How to create a marketing plan without feeling overwhelmed

9 minutes ago
3 min read

Marketing is fundamental to a successful business. Without it, you’ll struggle to grow your audience and generate more leads. But it shouldn’t be taking over your life.

You didn’t set up your business to become a full-time marketer, you set it up to do the thing you love to do. Yet here you are, agonising over what to blog about, stressing about how often you should be posting on social media, and wondering if you should join Tik Tok or Pinterest or Substack.

When you listen to all the hustle bro marketing advice out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by it all – so much so that you end up overthinking and then doing nothing.

I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to be everywhere and doing everything, despite what you may have been told.

Because visibility isn’t about showing up more. It’s about showing up in the right places, with the right messaging. So actually, doing less is often more effective than constantly churning out content in the vague hope your ideal client will find you.

If you’re pouring hours into your content marketing every week and not seeing the benefits, you need a reset. Because it shouldn't leave you feeling overwhelmed, it should help your business grow.

Here are 5 things to get clear on with your marketing to help it feel less overwhelming...

1. Get clear on your audience

If you’re trying to appeal to everyone in your marketing, you’ll end up appealing to no one. So if you’re churning out vague content that appeals to the world and her husband, it’ll be so much harder to reach the people you really want to work with. That’s why it’s important to get super-specific about your dream client. I'm talking one particular person and directing all your messaging towards them.

2. Get clear on where to spend your time

Once you have a clear idea of your audience, you’ll have a better understanding of where they’re likely to be hanging out. And there’s no prizes for guessing that’s where you need to be hanging out too.

For instance, there’s no point you being on LinkedIn if that’s not where your audience is. Instead, pick one or two places to focus your energy – that could be a social media channel or it could be an online community or a networking event that your dream client attends.

3. Get clear on your business goals

What do you want to achieve in your business this quarter? Is it to grow your email list? Is it to launch a new course? Is it to run a webinar? Once you know this, it should be easier to create content, because everything you do should be aligned with your goal. Each quarter should have one clear goal to work towards. And don’t forget to reward yourself when you achieve it.

4. Get clear on the purpose of your content

Every piece of content you create should have a purpose. It could be to inform, to educate, to entertain, but you need to know why you’re putting it out there.

If your answer is because you haven’t posted in a while and you need to stay visible, that’s not a good enough reason. Your reason to post a piece of content should always start with your audience. So ask yourself: “Why does my dream client need this content?”

5. Get clear on how you help people

It’s all very well banging on about what you do and who you work with, but your audience wants to know how you can help them. Why should they work with you over someone else? What makes you different?

So get clear on the transformation you provide your clients, and work this into your messaging. Think about your ideal clients' struggles and write down exactly how you help them – not just the services you offer, but how they’ll feel after working with you.

Want my help to get clear on your marketing?

Sign up to my Less is More audio course. It’s the 10-day reset for business owners who are tired of overcomplicated, overwhelming marketing.

Over 10 working days, I'll send you a short audio message every day via Telegram. Each one is bite-sized, practical and designed to fit around your business (and your life). And there’s a simple activity at the end of each day’s message to help you put what you've learned into practice straight away.

The next course takes place from 17-28 August 2026 and the cost is £40.