11 Advertising Plan Templates You Can (Legally) Steal for Free

A advertising plan defines key aims and ensures your campaigns tie in to big-picture aims. Placing this plan in writing will get your whole group on the identical web page, working towards widespread objectives.

However that’s simpler stated than accomplished. Advertising plan templates exist to make the method simpler.

They arrive in all flavors, starting from a single web page to twenty+ pages with built-in challenge monitoring capabilities. Listed here are the perfect locations to begin.

Easy advertising plan templates

Easy advertising plan templates are nice for novices. These are hyper-focused on objectives and make it straightforward for small groups to outline key aims.

You may get began rapidly with out having to do in-depth analysis in your opponents or something like that. Simplest advertising plan templates may be accomplished in lower than an hour.

ClickUp: A advertising tracker that’s straightforward and streamlined for small groups

ClickUp’s advertising plan template has every part you have to get began. You gained’t need to spend a lot time transferring issues round to suit your wants (though the template is totally customizable if you wish to make adjustments).

Extra on ClickUp: ClickUp review | ClickUp vs Notion | ClickUp vs Jira | ClickUp alternatives.

This template’s main focus is defining key advertising aims.

From there, you possibly can create duties that may enable you attain these objectives. You’ll additionally be capable to set precedence ranges and section your activity listing into completely different classes.

Since ClickUp is a project management platform, this template goes past the starting stage and can be utilized to trace work via completion.

The one downside is that it’s not downloadable and have to be used inside ClickUp. That stated, ClickUp has a free without end plan, and you may access this template when you join.

Notion: A one-page model technique template

Whereas almost each advertising plan template tries so as to add additional elements to be distinctive, Notion goes in the wrong way by eliminating all the nonsense. This one-page template is the right technique to articulate your model picture to make sure everybody concerned in executing your advertising technique on the identical web page.

Extra on Notion: Notion review | Obsidian vs Notion | Notion vs OneNote | Coda vs Notion. 

Whether or not you’re simply getting began or need to refocus, this template forces you to maintain it easy.

First, you’ll outline your model. Then you definitely’ll define the place you need to be within the subsequent one to 3 years earlier than planning the strategic initiatives that may enable you attain these objectives.

It’s value noting that this template doesn’t include as many project-tracking options as different instruments. Nonetheless, you possibly can join a free Notion account and begin utilizing this template within the subsequent 5 minutes.

Airtable: Excessive-level goal planning for entrepreneurs

Whereas I usually wouldn’t say Airtable’s a easy instrument, its free advertising plan template gives a streamlined technique to plan aims and key outcomes.

Extra on Airtable: Airtable review | Smartsheet vs Airtable | Airtable vs Notion. 

Out of the field, the template features a desk for itemizing key outcomes and one other for tying these to aims. Key outcomes may be organized by quarter, effort-level, standing, begin and finish date, or high-level goal.

With Airtable’s unimaginable stage of customization, you possibly can rapidly construct extra performance as you want it.

Airtable additionally gives a spread of different free advertising templates, together with an AI powered advertising marketing campaign generator and a template for advertising useful resource allocation.

Its free plan is enough to get began with loads of room to develop.

Advertising plan templates for startups

Startups usually want a extra complete advertising plan as a result of they’re ranging from scratch. You’ll probably want extra granular consideration to element than different templates present, plus it’s possible you’ll have to current your advertising plan to buyers or your board.

All of those particulars grow to be much more necessary when you’ve by no means run a marketing campaign earlier than.

The templates on this part cowl advertising budgets, aggressive evaluation, and find out how to outline key indicators for measuring success.

Phrase, Google Docs, and Smartsheet: An in depth template for startups

Smartsheet’s advertising plan template is by far probably the most in depth choice on my listing. It’s a whopping 21 pages lengthy, protecting each attainable facet of your advertising strategy.

Extra on Smartsheet: Smartsheet review | Smartsheet vs Jira | Smartsheet vs monday.com.

The template begins with high-level fundamentals, like your organization’s mission and imaginative and prescient statements. From there, it expands into situational evaluation earlier than protecting your opponents, target market, objectives, and extra. You too can use it to stipulate issues like your worth proposition, pricing technique, benchmarks, and KPIs.

That is superb for any startup that’s nonetheless within the early planning levels and must current data to stakeholders or potential buyers. It’s extra of an government blueprint versus one thing you’d share or distribute amongst your advertising group.

Whereas it’s not set as much as monitor particular campaigns, it’s an incredible start line.

Excel, Google Sheets, and GanttPro: A easy spreadsheet for monitoring advertising duties

GanttPRO’s easy advertising plan template is finest described as an in depth guidelines of 140 duties it is best to full when building a advertising plan from scratch. Along with defining the duties and the standing of every, the template helps you to outline priorities, set deadlines, and monitor prices related to the work you do.

You’ll undergo the fundamentals, like performing a SWOT evaluation and detailing your target market.

However the template goes even deeper, protecting the assets you’ll want to achieve your aims and defining your funds for various advertising classes.

One downside is that this template doesn’t truly embrace the instruments you have to full all of those duties. For instance, there’s not a SWOT evaluation template. You’d want to do this elsewhere, and use this template to trace the progress of your work.

This template works finest once you’re modifying it straight in GanttPRO. The software program isn’t free, however you possibly can obtain the Excel model of this template and open it with Excel or Google Sheets without charge.

Advertising motion plan templates

Motion plan advertising templates transcend big-picture with instruments to interrupt down long-term strategic initiatives into obtainable aims that may then be divided into advertising campaigns.

The main focus is popping your high-level objectives into an actionable and measurable plan of assault.

ClickUp: A advertising plan template for attaining SMART objectives

The advertising motion plan template from ClickUp forces you to remain on monitor by serving to you develop SMART objectives designed to get you the place you need to go.

Much more on ClickUp: Asana vs ClickUp | ClickUp vs Trello | Smartsheet vs ClickUp. 

Regardless of the template’s simplicity, it’s versatile sufficient to plan broad areas, like your promoting funds, and get deep within the weeds on the place you’ll spend it. You should use it for planning completely different advertising initiatives, like content material or social media too.

It’s flexibility makes it appropriate for all various kinds of groups needing assist turning concepts into one thing actionable — step-by-step.

With that stated, you’ll probably need to customise it and add new fields to make it be just right for you and your group.

ClickUp’s free plan is greater than sufficient to get you began.

Google Sheets, Google Docs, Excel, and Phrase: Observe motion objects

HubSpot’s motion plan template helps you to outline and prioritize key duties with due dates and assignments. Total, it’s very simple and designed for individuals who love spreadsheets however need to keep away from pointless complexity.

Extra on HubSpot: HubSpot CRM review | HubSpot vs Salesforce | HubSpot vs Mailchimp. 

One among its coolest options is a discipline for monitoring different types of risk. Doing so makes it straightforward to assume via and doc potential roadblocks earlier than they occur.

The template additionally features a activity abstract part, the place customers can see accomplished duties and overdue duties at a look. As you mark duties as accomplished, the numbers replace routinely with real-time progress perception.

One potential downside with this template is its scalability. It really works positive for small initiatives, however it may possibly get overwhelming and arduous to make use of as you surpass a number of hundred duties.

I like to recommend beginning managing completely different aims in numerous sheets so it’s simpler to remain organized.

Superior advertising plan templates

Superior templates present high-level planning and challenge administration options to execute your technique. Past the fundamentals, you possibly can incorporate challenge timelines, budgeting, and danger administration into your advertising plan.

These templates are higher for advertising executives or challenge managers overseeing mid to large-sized groups.

TeamGantt: A feature-packed template for digital entrepreneurs

True to its title, TeamGantt is a strong instrument for creating Gantt charts on-line.

Gantt chart views can be found from different template suppliers and challenge administration instruments on my listing. However when you begin constructing them in TeamGantt, you rapidly understand these various views really feel like an afterthought. Right here, they’re clearly the highest precedence.

Extra on TeamGantt: TeamGantt Review – Features, Pricing, and Alternatives.

By default, the template is organized for digital advertising plans. You may customise it by including different non-digital channels, however I actually like the way in which this default format is structured for digital marketing campaign planning.

The most effective half about this template is the timeline performance. Because you’re working with a Gantt chart, you possibly can plan campaigns and methods throughout a number of channels, even people who run concurrently. Even with a number of campaigns and initiatives, it doesn’t really feel visually overwhelming.

You too can color-code your timeline based mostly on class, particular channel, or each. This makes it simpler to zoom out and assess every from a chook’s eye view.

The template is drag-and-drop-friendly, so you possibly can rapidly add new actions by dragging them in your timeline based mostly on how lengthy you assume it would take. From there, all that’s left is tagging your group, assigning duties, and watching your plan roll out with progress bars that replace in real-time.

TeamGantt has a restricted free without end plan that’s positive for solo work. However I like to recommend upgrading to a premium model to get probably the most out of it. You may attempt these free for seven days.

Confluence: Features a roadmap planner, funds, and danger evaluation

Confluence is a complicated resolution for collaborative work. It’s free for as much as ten customers and comes with limitless pages, limitless areas, and dozens of free templates.

This specific template appears to be like easy on the floor. However Confluence helps you to get as deep within the weeds as you’d like with loads of room to construct on.

Extra on Confluence: Confluence vs Jira | Confluence vs Notion | Confluence Alternatives.

You’ll begin with the fundamentals, like figuring out your advertising objectives and aims, earlier than offering detailed details about your goal market. From there, you possibly can assign metrics to every aim so that you and your whole group perceive the definition of success.

There’s additionally room for performing a aggressive evaluation, running a SWOT analysis, and defining positioning and model values.

Confluence’s roadmap planner can also be included. It’s designed to point out completely different phases of labor with milestones, lanes, and timelines. However creating one requires some observe utilizing keyboard shortcuts, making it more durable for people who find themselves new to the platform.

In case your group is utilizing Trello or Jira (two platforms owned by Confluence’s mother or father firm), you possibly can even incorporate playing cards from these instruments into your Confluence advertising plan.

Lastly, you’ll be capable to plan and allocate your funds, and assess potential dangers to your technique. One factor that’s lacking is the flexibility so as to add your precise spending in opposition to your deliberate funds, however that’s not the top of the world.

Templates for advertising businesses

As a advertising company, you’ll have a unique strategy to marketing campaign administration. Since your entire shoppers have completely different objectives, group turns into much more necessary — particularly in case you have group members engaged on initiatives for a number of shoppers.

On high of that, it’s possible you’ll need to invite shoppers to contribute with out them with the ability to see duties for everybody else.

Templates on this part make it straightforward to collaborate, see every part in a single place, and drill into the main points of every consumer with out pointless complexity.

monday.com: Plan and handle consumer campaigns in a single place

monday.com’s advertising plan template is particularly for freelancers, contractors, and businesses managing campaigns on behalf of their shoppers.

It comes with a single dashboard exhibiting a high-level overview of each marketing campaign, however you even have the flexibility to create particular person dashboards for particular initiatives. This makes it straightforward for managers and their staff to see every part they should do their jobs.

Extra on monday.com: monday.com review | Notion vs monday.com | ClickUp vs monday.com.

Monday.com makes it straightforward to collaborate together with your shoppers as effectively. You may invite them to their board to allow them to see what you’re engaged on with out peeking at different shoppers.

You may even arrange customized varieties the place shoppers can submit requests which can be routinely added to your activity listing.

There are many methods you possibly can manage and look at duties within the system. From color-coded Gantt charts to calendar view, everybody can use the layouts that work finest for them.

Though monday.com has quite a lot of highly effective capabilities on paid plans, the free tier is greater than sufficient to get began.

Stackby: Align your work with every consumer’s high-level objectives

Not like the monday.com template, this one from Stackby isn’t particularly for businesses. Nonetheless, it’s versatile sufficient to work simply as effectively whether or not you may have a handful of shoppers or a number of hundred.

At a excessive stage, you can begin by defining initiatives and aims. From there, you possibly can assign them to a consumer and assign the work required.

The great thing about this template is that customers get big-picture context whereas duties.

They not need to click on forwards and backwards between views or fly blind hoping they perceive what they should accomplish.

As a relational database instrument, Stackby is extra superior than the opposite options on my listing — it’s probably overkill until you actually need to use this template or construct advanced methods and workflows.

With that stated, it does have a free plan you should utilize to attempt it out.

Varieties of advertising plan templates

Advertising is a really broad time period — as such, there are quite a lot of various kinds of templates, every specializing in various kinds of advertising actions. From technique and aim setting to content material, editorial calendars and social media, there’s rather a lot to consider.

In the event you’re on the lookout for one thing extra particular than a common advertising plan template, this part will information you to the fitting place.

Advertising technique

A strategic advertising plan is a high-level doc that usually covers market alternatives and methods to edge out the competitors. They embrace a good quantity of market analysis to make sure your model can keep forward of any adjustments in your trade or market panorama.

SEE: Take a look at my favorite marketing strategy templates. 

Content material advertising

Content material plans are hyper-focused in your content material advertising technique. All the pieces from blogs to emails, social media posts, podcasts, and YouTube movies would fall into this bucket. Past fundamental planning, content material advertising plans enable you align your content material technique with big-picture advertising aims.

SEE: Take a look at my favorite content plan templates. 

Social media advertising

Social media planning zooms in in your social media advertising technique. It’s a good way to remain organized when you’re mapping out a publishing schedule at scale — particularly in case your model is energetic on a number of channels. Most of those templates additionally allow you to plan out social media content material alongside different advertising plans.

SEE: Take a look at my favorite social media planners. 

Advertising calendars

Advertising and editorial calendars make it straightforward to visualise long-term publishing schedules. Generally, every bit of content material is plotted on an precise calendar to point out you the density and consistency of your publishing exercise.

SEE: Take a look at my favorite editorial calendar templates and real estate marketing calendar templates. 

Go to market technique

A go to market technique is used once you’re launching a brand new services or products, but it surely can be used when you’re increasing your present model choices into a brand new market. They usually embrace a advertising motion plan and clear steps to take earlier than, throughout, and after your launch.

SEE: Take a look at my favorite go to market strategy templates. 

Advertising funds templates

Your funds is without doubt one of the most necessary items of any advertising plan, technique, or calendar. Many companies like to trace that alongside their work so it’s at all times high of thoughts.

Whether or not you have to plan out the month, quarter, or 12 months, a lot of the templates I’ve already lined embrace some type of funds monitoring. In the event you favor to separate it out of your work and monitor it elsewhere, there are devoted templates for that as effectively.

SEE: Take a look at my favorite marketing budget templates. 

Key elements of a advertising plan template

There are tons of of components you possibly can embrace once you’re creating a marketing plan. Whereas the weather you embrace rely on what you’re doing, it’s finest to begin easy and develop from there.

A number of key elements embrace:

• Advertising objectives.
• Key aims that align together with your objectives.
• KPIs and definitions of success.
• Timeline and assets.

You may additionally need to embrace a aggressive evaluation, funds tracker, activity administration capabilities, and extra.

When to make use of a advertising plan template

Advertising plan templates are extraordinarily versatile and can be utilized in varied situations. Frequent examples embrace:

• Throughout the preliminary planning levels for a startup.
• Annual or quarterly planning classes.
• Creating a brand new high-level advertising technique.
• Concentrating on a brand new viewers or increasing your market.
• During times of development or change (like new management).
• Launching a brand new marketing campaign or exploring a brand new channel.

For this reason you’ll discover so many various kinds of advertising plan templates — as there’s actually no “one-size-fits-all” choice.

I like to recommend on the lookout for the best choice that meets your wants and increasing the template by yourself. Generally, it’s a lot simpler so as to add than it’s to remove.

How typically do you have to replace your advertising plan?

You must replace your advertising plan at the least as soon as per 12 months.

Some companies wish to assess their advertising plan each quarter, which might work effectively in case your campaigns are likely to run lower than a month. It’s finest to attend a number of months, dwell together with your plan, and perceive the problems earlier than you begin making adjustments.