When I was in elementary school, something wonderful happened every day.

In my lunch box, my mom always packed a slice of her pound cake.

But there was a problem… in the lunchroom world of PB sandwiches and raisin boxes, homemade pound cake got unusual attention.

And my classmates had no shame with all their drooling and begging.

Can I have a pinch?
I’ll pay you a quarter!
I’ll trade you a chocolate milk!

Every. Single. Day.

This got tiring, real quick. Why would I give away the best part of my lunch?

So I devised a plan.

Since my mom baked a streak of red food coloring into the vanilla pound cake, I came up with a story.

I told my cafeteria buddies that while making it, my mom always cut her finger. Thus, the red “blood” streak.

You can guess their reaction. Eeeeeewwwww!!!

After that, no one wanted anywhere near my blood cake. No one. The kids were totally grossed out.

And fine with me. The rest of the year I ate in undisturbed peace.

It’s a story my family still holds dear… and to this day, we call my mom’s cake “Blood Cake.”

Speaking of cake, let’s tie this into your 2022 marketing plan. What are the ingredients needed to grow your revenue?

Let’s imagine your strategy as a 5-layer cake.

YOUR MARKETING PLAN TEMPLATE

LAYER 1 — BRANDING COLLATERAL

Do you have core branding elements in place?

This is where the magic starts. It includes developing your brand visuals, online identity, and social media accounts.

Most importantly, it’s knowing who to reach, how to reach them, and what to say when you have their attention.

LAYER 2 — FREE LEADS

What’s your strategy for collecting free leads?

Did I say FREE? Yes, there are free ways to grow your database with prospective customers. One way to collect contact info is by giving them something valuable (ex: a PDF download, a video tutorial, a webinar, or a coupon/promo code).

This makes your database 24K gold. Why? Because it’s all yours. You play by your rules and not those from the internet lords of Facebook, Instagram, or Google.

LAYER 3 — TOP OF MIND

How are you staying relevant to your target market?

How often do the right customers think of you? Top of mind awareness flows mainly from your content. When you have interesting things to say, people will read your posts, consume your blogs, watch your videos, and listen to your podcasts.

And every time they do, guess who they think of? Yes, adorable you.

LAYER 4 — PAID DIGITAL LEADS

What's your digital media strategy for collecting daily leads?

When you engage in paid digital leads through Facebook or Google, you’re putting money on the table and awaiting consistent leads.

Facebook ads are considered interruption marketing (since your target market is scrolling FB without expecting to see anything from you), and Google Ads are considered intentional marketing (as your target market searches, your ad pops up when their keywords correspond to your message). It’s important to know which works best for your industry.

Getting serious in this area is a game-changer.

LAYER 5 — PAID TRADITIONAL LEADS

What's your traditional media strategy for collecting daily leads?

Traditional marketing includes radio, TV, direct mail, outdoor advertising, and print. As your marketing budget grows, it’s ideal to invest money into both digital and traditional leads.

When you arrive at this stage, you’re able to marry mass marketing with specific marketing — and people will see your message with growing frequency.

ICING — TALK TRIGGERS

How are you triggering word-of-mouth marketing?

Exceptional businesses wow their customers. And it’s not by accident. Simple and remarkable acts often get people talking to their family and friends.

That’s called free marketing — something every business owner wants! But creating word-of-mouth marketing must be intentional instead of randomly hoping for the best.

LET’S BAKE YOUR CAKE

We work with companies to help them figure out each layer of their marketing plan.

If you’re a startup, you probably won’t need all 5 layers. If you’re a small company, you may use some layers at different times. Big companies constantly use all the layers.

Of course, it needs to be custom to you. And this is where we help!

If you’d like us to create your 2022 marketing plan, just click the button below.

It’s all about freeing you up to run your day-to-day details while we figure out the best marketing plan for your specific business.

When it comes to strategies, we love making delicious “cake.”

And if you’re on Santa’s nice list, we’ll even add a little red food coloring.

Use promo code “PLAN” for 25% off

About Me

Hey, I’m Brian, co-founder of Genie Jar Digital. Born a Tar Heel but now a Virginian, I’m a father of five and the husband of one amazing lady. My family has a thing for Golden Retrievers. Given the right circumstances, I can do a mean moonwalk on a slick kitchen floor.