Your First Marketing Plan, Written With AI: An 8-Step Checklist You Can Paste

You've launched, or you're about to. Now everyone says "do marketing," and it sounds like a fog: social media, SEO, ads, email, a brand. Where do you start?

Start smaller than you think. Your first marketing plan is one customer, one message, and one channel, done every week. Everything else can wait until that works.

Below is the checklist we'd hand a friend, in order. Each step comes with a prompt you can paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or whichever AI assistant you use. Fill in the brackets and the AI does the first draft. You make the decisions.

Before you start: give the AI something to work with

AI tools write generic marketing when you give them a generic request. The more real context you paste in, the less the output sounds like everyone else's. Keep a single note with your one-sentence problem, your notes from customer conversations, and examples of writing you like. Paste from it into each prompt.

If you followed our validation post, you already have the best raw material: five conversations with people who have the problem.

1. Pick one customer

"Small businesses" or "anyone who cooks" isn't a customer. A specific person with a specific situation is. Marketing written for one clear person works better than marketing written for everybody.

I'm starting a business that solves this problem: [your one-sentence problem]. Here are my notes from conversations with potential customers: [paste notes, with no names or contact details]. Write a one-paragraph profile of my most likely first customer: their situation, what they've already tried, what worries them, and the exact words they use to describe the problem. Use only what's in my notes, and mark anything you're guessing.

2. Find what they're buying

People don't buy the service itself. They buy what changes for them afterward. Someone hiring a bookkeeper is buying the relief of not dreading tax season. Your marketing should name the outcome, not describe the product.

My business offers [what you sell] to [the customer from step 1]. Ask "so what?" about it five times. Each time, name what the customer gets out of the previous answer, until you reach how their life or work feels different. Then write one sentence that states that final outcome in the customer's own words.

3. Write your one-line offer and a headline

The headline is what gets someone to read the next sentence. It goes on your website, your ads, your email subject lines, and your social posts. Write ten, then pick the one a stranger would understand in three seconds.

Here's my customer: [profile from step 1]. Here's the outcome they want: [sentence from step 2]. Write a one-line offer that says what I sell, who it's for, and what changes for them. Then write 10 headlines for my website. Make them specific and plain. No hype words, no exclamation points, and no promises of results I can't guarantee.

4. Choose one channel to start

A channel is wherever your customer already spends attention: a local Facebook group, Google search, LinkedIn, a trade association, the counter at a supply store. Pick one and give it a real try before adding a second. Spreading thin across five is how marketing turns into busywork.

My customer is [profile from step 1]. I have [hours] hours per week and $[amount] per month for marketing. Compare three channels where this customer already spends time. For each one, tell me where exactly, what I'd post or do, the weekly time, the cost, and how I'd know it's working within 30 days. Recommend one to start with and explain why.

5. Claim the basics

Before anyone looks you up, make sure there's something to find. A simple website or one-page site, consistent business name and hours everywhere, and, if you serve a local area, a Google Business Profile so you can show up in Maps and local search. When a customer searches your name, they should find you, not a guess.

Write a short business description for [business name], a [type of business] serving [area or audience]. Say what we do and who it's for in plain language. No prices, no promotions, and no all-caps. Then give me a shorter version under 160 characters for social media profiles.

6. Start an email list on day one

Followers on a social platform belong to the platform. If the account gets locked or the algorithm changes, they're gone. An email list is the one audience you own. Start collecting addresses before you think you need them, with a small free resource in exchange.

Write a short sign-up offer for my website: a free [checklist, guide, or template] that helps [customer from step 1] with [their first problem]. Then write a 3-email welcome sequence. Email 1 delivers the free resource. Email 2 shares one useful tip. Email 3 briefly explains why I started this business and invites a reply. Keep each email under 150 words.

Before you send marketing email, read the FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide. Among other things, it requires a valid physical postal address in your messages and a clear way for people to opt out.

7. Turn customer questions into your first four posts

The questions people asked you during validation are your first content plan. If one person asked it, many more are searching for it. Answer the question first, give practical steps, and end with one next step.

Here are questions potential customers asked me: [paste the questions]. Pick the four most common and turn each into an outline for a blog or social post. Each outline should answer the question in the first two sentences, give practical steps, and end with one next step: [your next step, such as booking a call or joining your email list].

If you plan to share customer reviews or testimonials, the FTC's Endorsement Guides FAQ explains the rules on honesty and disclosure.

8. Track one number per channel

You don't need a dashboard yet. You need one number that tells you whether the channel is working, checked once a week. If you can't say what you'd measure, you can't tell whether it's working.

I'm marketing my business on [channel from step 4]. Set up a 10-minute weekly review for me. Tell me the one number to track for this channel, where to find it, what would count as progress after four weeks, and what would tell me it's time to try a different channel.

How to get useful output (and avoid bad advice)

• Paste real context. Your notes, your customer's words, and examples you like beat any clever prompt.
• Never paste private customer data. Names, emails, and phone numbers stay out of AI tools.
• Check every fact. AI assistants can state wrong prices, rules, and statistics with total confidence. Verify anything legal, financial, or numerical at the source.
• Edit in your own voice. Treat the output as a first draft. Your customers should hear you, not the tool.

Get all eight prompts on one page

We put the eight prompts, with space to note your answers, into a free printable Marketing Prompt Pack.

Download the free Marketing Prompt Pack →

Still working through the launch itself? Our free 2-minute Business Launch Assessment marks what you've done and shows your next step. Marketing works best once the launch basics are in place.

Which step are you stuck on: picking the customer, or picking the channel? Tell us in the comments. The common answers become future posts.

This post is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Marketing and email rules vary and change over time. Confirm your situation with a qualified professional.