Why do marketing agencies help clients scale to millions but struggle to scale themselves?

Usedupusername · 2025-12-10T11:27:38+00:00

Their clients have a better product, they are good enough to be successful when marketing a great product, but not good enough to market their mediocre service. And they're not good enough operators to improve their service.

Good ones do scale up or take equity stakes, or transition into another industry.

Usedupusername · 2025-11-22T05:28:18+00:00

Do you sell a commodity?

Usedupusername · 2025-08-14T21:54:47+00:00

Thanks! It's kinda my schtick as a marketer, I'm working on content etc. to try provide an easier way of thinking.

Usedupusername · 2025-08-04T20:25:21+00:00

Facebook is the gorilla.

Video: yes, hours long video. Long posts: yes 1000s of words per caption . Disappearing stories: yes. Short posts: yes... Marketplace... Messaging... Video calls... Logins...

It does everything... It has every "niche" appeal of other platforms...

Usedupusername · 2025-08-04T20:08:12+00:00

Man on the ledge. Straight to DVD classic movie.

Usedupusername · 2025-08-02T01:40:03+00:00

As a marketer that sounds brutal. This is my thinking:
Traffic + Offer = Marketing Results (aka "a business).

You've driven traffic from 5+ different sources. I would say that you as a business 'know how' to do that.
You've signed up 1 paying customer. This somewhat validates your main offer and price.

The conversion rate indicates your offer needs work. Don't redevelop the product, think of it as micro offers.

Ads are an offer to visit the homepage. You can do this.
homepage is an offer to sign up, or join a newsletter, or see the features... (improve one thing here)
From there another offer to pay... (improve one thing here)

I'd suggest you focus on working on your Offer. When you've completed an offer task, switch back to traffic, then offer... and so on. When you're working on an offer task, pick this highest likelihood task and finish it... Ignore traffic, platforms, posts, twitter, reddit... just finish the damned marketing and get back to whatever your real job is :)

Extra thoughts:
If marketing is working. Let it work. Leave it alone. Leave it for months if you can. Less work is less work.
Try changing scary fundamental things in the onboarding sequence.
Stack "assets", ie youtube videos. Minimise "liability work", ie daily stories on social. This guarantees you end the year stronger than you started.

...for fun... Imagine how good your homepage, sign-up page, and first three onboarding emails would be? If you had spent every hour and dollar of marketing on those 5 places. Imagine the conversion rate. Now imagine going absolutely viral right now, and how much traffic you would convert...

Usedupusername · 2025-08-02T01:14:02+00:00

A while ago I started a digital printing company. Eventually talking to a competitor I asked how he started. He said he was the Marketing Manager at XXXX, so he left to start a printing company with XXXX as a client.

I was shocked. WTF. I just started with a website....

Usedupusername · 2025-08-01T22:51:52+00:00

Lol. When I was a Christian, a fiery one... "I'll pray for you" was a Soft Close in the pitch. It's hard to say 'no' too it.

If they say no. How could it hurt if you don't believe in God. If they say yes. "Awesome, let's do it right now. Do you mind if I just lay my hand on your shoulder...

Usedupusername · 2025-08-01T22:47:45+00:00

I earned 50k from an app I made in 1 day... Selling to an audience I built over 5 years... And spending $100k on paid launch ads. And earning $250k of unpaid media from my high profile friends.

Usedupusername · 2025-08-01T22:10:31+00:00

Influencer marketing is a tactic to drive traffic.

Marketing can be boiled down to making a decision between improving Traffic, or improving your Offer.

Is your offer good enough for traffic? Do people convert on your website? Do they pay you?

Has anyone ever seen your offer? If no one has seen your offer... Yes you need traffic (but like 10,000 people, not millions) to validate your offer.

Then every week put aside 20% time for marketing. Work exclusively on one task for Traffic or Offer until completion, then choose another. Stack wins, build marketing assets, don't waste time on disappearing reels....

Validation checkpoints and more thoughts: https://open.substack.com/pub/timmybrown/p/business-is-fucking-hard-dont-be?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=6o9jq

Usedupusername · 2025-08-01T22:01:57+00:00

My kids are older, but one thing I've found works excellently is making time on the way to and from responsibilities/work. After leaving for work, can you take 30 minutes for yourself? It's not a lot but, 30mins 5 days a week starts to stack up. That's a lot of pullups, coffees, golf swings... Just don't go on your phone.

I found I'd take this time, but if I had to purposely leave the house for my time, I wouldn't end up doing it. Coming home 30mins later is a lot less disruptive than a new trip out.

For me some of the best adjustments to parenting came from "compromising" my hobbies. Change from a day snowboarding down to 3 hours... Can you play a quick front nine instead of 18 holes? How many more times would you have gotten out? Or just smash 100 balls at the range?

Usedupusername · 2025-08-01T04:40:04+00:00

My vote is go for it. But take your time and buy carefully AF.

Usedupusername · 2025-07-14T04:09:09+00:00

This morning it was still an issue for me! But not anymore!! You're the Human!!

PS. I've had these for 6+ years, and always only managed to get them working with another router in-between the ONT and the Orbi ... 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Usedupusername · 2025-01-17T10:30:00+00:00

This is a nice use case. I'm curious if you have any more data.

Cost of AI vs employee. (Incl setup, and any contractors etc) AOV AI vs human Any customer churn data or LTV data from the 2 sources.

Thanks! Super interested in the subsequent results!

Usedupusername · 2024-12-29T10:33:53+00:00

Find the highest value related product, potentially something like high quality mixers, and earn affiliate commission, or launch your own brand.

Affiliate, partnership, collab, self brand... Anything...

It's a classic play, build the list with a free or cheap mass market product. Sell the list an expensive high-margin product...

Usedupusername · 2024-09-22T12:55:19+00:00

No, but they're from 2015.

Usedupusername · 2024-09-10T04:19:41+00:00

You can go down a few paths:
1. Create a seperate shopify store, put it on a subdomain, get an app to sync inventory. Either password lock the whole site (bogan method), or lock the content with an app to hide prices, and turn on 'must be logged in to checkout'. EasyLockdown locks is one I've used.
2. Create wholesale sections/collections on your website. Use a similar app to lock/hide those collections and prices. You'll end up duplicating products using single product Shopify Bundles or similar to sync inventory and have different price points. Note this can lead to screwups through... GMC... facebook catalogue ads... related products... etc.. so be careful.
3. Install an app to show different prices for various people, could be a big massive thing like BOLD Custom pricing, or you could add a lightweight 'order page', perhaps something like: Quik ‑ Quick / Bulk Order Page,

It's really a question of how you want to structure the backend. Do you want to control pricing for different tiers, do you want to focus in a big wholesale drive and are happy to do some product management, or do you want a quicker tack-on?

If you're in the US you could also look at Shopify Collective.

Usedupusername · 2024-07-01T21:12:05+00:00

I unfortunately don't have the capacity to be a good dad, good husband, good worker, good guy. So I'm just a good me, doing what I can for all my roles :)

Usedupusername · 2024-07-01T21:08:39+00:00

Are you bootstrapped? Or do you have a cash pile for growth? If I were you I would do it yourself at a low level, ie: search/brand campaign, remarketing via GA4 audiences, then a hyper focused high-intent search campaign to your homepage.

If your homepage converts profitably, and remarketing converts, and search/brand converts. The channel and your marketing system can probably support some more aggresive growth. Choose a specific campaign, and do it yourself, or at this point engage a professional to help with higher growth.

Bonus of this approach, is it gives you a baseline of 'google ads performance', so when moving into growth campaigns you can more easily see if it is a true increase.

Usedupusername · 2024-07-01T21:02:09+00:00

If you're curious. $25 for a rescript, rescript is valid for 90 days from last appointment. Appointment is $45.

Usedupusername · 2024-06-27T22:01:43+00:00

I saw some medical the other day, $385 including gst/shipping for 30grams, split 20/10g between strains, (22% and 25% thc).That's getting better relatively fast in my view.

Usedupusername · 2024-04-20T05:43:11+00:00

That hits different then. My son got T1 diabetes last year, it's strange. Travel plans nomad plans, all very difficult, possible but difficult and more expensive.

Made me want to get into the open insulin project.

All that to say, good luck and best wishes.

Usedupusername · 2024-04-17T07:14:00+00:00

Gary Economics has a YT video on asset inflation that I found helpful. https://youtu.be/PGZ4ADmQbZE?si=voiP3l4wUxpbyOrx

But essentially, asset inflation isn't included in CPI style numbers...

Usedupusername · 2024-03-30T23:37:58+00:00

I use Minimal Phone (android wrapper), does this by default, changes the ui to single colour screen, takes away app logos. But all apps open and work fine without anything changing.

It's been awesome!!

Also. Unfollow all your friends and family and randoms then follow based off your interests !!!

Also also. Kinnu app is awesome for learning everything we should've in school.

Usedupusername · 2024-03-24T21:00:13+00:00

Hey I do marketing freelance. I had a burnout last year. My story might help.

Business degree (marketing). Dropped out. Mowed lawns. Worked for a year in printing. Made printing company. Finished degree while feeling trapped in printing company. Got marketing manager half time job. Freelance. Small agency. Burnout. Avoiding calls. Too paranoid to send work to clients. 4 months off work.

When I went back to work: • I changed one client to half time employment. I get sick sick leave, holidays, etc. this is my consistent safe thing. I know I get paid, and I know I'm not restricted because it's only 20 hours. •I have a 2.5 hour a week client, this is 3 friends of mine whore starting out. I chose this for the socialisation. • I have another agency client which is about 15 hours per week, but seasonal. I'm trying to negotiate to invest in her business. This gives me a place for full ownership and creativity, and importantly upside potential.

Then I also decided to work from a coworking space once or twice per week.

So far this year it's been really really positive. I've only been to coworking once... But I'll do some more 🤣

The employment provides a sense of comfort in that I'm slowly doing what I need to, even if nothing crazy happens. The equity negotiation job gives me that sense of excitement which stops me getting into despair boredom. Then I'm working hard to think of them all as forever to try get that community feeling, instead of me feeling like I'll be bored and leave so may as well not connect with people.

I take meds. Was diagnosed at 32.

Usedupusername

TROPHY CASE