How to end the year ready for 2026

Looking for ways to set yourself up for success in the new year?

With Thanksgiving next week, the holiday season is basically upon us.

Which means you’re running around trying to prepare, because you’re not going to get a moment to breathe until December 27th.

Maybe.

So let’s look at how you can start 2026 with real strategy. Map out your marketing plans now, so that’s 1 less thing you need to stress about in the new year.

The best part is that you can do this in an afternoon, if you can block off a few hours, or over a few days at an hour or so at a time.

Let’s start by mapping out your 2026 on a really high level

Write down each month on a piece of paper, and in each of those months write down:

• Any holidays you’re celebrating with offers or promos

• Any seasonally specific offers or products

• Vacation time you’re taking (yes, you need at least 1 vacation next year! Even if it’s a staycation)

• A general idea of what you want to focus on that month in your business

Here’s what mine looked like last year:

{{picture of paper I filled out with Anna}}

Now let’s focus in on Quarter 1 and dig a little bit deeper.

For each month, write down:

• Marketing goals – how you’re going to market your business

• Revenue Goals (be audacious here)

• A breakdown of how you can reach that revenue goal

  • Example: a $10,000 goal for a boutique that offers classes could be broken down into:

    • 30 workshop tickets @ $75 each = $3,000

    • 100 product sales @ $60 average sale = $6,000

    • 30 subscription memberships @ $35 = $1,050

  • Or a $6,000 goal for a coach could be:

    • 10 registrations for your 1:1 coaching program @ $500 = $5,000

    • 5 people taking advantage of your 1 time strategy call @ $200 = $1,000

• And now 3 ways you can make those sales happen.

  • Those can be via networking in person, paid ads online, going to pop-ups, physical flyers, reaching out to past clients, etc.

• Now consider all the back end marketing you’ll create and the cadence of each.

  • Blogs, newsletters, website updates

  • Social media - the platform and the type of posts you’ll make

• And finally, review your content pillars so that you can start mapping out your daily content.

 Financials

Another step in planning 2026 is reviewing where you’re allocating your marketing budget. How will you spend your money to get your brand out there in front of your ideal clients?

Research the places you want to spend your money, and make sure you’re making sound investments into your marketing.

Plan and Schedule

Finally, begin researching the professionals you’ll work with to bring all of this to life. Will you hire a web designer? A professional videographer to create a commercial or promo reel? A professional branding photographer to tell the stories of your business?

Start scheduling meetings and consultations with the people you want to work with now, so that you can get on their 2026 calendar for services. You can book your discovery call with me here:

There are a lot more ways to come up with ideas for your content and map it out to stay ahead of schedule. When you hire me as your branding photographer, we go over a lot of those during your strategy session.

So click the link above, book your discovery call, and let’s create a strategic set of marketing images perfect for sharing your offer with the world.