An online marketing plan (OMP) is a must for any business, whether you’re a one-man band or have a team of 20. Having an OMP will help you establish what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, and provide a roadmap for measuring the success of your marketing efforts.

There are six common types of marketing mix used in online marketing, and we’ll discuss each of them and how you can use an OMP to effectively incorporate each one.

Product

Your product is the thing you’re selling. It could be a physical product such as a camera, or a service such as web design or SEO. The key is to identify what you’re selling and what qualities it has.

You can use product testing to determine the effectiveness of your product or service in marketing terms. For example, let’s say you’re selling eyewear and you want to test whether or not wearing sunglasses can increase your sales. You can perform A/B testing, randomized controlled trials, or field experiments to achieve this goal.

In order to create an OMP, you must first decide what you’re going to test. The answer to this question will dictate the rest of the structure of your OMP. Once you have your structure, you can move on to the next phase and begin to fill it with content.

Communication

Your communication strategies are the tools you use to get the message out to your target audience. Like with your product, you want to identify the type of communication you’re using and why you’re using it.

The two main types of communication are paid and organic. Paid communication includes anything paid for by you or your company, whether it’s AdWords, Facebook ads, or paid blog posts. Organic communication includes everything else, which is mostly free. For example, when someone visits your website from a natural search, they’re accessing your content without any paid ads in the way.

You should have a paid communication plan and an organic communication plan. The paid plan will provide you with metrics for measuring the success of your marketing efforts, while the organic plan will help you establish your identity as a thought leader in your industry.

Place

Your place is simply the location you’ll perform your marketing efforts. It could be your office, a warehouse, or even your home. The main thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t limit yourself to one place. Think about other locations where you can reach your target audience—social media sites, blogs, and forums—and create a plan to effectively reach them all.

If you have a physical product to sell, you should consider a brick-and-mortar store. However, if you’re just creating content, you probably don’t need a big space. Even if you’re performing SEO and getting traffic from organic searches, you may not want to sacrifice too much floor space for a brand new office. What you need is somewhere comfortable where you can work remotely when necessary. For example, if you’re working through project changes or need to meet with a client, you can set up meetings at a coffee shop or restaurant.

Media

The media are the tools you use to get the message out there. It could be TV ads, radio spots, or even a billboard. The important thing to keep in mind is that you should always consider different platforms and devices when planning out your media strategy.

Mobile marketing is a very important aspect of modern marketing, and a place like Google AdWords, for example, can be very useful for mobile marketing. You can find a list of mobile marketing tools here. Not only does Google AdWords have a mobile marketing tool, but you can get targeted ads on mobile-friendly websites. This is important if you want to capture potential customers who are visiting your site on the go.

Creating an OMP doesn’t have to be hard. Simply take some time to think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Once you have a clear picture in mind, you can make a plan and get to work. You won’t be disappointed, and you’ll soon be able to measure the success of your efforts.