3 Digital Marketing Plan Examples (Built for Automation)

Most UK solopreneurs don’t fail because they “need a better idea”. They stall because marketing becomes a weekly scramble: a post here, an email there, a paid boost when sales dip. It’s exhausting, and it’s hard to tell what’s working.

A digital marketing plan fixes that—but only if it’s usable. I’m firmly against 40-page documents that never leave Google Drive. The practical approach is simpler: set a small number of measurable targets, pick the few channels that can realistically move them, then run in 90-day cycles.

Smart Insights’ OSA approach (Opportunity → Strategy → Action) is a solid backbone for that kind of planning. In this post—part of the UK Solopreneur Business Growth series—I’ll translate the three plan examples (FMCG, Financial Services, SaaS) into automation-friendly templates that a one-person business can actually execute.

The 90-day plan structure that stops you winging it

The fastest way to build a digital marketing plan you’ll use is to commit to a 90-day cycle. Long enough to learn. Short enough to stay honest.

Here’s the structure I recommend (and it maps neatly to OSA):

• Opportunity (Week 1): What’s changing in your market and what’s broken internally? (Tracking gaps, inconsistent content, no follow-up, unclear offer.)
• Strategy (Week 2): What will you focus on for 90 days? (A narrow set of channels + one primary objective.)
• Action (Weeks 3–12): What happens every week, and what gets automated so it keeps happening?

Snippet-worthy rule: If your plan doesn’t show what happens on a Tuesday afternoon when you’re busy, it’s not a plan—it’s a wish.

What to include in a digital marketing plan (solopreneur edition)

For a one-person UK business, your plan should fit on 1–2 pages and include:

1. A simple audit: top 3 traffic sources, top 3 pages, top 3 lead sources.
2. One SMART objective: one number, one timeframe.
3. Channel choices: 1–2 acquisition channels + 1 retention channel.
4. Budget and time cap: money and hours per week.
5. Automation map: what runs weekly, what runs always-on, what triggers follow-up.
6. KPIs you’ll check: a tiny dashboard you can review in 10 minutes.

Example 1: FMCG-style plan (but adapted for UK solopreneurs)

Best for: Etsy sellers, DTC product founders, local makers, subscription boxes.

Original example objective (from the RSS): “Achieve 10% more traffic onto focus landing pages within 3 months.”

Opportunity: you’re visible… but not consistently

For many product-led solopreneurs, organic traffic exists, but it’s fragile:

• you rank for long-tail searches accidentally
• your social posts spike then vanish
• you don’t have a repeatable content engine

The fix isn’t “post more.” It’s build one repeatable workflow that increases qualified sessions to a small set of pages.

Strategy: choose 1 landing page + 1 content format + 1 distribution loop

Pick one “focus landing page” (a product category, bestseller, or gift guide) and build a three-part loop:

• Content: one weekly piece (e.g., short blog post, product story, seasonal use-case)
• Repurpose: convert that into 3–5 social posts
• Capture: add one lead magnet or offer (e.g., “10% off first order”)

Action: automate the boring parts so output stays steady

Automation for a solo product business should prioritise consistency:

• Social scheduling: batch-create posts once per week, schedule 2–4 weeks ahead
• Email capture + welcome series: 3–5 email sequence triggered on signup
• Weekly reporting: automated dashboard email every Monday

KPIs for the 90 days:

• Sessions to the focus landing page (+10%)
• Email signups from that page
• Conversion rate (don’t ignore it—traffic without conversion is noise)

Tiny example workflow (that works even when you’re busy):

1. Friday: write one 600–900 word post aimed at a buying intent keyword
2. Same sitting: create 5 social captions from it
3. Scheduler publishes for you
4. Welcome sequence converts new signups while you ship orders

Example 2: Financial services plan (the perfect automation use-case)

Best for: mortgage brokers, financial advisers, accountants, bookkeepers, home-services finance partners.

Original example objective (from the RSS): “Achieve a 5% increase in returning customers applying for home improvements loans.”

This example is gold for automation because the biggest problem in service businesses is rarely lead gen—it’s follow-up and segmentation.

Opportunity: you’re sending one-off emails to everyone

If you’re a UK service solopreneur, you’ve probably done this:

• send a newsletter when you remember
• treat the list as one group
• don’t track which clients are likely to buy again

That’s not a content issue. It’s a system issue.

Strategy: build an “always-on” lifecycle, not campaigns from scratch

Your 90-day strategy should be to install a basic lifecycle:

• Segment by reality, not hope: e.g., “past clients”, “recent enquiries”, “not ready yet”
• Create 3 core email journeys:
  1. new enquiry nurture (7–14 days)
  2. post-service follow-up (30/60/90 days)
  3. returning client offer (seasonal or need-based)

January is a particularly strong moment to do this: people are resetting finances, planning home projects, and reviewing providers. Your job is to be present without manually chasing.

Action: automate client reactivation with simple triggers

Automation actions that move the needle here:

• CRM tagging: tag contacts by service, property type, stage, or last interaction date
• Trigger-based follow-ups:
  • “Application started but not finished” → reminder email
  • “Client completed project finance” → check-in + referral prompt after 45 days
  • “No response after quote” → 2-step nudge over 7 days

KPIs for the 90 days:

• Returning-customer application rate (+5%)
• Email engagement by segment (open rate isn’t everything, but it’s a useful health check)
• Lead-to-consult booked rate

Opinion: If you’re in financial services and you’re still relying on ad hoc emails, you’re leaving repeat revenue on the table. Compliance matters—so build compliant templates once and let automation run them consistently.

Example 3: B2B SaaS plan (positioning first, automation second)

Best for: B2B consultants, small agencies, SaaS founders, fractional specialists.

Original example objective (from the RSS): “Increase new business accounts AOV by 10%.”

For solopreneurs, “AOV” translates to bigger retainers, higher-value packages, or longer contracts.

Opportunity: you’re getting interest, but not premium buyers

A common plateau:

• you can generate leads
• discovery calls happen
• but deals stay small because the value proposition isn’t landing

Automation can’t fix unclear positioning. But once you sharpen messaging, automation helps you repeat it across touchpoints.

Strategy: run a 90-day authority campaign aimed at bigger buyers

The goal is not “more content.” It’s more consistent proof that you solve expensive problems.

A tight plan:

• Choose 1 niche and 1 high-stakes problem
• Build a “message spine” (3–5 core claims you’ll repeat)
• Publish one flagship asset (case study, teardown, benchmark, or mini-report)

Action: automate distribution and lead progression

Once the flagship asset exists, automation makes it usable:

• Editorial calendar: plan 12 weeks of supporting posts
• Repurposing workflow: flagship → 6 LinkedIn posts → 2 emails → 1 webinar outline
• Lead scoring (simple): clicks + replies + page visits trigger an invite to a consult
• Pipeline nudges: reminders for you when a lead hits a threshold

KPIs for the 90 days:

• Average deal size (+10%)
• Sales cycle length (often improves when messaging is clear)
• Demo/consult conversion rate

How to connect OSA planning to automation (without overcomplicating it)

Here’s the cleanest way to translate Opportunity → Strategy → Action into an automation build list.

Opportunity: automate measurement first

If you can’t see what’s happening, you can’t improve it.

Minimum measurement stack:

• website analytics tracking
• conversion events (form submit, booking, checkout)
• weekly KPI snapshot delivered automatically

Strategy: choose automation that protects your time

A one-person business doesn’t need dozens of workflows. Start with three:

1. Capture: form/lead magnet → tag → welcome series
2. Nurture: segment-based email journey
3. Reactivation: “last touch was 90 days ago” → check-in sequence

Action: make it “set and check”, not “set and forget”

Automation still needs stewardship. Put this in your diary:

• Weekly (15 minutes): check leads generated, replies, booked calls, unsubscribe spikes
• Monthly (45 minutes): test one subject line, one CTA, one landing page headline
• End of 90 days: keep, kill, or improve each workflow

Quick FAQ (what UK solopreneurs usually ask)

Do I need a full RACE-style funnel to start?

No. Start with one objective, one landing page (or offer page), and one automated follow-up sequence. Expand when results justify it.

Which should I automate first: social media or email?

Email. Social builds attention; email converts attention into predictable follow-up and repeat business.

What’s a realistic time budget for this?

2–4 hours per week can run a credible 90-day plan if you batch content and use automation for scheduling and follow-ups.

The next 90 days: plan it once, let automation do the heavy lifting

Digital marketing plan examples are useful because they show structure. The real win for a UK solopreneur is turning that structure into repeatable, automated habits: consistent publishing, consistent follow-up, and consistent measurement.

If you want a simple starting point, copy one of the three patterns above (product, services, or B2B) and run it for 90 days. Don’t add extra channels halfway through. Don’t rebuild your website. Just ship consistently and measure the result.

What would change in your business by April if your follow-up ran automatically—and you only had to focus on serving clients and improving one offer?