Are industry trend reports worth the marketing investment? Last week, I wrote about creating a 30-page industry report for a B2B brand I'm working with. It took me ca 55h to research, write, design, and promote it, plus report on results. Was this enormous undertaking worth it? Many B2B software behemoths (HubSpot, Adobe, Salesforce), by launching and promoting "X Year Trends in X" reports seem to validate the strategy. But what about the small B2B brands just entering the market? Based on my...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Ever downloaded an industry trend report or e-book? As for me, I've downloaded 100+ of those.... Why? The landing page text might say things like "we polled nearly 1,800 designers and developers from four continents..." (Figma) but, of course, I never read the promo text. Because it's the impeccably designed cover that gets me. Like 8 billion other human animals, I'm a visual creature. The design team at Intercom wins the beauty pageant – as well as my email address that I exchange for the...
about 1 month ago • 7 min read
Remote work: a human right or... A few weeks ago, an interview with Spotify’s HR chief Katarina Berg relaunched a heated discussion on whether companies should allow remote work. In her interview with Raconteur, Berg voiced a PR-worthy statement: “You can’t spend a lot of time hiring grown-ups and then treat them like children.” The words were echoed in click-baity headlines by most business publications, from Fortune to Entrepreneur to Fast Company. Nobody seemed to question the premise of...
3 months ago • 6 min read
Accepting new marketing projects! Just a quick FYI note that I'm back in business after a 4-month writing break and open to 2-3 new marketing consultation projects. (If you're new to this newsletter, read more about my background here.) In September/October 2024, based in NYC: Doing intro calls, one-off auditing and small-scale consulting projects. From November 2024, based in London: All the above + large-scale projects, e.g. part-time CMO and week-on-week growth projects. Book the November...
4 months ago • 2 min read
You asked, I answer. This will be the most transparent newsletter I've ever written. (Yes, we'll also get to the money talks.) Two weeks ago, I wrote about my life as a freelance marketer and part-time writer. Many of you, readers, got back to me to share your own freelancing stories and ask further questions: on pricing, getting started, and more. Thank you! (If you missed the previous newsletter on freelancing, you may want to check it out here before continuing with this one.) Before I get...
9 months ago • 12 min read
What is the perfect work-life balance? For most people, I think, it would be never working at all. For better or worse, most of us do have to work. For most people, this means a full-time job. So, in a way, freelancing on a flexible schedule is a huge privilege. Could it also be a curse? For the past 3 years, I've lived on a strange annual schedule. I work on freelance marketing projects from September to May. That's 7-8 months. And then I take ca 4 months off to rest, work on my literary...
10 months ago • 6 min read
"If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative," David Ogilvy said in the 60s. He also said: "The consumer isn't a moron. She is your wife." This might still ring true today but only with the inclusion of husbands, friends, and smartphone algos. Be it as it may, the golden days of Mad Men are long past. In 2024, a brand can't just cover the prime advertising spots across the city in large billboards and watch their sales curve skip skywards. Getting people's attention has become more difficult. (Yet...
10 months ago • 3 min read
Today, we're gonna talk about Meta ad creatives... But first, I'd like to say merci! to everyone who replied to the previous newsletter. It was encouraging to see how it resonated for so many. 💛 In case you missed it, read it here: Marketing Things #10 | Saying "no" in order to say "yes" And if you'd like to read more of my thoughts on life-related subjects, subscribe to my life-literature newsletter here. A new monthly dispatch is coming this week. 💌 Ok, on to this week's subject! Every...
10 months ago • 3 min read
This newsletter issue is going to be different. Because. Instead of marketing success, we'll be going to discuss failure. When visiting Paris in January, I found Sheila Heti's book Motherhood on my friend's bookshelf. The book isn't really about whether or not to become a mother. It is a book about meeting the expectations imposed on us by the society. One sentence stuck with me, and I've since read it many times over. "Only in our failures are we absolutely alone. Only in the pursuit of...
11 months ago • 4 min read