[Fiona Freelance Financier]

I run a small business and want to plan seasonal marketing campaigns months ahead, but I’m not technical. I’m looking for simple, practical ways to use AI to create a marketing calendar, generate content ideas, and schedule tasks so I can work ahead.

Specifically, I’d love short, actionable advice on:

• Tools: Beginner-friendly AI tools for ideas, copy, and calendars.
• Process: A simple step-by-step workflow I can follow (research → plan → create → schedule).
• Prompts & templates: Example prompts or templates to generate themes, subject lines, and social posts.
• Scheduling: How to sync AI outputs with a calendar or automation tools.
• Quality checks: Easy ways to review and adapt AI content before publishing.

Please share tools, short examples, or templates that work for non-technical users. Thanks — even a couple of ready-to-use prompts would be very helpful!

[Becky Budgeter]

Good point — thinking months ahead gives you breathing room to test ideas, get assets made, and avoid last-minute rushes. Below is a friendly, practical checklist and a clear step-by-step plan you can adapt to your business and calendar.

• Do: set clear goals (sales, list growth, brand awareness) for each season and pick one metric to watch.
• Do: keep a simple content calendar with dates for drafts, reviews, and publishing.
• Do: budget for creative costs, ads, and a small testing fund (5–10% of campaign budget).
• Do not: wait to create visuals and copy until the last month — production takes time.
• Do not: launch without a short A/B test on your main offer or subject line.

1. What you’ll need
   • a simple calendar (spreadsheet or paper planner),
   • past sales or engagement numbers (even ballpark),
   • one person to approve assets and one to publish,
   • small budget for ad tests and creative work.
2. How to do it — month-by-month
   1. 6 months out: pick the season and a clear goal; gather past data and customer notes.
   2. 4–5 months out: brainstorm theme, offers, and channels (email, social, local ads); draft a content calendar.
   3. 3 months out: create key assets (images, landing page copy, email templates); set up tracking (UTMs or simple tags).
   4. 1–2 months out: run small tests (two subject lines, two images), refine offer, secure any partners or inventory.
   5. 2 weeks out: final QA, schedule posts, pre-load emails, and set ad budgets to ramp up.
   6. During campaign: monitor daily early on, then every few days; pause ineffective ads and reallocate funds.
3. What to expect
   • an initial bump from testing, then clearer winners to scale;
   • some creative revisions after tests — that’s normal;
   • post-campaign, save what worked and note one improvement for next season.

Worked example (small handmade-goods shop planning winter holiday sales)

1. 6 months: decide holiday promotion focus — gift bundles and free gift-wrap.
2. 4 months: plan themes (cozy, gifting), sketch hero product images and headline ideas; estimate budget: 60% creative/production, 30% ads, 10% testing.
3. 3 months: create photos, write email series (3 messages), build landing page; set up simple tracking tags.
4. 1 month: run two Facebook ad variations and two email subject lines; pick winners and increase ad spend on the best creative.
5. 2 weeks: schedule emails, confirm shipping lead times, prepare customer service notes for common questions.
6. After campaign: compare sales to goal, save creative that worked, and note one tweak for next year.

Quick tip: keep one document with goals, key dates, and the single metric you’ll watch — it keeps decisions simple. Do you want this adapted to a specific industry or campaign length?

[Jeff Bullas]

Nice — you already have the right checklist. Below is a tighter, ready-to-use plan plus AI prompts you can paste to generate a full seasonal campaign roadmap in minutes.

What you’ll need

• a simple calendar (spreadsheet),
• ballpark past sales or engagement numbers,
• one owner for approvals and one publisher,
• a small testing budget (5–10% of campaign spend),
• basic tracking (UTMs or platform tags).

Month-by-month plan (practical)

1. 6 months out: choose season + single clear goal (revenue, leads, awareness). Gather past results and customer notes.
2. 4–5 months: decide theme, primary offer, channels (email, social, paid). Draft a content calendar with key dates.
3. 3 months: create hero assets (product photos, hero copy, landing page). Set up tracking and conversion events.
4. 1–2 months: run small A/B tests (two subject lines, two creatives); refine offer and price incentives.
5. 2 weeks: final QA, schedule posts and emails, pre-load ads with ramping budgets.
6. During campaign: monitor daily first 72 hours, then every 48–72 hours; pause losers and reallocate to winners.

Worked example — handmade shop (winter holiday)

1. 6 months: focus on gift bundles and free gift-wrap; target repeat buyers and gift shoppers.
2. 4 months: moodboard (cozy), write 3-email sequence, plan Instagram + Facebook + 1 influencer slot.
3. 3 months: photo shoot, build landing page, add UTM tags, schedule production timeline for packaging.
4. 1 month: test 2 ad creatives + 2 subject lines, pick winners and scale.
5. 2 weeks: confirm shipping, schedule last-minute reminder emails, prepare CS FAQ.

Common mistakes & fixes

• Mistake: Waiting to make assets. Fix: Block a production week 3–4 months out.
• Mistake: No single metric. Fix: Pick one KPI and track it only.
• Mistake: No small tests. Fix: Reserve 5–10% budget for A/B tests early.

Quick action plan (next 7 days)

1. Pick season + primary goal, note one KPI.
2. List top 6 assets you need (images, landing page, emails).
3. Run one small creative test (two images or two subject lines).
4. Paste the AI prompt below and ask for a 6-month plan tailored to your inputs.

AI prompt — copy/paste (main)

Help me create a 6-month seasonal marketing campaign plan. Inputs: season: [e.g., Winter Holidays], primary goal: [revenue/lead growth/awareness], top products/services: [list], budget: [total and testing %], audience: [who], channels: [email, social, ads], past metrics: [open rate, conversion, avg order], key dates: [start, peak, end], constraints: [inventory, approvals].

Deliverables: a month-by-month timeline with deadlines; a checklist of assets to produce; 3 email subject lines and 3 social captions; 4 A/B test ideas; KPIs to track and how to tag them; a 2-week ramp-up schedule before peak; estimated resource hours and rough cost breakdown.

Format results as clear bullets and an ordered timeline so I can paste into a spreadsheet or calendar.

Prompt variants

• Short campaign (6 weeks): “Create a 6-week seasonal plan — focus on email-first, three promotional waves, two A/B tests, and day-by-day schedule for the last 2 weeks.”
• B2B/long sales cycle: “Create a 6-month B2B campaign plan with lead nurture sequences, webinar + case study assets, account-based outreach, and MQL>SQL conversion goals.”
• Email-first small shop: “Create a 3-email sequence for a seasonal sale with subject lines, preview text, body copy, and CTA variations tailored to repeat buyers and new subscribers.”

Try the main prompt with your real numbers this afternoon — AI will give you a ready calendar, asset list and tests. Keep decisions simple: one metric, one owner, one weekly check-in.

[aaron]

Quick win (under 5 minutes): open a spreadsheet and add one row: Season, Primary Goal, One KPI, Start Date, Peak Date, Owner. That single line makes all future decisions obvious.

The problem: most businesses still plan seasonally at the last minute — which kills testing, inflates creative costs, and wastes ad spend.

Why this matters: planning 3–6 months ahead gives you time to test offers, produce high-quality assets, and scale winning creatives. That turns chaotic campaigns into predictable revenue windows.

Short lesson from practice: clients who lock creative and run two A/B tests six weeks before peak consistently reduce cost-per-sale and increase conversion rates during the ramp-up. You’ll get clearer winners and avoid rushed fixes during launch week.

1. What you’ll need
   • a simple calendar (spreadsheet),
   • ballpark past metrics (sales, open rates, conversion),
   • one decision owner, one publisher,
   • small testing budget (5–10% of total campaign).
2. Step-by-step (how to do it, month-by-month)
   1. 6 months: pick season + single goal. Owner: Strategy. Deliverable: brief with KPI and target range.
   2. 4–5 months: define theme, primary offer, channels. Deliverable: content calendar + asset list. Block production week.
   3. 3 months: produce hero assets, build landing page, add tracking (UTMs / conversion events). Deliverable: live landing page + draft emails.
   4. 1–2 months: run small A/B tests (subject line, creative, CTA). Pick winners and adjust pricing/packaging.
   5. 2 weeks: final QA, schedule emails/posts, set ad budgets to ramp up. Have CS script ready.

What to expect: early test winners in 7–14 days; a stable ramp in the final 2 weeks; one meaningful tweak post-campaign for the next season.

Metrics to track (and tagging)

• Primary KPI: Revenue / Leads / Visits (pick one). Track daily during ramp.
• Conversion rate (landing): goal = improve vs baseline. Tag links with UTMs: utm_campaign=Holiday24&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subjectA
• Email: open rate, CTR, conversion. Ads: CTR, CPA, ROAS.
• Testing metric: lift % over control (report after 72 hours).

Common mistakes & fixes

• Waiting on assets: Fix: schedule production 3–4 months out and pay to secure a shoot slot.
• No single metric: Fix: choose one KPI and ignore vanity metrics for decisions.
• No testing budget: Fix: reserve 5–10% to validate creative before scaling.

One-week action plan

1. Day 1: Add the spreadsheet row (season, goal, KPI, dates, owner).
2. Day 2: List top 6 assets and assign owners.
3. Day 3–4: Draft 2 email subject lines and 2 hero images (or mockups).
4. Day 5: Run one quick A/B test (subject lines or images) with a small audience.
5. Day 6–7: Paste the AI prompt below and get a tailored 6-month plan to paste into your calendar.

AI prompt — copy/paste (use as-is)

Help me create a 6-month seasonal marketing campaign plan. Inputs: season: [e.g., Winter Holidays], primary goal: [revenue/lead growth/awareness], top products/services: [list], budget: [total and testing %], audience: [who], channels: [email, social, ads], past metrics: [open rate, conversion, avg order], key dates: [start, peak, end], constraints: [inventory, approvals].

Deliverables: a month-by-month timeline with deadlines; a checklist of assets to produce; 3 email subject lines and 3 social captions; 4 A/B test ideas; KPIs to track and how to tag them; a 2-week ramp-up schedule before peak; estimated resource hours and rough cost breakdown. Format results as clear bullets and an ordered timeline so I can paste into a spreadsheet or calendar.

Your move.

Aaron

[Rick Retirement Planner]

Nice callout on the single-row spreadsheet — that’s the simplest habit that actually changes decisions. I especially like the reminder to lock creative and run two A/B tests six weeks out; that’s where messy plans become predictable ones.

Here’s a practical addition: use AI as a time-saving production partner across the 6-month timeline, not a magic switch. In plain English — treat AI like a smart assistant that drafts ideas, creates variations, and saves you hours of rewrite so your human reviewers can focus on the important decisions.

What you’ll need

• a one-line campaign row in your spreadsheet (season, goal, KPI, dates, owner),
• access to an AI writing tool (or a colleague who can run it),
• ballpark past metrics and a tiny testing budget (5–10%),
• a simple place to store assets and approvals (shared folder or project board).

How to do it — step-by-step

1. 6 months out: use AI to brainstorm 6 themes and 6 offers in 10–15 minutes; pick one. Deliverable: campaign brief with one KPI.
2. 4–5 months: ask AI to draft a content calendar and an asset checklist (hero image, 3 emails, 4 social posts, landing page outline). Assign owners and block a production week.
3. 3 months: use AI to create first drafts of headlines, email bodies, and social captions; send those to your copy/photo team for refinement. Build landing page scaffold and add tracking tags.
4. 1–2 months: generate 4 quick creative variations with AI (two headlines, two images descriptions for designer) and run small A/B tests. Expect a winner within 7–14 days.
5. 2 weeks: finalize assets, schedule everything, and set ad ramps. Have customer service scripts ready for common questions.

One simple concept — pick one KPI

Choosing one KPI (for example, revenue or leads) keeps decisions clear. If you look at too many numbers, you’ll get conflicting advice: a change that raises clicks but lowers revenue can feel “successful” unless you were watching revenue. One KPI aligns creative, budget, and testing decisions so you don’t chase shiny metrics.

What to expect

• fast drafts from AI that still need a human pass (you’ll save time but not skip reviews),
• clear winners from small tests within 7–14 days,
• a smoother, lower-cost ramp once you scale winners in the last two weeks.

Quick extra win (under 5 minutes): ask your AI or teammate for 3 headline variations for your hero product and pick the one that matches your KPI language — that small step gives you test-ready creative right away.

[Author]

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