Build Your Own Digital Marketing Strategy - Essential Steps for Success in 2025

A digital marketing strategy is essential for any business looking to thrive in today's online landscape. The following 9 Step Marketing Strategy outlines the goals, methods, and tools to reach and engage your target audience effectively. With a well-crafted digital marketing plan, you can improve your brand visibility, increase customer engagement, and drive sales.

To create a successful digital marketing strategy, you need to understand various components, such as online marketing channels and best practices. By using different digital and non-digital techniques you can connect more directly with your audience. Engaging your customers in the right way will make a significant difference in your marketing efforts.

The importance of having a clear strategy cannot be overstated. It provides direction and focus as you navigate the complexities of the digital landscape. With the right approach, you can maximise your online presence and achieve your business goals.

Inspired by Allan Dib’s The 1 Page Marketing Plan, this guide simplifies your campaign approach into three phases:

1. Before the Sale

2. During the Sale

3. After the Sale

Each with actionable steps to attract, convert, and retain customers.

Here’s how to build a results-driven marketing strategy for 2025

Let’s dive in…

Key Takeaways

• Any campaign follows a simple 9 step system that can easily be implemented – even if you’re a complete beginner.

• The first (and most important step) starts by understanding your Target Audience in detail.

• A clear strategy is crucial for maximising your product or services online presence.

By understanding these components, anyone can create a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that drives results and builds loyalty.

The 9 Pillars of Marketing Strategy

Building a solid digital marketing strategy involves several crucial steps. Each step focuses on creating a roadmap for reaching your target audience effectively and ensuring their journey with your brand is positive and productive.

This strategy is not only easy to follow and implement it also follows a step-by-step sequence to follow so you only have to focus on one aspect of your marketing strategy at a time.

Phase 1: Before the Sale – Attract Your Ideal Customer

Step 1. Identify Your Target Market: Accurately Pinpoint Your Niche Audience

Forget broad demographics. Define your ideal customer with laser focus. Create detailed buyer personas by analysing pain points, goals, and online behaviours. For example: Instead of targeting “small businesses,” narrow it to “eCommerce start-ups struggling with cart abandonment.” A hyper-specific niche ensures your message resonates deeply.

The reason this stage of the strategy is first (and the most important) is because if you don’t understand who your target audience – or audience(s) is, you won’t understand what problems they have or what solutions they are looking for

Step 2. Craft a Compelling Message (Value Proposition)

Your value proposition is what sets you apart from competitors. Clearly define what you offer and why customers should choose you. It should address the unique benefits of your product or service.

Start by identifying the problems your audience faces. Then explain how your offerings solve these issues effectively. Keep it concise and easy to understand.

Incorporate specific benefits into your messaging. This can include quality, speed, customer service, or price. A strong value proposition increases engagement and builds trust.

You must communicate with them in a way they understand and relate to. If you don’t then they simply won’t listen.

This is why understanding them on a deep level is so important (Step 1. Identify Your Target Market). You need to understand them so you know what it is they want and what marketing messages they’ll pay attention to.

Use frameworks like: “We help [target audience] achieve [specific outcome] by [unique solution].”

Example: “We help eCommerce start-ups recover lost revenue by reducing cart abandonment by 50% in 30 days.” Pair this with emotional storytelling to build urgency and trust.

Step 3. Choose suitable Marketing Channels (Media) to communicate your marketing message.

Once you’ve defined your Target Audience and honed your Compelling Message, the next step is selecting Marketing Channels – strategically - not randomly. This isn’t about chasing trends; it’s about meeting your audience where they already are.

How to Choose the Right Channels

Audience First: If your niche engages on LinkedIn, skip TikTok. Focus only on platforms your ideal customers actively use. Marketing elsewhere is like “talking to an empty room”—a waste of time and money.

Prioritise Ruthlessly: List potential channels (e.g., social media, email, SEO, podcasts) and rank them by:

1. Relevance: Does your audience spend time here?

2. Budget: What can you afford?

3. Resources: Do you have content formats (e.g., video, blogs) suited to the platform?

4. Quality Over Quantity: Focus on 2–3 high-impact channels rather than spreading thin. A smaller, targeted mix outperforms a scattered approach.

Don’t Forget Your Website

Your website is your 24/7 salesperson. Ensure it:

1. Looks Professional: Good website design creates brand credibility.

2. Simplifies Navigation: Visitors should be able find what they need in 3 clicks or less.

3. Loads Quickly: Did you know, slow sites lose 40% of visitors within 3 seconds?

By aligning channels with your audience’s habits and optimising your website, you turn traffic into conversions—no guesswork, no wasted effort.

Key Takeaway: Fish where the fish are. Invest only in channels your audience uses, and make your website a frictionless hub for their journey.

Phase 2: During the Sale – Convert Strangers into Paying Customers

Step 4. Build a Lead Generation Strategy: Capture your website visitors’ email address with Irresistible Offers

You’ve attracted prospective customers to your website through targeted messaging and strategic channels—but don’t let that effort go to waste. The key to maximising your traffic is capturing their contact details before they leave. This transforms anonymous visitors into actionable leads.

How?

Create irresistible lead magnets that offer immediate value, such as:

Free tools (e.g., “Cart Abandonment Audit Checklist”).

Exclusive webinars (“5 Proven Tactics to Boost Conversions”).

Gated content (e.g., free e-books, discounts, or templates).

Pair these offers with high-converting landing pages featuring clear calls-to-action (CTAs) and minimal form fields (ask only for name and email). The simpler the process, the more likely visitors will convert. For passive visitors, use pop-ups or chatbots to engage them in real time—these tools capture leads even when users aren’t actively seeking help.

Once visitors opt in, they join your email list, giving you a direct, low-cost channel to nurture them. Email marketing costs little beyond your software subscription, yet lets you communicate freely—sending tailored content, promotions, or follow-ups on your terms.

The result? You no longer need to rely on expensive paid ads to reach your audience. With a growing email list, you control the relationship, delivering value directly to inboxes and turning subscribers into loyal customers over time.

This strategy ensures every website visitor has the chance to become a long-term asset, not just a fleeting click.

Step 5. Lead Nurturing: Build Trust and Relationships with Automated Follow-Ups

Step 5 is one of the most overlooked (and misunderstood) part of this strategy.

Let me explain.

When somebody visits your website, signs up for your free offer and goes onto your email list it doesn’t mean they are willing to buy from you right now. In fact, only 3% (maximum) of people who sign up for your free offer are willing to buy today.

A further 7% who visit your website are willing to buy from you but in the near future (maybe 7 to 14 days) - but not today.

These people though will only buy from you in the next few weeks if you stay in touch with them. If you don’t have them on your email list and communicate with them over the next few weeks they will forget all about you and buy from one of your competitors.

Now a further 30% of will buy BUT:

1. In the next 3 to 6 months and

2. If you stay in contact with them

The reason they aren’t ready to buy now can be anything. They might not have the money. They may need to consult their partner. They are comparing other similar products or services.

But for one reason or another – The Time Isn’t Right.

BUT, if you take the time to keep in contact with them (using email) when the time is RIGHT, you will stand a better chance of getting the sale.

Now you may be wondering “What about the other 60% of people who sign up for my free offer”?

Unfortunately, the answer is – they will NEVER buy from you.

This means, only a maximum of 40% of people who sign up to your free offer will buy over time. The problem is, you don’t know who that 40% are so you need to regularly email everybody on your list.

The important thing to remember though is: 3% of people (maximum) who visit your website are ready to buy now. BUT another 37% of people who visit your website will buy from you – BUT only if you stay in contact with them, build trust with them and give them value.

Nurturing leads is about building relationships over time. Use email marketing campaigns to deliver relevant content tailored to your buyer personas. Focus on educating and engaging them with informative material.

Segment your email lists based on interests and behaviours. This allows you to send personalised messages that resonate more with the recipients.

Automating your email workflows can save time and ensure timely follow-ups. Use analytics to track engagement and adjust your strategies based on which content performs best.

In Summary - Lead Nurturing – The Silent Sales Engine

Most businesses fail here because they assume leads (website visitors) will return on their own.

Reality check: 97% of leads ARE NOT ready to buy today. Here’s the breakdown:

3% of website visitors - Ready to buy now.

7%: Will buy in 7–14 days—if you stay top-of-mind.

30%: Will buy in 3–6 months—if you nurture them.

60%: Will never buy.

The problem? You don’t know who’s in which group. That’s why consistent, value-driven email nurturing is non-negotiable.

Why Nurturing Works

Timing is everything: Life happens. Budgets shift. Competitors disappoint. When leads are ready, your brand must be their first thought.

Remember, Trust = Sales: Only 3% buy instantly. The remaining 37% need repeated exposure to your expertise and reliability.

Deliver Value, Not Pitches:

Focus on their pain points: “Here’s how to solve [problem]” vs. “Buy now!

Step 6. Your Lead Conversion Strategy

Converting leads into paying customers is a vital step in the buyer journey. But you can't take it for granted that your customers will buy every time. Did you know that in the world of eCommerce around 70% of people who 'Add To Cart' never buy?

Keep this in mind even if your business isn't eCommerce. There are many reasons customers get to the part where they're about to buy - but then change their minds at the last minute.

Here are some suggestions to get more prospective customers to buy.

1. Use clear calls to action (CTAs) throughout your content. Ensure they guide leads toward making a purchase or booking a consultation.

2. Leverage social proof, like testimonials and case studies, to build trust. Highlight successful outcomes your customers have experienced to encourage new leads to convert.

3. Last of all, make it easy for your customers to buy. Give as many ways to pay as possible.

4. Review your sales funnel and identify potential reasons customers leave before buying.

This helps streamline the process, creates less ‘friction’ and reduce drop-off rates.

Below is a chart demonstrating the main reasons prospective customers get to the ‘Conversion’ part of the strategy and then leave without parting with their money.

Phase 3: After The Sale: Encourage Upsells, Return Customers & Referrals

Step 6. Deliver a World Class Experience

In my opinion, this is the most important part of the whole strategy. If you go to all the trouble (and expense) of getting a new (paying) customer and then deliver a bad ‘experience’ to them, they won’t come back and buy again AND they’ll also tell everyone they know about the bad experience they just had.

And rubbish your brand in the process.

This is why creating a positive customer experience is essential for client retention, return sales and upsells.

At this point it’s important to explain a little-known marketing concept. The concept is - there’s only 3 ways to build a business – and make serious money.

1. Get more customers (Lead Generation).

2. Get your customers to buy more (upsells)

3. Get your customers to buy more often (returning customers)

The first concept is what most businesses focus on. It’s the most expensive and time-consuming way to build your business.

The last two though are mostly ignored – but they are the most profitable.

But remember - you won’t be able to sell more to your customers, or encourage them to return and buy more, if they’ve had a bad experience the first time around.

If though, they've had a GREAT experience (great after sales service, awesome product quality, great packaging, fast delivery etc.) they are now more inclined to buy from you again and again when you make them an offer.

Some suggestions to help deliver a World Class Experience include:

1. Ensure your website is user-friendly, fast, and mobile-optimised. A well-designed site improves user satisfaction.

2. Provide exceptional customer service by being responsive and helpful. Use chat support or a knowledge base to assist customers efficiently.

3. Regularly ask for feedback through surveys. Use this information to make continuous improvements to your services or products. A responsive approach creates a loyal customer base.

4. Say "Thank You". A little manners goes a long way. Remember you're still dealing with human beings and a simple "Thank you for your business - we appreciate you choosing to buy from us" can go a long way.

Step 7. Increasing Customer Lifetime Value

Boosting customer lifetime value (CLV) means maximising the revenue you earn from each customer. This means encouraging upsells and cross-sells based on customer behaviour and preferences.

Remember the importance of delivering a ‘World Class Experience’?

Step 8. Orchestrating Referrals

Referrals can dramatically increase your customer base without high marketing costs.

Create a referral program that incentivises current customers to recommend your services.

You can do this by offering discounts or rewards for successful referrals.

Remember though customers won’t refer your product or service to people they know if they’ve had a bad experience themselves.

Tips include:

1. Make it easy for customers to share your offering.

2. Provide shareable content and clear instructions on how they can refer others.

3. Follow up with both referrer and referred customers to maintain engagement.

A well-coordinated referral strategy can lead to a steady stream of new leads.

Frequently Asked Questions

This section addresses common questions related to a digital marketing strategy. You will find specific insights on content marketing, essential elements to include, and practical strategies for beginners.

How can content marketing be effectively integrated into a digital marketing strategy?

Content marketing works best when it aligns with your overall goals. Focus on creating valuable content that addresses your audience's needs.

Use blog posts, videos, and social media to distribute this content. Measure engagement through metrics like shares and comments to refine your approach.

What key elements should be included in a digital marketing strategy template?

A solid digital marketing strategy template should include your target audience, value proposition, and marketing channels.

Be sure to outline your budget and timeline as well. Additionally, include specific tactics you plan to use, such as SEO, social media, and email marketing.

What are the most essential strategies for beginners to learn in digital marketing?

As a beginner, start by understanding the basics of SEO and social media marketing. Familiarise yourself with content creation and analytics tools. Learning how to create engaging emails can also be beneficial. These strategies lay the foundation for more advanced techniques later.

Can you outline a basic framework for creating a digital marketing strategy?

Begin by defining your goals. Next, conduct market research to understand your audience. Choose the right digital channels based on your audience's preferences. Finally, create content tailored to those channels, and establish key performance indicators to measure success.