Hey friend,If you’ve ever felt like you were drowning in work, but the numbers weren’t moving, this is for you.

It’s a sinister trick of marketing that the very strategies we rely on are often the ones holding back our growth.

First, you do something.

It works!

You add it to the checklist.

Repeat until you can reliably check the boxes and win.

Until you don’t.

And then, the boxes become a liability.

You’re busier than ever.

Daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly checkboxes.

But the numbers aren’t moving.

So now what?

Now… we audit.

Why you need a Growth Audit

Here’s a quit gut check. Imagine you had to explain how you built your content strategy.

How many of these apply to your?

1. Industry standards: “Because it’s what everyone does.”
2. Competitors: “Because [Competitor X] is doing it.”
3. [Very] leading metrics: “Because it got clicks or views.”
4. Influencer playbooks: “Because [Influencer Y] says it works.”
5. What you’ve always done: “Because it’s how we’ve always done it.”
6. Time intervals: “Because it’s time to post/run our monthly campaign.”

The Growth Audit

If you’ve ever said (or heard) those things, here’s a simple 5-question way to audit your marketing strategy:

1. Are our metrics directly tied to pipeline or revenue?
2. Does our audience understand what makes us different from competitors? Is that communicated across every channel?
3. Are we using tactics because they’re proven, or because they fit our goals? Do we have a structure in place to remove tactics that aren’t working (or worse, are a distraction)?*
4. Do we have a unique, recognizable voice or message in the market?
5. Are we testing and iterating, or just executing plans from a playbook?

* Important note: Most tactics work. So the real question we have to ask here is “Is this a distraction from more meaningful work?” THAT is the key.

Almost no companies are doing 100% checkbox marketing (although some are).

So we have to ask ourselves, how much of our marketing is checkbox marketing?

Individual contributors, ask yourself:

1. Are my metrics directly tied to pipeline or revenue? If not, do this. It helps you show your impact and build a defensible career.
2. Are the tactics I’m executing on proven, or because they fit our goals?
3. Do I have a structure in place to remove tactics that distract me from more meaningful work?
4. How can I propose more meaningful alternatives?

For managers/leaders (and those that aspire to be), ask yourself:

1. Is everybody aligned on metrics directly tied to pipeline or revenue?
2. Does our audience understand what makes us different from competitors? Is that being communicated across every channel?
3. Across our team, are our tactics proven for US, or because they fit a timeline, habit or something else?
4. How can my team let me know if something isn’t working without feeling like they risk looking incapable? Do we have that level of emotional safety?
5. Do we have a unique, recognizable voice or message in the market?
6. Are we testing and iterating, or just executing plans from a playbook?

This Week

Take the audit framework and run it with your team this week. Identify one immediate change to prioritize.

- Brendan

PS - Next newsletter, I’ll start laying where we go next: creating Content IP (not content noise)!