So, I have to be honest, 2014 was a pretty beastly year for us. We planned a wedding, worked really hard, and faced a number of challenges both personally and professionally. As we dive into the New Year, I find myself working on plans to make this new year a little less hectic. There will always be surprises, but there are a few things we can do to make 2015 as bright and beautiful as it should be.

Planning your production and marketing schedule in advance can do wonders for your art biz. A marketing calendar doesn’t need to be overly complicated. I really encourage you to take this, copy it into a new document and make it your own. If you found yourself scrambling around Christmas time to finish those last minute products (like me!), use this simple spreadsheet to map out your 2015.

Step One - Create a Products List

List all of things you already make and things you want to produce this year. Really think on this one for a bit. If you found yourself wanting to make Christmas Cards a few weeks too late, this is your chance to redeem yourself. Our products list looks something like this:

Holiday Cards / Mini Prints
Greeting Card Sets
Greeting Card Stamps
Notebooks
Recipe Cards?
2016 Calendar

Dustin and I work mainly through commissioned work, so we will be filling in our production calendar as we go. I like to map out a few of the major things, and then leave space for commissioned projects along the way.

Step Two - Fill in Key Dates and Map Out Production Schedule

First, fill out the marketing portion as it is the most logical. You will probably start showing off your Christmas Cards in November. Find out the dates for festivals, pop up shops and other selling opportunities. Once you know when you will be advertising things and when your selling opportunities will be, you can organize your production schedule based on your marketing calendar. Boom.

Step Three - Choose Your Marketing Channels

If you look at our template you can see what kinds of blog posts I’m planning on writing and publishing. Ideally these will support what’s going on seasonally in your business. You can use content as a way to engage potential customers. For the first quarter, I’m planning to work through our blog, instagram, facebook and twitter.

Now, the hard part – keep it up to date and hold yourself to it.