5-Day Marketing Plan for Startup Founders [With Examples]

There are SO MANY marketing ideas.

You can do everything. And this makes a choice so much harder.

Here is my 5-day marketing roadmap for Solopreneurs who are just getting started. With actionable next steps and real-world examples.

[That will be a big article. Get ready to grab value]

Day 1 — Positioning

Product positioning is the foundation of your marketing.

Fail it, and users will ignore your product.

Hopefully, you won’t be in this situation with our playbook.

Why should you care? 🧠

There are three reasons why you should focus on sharpening your positioning.

1. All marketing activities depend on your positioning. Even the best copywriter won’t save you if you have a poor value proposition.
2. Upgrading positioning is a quick win. Different messaging can increase the conversion rate instantly. It can also decrease, but we will be careful there 😂
3. Working with positioning makes you smarter. The better you understand the target audience and market, the easier it is to craft a stunning positioning. Today you will learn more about your niche.

How does it work? 🎱

Positioning answers three essential questions:

1. Who are you?
2. What value can a customer get from you?
3. How are you different from other solutions?

Here is how this framework applies to a to-do app.

1. Competitive alternatives

Customers are already solving their problems. Love or hate it; your product has competitors.

Study their weak points to make your product and marketing better.

Your competitors are a goldmine of insights.

2. Target Audience

There are a lot of segments that have your problem. But you need to start somewhere.

What segment cares the most about the value you are providing?

Describe it as Persona. Don’t be afraid to niche down.

3. Unique Product

Your product has a set of unique features that differentiate you from others.

We won’t sell your features. But we will sell value from these features.

Make sure you know the difference.

4. Value proposition

It’s your Jobs-To-Be-Done, the reason why people buy your product.

Describe as simply as possible what value your product brings.

Don’t focus on the process; sell the positive outcome.

5. Objections

Selling a product is the ultimate test of your positioning.

Your customers ask tough questions about the promised value. The better you answer them, the more money you will get.

That’s why handling objections is a critical part of your positioning.

Free resources to learn more 🤩

• Article “Positioning”
• Article “14 Examples of Strong Brand Positioning and Why They Work”
• Video “Seth Godin’s Approach to Market Positioning Is Genius”

What’s next? ⚡️

Now you better understand your product and how to market it.

We will rely on this knowledge a lot.

Day 2 — Landing Page

Let's talk about your landing page.

Making a website that sells is hard. But there is a way to increase your conversion rate in 3 hours.

Let’s learn how to nail your Hero block.

Why should you care? 🧠

Hero block is the first screen that your users see. Here’s why it’s so important

1. If it doesn’t click, users will leave. People have more important things than reading a website that can’t describe itself clearly.
2. If it grabs attention, imperfections are not critical. You won’t have a flawless landing page in the beginning. Your users will be okay with it if your Hero block is outstanding.

If you have one day to optimize your landing page, spend it on the Hero block.

How does it work? 🎱

Your landing page is divided into the first thing users see (Hero block) and everything else.

Hero block helps you to deliver a value proposition without overwhelming users.

Let’s learn about Hero Block with the Sponsor This Newsletter example.

1. Heading 1

Describe what value customers will get after using your product. Add emotion, bold claim, or handle the objections.

Don’t tell users what your product does. Instead, tell them what positive outcome they will get.

Heading 1 is your Positioning from the previous lesson.

2. Product description

You got users’ attention. Now it’s time to explain how your product will deliver the promised value.

Describe your product by highlighting unique features. Keep the description brief — 2 or 3 sentences.

Repeat your positioning in a slightly different way. This way, more users will understand your offer.

3. Product visual

Show your product with images, gifs, and videos. People scan visuals faster than they read the text.

Focus on the most critical flow. Simplify design not to overwhelm users.

The stunning design is usually more important than 90% of the text on your landing page.

4. Social proof

You are likely a new player in the market. As a result, users will have doubts about your product.

Show them that you can be trusted. For example, embed the Product Hunt badge, the number of customers, or the average rating.

But don’t overwhelm users with info. Keep it short. You will have more social proof below.

5. Call-to-Action (CTA)

This is the desired next step for users. It should be aligned with your Heading 1 (Value proposition).

Don’t hesitate to include “free” in the button text if you have a free plan or trial. If your product is complicated, a CTA could lead to the next block on the landing page.

Pro-tip — “Book a demo” is often a poor CTA.

Free resources to learn more 🤩

• Playbook “Above the Fold”
• Article “10 Tips to Increase Landing Page Conversion Rate in 2022”
• Article “My step-by-step guide to landing pages that convert”

What’s next? ⚡️

Now you have a Hero block that converts better.

We will test it soon.

Day 3 — Cold Twitter DMs

Let's talk about cold DMs.

Twitter DMs could be ugly and annoying. We will learn how to make them clear and useful.

This lesson will unlock the power of outreach.

Why should you care? 🧠

Twitter DMs are a critical acquisition channel for Indie Entrepreneurs. Here is why:

1. You often don’t need a lot of users. Sure, going viral is nice. But in the beginning, you only need a few sales to validate the problem and iterate on the solution.
2. Get leads. If you are building a B2B product, you can get new leads weekly.
3. Get partners. If you are building a B2C product, you can get new partners weekly.

Cold DMs help you to get started. Then you can steadily switch to inbound marketing.

How does it work? 🎱

I’ve reached out to hundreds of people on Twitter. This is how my cold DM framework was born.

Let’s analyze it on the example of the real cold DM for Sponsor This Newsletter. I sent it to newsletter creators to get them in the database.

1. Personalization

Use Creator’s name. That’s enough to make it look more human.

Mention their latest tweet, article, or episode to go beyond.

The more famous Creator, the more genuine personalization you need.

2. Elephant in the room

They know it is a cold DM. Acknowledge this and make it less awkward for everyone.

Icebreakers signal that you are not a bot (if you write them well enough).

3. Context

Creators don’t understand who you are and why you are DMing them.

Give them a quick overview in one sentence.

But don’t tell your whole life story.

4. Offer

Answer the question, “So what?”.

Bonus points if you highlight positive outcomes for users (I forgot to do it 😅).

But don’t get too cheesy. Smart people don’t believe in “get rich fast” schemes.

5. Call-to-Action

Your next action should be a no-brainer to Creators.

Otherwise, they will procrastinate answering your DM.

Jumping on the call is not a great offer. Start smaller.

6. Objection

Creators have doubts about your offer.

Handle the biggest objection before they type it. This way, more people will respond.

Free resources to learn more 🤩

• Article “Cold Outreach 101: How to Send Better Cold Emails”
• Newsletter issue “#14 Weekly Dan — Cold Twitter DM”
• Twitter thread “To send a cold DM with a high probability of success”

What’s next? ⚡️

Now you know how to promote your product directly. Leverage this skill daily.

Just don’t spam people, please.

Day 4 — Audience Building on Twitter

Let's talk about audience building.

Indie Entrepreneurs can’t spend $100K on Facebook ads. But they can build a loyal tribe and have “free” marketing.

Start growing on Twitter, and user acquisition will never be the same.

Why should you care? 🧠

Audience building is often the primary acquisition channel for Indie Entrepreneurs. Here is why:

1. Audience building is “free”. You only spend your time creating and distributing content.
2. People trust people more than brands. Competing with a big brand is easier because following Indie Entrepreneur is more exciting than following Nestle.
3. Tech Twitter is full of early adopters. You will need first beta-testers and customers. There are plenty of them on Twitter. People are willing to test and pay for imperfect products.

If you are not already building an audience, it’s your sign to start.

How does it work? 🎱

Audience building is a HUGE topic to uncover.

Today we will master three quick wins:

• Converting bio
• Effective content matrix
• Viral-friendly threads

I will share examples from my audience-building journey.

1. Converting bio

Remember positioning from the first day? You also have one on Twitter.

And the better you communicate it in your bio, the more followers you will get.

Follow the simple formula:

• Social proof
• Value for followers
• CTA to check

2. Effective content matrix

The biggest audience-building mistake? Tweeting random stuff that comes to your mind.

People followed you, expecting certain content. So you need to deliver it.

I use this formula to plan my content

• Divide a week into 14 content slots (twice per day)
• List 3 big topics I will tweet about
• Fill each slot with a topic and format
  <> One-liner
  <> Thread
  <> Visual
  <> Engage
  <> Screenshot / Video
• Tweet accordingly

3. Viral-friendly threads

Love it or hate it, threads work. They increase your authority and boost engagement.

But only if the content inside is one of a kind. Nobody likes platitudes.

Follow the FUEL framework (by Kevon Cheung) to increase your chances of going viral.

• Facts — provide stats, screenshots, quotes, templates, and real stories
• Unfold — grab attention within 2 seconds
• Emotion — help your readers experience an emotion
• Learning — make people smarter with your content

Free resources to learn more 🤩

• Article “How to Get 1000 Followers on Twitter in 50 Days [Ultimate Guide for Indie Entrepreneurs]”
• Article “How to create Twitter content that resonates and drives revenue”
• Article “Pocket Guide: How to Use Twitter to Build in Public”

What’s next? ⚡️

Today you will spend a lot of time on Twitter. Without feeling guilty 😅

Day 5 — Content Marketing

Let's talk about content marketing.

You should always go beyond audience building on Twitter and start creating content on external platforms.

It can be your Product Blog, Medium, Newsletter, or Indie Hackers. You name it

Why should you care? 🧠

You should level up your content marketing game for three reasons:

1. It’s free marketing. You don’t need to spend money on buying ads. Just publish a great post and distribute it well — users will come.
2. Educated (or entertained) users are more likely to buy your product. If you give a lot of value for free, people will start to trust you. It will be a piece of cake to sell your product later.
3. It makes you smarter about your niche. You can’t create high-quality content without getting new knowledge about your target audience. So every article makes you a better Maker.

The bottom line, you need to double down on content marketing.

How does it work? 🎱

You can’t just write content and click “Publish”. It could work 15 years ago, but now you need to compete for attention.

This process will help you out:

1. Research
2. Create
3. Promote
4. Distribute

Let’s apply this approach to an article in MakerBox Blog — 10 Low-Budget Marketing Ideas For a Startup in 2022” article.

1. Research

Someone already created content you plan to share. So let’s learn from their experience.

Search for 2-3 references before writing a single line. This rule works with everything: articles, threads, TikTok, and Youtube.

Understand what is missing in their content and how to improve it. You will save hours of procrastination.

If you write content that should be SEO-friendly, pay attention to keywords,  estimated traffic, and competition. I use Keywords Everywhere for MakerBox. It’s the most affordable SEO tool.

2. Create

Now it’s time to create killing content. These 5 tips improved my content marketing dramatically.

• Have a clear structure. Users don’t have time for abstract and unclear content. They skim your content, and if it looks promising, they read it. A clear structure is a must-have in 2022.
• Use unique visuals. Photo stock images and generic illustrations are red flags. Invest a few hours and create high-quality slides and gifs. People desire visuals better than a copy.
• Have an opinion. The time of generic content has ended. People follow you to read your opinion about a specific topic. Even if you are a company. Create content from a unique angle.
• Create custom frameworks. Everyone loves frameworks. You should create yours too. It doesn’t have to be the new AIDA. Start small, and you will see a massive boost in authority.
• Don’t worry about the length. If your newsletter issue is 200 words, it’s fine. If your article is 10000 words, it’s fine. If you have value to provide, don’t think about it.

3. Promote

You create content to promote your product.

The critical mistake is to only have the link to your product at the end of the article. This way, you will lose 50-80% of possible clicks.

Instead, embed your product in the content. Your promotion becomes less annoying because it also brings value.

And add a straightforward promotion in the first 25% of the article. Most users don’t need to read the full article to click on your CTA.

4. Distribution

Now the fun begins. You need to show your content to as many people as possible without being annoying.

Distribution includes SEO, social media, email list, repackaging, and integration in the marketing funnel.

The more effort you put in, the more outcome you will see.

Free resources to learn more 🤩

• Tweet “38 copywriting lessons from David Ogilvy”
• Article “How to Write Absolutely Addictive Articles”
• Article “How to promote a newsletter: 10 tips to grow your email list”

What’s next? ⚡️

Content marketing is a hard skill to master.

But acquiring and nurturing new users will bring you joy once you have it.

Conclusion

Every week should be a marketing week.

Mix your development task with marketing tasks, and your product will skyrocket.

Use this marketing plan as a starting point. Adapt it to get better results.