I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Marketing.
I love the creativity,
I hate how there is always someone making it more than it is.

That' s why most people call it “fluff’ or even worse “BS”!

Now don’t get me wrong, I find myself watching ads, passing billboards and when it's good and the product is right, I will talk about it and consider buying it.

But what about the rest of us?

The solopreneurs, the start-ups, the underfunded marketing teams?

The ones who can’t afford “fluff” and still need results. 

So here’s where we start:
Sustainable Growth: How to build a successful marketing system that works, without burning out or selling out.

And before you say, “Well, I’m not a marketer…”
Let’s be honest.
Do you run a business?
Need it to grow?
Struggling to find and keep the right audience?

Congratulations. You’re in marketing. (Like it or not.)

So let’s fix it, together.

Let’s strip the fluff, take back control, and build marketing that actually works. 

Here’s What We’re Talking About Today:

👉 P.S. Did a friend send this your way? Sign up for free here.

Need some Peers with Benefits?

That’s what Audience101 delivers every day: a safe, curated space to make marketing simple, and dare I say, fun, again. Here’s a taste of what’s coming this month:

• Connected Festival – TOMORROW (VOD available to Members only)
  Three experts in media, research, and behavioural science. Live chat with me on making sense of marketing and business.
  

• Monthly Workshop – AI, your way
   No generic prompts. You’ll leave clearer, calmer, and in control.
  

• Cohort Course – Your pace, your way
  Event design, media planning, audience building, content strategy—all wrapped in our Connected Flywheel. Start when you want.
  

• Weekly Prompts – Not spam
   Real, bite-size nudges to keep you moving, and sane.
  

• No Algorithms - Human only!
  This is curated by myself and Lisa, plus every member. It’s time to put the humans back in the mix.
  

📅 This week is prime time to join: new month, new theme, new you.
Subscribe now: lock in our launch price plus 20% off.

The French designer Pierre Brault has responded to the accelerated rhythm of our society with facade installations that combine the principle of the sundial with colorful pop design. 

Audience Insights & Future Trends: Focus on Where your Audience Lives, That’s your Media Plan

📉 “Advertisers are losing an average of 43 cents for every dollar spent in dull media environments.”
– The Cost of Dull Report, Amplified Intelligence

Active attention is dying.
Short-form formats. Fast-scroll. High-decay. We’re not just burning money, we’re training our audiences to ignore us.

🧨 Gallup: Only 8% of Americans trust advertisers (same tier as lobbyists and car salespeople)

🇬🇧 Ipsos: Only 18% of Brits trust ad execs (3rd least-trusted profession)

💡Insight:

We’ve been losing your trust for decades. The numbers say it all.
Marketing has become a media-selling frenzy.
We’ve sold dreams, reach stats, and clickbait to chase media dollars.

🏆Takeaway:

1. Stop staring at CPMs, measure real engagement.
2. Balance content with conversation; people crave connection.
3. Retrain your audience in the art of human-to-human chat, add value with every interaction.

Case Study: SoundCloud’s Lean SMS Playbook

❓Why I Chose This:

In our “Sustainable Growth: Do Less, Achieve More” theme, the goal isn’t to add channels - it’s to cut the ones that no longer serve you.

SoundCloud got this right.

They focused on how their audience lives. And acted accordingly.

🪜 Setup

SoundCloud is a music platform that helps creators distribute, promote, and monetise their music.

Subtext is a messaging tool that lets brands text subscribers directly—no spam, no algorithm, just connection.

Now, SoundCloud Artist Pro users can launch an SMS line powered by Subtext to message fans:

→ One-to-many broadcasts
→ Optional one-to-one replies
→ Straight to the phone—no feed, no algorithm

📊 Numbers:

• 98% open rate

• 33.64% CTR
   → 38× higher than peak Instagram feed ads
   (Hypebot)

• $41.25/month for up to 10,000 texts
   → Scrappy budgets approved
  

💡 Insights:

• Precision > Noise
   Fans opt in, this isn’t shouting into the void.

• Micro-investment, macro impact
   At $0.004 per ping, his scales are smart, without burning cash.

 🎁 Takeaway:

🪓 Prune First → What’s the one underperforming channel you’ll ditch this month?
🧠 Get Creative → Once you understand how your audience lives, you can meet them there
📉 Cut ≠ Fail → Cutting back isn’t failure. It’s clarity.

Behind the Scenes

How do you connect fans when all you’ve got is text messaging?

That was the challenge Virgin Mobile gave me in 2005.
They were sponsoring the UK’s biggest festival outside Glasto.
No flashy tech. Just a goal: bring fans closer to the artists they love.

We spotted the magic moment:
That pause before the band hits the stage.
The crowd buzzing. Artists waiting in the wings.

What if we connected them, right then?

So we launched “Text the Band.”
Fans texted their favourite acts. Messages hit the jumbotron. Artists replied in real time.

• 📱 Fans got their moment

• 🎤 Artists felt the love

• 🔥 The brand played hero

Fast forward 20 years.
Same challenge, new noise.
SoundCloud’s playbook proves that real connection still works, no middlemen needed.

This is what sustainable growth looks like.
It’s not about scale.
It’s about signal.

Mood Board: Source Spotlight

📣 Wrap-Up CTA

I love writing these newsletters, but nothing beats real-time connection. A newsletter can’t tailor itself to each of you. A community can.

No algorithms. No AI. Just me and Lisa, two humans who refuse to call marketing “fluff.” We’re your hosts. Our mission? Bring you back to human-first marketing and guide you to connect, with each other and your audiences.

⏳ Join us in Audience101: support, collaborate, and build the future of marketing, together.