Q4 Plan · July Start
Q4 is made in July.
Why July, Not October
Q4 success is 80% preparation, 20% execution. Inventory forecasting requires a 16-week lead time. The email list needs to double in Q3 or BF reach will be too low. Creative volume must scale up in Q3 or there's no cold-broad capacity when it matters.
01
16 Wks
Lead-time buffer
02
+82%
Email list growth Q3
03
32+
Hooks pool pre-Q4
The Q4 Preparation Plan
- July: inventory forecast for BF SKUs, secure lead times
- August: creative production sprint, 32+ hooks for the Q4 pool
- September: email list growth with lead magnets, subscriber adoption
- October: cold-broad scaling as a Q4 dress rehearsal
- November: pre-BF warm-up and BF architecture goes live
Example
Brands that start in July run Q4 with a 9.2x peak ROAS and zero out-of-stock days. Brands that start in October are in stress mode with 4 to 6 OOS days and a 5.4x ROAS.
What You Can Do Right Now in March
If you're reading this in March, Q4 is still 8 months away. That sounds like plenty of time, and it is exactly the right preparation window. March: build inventory forecast models. April: bring the creative pipeline up to scaling standard. May through June: audit and expand the email stack. July: formal Q4 plan kickoff.
„Q4 wins are written in the summer. Planning in October is just damage control.”