Insights
Plain answers on agencies, marketing hires, budgets and expectations. No vendor pitch, because we don't sell either path.
Do you need a digital marketing agency? A 10-question test
An honest ten-question test to decide whether an agency will help your business right now, or simply spend your retainer learning what you should already know.
3 min readDecidingAgency or in-house marketing hire? How to decide
A practical way to choose between an agency, your first marketing hire, or a mix of both, based on what you actually need to buy and what each option demands from you.
2 min readChecklistsMarketing readiness checklist: 9 things to have in place before you spend
Nine areas that decide whether an agency or marketing hire will succeed in your business, each with what "ready" looks like and the red flag to watch for.
3 min readHiringHow to hire your first marketing person (and what to avoid)
A practical guide to defining the role, setting a realistic scope, interviewing for the right skills and giving your first marketing hire a plan for the first 90 days.
3 min readChoosing an agency12 questions to ask a digital marketing agency before you sign
Twelve questions that reveal how an agency really works, what good answers sound like, and the warning signs that suggest you should keep looking.
2 min readDecidingWhy agency relationships fail — and what you can fix before you hire
The most common reasons agency relationships end badly, and the changes on your own side that make them far more likely to work.
2 min readBudgetingHow much should a small business spend on digital marketing?
A step-by-step way to work out a sensible digital marketing budget from your revenue goals, your numbers and how long you can wait for results.
2 min readMeasurementCost per lead, CAC and LTV: the three numbers to know before you hire marketing help
What cost per lead, customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value mean, how to work them out with simple arithmetic, and the mistakes that make them misleading.
2 min readExpectationsHow long does digital marketing take to work?
Realistic timelines for digital marketing, why early results are measured differently from revenue, and how to set expectations for the first 30, 60 and 90 days.
2 min readNot sure where you stand?
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