What Is Strategy, Really? (And Why Your Marketing Plan Needs a Rethink)

If you’ve been in the online business space long enough, you’ve likely been told that you "need a strategy."

Which sounds important. Sophisticated, even.

But ask five people what strategy actually means and you’ll get five different answers:

• "It’s your content plan."

• "It’s your launch calendar."

• "It’s your vision board and KPI tracker, obviously."

Nope. Nope. And definitely nope.

As a copywriter and launch strategist who’s worked on everything from seven-figure course launches to UX website overhauls for powerhouse founders, here’s what I can tell you:

Strategy isn’t a template.
It’s not a swipe file.
And it sure as hell isn’t just picking a platform and praying.

Let’s dig into what a real marketing strategy for your online business looks like—and how to spot when yours isn’t doing its job.

Strategy vs. Tactics vs. Execution

Tactics are the actions: writing a sales email, posting on Instagram, setting up a webinar.

Execution is how consistently and effectively you carry out those tactics.

Strategy is the reason you’re doing any of it in the first place—and how it connects to your bigger goals.

If tactics are your paintbrushes and execution is your brushstrokes, strategy is the vision you're actually trying to paint. (And why you're painting it at all.)

No strategy = disjointed tactics, wasted energy, and disappointing results.

What Trips People Up About Strategy

Too many business owners are sold pre-packaged plans that claim to work for "any niche" or "every offer."

But let’s be real: you can’t template your way into a strategy that fits your business, your goals, and your way of working.

When you try? You end up overcommitted, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed by the results.

The LinkedIn Moment That Sparked This Whole Thing

A client asked me to review their LinkedIn strategy. Brilliant person, different lane than my usual, not chasing daily content or mass appeal.

I’m not a LinkedIn strategist. But I am someone who understands how platforms function inside the bigger picture.

So before diving into posting plans or hashtags, I asked:

What’s the goal?

That’s where every strategic conversation should start. Without a goal, your tactics are just activity, not progress.

What a Customized Marketing Strategy Actually Looks Like

If you’re an established founder bringing in $250K–$1M+ annually, your marketing strategy should reflect:

• The complexity of your offer suite

• The trust timeline of your buyers

• Your energy and bandwidth

• Your preferred sales model

• Your long-term vision

That means:

✅ Skipping the webinar if it’s not aligned—even if someone else swears by it
✅ Ignoring TikTok if your people still read longform newsletters
✅ Ditching a funnel model that requires more nurture than your calendar (or nervous system) can handle

Your strategy should feel smart, aligned, and honest—not like someone else’s leftovers.

Where Launch Strategy Fits In

One of the biggest traps? Treating your launch like a two-week event instead of a whole marketing cycle.

A grounded, scalable launch strategy includes:

• Pre-launch nurture: Think content, visibility, and email sequences that build belief before the cart opens

• Sales assets: Sales pages that actually convert. Email sequences that don’t make people hit unsubscribe. CTAs that do more than fill space.

• Post-launch debrief: Looking at what worked, what didn’t, and where to tighten the next round

The launch isn’t just the sale. It’s the whole path to get there—and beyond.

UX Website Strategy: The Unsung Hero

Let’s be honest: a pretty homepage isn’t a strategy. It’s a mood board.

If your website isn’t guiding decision-makers toward action, it’s not doing its job.

A strong UX website strategy includes:

• Understanding what your visitor already knows when they land

• Meeting them there with copy and layout that reduces resistance

• Structuring the user flow to build trust and momentum

• Calls to action that are actually tied to your goals

Pretty is fine. Strategic sells.

Your Strategy Has to Work For You, Too

Even the sharpest strategy doesn’t matter if it drains you.

This is why I build holistic strategies that consider:

• Your personal energy and preferences

• Your team capacity (or lack thereof)

• How your ideal client actually makes decisions

Because marketing isn’t just about conversion. It’s also about sustainability.

Your strategy shouldn’t need 3 reels a day and a 27-step funnel to do its job.

FAQs About Marketing Strategy for Online Business

Q: Can’t I just tweak someone else’s strategy to work for me?
A: You can try. But unless your offers, audience, price point, and brain are exactly the same—it’s a gamble.

Q: How do I know if my strategy is working?
A: You feel clear. Your content points somewhere. Your marketing brings in the right people. If it all feels scattered, it probably is.

Q: What’s the first step to building a strategy that fits?
A: Know your actual goal. Then layer in audience behavior, offers, capacity, and buyer journey. Start at the root—not the surface.

TL;DR — Strategy That Works Looks Like This:

✅ Built around your real goals
✅ Designed to evolve
✅ Connected across your platforms
✅ Rooted in how your people actually buy
✅ Aligned with how you want to show up

This isn’t about cramming yourself into someone else’s framework.

It’s about building a strategy that reflects your vision and gets results.

Want Strategy That Actually Fits?

If you’re done piecing together advice from 12 experts and calling it a plan—I’ve got you.

Let’s build a marketing plan that’s:

• Clear

• Cohesive

• Conversion-minded

👉 Explore my Holistic Launch Strategy VIP Day
👉 Need a UX Website That Sells? Click here

You don’t need more templates. You need the right roadmap.