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Bootstrapper's marketing planning sprint:
3x20 min sessions
Outcome: A realistic and actionable marketing plan.
Just "accidentally" did this for myself, found it incredibly effective and thought I'd share.
3x20 min sessions
Outcome: A realistic and actionable marketing plan.
Just "accidentally" did this for myself, found it incredibly effective and thought I'd share.
First 20 mins: Page vomit 
Backstory:
It all started with an intention to put my phone away and write a marketing plan for 20 mins.
I set a timer and began.
I quickly filled out 2 pages worth of ideas. They ranged from tactics, reminders, abstract ideas and frameworks.
It felt super satisfying to get the madness out of my head and onto paper.
It was messy, but less chance for me to forget things now that it was written down.
It was messy, but less chance for me to forget things now that it was written down.
First 20 mins: Page vomit Goal:
Get in the zone.
Your right brain needs warming up. Page vomit helps.
Prompts:
Get a blank sheet of paper.
Messy scribbles = good.
Don't hold back.
Fast > completed thoughts.
Circle stuff, cross stuff out, add
s.
First 20 mins: Page vomit You're doing it right if:
1. You write a lot of stuff
2. Most of it is dumb
3. You get stray thoughts out of your head and onto paper
4. 1-2 (out of 20)ideas make you go "oooh!"
5. Time passes quickly and the timer going off surprises you
Next 20 mins: Going deeper 
Backstory:
My first alarm went off. Technically I was done. In reality, I felt like I was just getting started.
My brain was warmed up and I was ready to dive deeper.
I set the timer for the next 20 mins.
In the 1st 20 mins, I scribbled down tactics and frameworks like JTBD, that led me to consider common objections.
It's impt tt tactics address objections. So I took time to properly list the key objections down. They became my north.
It's impt tt tactics address objections. So I took time to properly list the key objections down. They became my north
.
Key objections:
1. "I'm unwilling to change current workflow. It's good enough and it took me awhile to get here."
2. "I don't understand what your plugin does, and how it helps me or saves me time."
1. "I'm unwilling to change current workflow. It's good enough and it took me awhile to get here."
2. "I don't understand what your plugin does, and how it helps me or saves me time."
I also had a campaign idea to show how existing newsletters could be more easily built by Newsletter Glue.
So I took some time to map out the campaign. Starting by showing how I built my own, whose newsletter I could rebuild, and how I'd showcase everything.
So I took some time to map out the campaign. Starting by showing how I built my own, whose newsletter I could rebuild, and how I'd showcase everything.
Going deep on those 2 items took the full 20 min.
I didn't think about other ideas. Those were already written down and not going anywhere.
Notice how my campaign idea synced with key objections?
Once you articulate your north, your brain subconsciously anchors to it.
I didn't think about other ideas. Those were already written down and not going anywhere.
Notice how my campaign idea synced with key objections?
Once you articulate your north
, your brain subconsciously anchors to it.
Next 20 mins: Going deeper Goal:
Explore your juiciest ideas
Prompts:
Start on a fresh page.
Pick 1-2 big ideas from round 1 and explore them in detail. These can be abstract ideas like common objections or tactical ideas like a blog post.
Next 20 mins: Going deeper You're doing it right if:
You feel like you went down a rabbit hole.
You feel like everything is flowing.
You get excited and can imagine all the possibilities.
You're impressed by your own concentration.
Final 20 mins: Action plan 
Backstory:
Now I had 2 pieces of paper. One with random scribbles, and another that was more structured.
I still felt all over the place. The possibilities felt overwhelming. I needed to synthesize everything into something actionable.
When 1 person (me!) is in charge of both ideation and action, the plans need to be insanely simple.
I also only have 2 months to execute everything for our launch. So being realistic is key.
The campaign had enough substance to last a year. But for the first 2 months...
I also only have 2 months to execute everything for our launch. So being realistic is key.
The campaign had enough substance to last a year. But for the first 2 months...
I decided to:
1. build the blog+newsletter
2. write the meta article showing "how i built this" and send it as a newsletter
3. Promote the article on other newsletters with an offer to do the same for others and a discount on our licenses for those selected.
1. build the blog+newsletter
2. write the meta article showing "how i built this" and send it as a newsletter
3. Promote the article on other newsletters with an offer to do the same for others and a discount on our licenses for those selected.
In the 2nd 20 min sprint, I actually thought of many other steps to this campaign. But they can wait.
I chose the 3 steps outlined above because they're realistically doable by our end Jan launch. And I think (hope) they'll be effective, with a good ROI for effort expended.
I chose the 3 steps outlined above because they're realistically doable by our end Jan launch. And I think (hope) they'll be effective, with a good ROI for effort expended.
Then I returned to my early scribbles to look for quick + easy wins.
I found 4 small tactics that fit the bill and added them to my list.
Then I was done.
In 1 hour, I came up with a million ideas, dove deep on a couple, then distilled everything into a realistic action plan.
I found 4 small tactics that fit the bill and added them to my list.
Then I was done.
In 1 hour, I came up with a million ideas, dove deep on a couple, then distilled everything into a realistic action plan.
Final 20 mins: Action plan Goal: Come up with an action plan
Prompts:
Start on a fresh page.
Think about your constraints (time/resources).
Be realistic.
If in doubt, cancel it out.
Only 1 item is a must.
The rest are "only if possible".
Final 20 mins: Action plan You're doing it right if:
Your action plan seems VERY doable.
You feel confident and your head feels clear at the end.
You feel weirded out by how simple your action plan seems.
Yet confident that you've covered most of your bases.
The end!
If you'd like to find out if I successfully execute this marketing plan, go to:
http://newsletterglue.com/blog and subscribe to our newsletter.
There's not much there yet, but that's the point! You'll be following me from day 1.
Each newsletter is sent by @NewsletterGlue
If you'd like to find out if I successfully execute this marketing plan, go to:
http://newsletterglue.com/blog and subscribe to our newsletter.
There's not much there yet, but that's the point! You'll be following me from day 1.
Each newsletter is sent by @NewsletterGlue
If you enjoyed this, retweet and lmk which part you liked best 
Super bonus points if you actually try it. Would love to hear how it went!
Super bonus points if you actually try it. Would love to hear how it went!
P.S. I LOVE setting timers.
Another fav use: when a waiter says "there are 7 people in front of you, and it's gonna be 40 min."
I set my timer and, when it's our turn, often find out tt less time had passed than I thought. Great way to reinforce tt perception ≠ reality.
Another fav use: when a waiter says "there are 7 people in front of you, and it's gonna be 40 min."
I set my timer and, when it's our turn, often find out tt less time had passed than I thought. Great way to reinforce tt perception ≠ reality.
