Google Advertising Tools, 2nd Edition

Creating a Plan

The process of telling a marketing story and integrating the story into the 5P fundamentals is shown in diagram form in Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1. By combining business narrative with marketing fundamentals, you can create a marketing plan

Taking the 5Ps of marketing in the context of a web content site, Place and Price are somewhat irrelevant. Place, the distribution channel, is simply the Web, and Price means ad revenue (see Chapter 5, Chapter 6, and Part II for information about cashing in with web content). The key issues a marketing plan should resolve are Product, Promotion, and Positioning.

Promotion and Positioning of web content is primarily accomplished by advertising, by optimizing your site for search engines, and by generating buzz (the online equivalent of word of mouth).

So the five marketing Ps in the web content context boil down to only 3Ps. This simplification of the process of creating a marketing plan is shown in Figure 2-2.

A marketing plan is created by placing your (hopefully compelling) business narrative in the context of the basic elements of marketing. As opposed to an overall business plan, a marketing plan doesn’t have to be an extensive or formal document. In particular, it shouldn’t include financial projections or spreadsheets (which are an important element of a general business plan).

Figure 2-2. When you are creating your marketing plan for ...