I have a published author who wants a website and marketing for his author business. Website will be its own separate fee and then he wants to do a rev share on the book sales and speaking engagements in exchange for marketing. Below are some of the rough details. Have any of you done a trade like this with an author before and how did you/would you split it? If you did a tiered rev share, how would you structure that? For reference, he has been self-publishing books and doing speaking engagements for a couple of decades without much revenue. He is a great writer and speaker (has been a professor for decades) but has done absolutely no marketing so his sales are very minimal. I have 13 years of experience in marketing, but never structured a contract quite like this one for an author before. Thank you for your insights!

1. Social Media & LinkedIn & Podcast Marketing Strategy

• Awareness Campaigns: Highlight insights from the book to build interest in your expertise.
• Lead Generation Campaigns: Offer a free webinar or downloadable resource to collect email leads.
• Retargeting Ads: Follow up with website visitors to encourage event attendance, book sales, and speaking invitations. 
• Strategy and implementation on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and a Podcast

We can get leads from publisher book sales. We could also do a podcast, or get on other high-profile podcasts. 

2. Email List Building and Nurture Campaigns

We will get 10k to 50k names a year from the publisher. 

• Leveraging your lead magnet on the website and during the event.
• Creating an email nurture sequence that showcases excerpts from the book, testimonials, and success stories from past speaking gigs.

3. Content to Support Your Goals

• Use short video clips on social media to build trust and demonstrate your expertise.
• Create posts or ads that highlight key takeaways from your book and training sessions.

4. Tracking and Analytics

Measure the performance of ad campaigns, email sign-ups, and website conversions to ensure these efforts are delivering results, especially in securing high-ticket speaking engagements.

I have made it to interview round 3 with this company. They are a startup, and have been around for a few years. I think their product is cool and I love the industry that they are in. I was told I would receive a project so they can see how I think, and then received this.

-------

 Digital Marketing Specialist | Demand Generation Project 

(Including a 20-Minute Presentation) 

Project Overview: 

Your task is to develop a demand generation plan designed to increase awareness, attract leads, and convert prospects in the (industry redacted). You will also prepare a 20-minute presentation to showcase your strategy, execution plan, and results framework based on the following:

Campaign 

Design one demand generation campaign as part of the following high-level plan: 

Key Messaging: (Redacted)

Objective: 50 MQLs in 3 months 

Audience Segmentation: 

Persona 1

Persona 2

Persona 3

Content Types: 

1 Whitepapers 

1 Webinar 

1 Videos 

1 Event 

1 Blog Post 

Customer Journey Alignment: Highlight where the campaign fits within the sales funnel (awareness, consideration, decision). 

Deliverables: 

1. Demand Generation Plan 

Prepare a detailed presentation slides outlining the following: 

Channels and Tactics: Specify the digital channels (e.g., email marketing, social media, PPC, content marketing) and tactics to be used for demand generation. 

KPIs and Metrics: Define measurable objectives, such as lead volume, MQL/SQL conversion rates, and ROI. 

3. Technology Recommendations 

Identify digital tools and platforms needed to execute the campaign effectively, such as: 

CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) 

Marketing automation (e.g., Marketo, Pardot) 

Analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Tableau) 

Other tools/technologies that will be beneficial for speeding up processes 

4. Creative Assets Mockup 

Provide visuals or outlines of the following: 

A landing page design for lead capture, including the CTA and form elements. 

A 3-email lead nurturing sequence (subject lines, brief body copy, and CTAs). 

5. Optimization and Testing Plan 

Propose A/B testing ideas for key campaign elements (e.g., email subject lines, landing page CTAs). 

Outline a process for ongoing optimization based on performance data. 

Presentation: 

Prepare a PowerPoint presentation (15 slides max) to present your plan. The presentation should include: 

Introduction (2 minutes): 

Brief overview of the demand generation strategy and goals. 

Execution Plan (10 minutes): 

Explanation of selected digital channels, content, and tools. 

Metrics and Optimization (5 minutes): 

Discussion of KPIs, tracking tools, and proposed improvements. 

Conclusion (3 minutes): 

Recap the strategy and the projected impact on lead generation. 

Submission Requirements: 

PowerPoint slides for the presentation (PDF or .pptx format). 

Any supporting documents, mockups, or visuals (PDFs or image files). 

Timeline: 

Preparation Time: 5 business days from the assignment date. 

Presentation: Deliver a 20-minute presentation followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. 

Note: Assume any necessary details about the company and market, but clearly state your assumptions within the presentation. 

----------

I'm doing the project, and I'm transferring everything over from the outline into the Powerpoint presentation, but part of me feels like this might be a little too detailed for an interview.

I've had instances where I've created ads for companies and they didn't hire me, but later on used my ads. I've even had instances where they had me create marketing plans for them and I have declined those in the past.

I guess my question is, do you think the work I'm doing for this interview is giving away too much valuable information for free? I was enjoying the project until I got to the part where they want me to send them THREE email sequences and landing page samples.

We’re looking for good spots to share updates about our product (web component) beyond just our website. Dev to and Hashnode are cool, but what other dev-friendly platforms do you use? Also, do you think it’s better to post from a personal or company account? And is it worth spreading updates everywhere or just sticking to one solid platform? 

Coming up on 7 years experience between 'creative lead' and 'creative director' positions acting as the "marketing guy" for several medium sized companies (close to 1 billion $ revenue). Thinking about my next career move, title and salary wise, and "Marketing Director" seems to be the next step. I've been looking around for a while and it seems most Jobs of this level require 10+ years experience and "MBA preferred". If it started now I could probably complete my MBA by the time I hit 10-11 years experience which would put me right in that zone of meeting the minimum requirements to be considered.

The main drawback is cost of course, with the average course costing 3k and I would need 12, so total comes out to about 40K. All for the prospects of MAYBE getting a Marketing Director role. So the question is if this is even worth it? Would the MBA really make me stand out that much? Or should I just bank on my experience and record of performance + stellar references and portfolio? Feels like at this level a portfolio matterd a little less than metrics do though.

Hey everyone, I’d love some advice from those who’ve been in a similar spot or anyone else for that matter.

A year ago, I was made redundant. I spent about six months job hunting—got very close quite a few times, but things kept falling through, and frustration built up. I wasn't in a good place mentally following mounting resentment about my situation, constant interview prep, 3+ rounds of interviews, etc. I got a decent redundancy package. So, I took a break, moved to Europe for six months, traveled, and reset. Here I am now, back in my home country, ready to begin the job search once again. I am super eager to start working.

I have a Master’s in Marketing Management and about 6–7 years of experience in very corporate, finance-sector marketing roles. My background is pretty broad—I’ve worked across graphic/video design, CMS management, real-life event planning, webinar execution, EDMs, content creation, brand strategy, social media management, stakeholder communications, copywriting, and agency/vendor management. However, I feel like this hinders me as I have not specialised in anything. I tried to learn SEO in my spare time, built a basic WP blog-style site from scratch but stopped when I saw the pricing of AHREFS for keyword research and the sheer time it would take to get ranked. I was also deterred by talk of AI and Google algorithmic changes.

I’ve always been a one-man marketing team, either stepping into newly created roles or inheriting responsibilities from multiple redundant positions. I managed third-party agencies for PPC, SEO, social media and performance marketing but never executed those functions hands-on—mostly because I inherited pre-existing contracts when I stepped into the role or didn't have the capacity to do this as a one man show.

I know I’m ready for a Marketing Manager position, but I have zero direct experience managing people—only agencies and vendors. And most roles today seem to want deep technical expertise in digital marketing, CRM, or analytics, which I’ve worked with at a strategic level but not hands-on.

I'm looking for advice on what you'd do in my situation. Any input is appreciated.

Everyone always talks about how New York City is the place to be for marketing, but just how good is it? Are there really that many opportunities there?

I don’t know if I’m completely overthinking google and meta ads but I struggle with autism and I get confused very easily. I have done google search ads on a small 2k budget in the past and managed these easily, but I’ve had a week to plan google and meta ads for search and display on a 10k budget and the ceo wants 10k app downloads from it and I’m completely overwhelmed.

Like google and meta recommends how many images and videos you should have in one ad and I’m like surely not?

So I’ve researched:

Google 5 Headlines 5 Descriptions 3 Images (various sizes and formats) 10 Videos (various sizes and formats)   Meta 1 Headlines 1 Primary Text 1 Descriptions 18 Images (various sizes and formats) 18 Videos (various sizes and formats) 1 Carousels (10 images)

But, I’m struggling to churn out and create loads of video and image content in different formats as well as demographic and keyword research and then plan it all, I am EXHAUSTED this week and my brains gone, I can’t create good visual content or write good copy my brains just absolutely all over the place

Should it be simple, am I over complicating it?

Does anyone have a good way of planning a google and meta strategy like a checklist and layout for my plan so I can keep track of everything in one place. I tried doing spreadsheets with different tabs for everything but none of it makes sense anymore and I don’t know what I’m doing

Hi all, bit of a weird one.

I recently interviewed for a social media manager role at an apparel company and all went well. At the end of the interview, they asked me if I would be interested in completing a project for them. They then explained that they had footage from a recent photoshoot, and that they would love for me to create two short videos “to see my creativity and storytelling skills in action”.

They’ve since sent me over a small brief, which includes a TikTok and Instagram video with caption copy, with an angle or theme. They also want me to develop a 1 week content plan example for them.

I understand wanting to see proof of work if I didn’t have any examples or if I was a junior, however I’ve already sent over a portfolio with plenty of past projects and content pieces I’ve made over the almost three years I’ve been doing social media coordination and content creation.

They haven’t specified if these videos I make will be used as marketing material, or if these projects will be paid.

Should I be following up on the above before I start working on them? I’ve prefaced with them that I have some external projects that I’m working on this weekend, just to manage expectations. But shouldn’t this technically be a paid trial? Any help or recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Based in Melbourne, Australia

I need a new job, but I don’t know what. Fresh out of college I worked for an agency, and I enjoyed aspects of it, but the pay wasn’t great and I had 4 different bosses in 6 months, a lot of turnover, etc. I switched to a marketing job in house for a large firm, doing proposals. That’s what I’ve been doing the last 7 years, and I hate it. I regularly work 60-75 hour weeks, and it’s not a lack of time management. Our company overloads us with work, and I’m on 3-4 large, complex proposals at any given time. I’ve talked to my manager about it, and she just says that’s the nature of the business and she will tell me she often works 14-16 hour days (as if that’s supposed to make me feel better).

The catch is, I’m currently making over $100K, and I am fully remote. I’m not so sure I can get that salary and wfh flexibility anywhere else.

Additionally, I’ve realized that I truly hate doing proposals, so whatever my next job is, I want to actually enjoy it, and also have an actual life outside of work.

I enjoy writing, strategy, a little social media but not too much and proofreading. I’d really like a job that isn’t so high stress all the time, and maybe even a job where I could actually take a break to eat lunch during the day!

Open to any and all suggestions.

Is Jollibee a type of service or a merchandise?

I'm posting for a simple reason. I was curious to know if there are actually any other Twitter ghostwriters on this subreddit.

If you run a Twitter ghostwriting agency, or you do it as a freelancer, leave a comment. I'd be curious to know any tips/practices you have that help get your clients genuine results (or practices you follow outside of client delivery).

Hi. I’ve worked at a boutique firm in Canada for the past 4 years, hybrid.

This year leadership changed, and my department is now required to track our work day by the HOUR and then send this list to leadership. We were told it would be a temporary measure so that they could understand the processes of the team, but now there is no definite date as to when we can stop. I asked, and they simply said “Please continue.”

It is very stressful, and I was already looking for other jobs, but this is making me want to leave faster. I, like most marketers, wear multiple hats and switch between multiple tasks in a day, communicate on and off with other teams, etc. tracking all of this is so unproductive for me and makes me feel like I am trying to defend myself.

I was wondering if this is a common practice in smaller organizations. This wasn’t an issue here until recently.

Currently using ActiveCampaign to send out weekly emails and hate all the limitations! Here are some of my current frustrations:
- Ugly email templates

- Not flexible email design features (eg. padding can only increase in increments of 5px???)

- Difficult to manage emails / campaigns

- Slow process to upload images

- Reports are not easy to manipulate the data shown

- Would want to see more individualised data

It's also really slow and not very intuitive and not worth the price tag imo.

Some things I do like about it are their automation system is good and easy to set up.

There must be some better alternatives. Our mailing list just surpassed 1000 subscribers and is expected to grow rapidly in the next month so I want to make sure we're using the best platform before it gets too big to manage.

Thanks in advance

Are there any softwares or methods to do sms messages as marketing along with email?

I'm hoping to make an archive for future research and hopefully other marketers to find quality landing pages to find inspiration and find examples that work or that are just awesome.

Feel free to share why it works so well or why you feel it's a great landing page.

I want to look at as many as I can. I have a client doing a rebrand due to acquisition and they want to do a brand style that has nothing to do with their service. I love it and I'm excited for the challenge of bringing it all together. I think the juxtaposition is great. Think outdoors style but the service is for indoor use.

Death Wish Coffee did a good job of going against the grain. Any other ideas?

I love it and just want to see if I find other people here to share that love with.

First off, I’ve been in the industry or adjacent ones for 15 years and have had my fair share of client woes. But it was usually from particular known characters, or when stress was running high or at least interspersed with other reasonable, respectful and pleasant clients.

However in the past couple of years, I’ve noticed a real degradation in the way we are treated. Abuse is a common, if not daily then weekly occurrence. Members of the team I work with are sworn at, personally attacked, snidely accused, gaslit and undermined often. This is from multiple clients/accounts. The attitude from management at my company is basically that it’s to be expected/part of the job to endure, we can’t confront them in any way out of fear of losing their business, and that anyone who raises it as an issue is patronised (implied that they’re too sensitive or mustn’t have that much experience in the industry).

I spoke to a friend who said that everyone has been getting this way since the pandemic. Her attitude was also that it’s to be expected and get used to it if I want to stay in this industry.

I’m pretty baffled as I’ve never experienced anything on this level in my career up until my current agency, and I’ve worked at 4 others and been self employed twice.

Anyway I thought I’d see from the wider marketing community how often abusive client behaviour is experienced (and tolerated), and if this is a growing trend.

Hi everyone! Thought I'd come on here to ask for a bit of advice. I graduated from a BBA program, and since then, I have worked at multiple large agencies such as Publicis, IPG Media Brands, Dentsu, etc.. as a media buyer managing paid search, social, programmatic campaigns. However, I have been wanting to make a switch from agency to client side in a brand marketing role - specifically within the CPG industry. I wasn't sure how I could break into CPG as I know its mostly networking, I was also considering doing a Masters of Marketing to expand my knowledge of brand management since this was something that I lacked. But I know the job market is tough right now, so I wasn't sure if leaving my full-time stable job to pursue a full-time masters was a good idea / if this would even benefit my job search. Let me know if anyone has any thoughts here!! Everything is appreciated.

Soooo...we're creating online radio stations for businesses that aren't about advertising - they're about genuine community.

For example- companies with internal morning shows. Churches developing live programming that connects generations, announcements, contemporary Christian music etc. . Businesses building real relationships beyond algorithm-driven content.

This isn't traditional radio. It's creating audio experiences that bring people together in ways social media can't touch.

Marketing professionals: What unique audio programs would you create to engage your team or customers? Internal morning shows? Product launch countdowns? Customer story hours? What audio experiences could transform your communication strategy?

Started working with a client at a super low rate, just wanted to prove what I could do. Ended up helping them hit multiple viral reels, some crossing 20m+ views organically. Their engagement blew up, revenue went up… basically, unexpected results.

And yet… no talk of a raise, no bonus, not even an appreciation message.

At what point do you bring it up? Or do you just wait and see if they actually recognize your impact?

Curious how others handle this. Should I continue or find new clients who can pay better rates?

Thanks

Hi, I have a BS in Business Management, and I am looking to grow my career in Market Research - specifically Qualitative Research. My background includes working in operations management for the largest statistics company and also working as a UX researcher for a startup.

Hello, community! We are tracking the latest AI trends and want to share a quick roundup of key updates and expert insights making waves in the marketing niche:

Perplexity has launched DeepSeek R1, a cutting-edge feature designed to support deep web research. Users can now access a new Pro Search reasoning mode selector and leverage OpenAI o1 for a transparent view into the model's chain of thought and reasoning process.

Additionally, Perplexity is increasing the number of daily uses for both free and paid users as it gradually expands capacity throughout the day.

Notes for marketers: When adapting content for promotion on Perplexity, keep in mind that search results can be highly sensitive to geographic location. Perplexity's official pages often include the following disclaimer:

“DeepSeek on Perplexity is hosted in US/EU data centers - your data never leaves Western servers. The open source model is hosted completely independent of China. Your privacy and data security is our priority.”

Source:

Perplexity | X

___________________________

This week, the SEO community has been abuzz over a recent video discussion hosted by Mike Grehan, which was later adapted into an article by Roger Montti. In the video, Google’s John Mueller clarified the evolving role of SEO in the era of AI-powered search, particularly in light of Google’s AI Overviews feature. Addressing concerns about SEO’s relevance, Mueller reaffirmed that traditional SEO principles remain essential, ensuring quality information is available to users while enhancing search system effectiveness.

Notes for marketers: The integration of AI into search strengthens—rather than diminishes—the importance of SEO. To stay competitive in this AI-driven environment, professionals should focus on:

• Creating precise, user-driven content that aligns with AI’s goal of delivering direct and actionable insights.
• Implementing structured data to make content AI-friendly.
• Maintaining strong technical SEO standards to ensure accessibility and relevance. This proactive approach will position businesses for success in an AI-centric search environment.

While this digest focuses on AI-driven insights, the full video discussion offers additional perspectives from SEO experts such as Aleyda Solís, Cindy Krum, Michael King, and Ryan Jones. It’s a fascinating resource for further learning!

Sources:

Mike Grehan | YouTube

Roger Montti | SE Journal

___________________________

Last week, Pat Walls ignited a vibrant discussion about leading SEO specialists and their expertise in optimizing for large language models.

The original post read:

"Who is the expert right now at SEO for LLMs?

In other words, getting your product or website to show up in LLMs."

The post gained nearly 100,000 views within two days and got over 100 comments.

What’s your take? Does being mentioned as an SEO expert in such discussions truly reflect one’s expertise? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Source:

Pat Walls | X

___________________________

The SEO community is also keeping a close watch on developments involving Perplexity AI and TikTok.

Perplexity AI has proposed merging with TikTok's U.S. operations, suggesting the formation of a new entity where the U.S. government could hold up to a 50% stake. This initiative is designed to address national security concerns by reducing Chinese ownership and enhancing U.S. oversight of TikTok. Key details of the proposal include:

• TikTok’s proprietary algorithm would remain excluded from the merger.
• ByteDance would retain limited involvement through its existing investors.
• A $300 billion IPO is planned, with non-voting shares allocated to the U.S. government.

This approach aligns with legislation requiring TikTok to sever ties with ByteDance to continue operating in the U.S.

Notes for SEO Specialists: SEO professionals optimizing content for AI-driven platforms and English-language search should anticipate potential changes in how search results are formed for different geolocations when the results include content from TikTok. 

Source:

Haleluya Hadero and Christopher Rugaber | Apnews

I have a page selling quirky, cute, fun school supplies. Rules, pens etc with nice designs, erasers in fun shapes... Just supplies I know kids from ages 7 to 13 enjoy. I thought of marketing the page to the parents, as this category is almost impossible to sell to directly.

However, I'm under the impression parents only buy their kids this type of stuff once the child sees the product and insists on having it i.e. at a store.

I guess I am just looking for some experiences people had. Did you have success marketing non-essential children's products through social media marketing exclusively?

I’m running demand gen for a high-ticket B2B SaaS company (Average deal size is $100K ARR) and need some perspective on two things:

1. Am I Wrong to Push Back on CPL & CAC for ABM (Account Based Marketing)?

Our Marketing VP wants to manage budgets based on cost per lead (CPL) and cost per deal (CAC) for each channel (e.g., LinkedIn Ads, content syndication, etc.). But for ABM/ABX campaigns, I feel like that approach doesn’t make sense since:

• We’re targeting specific accounts, not optimizing for volume.
• Deals are influenced by multiple touchpoints, making it hard to attribute cost per channel.
• Quality > Quantity, so a higher CPL can still be efficient if the right accounts convert.

Am I wrong for pushing back and saying we should look at the overall cost per opportunity for ABM instead of breaking it down by channel? If you’ve made this argument before, how did you convince leadership?

2. Is a $1,500 Cost per Lead on LinkedIn Standard for Enterprise B2B?

Right now, we’re seeing LinkedIn Ad CPL at $1,500, and our cost per opportunity/deal is $7,946. I want to benchmark against other marketers. I'm targeting the decision makers (VP/Head of Departments of Operations) of somewhere about 700-800 enterprise accounts across US and UK.

• If you’re running LinkedIn for high-ticket B2B enterprise products, what CPLs and CACs are you seeing?
• Have you shifted budget elsewhere because of rising LinkedIn costs?
• What LinkedIn strategies are actually working right now for reducing CAC without hurting lead quality?

Would love to hear from from you, what’s your take?

Started as a social media executive and climbed up to the position of social media manager at a B2B saas company. I have always been in the brand side and never the agency side. In my current company, I’m made to do everything but social media. Press releases, backlinking etc I like PR but backlinking is something I have no experience with. I want to amplify brand awareness with founder brand but founder does not want to contribute and that results to posts looking very fake. I want to switch companies. Any suggestions on what should I do next?

Agency social media? no luck here since everyone wants agency experience. Also I’m nearing 30 and companies want younger generations in such roles.