As the April 15th tax deadline creeps closer, many of us are too wrapped in IRS worries to clearly consider this year’s budget specifics for our businesses. While some business owners have already coordinated their 2010 budget, many are playing catch up as they struggle to outline the details. Below, is a simple four-step process to help get one of the sticky specifics off your shoulders: The advertising budget.

Many businesses make the costly, and sometimes fatal, mistake of committing too little to advertising, or not planning for wise distribution of the funds throughout the year. The first step in establishing an annual advertising plan is to take the time to sit down, pencil in hand, and identify your annual advertising budget. A quick and effective exercise is to take your business’ gross income from the past year and multiply it by 5 percent. This is the minimum your business should be spending on all marketing and advertising. This number will give you a barebones look at the bottom line required for 2010. From here it will be easier to decide if your business can, or should, be allotting more. If this number seems overwhelming, divide it by 12 to calculate how much your business will be spending per month—this figure should be easier to stomach.

(2009 Gross Income x 5%)  12 = Monthly Advertising Budget for 2010

For the second step you should commit to this budget. Make an internal commitment that the figure from step one is the amount you will allot to advertising for your business. This step appears to be the easiest of the four, and it can be. However, this step often requires the commitment to be agreed upon by more than one person within the company to ensure it is carried through.

The third step is to meet with a specialist to identify your specific needs and help customize a advertising campaign. A specialist will analyze your goals, design a compelling plan to reach them, and enable your advertising to remain consistent and effective throughout 2010.

The last step is to execute. By establishing a dynamic plan for your advertising dollars, you have given your business a chance to boost ahead of its competition. With a detailed annual plan you can get the most exposure while staying within your budget. Plus, many media outlets are apt to give valuable discounts to customers who show commitment to annual advertising.

Creating an annual advertising plan is a highly beneficial asset to both the near and distant future of your company. It is not too late in the year to plan and make the most of your advertising dollars for the remainder of 2010.