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How to Create a Marketing Calendar to Plan Your E-Commerce Promotions & Content

It’s January, so that means planning for the year ahead!

This blog post will walk you through how to create a marketing calendar using Excel. A well-organized marketing calendar helps you plan your promotions and content posting for the year, ensuring your website stays fresh and your customers engaged. While it may feel like extra work initially, having a marketing calendar can save you time and stress throughout the year.

Why Use a Marketing Calendar?

If you’re thinking, “I don’t have time for content posting; I have too many other things to worry about,” I hear you! But that’s exactly why a marketing calendar is helpful. It forces you to:

  • Focus on the key activities you can plan for the year.
  • Map out those activities in advance.
  • Set reminders and allocate time for content creation and promotions.

With a calendar in place, it’s easier to create a steady flow of content and promotions that keep your customers interested.

Step 1: Set Up Your Marketing Calendar in Excel

Start by creating a simple marketing calendar using an Excel spreadsheet. If you’d like a head start, I’ve created a basic template that you can download and customize to fit your needs (see end of this post).

Key Columns to Include:

  1. Weeks of the Year: Will include the dates of each week
  2. Holidays and Themes: Will include holidays, notable dates and seasons
  3. Marketing Channels:
  • Website updates
  • Blog posts
  • Email campaigns
  • Social media posts

Feel free to modify these columns based on your business. If you don’t use a blog, delete that column.

Add columns for specific platforms like LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook or other advertising channels as needed.

Step 2: Populate the Marketing Calendar with Key Dates

Start by filling in important holidays and seasonal themes relevant to your business. For example:

  • Valentine’s Day
  • Mother’s Day
  • Back to School
  • Thanksgiving

Think about events that align with your products or services. For example, apparel retailers might promote spring clothing a few weeks before the first day of spring. Add notes for when to update your website or run promotions.

Step 3: Fill in Your Marketing Ideas

Once your basic calendar is set up, start filling in your planned promotions and content ideas. For example:

Week 1 (New Year’s):

  • Run a New Year’s promotion on your website.
  • Send a Happy New Year email to your customers.

Valentine’s Day:

  • Create a Gifts category and populate it with Valentine’s gift ideas
  • Set up a free gift with purchase promotion.

It’s okay to leave some weeks blank. You can fill them in as ideas come to you or when new opportunities arise.

Step 4: Set Up Reminders

Use your business or personal calendar to set reminders for key tasks. For example:

  • Two weeks before a seasonal promotion: Update your website with banners or product categories.
  • One month before Mother’s Day: Start promoting gift ideas for women.

Planning ahead ensures you’re not scrambling at the last minute and you allow enough time for marketing and shipping.

Step 5: Review and Adjust Annually

At the end of the year, review your calendar and create a new tab for the upcoming year. Copy your existing content and adjust dates as needed. This way, you can see what worked last year and make improvements.

Bonus Tips for Social Media Management

If you do a lot of social media posting, consider using a social media management tool like Sprout Social to schedule posts in advance. Social media content tools will also let you write one post and push it to multiple platforms.

If you prefer manual posting, just set reminders in your calendar to ensure you stay on track.

Download my free Excel template below, customize it for your business, and start planning your marketing activities. A little effort now can make a huge difference in keeping your e-commerce site fresh and engaging all year long.

Happy planning!

Download the 2025 Marketing Calendar Template

(If you’re downloading this file after 2025, you’ll need to update the dates and default holidays.)