For many small business owners, good intentions for promoting the business go right out the window when things get hectic. Creating a marketing calendar will improve how you plan, execute, and evaluate your marketing activities.

Outlining a marketing calendar upfront helps you remain true to your goals. In the end, no matter how you choose to promote your business - a well-organized calendar saves time, lowers costs, and increases your campaign's effectiveness.

This collection of information is an integral part of the evaluation process at the end of the fiscal year.

It provides the opportunity to conduct an objective assessment of which efforts should be repeated and which should be eliminated.

Need help creating your calendar. ..

Goals - Your goal is the answer to the question, why are you investing in a particular marketing activity. Measurable objectives; sales, leads, calls, typically set to be achieved within a specific timeframe.

Activities - Briefly describe the marketing activity you will be conducting and when. In any given month you should not be relying on just one program, but a series of inter-related promotions to drive traffic to your business.

Budget - It's most common to divide your annual budget monthly or quarterly. Ideally, the total expenses of all marketing activities should not exceed your budget.

Results - After each program runs its course, it is important to capture the results. Did the advertisement perform as expected? Did you achieve your goals?

Blank Calendar Worksheet . .