Email marketing is one of the most effective tools for product-based brands – but keeping up with it consistently? That’s a challenge. If you’re anything like us, you’d rather make a plan and stick to it than try to create a new email to send every day. Luckily, we’ve got you covered in the planning department. With a little structure, you can make out an entire year of email content in just one day. This not only keeps you organized but ensures your audience stays engaged and ready to shop year-round.

Here’s the step-by-step process to get it done.

How to Plan a Year of Email Content in One Day

Step 1: Outline Key Sales Dates and Product Launches

Start by mapping out the major dates that matter most to your brand. This includes:

Seasonal Sales (Spring Sale, Black Friday, Summer Clearance)
Product Launches (New collections, limited-edition drops)
Holidays (Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, etc.)
Anniversaries or Brand Milestones

Plot these dates first on a calendar or in a project management tool like Notion, Asana, or Google Calendar. This gives you a foundation to structure your emails around.

Pro Tip: Don’t overfill the calendar. Focus on key moments that drive sales spikes or customer engagement. Doing this in advance can help you keep track of what you’ve done and have coming up.

Step 2: Create Monthly Themes Based on Sales Cycles

Break the year into monthly content themes that align with your product launches, seasonal trends, and buying patterns. Having a focus each month simplifies content planning and keeps your emails timely and relevant.

Example Themes for Product-Based Brands:

January: Fresh Start – New Year, New Products
March: Spring Essentials – Refresh Your Routine
July: Summer Must-Haves – Limited Edition Drops
October: Holiday Gift Guides – Pre-Holiday Hype

These themes will guide both promotional and nurture emails, keeping content aligned with customer shopping habits.

Step 2b: Brain Dump

Never underestimate the power of a good brain dump. Most strategy meetings with my clients start with a brainstorming session where we jot down content ideas to pull from when creating our actual calendar. After this, you’ll have a big library of ideas to reference for the remaining steps.

Step 3: Plan Core Email Types to Drive Sales

To avoid burnout, focus on four core types of emails and rotate them throughout the year.

Promotional Emails (Sales-Driven)

Focused on flash sales, product launches, and limited-time offers.
Example: "Final Hours! 20% Off All Summer Essentials"

Educational/Nurture Emails:

Provide value, product tips, and how-tos that highlight your products' benefits.
Example: "3 Ways to Style Our New Spring Collection"

Storytelling Emails:

Highlight customer reviews, brand stories, and behind-the-scenes content to build trust.
Example: "How We Designed Our Bestselling Candle Line"

Engagement Emails:

Get your audience involved through polls, quizzes, or user-generated content.
Example: "Help Us Choose Our Next Candle Scent!"

Obviously you can riff off of these, but if you’re not sure where to start, come back to this list. You can add any others that are relevant to your brand as well.

Step 4: Batch Write Evergreen Sequences That Sell

Instead of starting from scratch each time, batch write evergreen sequences that can drive sales consistently and be repurposed.

Examples of Evergreen Sequences for Product Brands:

Welcome Sequence (3-5 Emails): Warm up new subscribers with product highlights and bestsellers.
Abandoned Cart Series (2-3 Emails): Recover lost sales with friendly reminders and discounts.
Post-Purchase Series (3 Emails): Encourage repeat purchases and upsells.

Write these in one sitting and set them up to automatically trigger based on customer behavior. You can refresh them once or twice a year with new imagery or product focuses, but for the most part, these are set-and-forget revenue drivers.

Step 5: Repurpose and Automate Sales Content

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Repurpose existing content from product descriptions, social media, or blog posts for your email list. Automate as much as possible using platforms like Klaviyo, Flodesk, or Mailchimp.

Examples:

Turn a product launch post into a promotional email series.
Convert a blog post into a 3-part educational email about product care.

Step 6: Build a Reusable Email Calendar Template

Design a simple calendar template for your email plan. Fill it out for each month by rotating your core email types and layering in sales promotions or product launches.

Example Calendar Layout for Product Brands:

Week 1: Nurture Email (Product Tips or How-To)
Week 2: Promotional Email (New Launch or Sale)
Week 3: Storytelling Email (Brand Story or BTS)
Week 4: Engagement Email (Poll or Quiz)

This structure keeps your emails fresh and relevant without overwhelming your audience.

Final Thoughts

Planning a full year of email content might sound ambitious, but by following this process, you’ll save time, reduce stress, and drive more sales consistently.

Need help mapping out your email strategy? I offer Email Intensives to help product brands create full-year plans in just one day. Let’s make 2025 the year your email list thrives!

How to Plan a Year of Email Content in One Day (For Product-Based Brands)