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Strategic AF

Tired of marketing advice that’s either obvious or outright shady? Strategic AF flips the script. It's the only newsletter that treats solopreneurs, founders, and marketers like grown-ups, not toddlers looking for the next shiny toy. Subscribe to get sharp, no-nonsense strategy advice without the cringe. No bro-marketing, no fluff — just real, sustainable growth tactics. Subscribe if you want results. Scroll past if you prefer gimmicks.

Featured Post

🎯 The demand-backed launch playbook [SAF #147]

Hey Reader, Before we dig in, I have a teeny-tiny favor to ask you. I’m putting together a solo business barometer that will help us all make better business decisions. Would you spare ±8 minutes to fill it in, pretty please? It’s here and, of course, you will be the first to get the results. Now let me ask you this: do you dread launches? Do they fill you with anxiety? My first two launches were exactly like this. I was a tight ball of anxiety because I had no clue whether it would work or...

Hey Reader, I kid you not, I once saw someone say, “Grab one of the only 3 eBooks remaining — when they’re gone, they’re gone.” It made me wonder where do pixels, bits, and bytes go when they’re “gone-gone”. But, more importantly, does anyone fall for this fake urgency crap? Sure, the author offered some tortured explanation about the eBook being in limited supply because he wanted to give ME (and two other lucky people) an edge. And edges get dull if everyone has them, right? This is...

Hey Reader, Before we dig in, want a good laugh? I spent yesterday afternoon designing the FunnelBro 3000, a custom GPT that has a guru-like answer to any marketing challenge — and now I'm laughing and my own jokes. Try it here. [I have weird hobbies, I know.] I think it ties in well with today’s topic because most people want attention but few earn it. Today is about the gap between the time you spend creating and the time you expect people to spend consuming. I call it the Content Exchange...

Hey Reader, Have you ever had this fear that you’ll build something and no one will buy it? Pretty much everyone I know in this industry has it — and most of us have launched stuff that flopped before. While there’s no single recipe for making sure that your new offer will be a smashing success, there are a few frameworks and a bit of math (sorry!) you can do before launching. I built a new custom GPT that will help with most of that math and that will give you a blunt verdict whether you...

Hey Reader, First off, thank you for all your messages and replies last week. It looks like the newsletter resonated more than ever and I’m so happy about that! In case you missed it, you can read it here. Last week, I introduced the “audience tuning” concept almost in passing. Because quite a few of few picked up on that, this week we’re diving deep into audience tuning, its virtues and its perils. But first, a quick message from our partner today, the platform that allows me to reach your...

“I want clients, but I don’t want to be an influencer” — most of my clients in The Growth Intensive. I get it. Influencers or creators got a bad name. I wrote more about this in one of the early issues of this newsletter. Many of my clients and friends refuse to do traum pr0n or overshare their lives just to be relatable. They know this works (of course it does!), but is it relevant if you’re in B2B or selling B2C products that have absolutely nothing to do with your personal life? All this...

Hey Reader, Ever spent hours crafting the perfect blog post, only to realize it sounds exactly like every other result on Google’s first page? Yeah, been there. It hurts. Information overload isn't just a cliché anymore. It's our everyday reality. ChatGPT spits out more advice in three seconds than most humans do in a week—so why the hell should your audience trust your content over what an AI regurgitates? They probably shouldn't. Unless your content does something more than just deliver...

Hey Reader, Ever seen someone browse an online store, open five browser tabs, and start furiously cross-examining every claim a brand makes? Yeah, me neither. Totally never done that myself. (Ahem.) Look, let’s be honest: skepticism is the new baseline. Your potential buyers — your readers, clients, course-takers, whatever — don’t trust you by default. They open tabs, compare pricing, search reviews, and dissect your marketing promises like they're prepping for a courtroom drama. Why is this...

Hey Reader, We need to talk about “focus.” And not the overly-simplified, bro-coded version where some guy on YouTube tells you to pick one channel, one offer, and one audience, then tattoo them on your forehead and white-knuckle your way through the next ten years. That’s not strategic focus. That’s gambling with your business, your energy, and your optionality. The goal isn’t to pick just one thing. The goal is to deliberately choose the right few things that actually move the needle—and to...

Hey Reader, I want to tell you about one of my biggest F-ups. In 2023, mere months after launching this newsletter, I decided it was time to add a one-hour strategy session to my offer deck. How should I price it, though? Back then, every toddler who had discovered LinkedIn two months before charged $250. Me? I had 15+ years in marketing, so I had to charge more, right? Right! Even though I knew better, I decided on value-based pricing. And my value? Oh, dear, it was astronomical! Mom agrees!...