How to plan your marketing for 2027 (with a free month-by-month checklist)

By Claire Mitchell, The Girls Mean Business · 26 October 2026

Planning your marketing for a whole year sounds HUGE. It doesn’t have to be. Here’s the simple five-step way my planner has walked people through it since 2017, plus a free month-by-month checklist you can use straight away.

Step 1: Start with your numbers

Before you plan a single post, decide what you want to sell in 2027. Pick a sales target for the year, then break it down by month. Suddenly “£30,000” becomes “£2,500 a month”, and that becomes “ten of these and two of those”. Now your marketing has a job to do.

Step 2: Plan your promotions

Look at the year and choose your big moments: launches, offers, sales, events. Three or four is plenty for most small businesses. Write them in, then count back four to six weeks from each one. That’s when you start talking about it.

Need the dates? My key marketing dates for 2027 has the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Step 3: Choose your weekly routine

Consistency beats brilliance. Decide what you’ll do EVERY week, whatever happens. For example: one email to your list, three posts, and one conversation with a potential customer. Small, doable, repeatable.

Step 4: Plan each month on the 1st

At the start of each month, ask yourself four questions: What are my customers thinking about this month? What am I selling? How will I get seen? How will I tell people? Then plan your weeks around the answers.

Step 5: Check in every three months

At the end of March, June and September, look back. What worked? What brought in the money? What can you stop doing? Then adjust the next three months. This is where the magic happens.

The Awesome Marketing Planner System 2027: the planner’s monthly and weekly pages, the Planner Portal and the planner app — These five steps are exactly how the Awesome Marketing Planner is laid out: your year, each month, each week, every three months, and the end of the year.

Your free month-by-month marketing checklist for 2027

Use this alongside your own key dates. Tweak it to fit your business: these are prompts, not rules!

November and December 2026: get ready

Set your 2027 sales target and break it down by month
Choose your three or four big promotions for the year
Decide your weekly marketing routine
Plan January in detail

January

Talk about fresh starts and what people want from this year
Start planning Mother’s Day if your customers are in the UK or Ireland (it’s 7 March)
Clean up your email list and say hello to new subscribers

February

Valentine’s Day (14 February): gifts, treats, or a “love your customers” email
Start talking about anything you’re selling for Mother’s Day and Easter

March

International Women’s Day (8 March), Mothering Sunday (7 March, UK and Ireland)
Easter weekend is 26 to 29 March
End of quarter: your first check-in. What worked?

April

Spring launches and fresh offers
Start talking about US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Mother’s Day (9 May) if you sell there

May

Two UK bank holiday weekends (3 May and 31 May): long-weekend offers
Start planning Father’s Day (20 June in the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada)

June

Halfway point! Your second check-in, and a mid-year “how’s it going?” email to your list
Australia’s financial year ends on 30 June

July and August

Summer can be quieter: a great time to create content and plan your autumn
Back-to-school and “September fresh start” content goes out in late August

September

The second “new year”: people are ready to get going again
Third check-in, and plan your Black Friday and Christmas in detail now

October

Start talking about Christmas gifts and last order dates
Halloween (31 October), and the UK and Irish clocks go back the same day

November

Black Friday (26 November) and Cyber Monday (29 November): your offer, or a deliberate “not doing it” email
Small Business Saturday UK is coming up on 4 December

December

Last posting dates, gift vouchers and a big thank-you to your customers
Look back at your year, and plan 2028

Tip: Write down what you DID each week, not just what you planned. Emailed my list. Posted. Did a video. Had a win. At the end of the month you’ll think, “Oh! I did quite a lot actually.”

Want this done for you?

This is exactly what the Awesome Marketing Planner™ System 2027 walks you through, step by step. It isn’t just a book, it’s six parts:

📖 The printed PlannerA5 hardback with gold foil: your year in numbers, your promotions, a monthly bundle for every month and weekly pages.
🎓 The Planner PortalMy training for every page, so you’re never stuck on what to write.
📱 The planner appYour target broken down by month, your sales each week and a chart of your year.
👭 The Facebook groupShare your wins and plan alongside other women in business.
👢 The Monday Bum KickAn email from me every Monday with one thing to do that week.
🖍️ The ExtrasExtra pages to print, worksheets, resources and colouring sheets.

The planner app: My numbers — The planner app keeps your numbers in your pocket.

The planner app: My cash flow — The planner app keeps your numbers in your pocket.

Love, Claire x

Your questions

When should I start planning my marketing for 2027?

Now is perfect. Planning in November and December means your January is ready before it arrives, and you can plan your spring promotions (Mother’s Day, Easter) in good time.

How detailed does a marketing plan need to be?

Much less than you think. Know your sales target, the three or four promotions you’ll run, and one simple thing you’ll do every week to get seen. That’s a plan.

Is the checklist free?

Yes. The whole month-by-month checklist is on this page: no sign-up needed.