Creating an Ecommerce Marketing Plan That Actually Works

After running ecommerce stores for over a decade and consulting for brands of all shapes and sizes, I've come to a pretty simple conclusion:

Most ecommerce businesses are actually pretty good products – they fail because they have no idea what they're doing when it comes to marketing.

I see a lot of store owners just sort of ‘go for it' when it comes to launching their store, setting up a few ads, posting on social media and then getting all sorts of confused when the sales don't magically appear. They're like “Uh, I guess our product is just rubbish” or “I guess ecommerce just doesn't work”.

But the real problem is they're just making it all up as they go along.

A solid ecommerce marketing plan takes all the guesswork out of it.

It gives you a clear roadmap on how to find the right customers, get them to buy, and then keep them coming back for more.

In this article, I'm going to show you exactly how to build a step-by-step ecommerce marketing plan that actually drives some real money through your door – not just a bunch of traffic or pointless likes.

Why Ecommerce Brands Keep Burning Cash Without A Plan

I've worked with loads of brands that have blown through tens of thousands of dollars on ads before they even figured out who they were targeting.

They just throw money at Meta and Google and hope for a miracle.

The pattern goes something like this:

• No clue what your monthly revenue goal is
• Not a single clue about who your customer even is
• You're using every marketing channel under the sun with no real strategy in place
• You're obsessed with likes, followers and reach – rather than actual profit
• You're running discount after discount without even having a clue what your margins are
• You're ignoring email and retention marketing altogether
• You've got no system in place for tracking or improving anything

If any of that rings a bell, don't worry – it's all totally fixable. You just need to get a handle on your marketing strategy.

Step 1 – Setting Your Revenue Goal (Not Just Some Vague Idea)

The first thing i ask clients to think about is this:

How much cash do you actually want to make this year?

Most of the time they give me something like ‘I want to scale' or ‘I want more traffic'. But traffic doesn't pay the bills. Revenue does.

Here's how i break it down:

Start with your revenue number

Let's say you want to make $100k this year.

Work backward from the numbers

Metric	Example
Target Revenue	$100,000
Average Order Value (AOV)	$50
Conversion Rate	2%
Required Traffic	100,000 visits

To hit $100,000 with an AOV of $50 and a 2% conversion rate, you’ll need about 100,000 visitors to your store.

Just use this simple formula: Traffic x Conversion Rate x AOV = Revenue

Once you've got the numbers sorted, the rest of your marketing plan becomes about driving the right traffic and adjusting the right levers to get more sales.

Step 2 – Know Exactly Who You're Selling To

You can't sell to just anyone.

One of the biggest mistakes ecommerce founders make is building a store for “anyone who might possibly buy from us”. That usually ends up with you sending out vague messages, wasting ad spend and ending up with super low conversions.

I've learned the hard way that knowing your customer better than they know themselves is what really drives growth.

Build simple customer avatars

You don't need a 10 page document on demographic stuff. Just answer these questions:

• What's the customer's biggest pain point?
• Why would they even buy your product?
• What alternatives have they tried?
• Where do they hang out online?
• What makes them hesitant about buying?

Some real-life examples from past projects

For a skincare brand I worked with, the target customer wasn't “women aged 25–45”. It was: “Busy working mums who are sick of expensive skincare that doesn't work and just want clean, effective products they can trust.”

That kind of insight shaped everything – from email copy to ad targeting.

Where to find this kind of info:

• Read product reviews on Amazon
• Search for threads on Reddit
• Look at comments on TikTok under competitor content
• Run some customer interviews
• Get some feedback from post-purchase surveys

When you actually speak your customer's language and solve their problem, conversion rates just jump – sometimes overnight.

Step 3 – Pick Your Core Marketing Channels

The first thing I ask when creating a marketing plan is this: Where are your customers actually spending their time?

Too many store owners are trying to do too many things at once – I mean, which channel really works for you?

Usually, most ecommerce brands only need three channels:

Pick one for each area:

Type	Channel Options
Paid	Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads
Organic	SEO, YouTube, Pinterest
Retention	Email, SMS, Loyalty Program

Here's how i'd recommend starting:

• Meta Ads (paid): pretty much worth it for most product niches
• SEO (organic): long-term traffic that compounds
• Email (retention): highest ROI if you use it right.

Don’t try to master all three channels overnight. Start by choosing the one that makes the most sense for your niche and budget, and then layer in the other ones over time.

Watch out for these costly mistakes:

• Spending on paid ads before you've got decent product pages to back them up
• Writing blog posts without doing any keyword research first
• Neglecting email because, honestly, it can be a bit dull

Stick with the channels that actually make sense for your customer research. If your audience is hanging out on YouTube, then it's a waste of time posting daily on Twitter.

Step 4 – Map Out Your Sales Funnel

A good ecommerce funnel is more than just throwing ads at a product page. You need to guide people through every single stage of the buying journey.

Here's how I approach it:

The basic ecommerce funnel:

Funnel Stage	What They Need	Example
Awareness	Get their attention	TikTok video, influencer post
Consideration	Build trust	Product reviews, FAQs
Conversion	Make the sale	Product page, offer, urgency
Retention	Bring them back	Email flow, loyalty offer

Your marketing should cover all of the bases:

• Top of Funnel (TOF): Run some paid ads, post some social content, drive some blog traffic
• Middle of Funnel (MOF): Use email to connect with people, retargeting to bring back people who've already shown interest, product comparisons to make your product stand out
• Bottom of Funnel (BOF): Offer some limited-time deals, bundle up some products together, make sure your CTAs are strong

A few tools that can help with this:

• Klaviyo for setting up automated email sequences
• Shopify Flow for post-purchase upsells
• Hotjar or Lucky Orange to see where people are dropping off on your site

If your funnel is leaking – which means people are finding your brand but not converting – it's almost always because you're missing some crucial piece in this flow.

Step 5 – Track What Actually Matters

I've had clients who were obsessed with Instagram followers and TikTok views, while barely paying any attention to their profit margins.

That's not a marketing plan – that's just playing around on social media.

Here's what I track every single week for every ecommerce business I run:

The Core Metrics:

• Revenue
• Ad spend
• Return on ad spend (ROAS)
• Cost per acquisition (CPA)
• Conversion rate
• Average order value (AOV)
• Customer lifetime value (LTV)

If you're just starting out, use a simple Google Sheet and update it every Friday.

An Example Table:

Metric	Target	Actual
Revenue	$10,000	$9,200
AOV	$55	$52
Conversion Rate	2.5%	2.1%
ROAS	3.0	2.8

Tools that can make tracking easier:

• Google Analytics 4
• Triple Whale
• Northbeam
• Shopify Analytics

The goal here isn't to be perfect – it's to make progress. When you track the right things, you start to see patterns and make better decisions.

Step 6 – Get a Plan in Place (Weekly Breakdown)

Planning is just a waste of time if you're not going to follow through.

One way I've helped teams stay on track is with a simple weekly marketing rhythm. You don't need any fancy software – just a calendar and a bit of accountability.

A Sample Weekly Breakdown:

Day	Focus
Monday	Content planning + creative production
Tuesday	Send email campaign
Wednesday	Analyze ad performance
Thursday	Write 1 blog post (SEO)
Friday	Review KPIs + adjust for next week

Stick to this rhythm for 3 months and you'll start to see momentum.

Some Pro Tips:

• Batch create content so you're not scrambling every day to come up with something new
• Keep a file of good ads, headlines, emails that actually convert
• Use AI as a starting point, but always edit manually to make sure it sounds like you

Most ecommerce stores that stay consistent for 3+ months with a real plan start seeing some traction – even in tough markets.

Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Keep Moving

After 12+ years in ecommerce, here's what I've learned:

The brands that win aren't the ones with all the fancy tools or the biggest budgets. They're the ones with a clear plan and the discipline to stick to it.

Don't overcomplicate your ecommerce marketing plan.

Stick to:

• Clear revenue goals
• A deep understanding of your customer
• Focused channels
• A real funnel
• Metrics that actually matter
• Weekly execution

Consistency beats complexity – every single time.