Most “digital marketing strategies” fail for a simple reason: they are too big. They turn into long documents that nobody uses. Then the team defaults to random posting, scattered ads, and one more email “just to stay consistent.”

A better approach is a one page plan you can review weekly. It should tell you:

• Who you serve
• What you want to achieve
• What you will publish and promote
• Where you will show up
• How you will measure progress

This article gives you a simple one page strategy you can build in about 60 minutes. You can do it solo, or with your team on a short call.

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What “digital marketing strategy” means (in plain language)

A digital marketing strategy is your plan to reach the right people online, earn their trust, and turn some of them into customers. It connects your business goals to your actions.

It is not a list of tactics. Tactics are things like “run Facebook ads,” “post on TikTok,” or “send a newsletter.” Strategy is the set of choices that guide your tactics. It answers “why this,” “for who,” and “what we will not do.”

A useful strategy also includes measurement. Otherwise, you will not know what to improve. Strong marketing uses clear goals and metrics, not vibes (Doran, 1981).

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The 1-page digital marketing plan (copy and fill)

Open a doc or sheet and paste this. By the end of the hour, you will have it filled out.

1) Target customer (5 minutes)

• Primary audience:
• Pain they want solved:
• What they want instead:
• Where they already spend time online:
• One sentence promise (your positioning):

2) Offer + funnel (10 minutes)

• Core offer (what you sell):
• Entry offer (lead magnet, trial, consult, low cost product):
• Next step (how people buy):
• Main objection you must overcome:

3) One goal and 3 supporting targets (10 minutes)

• Main 90-day goal (SMART):
• Target 1:
• Target 2:
• Target 3:

4) Channel choices (10 minutes)

Pick:

• 1 “home base” channel:
• 1 “growth” channel:
• 1 “conversion” channel:

5) Messaging and content pillars (10 minutes)

• Pillar 1:
• Pillar 2:
• Pillar 3:
• Proof you will use (case studies, demos, testimonials):
• Your tone (3 words):

6) Weekly plan (10 minutes)

• Create:
• Publish:
• Promote:
• Convert:
• Measure:

7) Scorecard (5 minutes)

• North star metric:
• Leading indicators (2 to 4):
• Lagging indicators (1 to 2):
• Tools you will use (analytics, CRM, email platform):

That is the whole plan. Now let’s build it step by step.

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The 60-minute build (minute by minute)

Minute 0 to 5: Pick one primary audience

If you try to speak to everyone, your marketing will sound generic. Pick one audience you can serve well.

Use this quick filter:

• Who gets the fastest result from you?
• Who has the strongest pain today?
• Who is easiest for you to reach online?

Write one sentence:

“I help [specific person] get [specific outcome] without [common pain].”

This is positioning. Good positioning is a choice. It is also the base of strategy (Kotler & Keller, 2016).

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Minute 5 to 15: Define your offer and funnel

Your marketing strategy must match your offer. A high priced service needs trust. A low priced product needs volume. A subscription needs retention.

Fill in these four lines:

1. Core offer: What you sell most often, or want to sell most.
2. Entry offer: The easiest yes. Examples: free guide, email course, free consult, $29 template, trial.
3. Next step: The action you want after the entry offer. Examples: book a call, start trial, buy, request demo.
4. Main objection: Why people do not buy yet. Examples: price, time, trust, confusion, “will this work for me?”

If you do not name the objection, your content will miss the mark. Your job is to reduce risk and increase clarity.

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Minute 15 to 25: Set one clear goal (and keep it SMART)

A one page plan works best when it has one main goal for the next 90 days. Use SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound (Doran, 1981).

Examples:

• “Increase qualified leads from 40 to 80 per month by April 30.”
• “Grow monthly recurring revenue from $8k to $12k by June 1.”
• “Book 20 sales calls per month from organic traffic by May 15.”

Then add three supporting targets. These are the numbers that make the goal possible.

Example:

Main goal: 80 qualified leads per month.
Supporting targets:

• 3,000 website sessions per month
• 3% landing page conversion rate
• 30% email open rate

This creates focus. It also gives you a simple scorecard.

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Minute 25 to 35: Choose your channels (don’t over-pick)

Most creators and small teams fail by choosing too many channels. A better model is:

• One channel you own (your home base)
• One channel to grow (discovery)
• One channel to convert (sales)

Here are common options.

Home base (owned)

• Website + blog
• Email list
• YouTube channel (you control it more than social, but still platform-based)

Email and your website are strong “owned media.” You control the relationship and the data more than you do on social platforms (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2019).

Growth channel (discovery)

• SEO
• YouTube search
• Short-form video (TikTok, Reels, Shorts)
• Partnerships and guest posts
• Paid search or paid social

Pick one based on where your audience already is.

Conversion channel (sales)

• Email sequences
• Webinars
• Sales calls
• Product pages + retargeting ads

Write your picks on the one page plan. If you want to do more later, earn it with results first.

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Minute 35 to 45: Create your messaging and content pillars

This is where most one page plans become usable. You are building a repeatable content system.

Step 1: Pick 3 content pillars

A pillar is a category you can talk about every week without running out of ideas.

Here are examples:

If you sell freelance design services

• Pillar 1: Before/after client transformations
• Pillar 2: Design process and decision tips
• Pillar 3: Common mistakes and fixes

If you sell a fitness coaching program

• Pillar 1: Simple workouts
• Pillar 2: Simple meals and habits
• Pillar 3: Mindset and consistency

If you sell B2B software

• Pillar 1: Use cases and demos
• Pillar 2: ROI and systems
• Pillar 3: Change management and adoption

Step 2: Add proof

People believe proof more than promises. Add at least one proof type you will use weekly:

• Case studies
• Testimonials
• Screenshots (results, dashboards)
• Demos
• Before/after examples

Step 3: Set your tone in 3 words

Examples:

• Direct, calm, practical
• Friendly, bold, clear
• Minimal, honest, helpful

Tone helps you stay consistent and recognizable.

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Minute 45 to 55: Build a weekly “create, publish, promote” rhythm

A good strategy becomes real when it turns into a weekly routine.

Use this simple weekly plan. Keep it small.

Create (1 to 3 hours)

• Write one blog post, or script one video, or record one podcast.
• Repurpose into 3 to 5 short posts.

Publish (30 minutes)

• Publish the core piece to your home base (blog or YouTube).
• Add internal links if it is a blog post.
• Add a clear call to action.

Promote (60 minutes)

• Post 3 short pieces on your growth channel.
• Send one email that points to the core piece.
• Share one proof-based post (result, story, case study).

Convert (30 minutes)

• Drive people to one next step (opt-in, demo, call, purchase).
• Follow up with leads.

This is how you avoid the trap of “more content” with no results.

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Minute 55 to 60: Add a scorecard and decide how you will review it

If you do not review the plan, it will not guide your work.

Pick:

• North star metric: the main number tied to growth (examples: qualified leads, trials started, purchases, booked calls).
• Leading indicators: actions that predict outcomes (examples: clicks, opt-ins, watch time, email replies).
• Lagging indicators: results that confirm success (examples: revenue, churn, close rate).

Keep it tight. Two to four leading indicators is enough.

Then set a weekly review time. Put it on your calendar.

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A filled example (so you can see it)

Here is a simple example for a creator selling a course.

Target customer: New freelancers who want consistent clients.
Pain: They feel invisible online and hate sales calls.
Promise: “I help new freelancers get their first 3 retainer clients with a simple portfolio and outreach system.”

Offer + funnel

• Core offer: $299 course + templates
• Entry offer: free “Portfolio That Converts” checklist
• Next step: course purchase
• Main objection: “Will this work without a big audience?”

Goal (90 days)

• Main: 200 course sales by April 30
• Support: 10,000 landing page visits, 5% opt-in rate, 4% sales conversion from email

Channels

• Home base: Blog + email
• Growth: YouTube search
• Conversion: Email sequences + webinar

Content pillars

• Pillar 1: Portfolio and positioning
• Pillar 2: Outreach scripts and examples
• Pillar 3: Pricing and retainers
• Proof: student case studies weekly
• Tone: practical, direct, encouraging

Weekly plan

• 1 YouTube video
• 1 blog post version of the video
• 5 Shorts from the video
• 1 newsletter
• 1 live Q&A each month

Scorecard

• North star: course sales per week
• Leading: opt-ins, email clicks, webinar signups, video views
• Lagging: revenue, refunds

That is a real strategy. It fits on one page. It tells you what to do next.

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Common mistakes that break simple plans

Mistake 1: Picking channels you do not enjoy

If you hate the channel, you will quit. Strategy must match your strengths and your schedule.

Mistake 2: Chasing trends instead of building assets

One viral post is nice. A library of helpful content that ranks or gets searched is better for stable growth. Owned channels like email lists reduce your dependence on algorithms (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2019).

Mistake 3: No clear next step

Every piece of content should lead somewhere. Even if the “somewhere” is just “join my list” or “reply to this email.”

Mistake 4: Measuring vanity metrics only

Followers do not pay the bills. Track metrics tied to leads, trials, and sales.

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Your 1-page plan (blank template)

Copy this into a doc:

Audience

• Primary audience:
• Pain:
• Desired outcome:
• Where they hang out:
• Positioning sentence:

Offer + funnel

• Core offer:
• Entry offer:
• Next step:
• Objection to address:

Goals (90 days)

• Main goal:
• Target 1:
• Target 2:
• Target 3:

Channels

• Home base:
• Growth:
• Conversion:

Messaging

• Pillar 1:
• Pillar 2:
• Pillar 3:
• Proof:
• Tone (3 words):

Weekly execution

• Create:
• Publish:
• Promote:
• Convert:
• Measure:

Scorecard

• North star metric:
• Leading indicators:
• Lagging indicators:
• Review day/time:

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Wrap-up: keep it simple and run the loop

A one page plan works because it forces choices. It also makes review easy. Build it once, then run the loop:

1. Publish
2. Promote
3. Convert
4. Measure
5. Improve

If you want, Nick, tell me your niche, your main offer, and the platform you want to focus on. I can fill this one page plan out for your business and suggest a weekly content schedule.

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References

Chaffey, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2019). Digital marketing: Strategy, implementation and practice (7th ed.). Pearson.

Doran, G. T. (1981). There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives. Management Review, 70(11), 35–36.

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson.