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Inknite Labs
The Marketing Hotline
Answers to the dilemmas submitted by small businesses, soloists and founders.
Is it worth publishing my newsletter on LinkedIn?
"I have an email list & send newsletters. Most other marketing is on LinkedIn. Is it worth publishing the newsletter on LinkedIn too? Or just stick to republishing blogs on LinkedIn?"
Answer
Yes, absolutely publish your newsletter on LinkedIn. More content, in more places, for more people to find is always a good thing! Your newsletter is already written. The thinking is done. Republishing it on LinkedIn costs you almost nothing extra and puts that content in front of an entirely different slice of your audience: people who follow you on LinkedIn but may not be on your email list yet. Every piece of content you create is an asset. Publishing it in one place is leaving reach on the table. LinkedIn's native newsletter feature also has its own subscriber base and sends notifications to followers when you publish, which is essentially free distribution you'd be opting out of by not using it. As for blogs versus newsletters: do both! The only thing to keep in mind is if your goal is to grow your email list, make sure each LinkedIn newsletter edition includes a nudge to subscribe to the original. You can do something simple like "this was first sent to my email list, subscribe here to get it early." It’s always ideal to turn your readers into email subscribers, because that's the audience you own.
EMAIL MARKETING
How do I use the footer of my fortnightly newsletter effectively?
"How do I use the footer of my fortnightly newsletter effectively to invite folks to look at my services and hopefully buy?"
Answer
Think of the footer as a persistent sales tool. It shows up in every single newsletter you send, to your warmest audience, without feeling pushy. The key is structuring it intentionally rather than just dumping your unsubscribe link at the bottom and calling it done. Here's the structure I'd recommend: Top of the footer: your services. Highlight your top three offerings, but lead with the need rather than the service name. Instead of "Financial Diagnostic," write something like "Need clarity on your financial position? Our quick, friendly diagnostic gives you a clear picture in little time." Speak to the problem they're sitting with, then name the solution. Three concise service callouts with a link each is all you need, keep it scannable! Middle of the footer: a softer CTA. Something like "Not sure where to start? Reply to this email and let's have a quick chat." This gives people who aren't quite ready to click a service link an easy, low-pressure next step. Bottom of the footer: the legal must-haves. Unsubscribe link, your business name, and your address live right at the very bottom. These are non-negotiable for compliance, but they don't need to take up visual space or compete with your service callouts. The goal is that someone who scrolls past your content entirely still lands on a clear, helpful reminder of how you can help them.
MESSAGING
Should I niche down in terms of audience / services?
"I keep hearing I need to 'niche down' but I offer a range of services to different types of clients. Won't niching down mean I lose potential customers?"
Answer
Controversial take: I don't actually think you need to niche down. I'll be upfront, I'm not in a niche myself. I'm a generalist. I do all things organic digital marketing for soloists, small businesses, and startups. That is about as far from a niche as you can get. And my business works. So what do I actually believe in instead? Targeted messaging. The reason people preach niching down is because it makes messaging easier. When you're talking to one very specific person with one very specific problem, you know exactly what to say. That part is true. But it's not the only way to get there. If you're a generalist, your job is just a little harder on the messaging front. You need to work a little more deliberately to make different audiences feel seen, whether that's through separate landing pages, targeted content pillars, or speaking directly to specific pain points in your copy rather than staying broad and vague. The goal is the same: the right person reads your stuff and thinks this is for me. The path to that is targeted messaging, not necessarily a narrow niche. The real problem most people are trying to solve when they're told to niche down isn't their service offering, it's that their messaging is too generic. The fix is a proper customer analysis: get clear on who your best clients actually are, what pain points brought them to you, what language they use to describe their problems, and what made them choose you over someone else. That insight is what sharpens your messaging, which makes the right people feel seen without you having to cut off entire categories of potential clients.
MARKETING STRATEGY
How do I market a technical product to computer science students?
"I'm building an AI powered study tool for people practising coding interview questions. My target audience is mostly computer science students and early career software engineers preparing for technical interviews. I’d love some advice on how to market this kind of product. Since the audience is quite niche and technical, what would be the best way to reach them, explain the value clearly, and turn early interest into actual users?"
Answer
Even though this is a specialised product and your audience is niche, they are still students and early-career professionals, which means they skew young. This means they're absolutely on Instagram and TikTok. That's where you build organic brand awareness first, and the good news is this demographic responds incredibly well to content that feels native to their world rather than polished and promotional. The key is not to make your content exclusively about your product. Build a presence around the broader experience of being a CS student or early-career engineer preparing for technical interviews. Think: tips on navigating the tech job application process, how to approach system design questions for the first time, what to actually expect in a technical interview, the reality of grinding at 11pm before a big interview. The kind of content that is relatable, useful, and squarely in the headspace of your exact target audience. Once you're creating content that resonates, the next priority is moving that audience to your email list. Social builds awareness; email is where you actually nurture and convert. Offer a lead magnet that connects directly with your content. An obvious one is a free trial of your product if they provide their name and email address. But, you could also try out more value-driven lead magnets, like a downloadable resource. This could be an interview prep guide or a cheat sheet of common patterns in a technical interview. These would also work well and give people a reason to hand over their email before they're ready to commit to the product. From there, your email sequence does the work: introduce the product, show it in action, share proof from other students who've used it, and walk them toward becoming active users. One more channel worth considering: Reddit and Discord. CS students and engineers live in communities like r/cscareerquestions and r/leetcode. Showing up genuinely in those spaces, answering questions and being useful, builds credibility with exactly the right people and can drive early word-of-mouth faster than almost anything else. Good luck!
EMAIL MARKETING
What is a good lead magnet for a nutrition business?
"What would you suggest would be a good lead magnet and why for my nutrition business?"
Answer
I love this question!! Here are two juicy lead magnet ideas for you. 1. A Nutrition Hotline Steal this exact format, it's what you're participating in right now! Nutrition is one of those topics absolutely riddled with myths, conflicting advice, and so much confusing science. People don't know who to trust or what to believe, and that confusion is your opportunity. A nutrition hotline where people submit their burning questions. It lets you debunk myths, correct misinformation, and share your expertise in a way that feels accessible and interactive rather than preachy. It positions you as the credible, straight-talking authority in a space full of noise, and every answer you publish becomes a piece of content that you can repurpose into it’s own content on its own. 2. A "Cheap & Healthy in 30 Minutes" Recipe Guide This one taps into two very real pain points right now: people want to eat better, but they're time-poor and cost-of-living is brutal. A short, practical recipe guide. Think 5-10 recipes that are genuinely quick and affordable. That’s the kind of thing people download, actually use, and share with friends. It's not another generic healthy eating PDF. It's a resource that meets people exactly where they are. The title does a lot of the work here too: "cheap," "healthy," and "30 minutes" are three words your audience is already searching for. Great for SEO Both of these work because they lead with your audience's problem rather than your credentials, which is always the right place to start with a lead magnet. Hope this helps!
SOCIAL MEDIA
How do I grow my Instagram follower count
"I've been posting consistently on Instagram for 6 months but my follower count isn't growing. What am I doing wrong?"
Answer
Slow follower growth on Instagram is genuinely painful and also extremely normal. Growing followers is an achingly slow process, and honestly, I'm in the same boat! Believe it or not, I think follower count is ultimately a vanity metric. What I actually care about is inbound leads, but follower growth is still a useful indicator that your brand awareness is expanding. One thing that's been working for me is Trial Reels, a feature that shows your reel to non-followers before you post it to your main feed. It's a low-risk way to test content with cold audiences, and I've been getting roughly 1–2 new followers out of each one. Not explosive, but it compounds. But importantly, there’s been some huge news recently that should give you some hope. A few days ago, Adam Mosseri confirmed that there will be a major algorithm change that will prioritise original content (instead of aggregator accounts) in terms of reach. So if you've been creating genuine, original content and feeling like it's been invisible, you may actually start to see things shift in the coming months. There's a lot more detail on this online, worth a Google to go deeper. If growth is still sluggish after that, the other thing to examine is your messaging. Go back through your last few months of content and look at what actually performed, including what got saves, shares, and comments. Then cross-reference that with who your audience actually is: what they care about, what problems they're trying to solve, what kind of content makes them stop scrolling. If your content isn't resonating with the right people, no amount of posting frequency will fix it. You will have to adjust your messaging and content to meet your audience where they are.
MARKETING COSTS
How much should I spend on marketing?
"I’m trying to estimate the cost of marketing a new enterprise targeting men and women aged 20-35, reasonably socially conservative but with diverse professional and trades background, without kids. What channels would you recommend for launching and then ongoing marketing for growth? Can you estimate initial costs and then ongoing costs?"
Answer
For a 20–35 audience, channels I recommend are Instagram and TikTok because that’s where they are typically scrolling. These are your two primary channels. That demographic is active on both, and the good news is that organic reach on both platforms is genuinely achievable without an ad budget, especially on TikTok, where the algorithm prioritises content quality over account authority, meaning your very first video has the same potential reach as your thousandth. My strong recommendation before you spend a single dollar on ads: don't. Build your organic audience first. Paid ads work best when you already have content that's proven to resonate, you're essentially amplifying what's already working. First, test what kinds of content work and which don’t. Without that foundation, you're paying to test, which is an expensive way to learn. Ad spend budget for launch: $0. The other priority alongside social is building an email list from day one. Social media audiences are borrowed, algorithms change, platforms shift, Instagram organic reach has already fallen between 30-40% across every post format. Your email list is the audience you own and where conversions happen the most. Use your social content to drive people there, and then nurture them toward conversion via email. This could be through a lead magnet like a discount code, downloadable resource or other perk that they access by providing their name and email address. On costs, here's my honest breakdown: Your real launch investment isn't ad spend, it's time and content production. The core costs to budget for: Content creation tools: Canva (free or ~$20 AUD/month for Pro) covers most graphic and carousel needs. For video, your phone is enough to start. Email marketing platform: tools like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or Flodesk range from free (up to a certain list size) to roughly $30-$60 AUD/month depending on your list size and features. Scheduling tool (optional) - Later, Buffer, or similar run around $20–$50 AUD/month if you want to batch and schedule content in advance. Meta Business Suite is free to use for Facebook and Instagram. Ongoing costs once you're ready to run paid ads - when you do introduce ads, TikTok delivers significantly lower cost-per-thousand-impressions than Instagram, making it the more efficient starting point for paid reach if budget is tight. A modest test budget of $500–$1,000 is a reasonable starting point to validate what's working before scaling. Total realistic launch cost for organic-first: under $100 AUD/month. The bigger investment is showing up consistently with content. That one costs time, not money. If you'd rather outsource the content side entirely, pricing varies a lot depending on who you work with and what's included. For context, I offer social media content through my Recurring VIP Days which is a full month of done-for-you content for $1,200+gst/month. It's worth getting a few quotes and understanding exactly what's in scope before committing to any retainer. I hope this helps!
BRANDING
How do I choose a brand identity?
"I’m stuck on deciding between several strong contenders for brand identities when generating brand identities (name, story, logo, colours, focus and feel) for physical consumer products. What are some successful strategies to help inform a decision and move forward?"
Answer
First, I just want to flag that I’m a digital marketer, not a brand specialist, but I've worked alongside enough of them to gain a little insight into some successful strategies. However, if you’d like expert advice, I definitely recommend going to a branding person. The strategies that work are almost always rooted in one thing: what speaks to the customer. That usually means that two things run in parallel: The aesthetic pull: what are they visually drawn to? You can make educated guesses here based on psychographics. Who they are, what they value, what they already buy, and why. A quiet luxury audience gravitates toward minimalism, neutral palettes, and understated serif typography. A wellness crowd often responds to soft organics, like earthy tones, hand-drawn elements, nothing too slick. A hype-driven streetwear buyer wants bold, loud, and limited. The emotional fit: what makes them feel seen, but is also aspirational enough to stretch toward? The sweet spot isn't "this is exactly me." It is also based on "this is who I'm becoming" or “this is who I want to be”. However, I know that you can only make assumptions and at the end of the day, they are just that: assumptions. If you're genuinely stuck between strong contenders and there’s no clear way forward? Go to the source. You can run a survey and test it with your target audience. Ask them how each contender makes them feel, which one they are pulled to the most, etc. The "right" answer is rarely just a gut call, and your gut isn't usually the only one buying.
MESSAGING
How do I create my tone of voice with AI?
"How do I create my REAL voice with AI. Theoretically, I did a step-by-step process to create content consistency instructions for Claude, but still it doesn't sound like me. I don't really remember when I wrote anything without correcting by AI so I can't even give much of a good example. I usually ask AI to correct everything. I could give the example, but it is not a professional writing. And what I am trying to do is to build authority in the corporate space. Writing content in general is a massive issue for me. I'm not a native speaker."
Answer
This is such a fantastic question! This is a really common struggle for people whose English is not their first language. You’re not doing anything wrong, it does get harder the longer you rely on AI to correct everything. I know you personally (hehe) and I know you understand what the corporate voice is. You've lived it! You know exactly how those rooms sound, the language they use, and what signals credibility to that audience. You don't need AI to teach you that, you know it deeply from your corporate days! The real problem isn't that you don't have a voice. It's that you haven't had a chance to hear it unfiltered. So here's what I'd try: 1. Stop writing first. Start speaking. Voice record yourself explaining something you know well, like you're talking to a colleague or pitching. Then transcribe it. That transcript, messy and unpolished as it is, is closer to your real voice than anything AI has touched. Use Claude to tighten it up after. 2. Feed Claude the real you. If you have videos of yourself speaking like a case study video or Instagram reels, use those as your voice reference. Upload them to Claude, telling it that this is your tone of voice. That gives Claude something much more accurate to work from than written instructions alone. Your voice is already there! You just need to embrace it in its natural state, add a corporate twist and then finally, you can tell AI.
MARKETING ANALYSIS
How do you define your metrics as a B2B product
How do you define your metrics as a B2B product across traditional marketing like social media? (e.g. is it more worth focusing on LinkedIn and cold outreach compared to marketing - especially if there is low engagement?)"
Answer
My recommended starting point is my Marketing Reporting Template (linked below) which is built specifically for B2B, so the metrics are already calibrated for this context. My hot take answer to this question is that good marketing is just marketing that generates quality leads. If your LinkedIn content has modest engagement but results in steady quality leads - that's good marketing. Low impressions and low engagement don't automatically mean it isn't working. In B2B, the signals are quieter and the timeline is longer. Someone might discover you through a single LinkedIn post, sit on your email list for six months, and convert when the timing is finally right. Don't let a slow burn fool you into thinking the fire isn't there. With that context in mind, the most useful thing you can do is stop looking at metrics in isolation and start grouping them by where they sit in the funnel: Brand awareness: followers, impressions, new website visitors, post engagements. Often dismissed as vanity metrics, but I use them as evidence that your brand is reaching new people. Growing here means your top of funnel is doing its job. Consideration: email open rates, click rates, returning website visitors, email list growth, and engagements from people who keep showing up. These tell you that people aren't just seeing you: they're paying attention and coming back. Conversion: inbound leads and sales. The numbers that ultimately matter most. Tracking across all three stages gives you a genuine read on where momentum is building and where the gaps are, rather than writing off your whole strategy because one layer doesn’t feel right. I hope this helps!
Resources:
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Marketing Reporting Spreadsheet - free to use
EVENT MARKETING
What marketing will help me with consistent event attendance?
"I have a monthly breathwork and nervous system regulation workshop, but the numbers of attendees aren’t consistent. Sometimes they sell out or recently, just six people registered. What is the best way to make sure that the numbers are high? I'm probably not consistent enough with marketing, but also would love to have a system that works to make it easier. This is my intro offering, to move clients further down the pipeline to 1:1 work."
Answer
I know the stress of ensuring consistent event attendance! Oh boy, I hate it. First, the structural fix: if people love the workshop, give them a reason to commit beyond a single session. Consider offering a bundle pass (e.g. 3 or 6 workshops for a discounted rate) or an ongoing monthly membership for regulars. Both reduce the friction of re-deciding every month. Instead of "do I want to go this month?", it becomes "I'm committed." This also smooths out your revenue and gives you a more predictable baseline of attendees before you've even started promoting each session. Another easy win: a bring-a-friend promo for every workshop. Offer a discount or a small incentive when an existing attendee brings someone new. Your regulars become your best marketers, and word-of-mouth referrals from someone who's already experienced the workshop are far warmer than any cold promotion! Then, the marketing system. You're right that inconsistency is likely the culprit, and the solution isn't working harder, it's having a repeatable checklist you run every single month without having to think about it. At a minimum, for each workshop: Email: send at least 2 emails to your list. One to open registrations and build anticipation, one closer to the date as a reminder and final push. Instagram: publish at least 5 posts per workshop cycle. Circulate the same kind of posts: what to expect, who it's for, testimonials, the transformation, and a direct CTA post as the date approaches. Nurture sequence: this is the most valuable for you! Everyone who attends a workshop should automatically flow into a nurture email sequence that introduces your 1:1 work. They've already experienced your value in person, that's the warmest possible lead! This sequence can do the pipeline work for you while you're busy running the next workshop. The goal is a system you can copy-paste every month with minimal brain power. Build it once, repeat it reliably, and hopefully, the numbers will follow. Good luck!
SOCIAL MEDIA
What is the best way to show up on video?
"What would you say is the best way to show up on video now that isn't, "here are 3 ways XYZ". I don't think anyone cares anymore... so how would you suggest showing up?"
Answer
People do still care! But, you're right that the format has worn thin. The problem isn't the content, it's that everyone's doing it the same way. At the end of the day, video works when it makes people feel interested in you, then like they know you, then, they trust you. That's the whole job. The "3 ways to XYZ" format isn't dead because people stopped wanting practical tips. It no longer does the first two things: it skips straight to the value-add without making anyone feel anything first. So instead of thinking about formats, think about what your video content needs to feed into across three dimensions: What you're like: Content that shows your actual personality. How you think, how you speak, what makes you laugh, what makes you roll your eyes. The goal is to come across as a real, specific human being rather than an AI content-producing machine. This is what earns attention before anything else. What you believe in: Your values, your take on the world, your mission. This is the content that attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones. For example, I've started putting out content about how I believe self-employment is an underrated way to live life on your own terms. I'm not trying to reach everyone. I want the bold, take-no-shit, try-new-things people who don't want to be told what to do. What you're good at: Yes, this is still the practical "here are 3 ways" category. It just can't be the only thing you're putting out. When it's one layer of a fuller picture, it lands differently because people already like and trust the person delivering it. In your video content, I recommend mixing all three and you've got a presence where people know you, are interested in you, and trust you!
OVERALL MARKETING
How do I adapt my brand to a corporate audience?
"I created my brand a few years ago focusing more on individuals. I love the branding, colours and the name ( I spent a lot of money on it), but lately I’ve been focusing more on corporate clients and I feel that the name is not right anymore. It’s just I don’t want to invest in rebranding at this moment. I’m not sure how to approach it."
Answer
Full disclaimer: I'm not a brand specialist, so take this as practical marketing advice rather than brand strategy gospel! But here's what I'd do in your position. The good news is you don't need to rebrand. You simply need a corporate window into the brand you already have. Your name matters less than you think at the corporate level. Decision-makers buying B2B services are evaluating your credibility, your results, and whether you understand their world, not whether your business name sounds corporate enough. I recommend building a dedicated page on your website, where you can lead with your own name and sharp corporate-targeted messaging. What does matter to corporates is the visual and tonal feel of what they land on. This is where the easy DIY fix comes in: create a corporate version of your brand using colour. Take your existing palette and strip it back to black, white, grey, and your current bold CTA colour as the one accent. That combination reads as professional and polished without requiring a full rebrand. You're not changing your brand, you're just contextualising it for a different audience. Then build a dedicated landing page on your website using that treatment. This becomes your corporate homepage, the page you send to corporate prospects, the link in your pitch emails, the URL on any materials targeted at that audience. Everything on it speaks directly to them: their pain points, their language, their expected outcomes. The rest of your site can stay exactly as it is. It's a fraction of the cost of a rebrand, it keeps your existing brand intact, and it gives corporate clients a front door that feels like it was built for them. Good luck!
SOCIAL MEDIA
How do I know if my LinkedIn content strategy is working?
"I'm active on LinkedIn and getting good engagement from peers and people who already know me. But I'm not sure it's reaching the right buyers, the senior leaders who'd actually hire me. How do I know if my content strategy is working, or if I'm just talking to my own echo chamber?"
Answer
The engagement feels good, but you're asking the right question! Likes from peers don't pay the bills! Here's the most honest way to evaluate whether your LinkedIn strategy is actually working: are senior leaders reaching out to you? Not peers, not people who already know you but the actual buyers you want. If inbound enquiries from your ideal clients are landing in your inbox, your content is working. Full stop. If they're not, that's useful information, and it usually points to a messaging problem rather than a reach problem. Before you change anything though, it's worth checking who you're actually reaching. Go to your personal profile on LinkedIn → Analytics → Followers → Audience Analytics. You'll get a breakdown by seniority, industry, location, and more. This tells you whether senior leaders are in your audience at all because if they're following you but not engaging, that's a different problem to solve than if they're not there yet. If the data confirms your audience skews toward peers rather than buyers, that's usually a messaging problem rather than a reach problem. Peer engagement tends to be high when your content resonates with people like you: same industry, same level, same frame of reference. Senior leaders are scrolling past content that doesn't immediately speak to their specific world. The fix is to go back to basics on who those buyers actually are. What are their specific pain points, not generic ones, but the ones that keep them up at night in their particular role? What do they want to achieve, and what's making it hard? What's the moment that tips them into looking for help? When your content is built around their trigger moments and motivations rather than your expertise in the abstract, it starts to feel like someone read their mind. That shift in messaging is usually what will help your content reach the right people and then eventually turn into enquiries!
CONTENT MARKETING
How many times can I reuse a blog's content?
"How many times can I reuse a blog's content? What's the minimum amount of time I can share the content on Linkedin, Instagram, email?"
Answer
The honest answer? Endlessly. Truly, endlessly. There's a pervasive guilt around reusing content that has absolutely no basis in reality. Here's the stat that should set you free: algorithms typically show your content to around 1% of your audience. The other 99% didn't see it. Reposting isn't a lazy thing to do. It’s simply math. My personal minimum is three pieces of content from every single blog post: 1. An Instagram carousel teasing the key value from the post. Think of it as the highlight reel that makes people want the full thing. 2. A LinkedIn carousel doing the same, adapted for that audience's tone and context. 3. An email summarising the blog's main points with a clear CTA to read the full post. That's the floor. If you want to squeeze more out of it (and you definitely should), consider filming a talk-to-camera reel walking through the blog's key talking points. That's another piece of content with zero additional thinking required. You could also repurpose the post as a LinkedIn newsletter article or a Substack edition, which gives it a whole new shelf life and a different distribution channel entirely. The content is already written. The thinking is already done. The only question is how many different ways you can put it out there. In my opinion, there’s no end!
MARKETING STRATEGY
How do I attract marketing clients within a small niche?
"How do I attract marketing clients within a small niche? Some dream clients for me would be tech nonprofits like Wikipedia, Firefox and Khan Academy. I have already done some work with two tech nonprofits. Should I engage with their LinkedIn posts and then do cold outreach? How do I identify tech nonprofits that are ready and in market for marketing services?"
Answer
The short answer: yes to LinkedIn engagement, yes to cold outreach, but both will land harder once your messaging and content is giving them a body of work to binge so they know you and your work. Attracting clients in a specific niche always comes back to messaging. The goal is to be visible to tech nonprofits, but also to be instantly recognisable as someone who gets them. That means before you start any outbound activity, it's worth doing a proper analysis of your dream clients as a segment. Look at the tech nonprofits you want to work with (and crucially, the two you've already worked with) and ask: what are their recurring pain points? What do they care about? What transformation are they chasing? What's the trigger moment that makes them realise they need marketing support (is it a funding round, a product launch, a growth plateau)? If you haven't already, try to work that question into your discovery calls or project retrospectives. That insight is gold, because it tells you both what to say and who's ready to hear it. That same research then becomes the foundation for your content. LinkedIn posts, Instagram, blog content, your website - all of it should speak directly to the world tech nonprofits are living in. When you do this consistently, you build a body of work that people can binge. That matters more than you'd think: the moment someone gets curious about you, whether from a cold outreach or spotting your comment on their post, they're going to go looking. Give them something worth finding. Which brings us to your LinkedIn engagement idea: yes, absolutely do it. Showing up thoughtfully in their comments builds familiarity and positions you as someone already in their world. Just make sure that when they click on your profile out of curiosity, your content backs it up. Give them something to stalk! Or you’re just another person doing a cold pitch. Cold outreach becomes significantly more effective once you've committed to content marketing. You're no longer a stranger asking for a meeting, you're someone with a point of view, a track record, and relevant things to say to this exact audience. As for identifying who's in market right now: that trigger moment analysis is your best tool. Once you know the common circumstances that lead tech nonprofits to seek marketing support, you can look for those signals, whether that be new campaigns, hiring activity, funding announcements, or even just a flurry of inconsistent content that suggests they're trying to figure it out themselves. You've already got two clients in this niche. I would recommend starting your analysis there. Good luck!
MARKETING ANALYSIS
What's a good cadence for checking in with your stats and analytics?
"What's a good cadence for checking in with your stats and analytics? I feel like I am doing a good amount of marketing but I am only judging the success based on sales. There are obviously other measures that might reflect longer term growth - any tips for how to track this kind of progress? What are good numbers for email opens, and clicks?"
Answer
Sales are the ultimate measure definitely, but I find that they're also a lagging indicator because by the time they dip or increase, the cause could have been month ago. This is how I approach reporting. I check my stats monthly. It gives you enough data to spot trends without sending you into a spiral every time one post underperforms. I actually have a spreadsheet I've linked below that you can use When it comes to what to track, I find it helpful to group metrics by where they sit in the funnel: Brand Awareness: followers, impressions, new website visitors, post engagements. Yes, these are often dismissed as vanity metrics, and fair enough if you're obsessing over them in isolation. But I use them as evidence that your brand is reaching new people. Consideration: email open rates, email click rates, returning website visitors, email list growth, and engagements from people who keep showing up. These signals tell you that people are seeing AND paying attention. Conversion: inbound leads and sales. These are the numbers you're already watching. Of all of these, email list growth is the one I care about most. Your list is an audience you own and can nurture directly. Unlike social followers, no algorithm stands between you and them. On benchmarks: a healthy email open rate is above 25%, and a good click rate is above 1.5%. If you're hitting those, your emails are resonating. If you're not, that's useful information too, it might mean your subject lines need work, your list needs a clean-up, or your content isn't quite matching what your audience signed up for. Tracking can feel overwhelming and confusing, but the goal of tracking is ultimately to give yourself an early warning system so you can see momentum building or stalling. In short - I would track it all using the spreadsheet I’ve shared so you can see how you’re performing in terms of the marketing funnel. I hope this helps!
Resources:
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Marketing Reporting Spreadsheet - free to use
EMAIL MARKETING
How do I increase my email subscribers from web traffic?
"When I get published on sites like Tiny Buddha I get around 500 to 1,000 visits in a short burst, but my last article only converted 20 of those into email subscribers. I'd expect that number to be higher. What would be the one thing I can change with the highest leverage?"
Answer
First, some context: 20 subscribers from 500–1,000 visitors is actually not far off average! The average email opt-in rate sits around 2%, which means at 500 visitors, you'd expect roughly 10 subscribers, so you're already beating the benchmark. That said, I completely understand wanting more from a traffic spike like this. Referral traffic from editorial placements is warm, high-intent traffic, these are people who just read something you wrote and liked it enough to click through. The conversion potential is higher than average, which means there's real upside to optimise for. The single highest-leverage change I recommend is moving your lead magnet section higher on the page that they are being directed to. Most people bury their opt-in offer somewhere in the middle or bottom of their site, after the hero section, after the about blurb, or after a services overview. By the time a referred visitor scrolls that far, many have already bounced. Someone arriving from Tiny Buddha is primed: they've read your work, they're curious about you, they're in a receptive headspace. The moment they land on your page, your lead magnet should be visible without scrolling. Above the fold. Maybe even after the hero section. Make the lead magnet offer attractive with eye-catching imagery, and strong messaging. If moving the lead magnet that high feels out of place on your homepage, I'd recommend creating a dedicated landing page specifically for people referred from publications. Share that URL with Tiny Buddha (and any other publications you write for) so that's where your bio link points. A dedicated page gives you complete control, so you can speak directly to a warm audience who has just read your work. You can lead with the lead magnet offer, and strip out anything that isn't there to convert. A few things to check while you're at it: is the lead magnet specifically relevant to the topic of the article they just came from? Is the copy benefit-led (what they'll get), not just descriptive (what it is)? A misaligned or vague offer can be the reason people aren’t signing up, even when placement is good. Hope this helps!
OVERALL MARKETING
How much marketing is enough to build a community?
"I am looking to promote and create a stable community for my creative workshop that happens weekly and the dilemma is time vs effort. How much time should I spend on marketing to create a community for my offering."
Answer
Let’s start with the strategic goal of your community. It sounds like the goal is to nurture people and eventually convert them into your weekly creative workshops. Now, let’s zoom out and think about where this community actually sits in your funnel. It sounds like your community will live in the consideration / nurture stage. Generally, most people will join your workshops when they trust you, understand the value, and feel like this is for them. So your marketing job isn’t just to sell the workshop; it’s to consistently move people towards the community. This means that most of your marketing efforts should still sit before the community. I recommend focusing 50% of your marketing efforts on making people aware that this community exists and helping them understand why it matters. Once they’re in the community, they’re primed to nurture into your offering. So, 30% of your marketing time should go towards nurturing inside the community itself. Then, the final 20% goes towards inviting people into your paid workshops. My short answer is that you want to focus on marketing the ‘room’ you want people to walk into. There is no correct ‘amount of hours,’ as long as you’re committed to regularly showing up in sustainable and repeatable ways, you can maintain long-term. But in general, I recommend that 50% of your marketing is dedicated to promoting your community. Good luck!
MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
What is the best way to approach my first 'cold' marketing campaign?
"With AI changing a lot for copywriters, I would like to have an 'always on' campaign to build new clients. What is the better way to go? Posts about who I am and why I am different (ie I don't use AI at all), or create a 'unique' downloadable to build a mailing list?
Answer
It is always obvious when you’re doing marketing that aligns with your values. The joy and magic comes through, and that attracts ideal-fit clients. So if using AI is not aligned with you, then I don’t recommend “pushing through” and using it for your campaign. You’ve asked whether there’s a better way to go between creating content about who you are and creating a valuable lead magnet to grow your email list. My answer is: porque no los dos (why not both)! I recommend letting your personal content do the heavy lifting at the top of the funnel by sharing your perspective, values, and why you’re the best choice than your competitors. Then, guide people toward a lead magnet that deepens that relationship. The lead magnet is simply a natural extension of your voice, not a separate “marketing asset” you have to put on. Since you’re a fundraiser copywriter who is wary of AI, I love the idea of a downloadable guide on “How to Write Fundraising Copy That Sounds Human”. This way, you’re not choosing between authenticity and growth. You’re using one to support the other. Hope this helps!
EMAIL MARKETING
How to approach fixing an email funnel that isn't converting?
"When designing a funnel, what's the ideal number of emails to send? I always thought that 4/5 was a good amount, but I was recently told 9/10! I have put almost 100 people into my new funnel and I have not converted 1 person, any tips, advice on how to move forward?"
Answer
There is no one right way to design a funnel. I have seen some people design 10-email funnels that move people onto another funnel as soon as they finish one. I have seen other people convert with only 3-email funnels. It all boils down to value and clarity. I don’t think you need to redo your funnel so that you have 9-10 emails. I think 4-5 can be sufficient, depending on what you’re selling and what stage in the funnel you’re reaching people (you might need more emails if they are early in the consideration stage vs you might need less is they are in the later part of the consideration stage). Here is how I would move forward on reviewing the funnel you have currently. Compare the open rates of each email in the funnel. Can you identify where there is a drop off in the open rate? Naturally, the open rates of each email will decline because there are always less people further down the funnel you go. You are looking for a more notable drop in open rates - more than a 15% drop. Where there is a big drop in open rates, there is something not working with the subject line. For example: if the second email has a 40% open rate and the third email has a 20% open rate. The subject line of the third email probably needs changing or editing. If there are multiple places where the open rates are dropping off, then edit those multiple subject lines. Compare the click rates of each email in the funnel. Similar to number 1, you want to identify where there are notable drops in the click rates between emails. Drops mean that there is something not working with the content of the email because people haven’t been enticed enough to click to your sales page or offer. If you need to change or edit the content of an email because of this, I recommend thinking about how it could speak to the audience’s pain point or aspiration in a deeper way. If it’s an email that is later in the funnel, it might simply need more social proof (eg. testimonials, case studies, or logos of preview clients). What if there are no notable drops in the open rates and click rates? If these metrics are strong (open rates of at least 25% and click rates of at least 1.5%), then the issue probably lies in your sales page or whichever page you’re directing them to. They are reading your emails, they are interested and are clicking through to the sales page, but it’s not converting. This means the sales page needs improving. I have a free guide on How to Write an Epic Sales Page which can help you here. What if the open rates and click rates are not strong to begin with? A good rule of thumb: An issue with open rates usually means the subject line needs editing. An issue with click rates usually means the email content needs editing. I know this is a lot of info! So, I have distilled it into a nifty flowchart (link below) Best of luck!
Resources:
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How to Write an Epic Sales Page - free to download
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Improving Your Funnel Flowchart - free to download
EMAIL MARKETING
How do I build an email nurture sequence?
"We haven’t had consistent email marketing. Where do we start with ensuring that we have a consistent approach and have the emails flowing so they are a proper nurture sequence? I keep putting it off for fear of getting it wrong"
Answer
First, I want to reassure you that it is very unlikely that you’ll get email marketing “wrong”. In the vast majority of cases, “wrong” only means that something isn’t working but even in that case, it gives you important data on what your audience doesn’t resonate with. All great marketing starts with the data and information gathered by marketing that didn’t work. Now, how does one start with creating a proper nurture sequence? Every marketer has a different approach, so what I recommend will probably be different if you ask my competitors (and I encourage you to ask, so you can see which approach aligns best with your capacity, resources, values and brand). I recommend simply starting with 3 emails. Two days between the first and second email. 3-4 emails between the second and third email. The first email - Start by speaking directly to the biggest problem your audience is experiencing. This is about making them feel seen, not convincing them to buy. Introduce your offer gently, as a possible support, not the solution to everything. The second email - Reframe the problem and explain your approach. Use the second email to shift how they’re thinking about the issue. This is where you clarify what actually helps and what doesn’t. Explain how your offer works in practical terms and why it’s designed the way it is, without over-explaining or overselling. The third email - Reinforce trust by providing social proof. The third email is where you prove your offer’s promise: patterns you’ve seen, results, testimonials, or common outcomes. Then make a clear, confident call to action. By this point, they should understand the problem, your perspective, and whether the offer is right for them. I structure nurture sequences this way because it naturally breaks down the core elements of how you message an offer. It forces clarity around the problem you’re solving, how you articulate value, and how confidently you ask for the next step. It’s also one of the most effective ways to test whether your messaging actually works. A short, focused sequence gives you real signals about what’s landing and what’s not, before you add more complexity or scale the funnel further. I hope this helps!
OVERALL MARKETING
What is the best channel to grow my brand?
"I've just launched a new email copywriting consultancy for charities. But I have limited time to promote it alongside the general freelance copywriting work that's keeping my bills paid. Where should I focus my available time right now to grow my brand and network? LinkedIn feels most promising, but are there better avenues?"
Answer
This is a very common issue for my clients who have multiple offers that are targeted to different audiences! In your case, LinkedIn is the best channel to grow awareness of your new offer. That is where decision-makers inside charities will be scrolling and browsing. Other than LinkedIn, do a little research on other spaces where those charity decision-makers will be - which communities, memberships, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, etc? Those will also be the best place to grow your network. Even better if you get in front of these communities/memberships and present a workshop or a webinar! My top recommendation once you identify those places is to run a mini campaign to promote an online masterclass/webinar, or lead magnet (eg. downloadable guide, resource, etc) targeted to those charities so you can turn this awareness into consideration. It allows you to collect the contacts of the people most interested in your offer so you can send them emails to nurture them. Best of luck!
MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
What is the best marketing plan to fill my group program?
"What is the best communication plan to fill 10 spots for group program, valued at $997 and starting 2 March. What could be the best mix of email/social media, blog or whatever else is needed? The landing page is live and I've been sending couple of emails a week, but nobody has even book the call. What's the best action here? Should I keep the date or consider postponing?"
Answer
I fully empathise with you, and I’ve been there! I experienced the same thing when I launched the pilot of my group sprint Launch Lab last year. It felt like I was putting out so much marketing to only run it to one person in the end. From that, I learnt that we are rarely doing as much marketing as it feels like we’re doing. Once I had tallied out the number of Instagram posts, LinkedIn posts, and emails - it was far less than what it felt like I was doing. People need a lot to be convinced nowadays. There is no set number of marketing assets to publish but for you, I would recommend at least 3 social media posts + 2 emails per week. The investment for your group program is fairly high, so people need more touch points. There may also be a messaging problem. Look at the open rates and click rates for the emails you’ve sent. If the emails are seeing less than a 25% open rate, the issue probably lies with the subject line. If the emails are seeing less than a 1.5% click rate, the issue is probably the content inside the email. If the click rate is more than 1.5%, then the issue is likely the content on the sales page. Hopefully, this helps with assessing where things might need fixing. You still have around a month until your group program starts, so I don’t think you need to postpone. People (including myself) do things last minute. I recommend implementing an earlybird price or an expiring bonus to incentivise people to join earlier than the very last minute. Best of luck!
MARKETING STRATEGY
What’s the best way to reframe messaging so it resonates with senior decision-makers,?
"I’m working with a B2B tech consultancy where the work is complex, high-trust, and not impulse sign-up. Currently, their content naturally attracts technical audiences due to copy and messaging, but the real buyers / decision makers are C'suite / execs thinking about risk, governance, cost and accountability. What’s the best way to reframe messaging so it resonates with senior decision-makers, builds trust quickly, and leads to better quality discovery conversations?
Answer
Before I respond, I want to caveat that my clients are usually small business owners and early stage startup founders. Some of them have C-suite / execs as their target audience, but I do want to preface that I am probably not the marketing person with the most expertise on this. In my opinion, credibility is one of (if not the most) important considerations for the decision-makers that you are talking about. They care about real results backed with data and evidence. That means that your messaging and its language should highlight the results you’ve achieved with other clients. For example, “Helped X organisation increase Y by Z% over six months,” or “Led a campaign that resulted in X outcomes across Y markets.” Think about the KPIs and metrics that these decision-makers care about and want to make an impact on. Then, frame the messaging around this. That could look like email newsletters where you focus on a customer case study, and then repurpose this content into a LinkedIn document carousel. With this approach, the messaging doesn’t rely on technical language but appeals to the wider audience because it communicates outcomes. The language you use should feel precise, measured, and grounded in reality, not inflated or overly promotional. So avoid vague claims like “high-impact” or “game-changing” because your audience are very clever people who can see through that. They simply want proof. That might be how much money you’ve saved for clients, the revenue impact of your work, or the measurable results you can stand behind. Some great examples are the customer case studies published by Brainfish, an AI startup I’ve worked with before. Hope that helps!
MARKETING STRATEGY
How do I increase my visibility as a coach without adopting a cookie-cutter approach
"How can I gain visibility as a coach and for my healing work with the right fit clients online without using the same cookie cutter approach to digital and content strategy everyone else is using?"
Answer
I loooove this question! I recommend starting with a fun but powerful little brainstorm about what makes you different from the other coaches. What beliefs do you hold that are contrary to many coaches? What is your approach in contrast to theirs? Then, identify the type of client who would choose you over every other coach offering something similar. Not everyone needs healing and not everyone needs the same kind of healing. What kind of person is looking for and needs your unique kind of healing? From there, create content that speaks directly to them (eg. blog articles, quizzes, guides, social media posts, emails, etc). Focus on the topics they care about, the language they would naturally use, and the values they already hold or are exploring. This isn’t about explaining or justifying your work. You want to reflect your audience back to themselves so they feel recognised. The fastest way to stand out online is by being clear and consistent in your point of view. Share what you believe, what you don’t subscribe to, and how your approach differs. This way, you’re not adopting a cookie-cutter approach. You’re adopting very specific messaging where the right people lean in and everyone else self-selects out. Some great examples of coaches who do this are these coaches on Instagram: @brookmccarthy @laurahiggins @shayethyer.finance I love these examples because by looking at their content, you get a strong sense of the type of person they are attracting. I’m going to end my answer with my recommendation on your best next step. Create a strong lead magnet based on your brainstorm and run a 6-week campaign to promote that. This way, you can start growing an email list of your right-fit clients. Best of luck!
OVERALL MARKETING
Which marketing tasks should I outsource?
"In a small team, what tasks do you recommend outsourcing to a marketing expert and what tasks should the team complete themselves?"
Answer
What tasks to outsource really depends on what your existing team has expertise and capability in, and also what they find enjoyable. For example, many of my clients are brilliant writers. They enjoy writing long-form blogs and email newsletters. So they keep doing that and outsource the short-form content and the more ‘techy’ marketing stuff to me. Unfortunately, I can’t straight out answer your question and list all the tasks to outsource because it depends on what your small team are able to do now. I recommend starting with listing all the tasks your team are good at and enjoys doing. Then, you can identify the marketing gaps you can outsource. If it helps, these are marketing tasks that I usually see outsourced: - SEO - Paid ads - Website building / management - Graphic design - Social media marketing
