. A channel-agnostic brainstorming session around marketing opportunities for the month ahead.
We call them marketing moments: key programming that can be constructed around products, offers, holidays, and/or events.
Stepping back, in the macro view of a full year, this looks like Black Friday, Product Releases, Father's Day (if relevant), etc. But, not every month has a major sitewide sale opportunity like BFCM (and of course, that shouldn't be the case anyway). So, how can you fill a monthly calendar with marketing moments?
- Flash Sale opportunities on products/collections
- Gift with Purchase or Value-Add campaigns
- New collection launches and limited edition products
- Back In Stock announcements around core products
- Non-promotional seasonal pushes of specific collections
- Announcements around Clearance and/or Last Chance items
- Collaborations with macro-influencers / celebrities
- Relevant Holidays (or better: create your own holidays)
Some months are easier to fill with moments than others ✨ enter creativity ✨, but we shoot for 3-4+ moments per month / one per week.
Why moments? They provide anchors for content programming. The opportunity to build out a revenue-driving email/social calendar becomes much more substantial when several key marketing moments are defined. Media buyers can build retargeting/retention campaigns around specific monthly promotions.
You get the idea, right?
Again — this is Step One. Brainstorming ideas with a sub-set of the full marketing team is usually a good approach here to identify and lock in moments.
Only after these are finalized and approved are you ready to move to the next phase of calendar building. ✅
I don't know who needs to hear this, but you don't have to discount your products to sell them. □ #MarketingTwitter
— Brockton Conwell (@BrocktonConwell) February 8, 2021
2. Start with the Storefront: Visual Real Estate
Preparing for marketing moments starts with getting clear about how the site will be merchandised throughout the month. The same way your favorite department store adjusts their layout, featured products, and marketing materials weekly — you should be doing the same with your online storefront.
Getting onsite marketing real estate prepped for each marketing moment is key to exposing all site visitors to promotions, etc. Remember that folks arriving on the site via direct traffic or organic search may not have checked their email or seen your Instagram post about the Flash Sale on pullovers.
We like to divide the month into "marketing periods" and plan on-site assets based on what info is important to share with site visitors for each period.
However, this means different things for different brands.
For example, we have a client that uses home page sliders and featured product sections on their home page:
Other brands may not have a slider, but a single main home page image. Though, throughout the site, there may be other banners or placements to highlight key marketing moments (like the cart or collection pages). No need to rebuild the entire store every week. Simply consider opportunities to make sure high-traffic pages are optimized with the right imagery and products to connect visitors with the offer that is most likely to drive them to a conversion.
Planning this out in advance creates structure for the marketing team.
Everyone is on the same page with the timeline for marketing periods, and creative requests can be made for the assets needed.
Preparing for marketing moments starts with getting clear about how the site will be merchandised throughout the month. The same way your favorite department store adjusts their layout, featured products, and marketing materials weekly — you should be doing the same with your online storefront.
Getting onsite marketing real estate prepped for each marketing moment is key to exposing all site visitors to promotions, etc. Remember that folks arriving on the site via direct traffic or organic search may not have checked their email or seen your Instagram post about the Flash Sale on pullovers.
We like to divide the month into "marketing periods" and plan on-site assets based on what info is important to share with site visitors for each period.
However, this means different things for different brands.
For example, we have a client that uses home page sliders and featured product sections on their home page:
- When a new collection is released, these products are added to the Featured Products section on their home page.
- When a big promotion on pink products is in place, that slider shows first — de-prioritizing other less exciting offers in the slider queue.
- During Black Friday, a message/link to the BFCM deal page is used for the global message bar in place of the standard Free Shipping threshold message.
Other brands may not have a slider, but a single main home page image. Though, throughout the site, there may be other banners or placements to highlight key marketing moments (like the cart or collection pages). No need to rebuild the entire store every week. Simply consider opportunities to make sure high-traffic pages are optimized with the right imagery and products to connect visitors with the offer that is most likely to drive them to a conversion.
Planning this out in advance creates structure for the marketing team.
Everyone is on the same page with the timeline for marketing periods, and creative requests can be made for the assets needed.
3. The Organic Social Channel (Pillar-Based)
Moving off-site to marketing channel planning, start with owned channels.
First up — Organic Social: the vital connection between your brand and your community.
Also, (likely) the channel with the most day-to-day programming required. Once your marketing moments and periods are finalized, we find that starting off-site planning here helps visualize the month ahead in a way that an email campaign calendar or budget breakdown doesn't.
Before any actual social content is planned, the calendar infrastructure must be established. This spawns a framework for daily post planning.
We do this through color coding. 😎
This article isn't about organic social strategy, but for the sake of this example, let's assume you're using the pillar-based approach to content that many brands do. We build social calendar templates by defining content categories (pillars) and identifying other brand-specific components that should be noted.
(These rarely change month-to-month.)
In the example below, note that this brand has calendar infrastructure build around tactics within their organic social strategy:
Moving off-site to marketing channel planning, start with owned channels.
First up — Organic Social: the vital connection between your brand and your community.
Also, (likely) the channel with the most day-to-day programming required. Once your marketing moments and periods are finalized, we find that starting off-site planning here helps visualize the month ahead in a way that an email campaign calendar or budget breakdown doesn't.
Before any actual social content is planned, the calendar infrastructure must be established. This spawns a framework for daily post planning.
We do this through color coding. 😎
This article isn't about organic social strategy, but for the sake of this example, let's assume you're using the pillar-based approach to content that many brands do. We build social calendar templates by defining content categories (pillars) and identifying other brand-specific components that should be noted.
(These rarely change month-to-month.)
In the example below, note that this brand has calendar infrastructure build around tactics within their organic social strategy:
- Promotions are highlighted for their duration - easy to see when they start and end
- Instagram giveaways are planned in advance, often aligned with promotions / new releases
- Key changes to on-platform imagery or CTA links are scheduled based on key moments
- Major holidays or influencer-related events are called out in case relevant for content
Once a framework for the month is in place, the actual post planning can begin. Consider starting with content built around marketing moments - after all, these are top priority and in most cases should be broadcasted across all owned channels, rather than being limited to paid channels and email.
In the example above, you can see this brand does a triple post on Instagram for their biggest moments to help them stand out in the feed.
Keeping variety in mind, work backwards from biggest to smallest priority in programming the rest of the calendar. Keep the algorithm in mind — which these days means quality over quantity and community first! 💯
Remember that Organic Social should be a mid-funnel channel, with programming that drives engagement and conversation.
...not 'Shop Now' CTAs on every post.
In the example above, you can see this brand does a triple post on Instagram for their biggest moments to help them stand out in the feed.
Keeping variety in mind, work backwards from biggest to smallest priority in programming the rest of the calendar. Keep the algorithm in mind — which these days means quality over quantity and community first! 💯
Remember that Organic Social should be a mid-funnel channel, with programming that drives engagement and conversation.
...not 'Shop Now' CTAs on every post.
4. Email Marketing / SMS Campaign Calendar
Perhaps the most straight-forward, a thorough list of every Email and SMS campaign in the queue for the month ahead.
Similar to planning for Organic Social, start with planning campaigns around marketing moments and expand out from there — all based on the frequency your most engaged subscribers can handle with good deliverability metrics.
Perhaps the most straight-forward, a thorough list of every Email and SMS campaign in the queue for the month ahead.
Similar to planning for Organic Social, start with planning campaigns around marketing moments and expand out from there — all based on the frequency your most engaged subscribers can handle with good deliverability metrics.
Pssst... send more emails, probably.
Define everything needed for the email other than the creative (this can be addressed in a comprehensive asset request list):
- Send date and time, as well as day of week for quick reference.
- Subject Line and Pre-Header Text Copy
- Audience Segment (and Exclusions)
5. Marketing Automation Status Chart
Next, a birds-eye view of all marketing automation in place — and under construction.
This primarily includes Email/SMS flows as well as review requests and loyalty communications from other apps.
Our version below tracks:
Next, a birds-eye view of all marketing automation in place — and under construction.
This primarily includes Email/SMS flows as well as review requests and loyalty communications from other apps.
Our version below tracks:
- which automations are live ( ✅ )
- which should be built in the month ahead ( 🟡 )
- which are simply on the roadmap ( 🟠 )
6. Advertising Budget Plan — Paid Search
Moving on to paid channels, we'll work our way up the funnel starting with demand capture (aka Google Advertising and cousin Microsoft Ads).
Oh but first, make sure you're ready for paid traffic.
Assuming a budget has already been established, it's time to allocate. Of course, this doesn't mean that spend can't change throughout the month—but it's always a great idea to at least estimate spend for the month ahead, especially if there are key moments that deserve dedicated spend.
(Or inquiring minds from the finance team.)
We breakdown Google Ad budgets in five tiers: Branded Search, Shopping, Generic/Categorical, Remarketing, Awareness
Note that the Google ecosystem includes YouTube and the Display network which for Prospecting audiences can act as demand generation channels.
Planning budget ahead of time ensures the spend-mix across the demand capture funnel represents that of a healthy breakdown for holistic growth AND efficiency (with profitability goals and MER targets in mind). Here, this means not over-allocating budget on Branded Search which, in addition to setting unrealistic expectations for ROAS, leaves high-intent Google Shopping and categorical search campaigns unexplored.
Moving on to paid channels, we'll work our way up the funnel starting with demand capture (aka Google Advertising and cousin Microsoft Ads).
Oh but first, make sure you're ready for paid traffic.
Assuming a budget has already been established, it's time to allocate. Of course, this doesn't mean that spend can't change throughout the month—but it's always a great idea to at least estimate spend for the month ahead, especially if there are key moments that deserve dedicated spend.
(Or inquiring minds from the finance team.)
We breakdown Google Ad budgets in five tiers: Branded Search, Shopping, Generic/Categorical, Remarketing, Awareness
Note that the Google ecosystem includes YouTube and the Display network which for Prospecting audiences can act as demand generation channels.
Planning budget ahead of time ensures the spend-mix across the demand capture funnel represents that of a healthy breakdown for holistic growth AND efficiency (with profitability goals and MER targets in mind). Here, this means not over-allocating budget on Branded Search which, in addition to setting unrealistic expectations for ROAS, leaves high-intent Google Shopping and categorical search campaigns unexplored.
7. Advertising Budget Plan — Paid Social
Ah... the lifeline for growth: Demand Generation. For most brands this translates to "Facebook Advertising" — though increasingly with a mix of TikTok and other emerging channels when platform demographics align and budgets support diversification.
(P.S. In a lot of cases they don't. Shiny objects are tempting, yet statistical significance requires $ that might be better spent. Tread cautiously...)
Similar approach here to demand capture planning. Assuming an initial budget has been allocated, consider how it will be spent in advance, especially in the case of key marketing moments that may require dedicated Paid Social spend. While this amount doesn't have to be fixed, a plan provides structure and ensures a proper allocation of spend between Prospecting, Retargeting, and Re-Acquisition.
This (likely) means that at least 60% of spend should be dedicated to acquiring new customers - demand generation remember?
Note: this article is clearly not intended to be an in-depth guide to allocating paid media spend. Key takeaway here is simply that it's important to include a plan for structuring advertising budget within a monthly marketing plan, especially when specific key moments warrant dedicated spend.
Ah... the lifeline for growth: Demand Generation. For most brands this translates to "Facebook Advertising" — though increasingly with a mix of TikTok and other emerging channels when platform demographics align and budgets support diversification.
(P.S. In a lot of cases they don't. Shiny objects are tempting, yet statistical significance requires $ that might be better spent. Tread cautiously...)
Similar approach here to demand capture planning. Assuming an initial budget has been allocated, consider how it will be spent in advance, especially in the case of key marketing moments that may require dedicated Paid Social spend. While this amount doesn't have to be fixed, a plan provides structure and ensures a proper allocation of spend between Prospecting, Retargeting, and Re-Acquisition.
This (likely) means that at least 60% of spend should be dedicated to acquiring new customers - demand generation remember?
Note: this article is clearly not intended to be an in-depth guide to allocating paid media spend. Key takeaway here is simply that it's important to include a plan for structuring advertising budget within a monthly marketing plan, especially when specific key moments warrant dedicated spend.
8. Testing Queue: What's In Flight & On Deck
Any form of A/B testing requires structure, parameters, a hypothesis, and most importantly — intention. At Kintsugi Digital, we're a big fan of testing with an outcome in mind, not testing just to test. In fact (incoming unpopular opinion) a lot of testing is probably overrated.
Any form of A/B testing requires structure, parameters, a hypothesis, and most importantly — intention. At Kintsugi Digital, we're a big fan of testing with an outcome in mind, not testing just to test. In fact (incoming unpopular opinion) a lot of testing is probably overrated.
Agree! https://t.co/NqsGO4Zakf
— Brockton Conwell (@BrocktonConwell) August 18, 2021
Of course, experimentation is essential and valuable when done properly. In this case: testing refers to anything from onsite CRO experiments to timing of email sequences. Not necessarily referring to testing within ad platforms, etc. as that is really just part of day-to-day and week-to-week optimization.
Needless to say, we think it's important to document upcoming and in-progress tests along with a running list of potential variables to test in the future. It's easy to overlook (or even forget) about experimentation that is currently in flight. This keeps everyone on the same page and paints a clear picture for any and all tests that are being conducted. A budget and test duration should also be defined.
Structure here forces the individual running a test to clarify why the test is taking place and hypothesize what the desired outcome (or learning) will be.
Needless to say, we think it's important to document upcoming and in-progress tests along with a running list of potential variables to test in the future. It's easy to overlook (or even forget) about experimentation that is currently in flight. This keeps everyone on the same page and paints a clear picture for any and all tests that are being conducted. A budget and test duration should also be defined.
Structure here forces the individual running a test to clarify why the test is taking place and hypothesize what the desired outcome (or learning) will be.
9. Big Picture: Annual Overlook of Major Events
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, monthly calendars should include a macro-view of the entire year that defining a brand's biggest marketing moments and opportunities. This provides context for important decisions (like whether to scale or cut back depending on anticipated levels of demand).
This is crucial especially for businesses that can loosely plan 12-months ahead.
Revisiting the annual plan each month gives perspective in setting expectations for revenue and/or YoY growth targets.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, monthly calendars should include a macro-view of the entire year that defining a brand's biggest marketing moments and opportunities. This provides context for important decisions (like whether to scale or cut back depending on anticipated levels of demand).
This is crucial especially for businesses that can loosely plan 12-months ahead.
Revisiting the annual plan each month gives perspective in setting expectations for revenue and/or YoY growth targets.
10. Creative Brief + Asset Request Sheet
After completing the planning process (ideally at least 2-3 weeks prior to the month ahead), it's crucial to make a list of assets needed.
Of course, every brand/team has a different workflow that may work best for fulfillment of creative. That said, where possible, working a month ahead allows for ample time for production, review, and revision of assets so that there are no delays (or rushing) in getting everything scheduled to be distributed based on each channel's programming.
After completing the planning process (ideally at least 2-3 weeks prior to the month ahead), it's crucial to make a list of assets needed.
Of course, every brand/team has a different workflow that may work best for fulfillment of creative. That said, where possible, working a month ahead allows for ample time for production, review, and revision of assets so that there are no delays (or rushing) in getting everything scheduled to be distributed based on each channel's programming.
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