Naval Ravikant once said:

"You're doing marketing cause you failed at product".

Marketing can't fix a broken product. But it can become your competitive advantage.

Consider energy drinks.

There are 100+ products, and they don't taste too different.

Yet, Red Bull went from a bootstrapped startup to $12.8B ARR, capturing 43% of the market.

How?

Two words -

Epic marketing.

In 1984, Dietrich Mateschitz discovered Krating Daeng, a Thai energy drink. He partnered with them to create Red Bull for a global audience. But he didn't blow money on traditional ads. Instead, he pulled consumers in by giving them what they wanted: compelling content.

Red Bull hosts dozens of extreme sports events each year.

Their story shows how a genius marketing plan can make your product fly even in crowded markets.

Today, I'll show you how to create your annual Marketing Plan in 3 simple steps:

1. Define Your Core Identity and Offering
2. Develop Your Brand and Content Strategy
3. Set Goals and Create an Action Plan

After reading this, you’ll finally feel clarity about your marketing…

I want to help you

Let’s face it.

You know this section of the newsletter is an ad.

But do you know why it’s here? It’s here to help you. If you truly believe in your product, selling it is a moral obligation.

I want to help you build a digital business that allows you to be free. And if coming across as salesy by having a short ad at the beginning of my newsletter is what I need to do to get there, I’m okay with the trade-off.

I built two 8-figure businesses using the exact systems inside Founder OS. Joining our community is not a silver bullet. You / your team still need to execute the systems. But it will save you YEARS in building out them.

Apply to Join Founder OS

I’m rooting for you.

But now, back to building a marketing plan…

Every January, I block off two days to retreat into nature, get inspired, and craft my marketing plan for the year ahead.

I'll book a room at a beautiful hotel, or rent a cabin in the woods.

Somewhere I can deeply focus with no distractions.

Then I'll spend a couple of days thinking, journaling, and whiteboarding, following the process I'm about to share with you.

I don't view this as doing work. I view it as creating art.

At the end of these days, I’ve created a Marketing Plan that looks something like this:

Here’s my 3-step process so you can create yours:

Step 1: Define Your Core Identity and Offering

There are only 2 reasons why customers don't buy from you:

1) They don't trust you

2) They don't want what you sell

In both cases, you've failed to communicate your value proposition clearly.

That's why I keep my Marketing Plans insanely simple.

Simplicity cuts through noise.

So I always start by getting super crisp on three things:

1. Who we are
2. What we do
3. Why it matters

I try to boil this down to its essence, in just a sentence or two. For example, when we started Herb, our positioning was:

"Herb is the pioneer of cannabis-marketing-as-a-service, connecting the best brands to passionate consumers through engaging content."

Short, sweet, and specific.

To find yours, ask yourself:

• What is our unique value proposition?
• Who are we uniquely positioned to serve?
• What problem do we solve better than anyone else?
• How do we want to be known in the market? What terms do we want to own?

For example, Founder OS owns the terms:

• OS
• Systems
• Content GPS
• Founder Freedom
• The 4W's of Freedom

The goal of my marketing is that, when you hear any of the above words, you think of me.

Then, write your "3 Truths Thesis"

People care more about why you do something than what you do.

Your marketing plan needs to answer why the world needs you NOW.

I wrote down 3 trends that back up Founder OS:

Step 2: Develop Your Brand and Content Strategy

If your core identity is the script, your brand is the actor, and your content strategy is the performance.

You need to nail all three to leave a mark.

3 crazy branding questions to get your thinking going:

• If your brand was an actor, who would it be, and why?
• Imagine your brand is a guest at a dinner party. How would it introduce itself and engage in conversation with the other guests?
• If your brand was a coffee shop, how would the interior be designed? What music would play?

I find these questions more helpful than just asking "what is our tone of voice?" because they paint a picture in your head.

If you feel stuck, create a mood board with brands that inspire you.

Most people overcomplicate Content Strategy.

In reality, you only need to know 2 things:

1) Who you're writing for

2) How you can help them

All your content should connect those two. Do customer research. Find out:

• What are their biggest problems?
• What fears keep them awake at night?
• What do they secretly desire more than anything else?
• What do they dream about?

Write these down in your Marketing Plan.

(If you don't know your customer, just ask ChatGPT)

Then, nail your 4 content categories. Those are the 4 things you talk about over and over again.

Mine are:

1. Personal development
2. Business systems
3. Audience growth
4. Monetization

Step 3: Set Goals and Create an Action Plan

Your core identity is your vision. Your brand is your path. But your action plan is the vehicle that gets you there.

First, let's talk about how to drive strategic initiatives yourself. I use a simple process:

1) Set clear, measurable goals and KPIs for the next 90 days. For example:

• Grow newsletter to 200,000 subscribers
• Increase web traffic 50%
• Grow LinkedIn by 10% MoM over 3 months
• Bring in $1.5M in collected cash from Founder OS

2) Break each goal down into specific strategies, tactics, and deliverables. Assign owners and deadlines. For example:

Goal: Grow newsletter to 200,000 subscribers

Owner: Matt

• Strategy: Launch a new web tool
  • Do action item 1 by [date] [Matt]
  • Do action item 2 by [date] [Michael]
  • Do action item 3 by [date] [Nils]

3) Identify key initiatives and plan them out:

• Campaign: 8 high-quality YouTube videos
  • Goal: Get another YouTube video to 500,000 views
  • Owner: Victoria

And so on, and so on.

Then, I send a Loom video walking over my own 90-day goals and how they relate to the marketing plan myself.

You need to lead for your team to follow. Do what you want them to do, and show them you're doing it.

4) Set up dashboards to track progress weekly. Course correct as needed.

Now, let's address how to make your team accountable to the marketing plan.

To keep our 43+ person team aligned and accountable, I've created a Team Accountability Chart.

It maps out every team member's:

• System Ownership
• Role Name
• Location
• KPIs

Here's an example:

The effortless way to implement your Marketing Plan

Don't overthink it. The best marketing plans are insanely simple. The challenge lies in keeping them simple.

You need systems to make executing your Marketing Plan effortless.

Systems for:

• Creating content ideas based on your plan
• Writing content that appeals to your ideal customer
• Building monetization funnels that make sales while you sleep

You can spend 2 years building these yourself or hiring an agency.

But the fastest way to grow your personal brand effortlessly and make money online is to join Founder OS. We have dozens of plug-and-play systems you can apply from day 1 to build your founder brand and make $5M a year.

Founder OS Consultation

If you don't feel ready yet, here's a 100% free resource to help you create an insanely simple Marketing Plan:

Get The Marketing Plan Template

As always -

If you found this helpful, share this edition with a fellow founder via text, email, or social media. Simply copy-and-paste this link:

​content.founderos.com/posts/epic-marketing​

Let's win together,

Matt

P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

#1: The price to join Founder OS will increase permanently on October 15th. Book a call now to save $1,000+ by becoming part of the best community of founders in the world — before the price goes up!

#2: I’ll pay you $1,000 for each founder you refer to Founder OS. Just copy this link and send it to 5 founder friends: https://www.founderos.com/claim?referred_by= ​

​​​​#3: Book me as keynote speaker. In my talks, I share practical strategies and systems for audience growth, brand building, and automation.

‍

‍