Stop dreading the annual planning meeting. That week-long slog of whiteboards, spreadsheets, and stale coffee can now be done before your coffee gets cold.
Most marketers either build their marketing plans based on last year's leftovers or pull vague goals out of thin air. The result is a plan that is disconnected from business reality and sits in a folder, ignored by February.
This prompt solves that. It forces you to input your real business objectives and constraints, and in return, it delivers a practical, week-by-week roadmap that your team can actually follow.
The Prompt That Builds Your Q1 Plan
Copy and paste the following into ChatGPT, Claude, or your preferred LLM. Replace the bracketed text with your own business details.
Act as an expert fractional CMO for a growing SMB. Your task is to create a comprehensive, actionable, and realistic 90-day marketing plan for Q1 2026.
**1. Business Context:**
* **Company:** [e.g., A B2B SaaS company selling project management software]
* **Target Audience:** [e.g., Marketing managers at mid-sized tech companies (50-200 employees)]
* **Primary Business Goal for Q1:** [e.g., Increase new trial sign-ups by 30%]
* **Marketing Budget (Q1):** [e.g., $50,000]
* **Team Resources:** [e.g., 1 Marketing Manager, 1 Content Creator, 1 part-time freelancer for ads]
* **Key Product/Service to Promote:** [e.g., Our new 'Team Analytics' feature]
* **What Worked in Q4 2025:** [e.g., LinkedIn ads drove high-quality leads, our webinar on 'Project Efficiency' had a 40% attendance rate]
* **What Failed in Q4 2025:** [e.g., Google Search ads had a high CPA, our blog content got low engagement]
**2. Your Request:**
Based on the context above, generate a 90-day marketing plan for Q1 2026. The output must be a markdown-formatted table with the following columns:
* **Month** (Jan, Feb, Mar)
* **Week** (1-13)
* **Weekly Theme/Focus** (e.g., "Launch Webinar Campaign," "Optimize Ad Creative")
* **Key Activities & Channels** (List the specific tasks and the channels to use, e.g., "Publish 2 blog posts on analytics," "Run LinkedIn lead gen ad campaign")
* **Primary KPI** (The main metric to measure success for that week's activities, e.g., "Webinar Registrations," "Ad CTR")
* **Estimated Budget Allocation** (A portion of the total Q1 budget)
**3. Constraints:**
* The plan must be realistic for the small team and budget provided.
* Double down on what worked in Q4.
* Allocate budget away from what failed in Q4.
* The entire plan must be clearly oriented around achieving the primary business goal.Why This Prompt Works
This isn't a generic "give me ideas" prompt. It's a strategic brief that gets results because it follows three key principles.
It Provides Deep Context. By feeding the AI your specific goals, budget, team, and past performance, you eliminate generic advice. The AI is forced to think within your reality. According to Forbes, the most effective business prompts are those that provide specific constraints and context rather than open-ended requests.
It Demands a Structured Output. Requesting a markdown table with specific columns turns the AI from a conversationalist into a data processor. You get an organized, easy-to-read plan, not a wall of text. This approach aligns with the CRAFT framework for prompt engineering, which emphasizes clear output formatting.
It Sets Clear Constraints. Telling the AI what not to do (waste money on failed channels) and what to do (double down on winners) is the fastest way to an effective strategy. It mimics the decision-making of an experienced CMO.
Example Output Snippet
Here's what the first few weeks of your plan might look like:
Month | Week | Weekly Theme/Focus | Key Activities & Channels | Primary KPI | Est. Budget |
Jan | 1-2 | Webinar Campaign Launch | Promote 'Analytics' webinar via LinkedIn ads & email list; Publish 1 blog post on 'Data-Driven PM' | Webinar Registrations | $5,000 |
Jan | 3 | Content Blitz | Host webinar; Repurpose webinar into 3 short video clips for LinkedIn/Twitter | Live Attendance Rate | $2,000 |
Jan | 4 | Lead Nurture Setup | Build email drip sequence for webinar attendees; Launch retargeting ads | Email Open Rate | $3,000 |
Make It Your Own
The power of this prompt is in the customization. Spend five minutes filling in your real numbers, and you'll get a plan that actually reflects your business. No more generic templates. No more guessing.
Stop guessing. Start planning. Use this prompt to build a Q1 roadmap that connects directly to your business goals and gives your team the clarity it needs to win.
by JC
for the AdAI Ed. Team
