Marketing strategy and systems
The marketing thinking your team is missing.
What it is
Strategic marketing work for organizations at a decision point or a capability gap. This is where most of the work lives: building the systems, content strategies, and campaigns that generate inbound interest over time, so you're not dependent on outbound alone.
The focus is inbound: content strategy, email programs, SEO foundations, and the automation that makes it sustainable. I also handle paid media (search, social) and full rebrands when the situation calls for it. The principle is the same either way: build something that works for your organization specifically, not a template applied from the outside.
It's also for organizations that need a clear-eyed outside perspective before spending the budget on a new CRM, an email program, a website rebuild, or a content strategy.
What I bring to this work is a decade of running marketing functions inside real organizations: managing $750,000 global marketing budgets, building HubSpot lead-scoring and attribution systems, growing qualified lead volume 30% in a quarter, running paid search and social campaigns, and leading full rebrands from strategy through execution.
Who it's for
Mid-size nonprofit marketing teams with real technology (HubSpot, Salesforce, Mailchimp with automation) that nobody on staff can configure or interpret. Organizations whose tech stack was set up by someone who left. Executive Directors who want an honest recommendation, not a vendor pitch, before making a digital investment. Solo practitioners who need a marketing strategy that fits their practice, not a content calendar template.
What it produces
Depends on the engagement. Common outputs include:
- Inbound content strategy: pillars, channels, cadence, and the first 90 days of output
- Email program design: welcome sequences, newsletters, automated nurture flows
- HubSpot or CRM setup, lead-scoring logic, and campaign attribution
- Paid search or paid social campaigns: scoped to your budget and capacity, with honest guidance on when it's worth it and when it isn't
- Marketing audit: what you have, what it's doing, what it should be doing, with prioritized recommendations
- Rebrand strategy: positioning, messaging, and the brief that guides visual execution
- Ongoing advisory: monthly or quarterly check-ins to keep the system working as the organization changes
How it works
- A diagnostic conversation. What you have, what it's doing, what you need it to do.
- A written assessment with specific, prioritized recommendations. Not a list of upsells, not a 40-page slide deck.
- Implementation support for what you decide to build: hands-on configuration, not documentation hand-off.
- Ongoing advisory as needed. The relationship is more useful if it continues than if it ends at delivery.
Proof
HubSpot lead-scoring and attribution modeling at TopSource Worldwide (180+ countries, $750K budget, 30% quarterly MQL growth). Email marketing at Dental Lifeline Network (24,000-subscriber network, 24 state-specific campaigns, +20% click rates). Google Ad Grant activation for WorldDenver ($10,000/month in free advertising, new audience acquisition).
Common questions
- Do you set up HubSpot or only use it when a client already has it?
-
Both. New HubSpot implementations, rebuilds of existing instances that nobody knows how to operate, and ongoing lead-scoring and attribution work.
- Can you run paid search or paid social for us?
-
Yes, scoped to your budget. If the budget or the goal does not justify paid media, I will tell you that rather than take the work.
- What is a marketing audit?
-
A written review of what you have, what it is doing, what it should be doing, and which changes would move the most. No upsell list, no 40-page deck.
- Do you do fractional marketing leadership?
-
Yes, on a monthly retainer with capped hours. Good for organizations that need senior marketing thinking without the cost of a full-time hire.