Marketing Planner Tool

Sonary’s Marketing Planner Tool helps small and mid-sized businesses build smarter, more effective marketing plans. Just enter your business info, set your budget, and choose your channels. The tool calculates your total spend, projected ROI, and revenue based on your actual inputs.

No spreadsheets. No guesswork. Just a clean, easy-to-use marketing planning tool that turns your strategy into real numbers. Whether you’re launching a new campaign or refining your current approach, this online marketing plan generator keeps you focused, organized, and goal-aligned.

How to use the Marketing Planner Tool

The tool is built to be intuitive, so you can get answers fast without needing a marketing degree. Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: Enter your business information

Start by filling in your business name, selecting your industry, and entering your monthly revenue. Then, set your marketing budget and the planning timeframe in months. This helps the tool tailor your plan to your business size and goals.

• Example: You enter $50,000 in monthly revenue, a $5,000 marketing budget, and a 3-month planning window.

Step 2: Choose your marketing channels

The tool starts with popular, pre-defined channels like Social Media, SEO, Email Marketing, and Paid Ads. You can use these, edit them, remove them, or add your own custom channels.

• Example: You select Social Media, SEO, and Email as your marketing active channels.

Step 3: Allocate budgets and ROI for each channel

Now it’s time to assign your marketing budget across different channels and estimate the return you expect from each one. The marketing planning tool uses this information to calculate projected returns and overall performance.

By default, the planner includes five active channels:

• Social Media – $500 budget, 3.5x ROI
• SEO – $800 budget, 5.2x ROI
• Email Marketing – $300 budget, 4x ROI
• Content Marketing – $600 budget, 3.8x ROI
• Paid Advertising – $1,000 budget, 2.5x ROI

You can change these budgets and ROI values to reflect your marketing plan, or add new channels if you use others (like Influencer Marketing, Direct Mail, or Events).

For each channel, enter:

• The dollar amount you plan to spend
• The expected ROI (return on investment)

Example:

• Paid Advertising: $1,000 budget with 2.5x ROI = $2,500 projected return
• SEO: $800 budget with 5.2x ROI = $4,160 projected return

As you update each number, the marketing plan tool calculates each channel’s projected return and your total campaign revenue based on the mix of channels and investment levels.

Step 4: Review your results

That’s it. The tool does the rest. You’ll see:

• Your total marketing budget based on the timeframe
• Projected revenue based on your expected ROI
• Weighted average ROI across all your channels
• A visual breakdown showing how much of your budget goes to each channel
• Export options for Google Sheets and CSV

The calculator gives you a clear picture of where your money is going and what you can expect in return. Use it to build a stronger marketing strategy, fine-tune your spending, and communicate your plan clearly with stakeholders.

Key terms you should know to use the planner

Understanding a few core terms will help you get the most out of this marketing planning tool. Here’s a quick glossary:

Marketing budget 

The total amount you plan to spend on marketing over the selected period.

•  Example: You enter $3,200

Channel

A marketing channel is any platform or method you use to reach customers, like SEO, social media, or paid ads.

Channel budget 

How much of your total marketing budget you allocate to a specific channel. 

• Example: You assign $800 to SEO

Expected ROI (return on investment)

The return you expect from a specific channel. Expressed as a multiple (e.g., 3x ROI means $3 back for every $1 invested). This number reflects your assumptions or past data. Some channels (like SEO or email) might have high ROI but take longer to deliver results, while others (like paid ads) may bring faster returns at lower efficiency.

• Example: You expect a 5.2x return on SEO

Projected return

The dollar amount a channel is expected to generate based on its budget and ROI.
Formula: Budget × ROI

• Example: $800 × 5.2 = $4,160

Weighted average ROI

The average return across all channels, weighted by each one’s budget size.
Formula: (Sum of Budget × ROI for all channels) ÷ Total Budget

Budget allocation (%)

The percentage of your total marketing budget that goes to each channel.

• Example: SEO gets 25% of your $3,200 total

Projected revenue

The total expected revenue from all marketing efforts.
Formula: Total Budget × Weighted ROI

• Example: $3,200 × 3.72 = $11,890

How does it work? The formula behind the planner

Want to know precisely how this marketing planning tool calculates your results? Here’s a breakdown of the formulas used. These help you organize your marketing strategy, estimate returns, and compare channel performance in a clear, structured way.

1. Calculate each channel’s projected return

Each channel’s projected return is based on how much you plan to spend and the ROI you expect.
Formula:
Projected Return = Channel Budget × Channel ROI
Example:
$800 × 5.2 = $4,160 from SEO

2. Add up your total marketing budget

The tool combines all your individual channel budgets to show your total marketing spend.
Formula:
Total Budget = Sum of all channel budgets
Example:
$500 (Social Media) + $800 (SEO) + $300 (Email) + $600 (Content) + $1000 (Paid Ads) = $3,200

3. Calculate weighted average ROI

This tells you your overall return, factoring in how much you’re spending on each channel.
Formula:
Weighted ROI = (Sum of Channel Budget × Channel ROI) ÷ Total Budget
Example:
((500 × 3.5) + (800 × 5.2) + (300 × 4) + (600 × 3.8) + (1000 × 2.5)) ÷ 3,200 = 3.72x

4. Estimate projected revenue

Your total projected revenue is calculated by multiplying your total budget by the weighted average ROI.
Formula:
Projected Revenue = Total Budget × Weighted ROI
Example:
$3,200 × 3.72 = $11,890

5. Calculate allocation percentages

This shows how much of your budget each channel uses as a percentage.
Formula:
Channel Allocation % = (Channel Budget ÷ Total Budget) × 100
Example:
$800 ÷ $3,200 × 100 = 25% (for SEO)

The calculator does everything behind the scenes and instantly shows you the results. You get a full breakdown and can see where your money’s going — so you can adjust your marketing strategy with confidence.

When should you use the Marketing Planner?

If you’re running a small or mid-sized business, marketing decisions can feel like a shot in the dark. Too often, your budget’s in one sheet, your strategy’s in another, and your goals are just in your head. This marketing plan tool brings everything together so you can plan smarter and move faster. Here are the best times to use it:

When you’re setting your marketing budget

Before you commit dollars to campaigns, use the planner to allocate spend across key channels and see your projected return. It’s a quick way to turn your gut instincts into a grounded advertising strategy.

When you’re comparing marketing strategies

Not sure whether to invest more in SEO or email? Or maybe you’re thinking about trying paid ads? Enter your best estimates for budget and ROI into the tool and see which mix generates the highest revenue.

If your business goals are shifting

Whether you’re entering a new market, launching a product, or simply ramping up for a busy season, this marketing planner helps you realign your campaigns with your goals in just a few clicks.

When pitching or sharing your plan

Need to show your marketing strategy to a co-founder, investor, or team member? This online marketing plan builder gives you a clean, professional summary that’s ready to export and present.

When you want to stay on track

Use the calculator to compare your actual results to your projections. It’s not just for planning, it’s for learning and improving over time.

Knowing your real marketing return helps you make smarter decisions. And the more often you check, the easier it becomes to stay one step ahead of your spending and strategy.

Understanding the calculator’s outputs

Once the calculator runs your numbers, you’ll get more than just a budget total. The results show how your marketing dollars are distributed, what kind of return you can expect, and how well your plan aligns with your business goals.

Total marketing budget

This is the full amount you’ve allocated across all your marketing channels. It combines everything from SEO to paid ads.

Projected revenue

Based on your inputs and expected ROI per channel, this shows the total amount of revenue your marketing efforts could generate. It helps you see if your budget is realistic and worth it.

Average ROI

This is the weighted return on investment across all channels. It shows how efficiently your money is working overall. A higher ROI means more revenue per dollar spent.

Channel breakdown

The calculator gives you a side-by-side comparison of each marketing channel:

• Budget – how much you’re putting into each strategy
• Expected ROI – your estimated return from that channel
• Projected return – how much that spend is likely to generate

This makes it easy to spot which channels are pulling their weight and which might need to be cut or reworked.

Budget allocation chart

You’ll also see a visual breakdown of your budget by percentage. This helps you quickly understand where most of your money is going and whether it aligns with your priorities.

Other useful Sonary calculators to try

The Marketing Planner Tool is just one part of a larger toolkit designed to help small business owners plan, price, and grow with confidence. If you’re ready to go deeper, try these other free tools to round out your financial and operational strategy:

Pricing Strategy Calculator

Find the right price for your products or services using this free pricing calculator. Whether you’re using cost-plus, value-based, or competitor pricing, this tool helps you calculate your price per item, check profit margins, and compare to market rates. Ideal for anyone who wants a smarter way to calculate price without the spreadsheets.

Employee Cost Calculator

Hiring? This true cost of employee calculator shows you the full picture, salary, taxes, benefits, software, and more. Use it as a labor cost calculator, an employment calculator, or simply to plan headcount with accuracy. You’ll understand how to calculate labor cost and where your budget’s really going.

Credit Card Processing Fee Calculator

Not sure what you’re paying in credit card processing fees? This free fee calculator reveals your total cost and effective rate, and shows how different providers stack up. It’s one of the best ways to find the cheapest credit card processing for small business based on your real numbers.

Break-Even Calculator

Use this tool to determine how much you need to sell to cover your costs. Whether you’re launching a new product or revisiting pricing, this calculator shows you exactly where your break-even point lies and how to adjust to reach profitability faster.

Lifetime Value Calculator

This tool estimates how much each customer is worth over time. Based on average order value, purchase frequency, and retention, the calculator reveals customer lifetime value (LTV) so you can invest smarter in marketing and retention strategies.

Each calculator works independently, but they’re even more powerful when used together. Whether you’re pricing a new product, planning a marketing budget, or deciding who to hire next, Sonary gives you the tools to act with confidence.