Marketing Advisor, Mentor, & Educator

Kevin C. Whelan

Articles

2023

May

May 31, 2023May 31, 2023
Calculating value
May 26, 2023May 26, 2023
206. Building an expertise business around a proprietary framework with Billy Broas
May 20, 2023May 20, 2023
Mistakes I learned as a new fractional CMO
May 19, 2023May 19, 2023
The Right Way to Sell Fractional CMO Services [Workshop]
May 15, 2023May 15, 2023
Flying kites
May 12, 2023May 12, 2023
The business case for advisors
May 9, 2023May 9, 2023
It’s the trade-offs that make us successful
May 8, 2023May 8, 2023
Known for one thing
May 5, 2023May 5, 2023
Diversify your marketing

April

April 28, 2023Apr. 28, 2023
Advisors don’t just sell advice
April 27, 2023Apr. 27, 2023
Are your leads drying up?
April 19, 2023Apr. 19, 2023
Selling to the competition
April 14, 2023Apr. 14, 2023
Let the niche choose you
April 13, 2023Apr. 13, 2023
Should a marketing strategist avoid selling any kind of execution work?
April 12, 2023Apr. 12, 2023
Is it okay to call yourself a fractional CMO if you’ve never been an actual CMO?
April 11, 2023Apr. 11, 2023
Someone has to get paid for execution—why not you?
April 10, 2023Apr. 10, 2023
The learning never ends for a strategist
April 6, 2023Apr. 6, 2023
The simple way to look at marketing

March

March 31, 2023Mar. 31, 2023
Why marketing is our ethical duty as consultants
March 24, 2023Mar. 24, 2023
204. Tsavo Neal on how to get more clients through your website with SEO
March 17, 2023Mar. 17, 2023
203. Mark Evans on the unique challenges and methodologies of fractional CMO and advisory work
March 11, 2023Mar. 11, 2023
The value of your Rolodex
March 3, 2023Mar. 3, 2023
This is what’s holding you back from selling strategy without the execution
March 2, 2023Mar. 2, 2023
The highest leverage thing you can do in your freelance or consulting practice (#202)

February

February 24, 2023Feb. 24, 2023
How to earn more with less stress as a marketing freelancer
February 13, 2023Feb. 13, 2023
Five things to consider when deciding what offerings to sell

January

January 31, 2023Jan. 31, 2023
Are consultants glorified cheerleaders?
January 30, 2023Jan. 30, 2023
The commoditization trap of platforms like Substack
January 25, 2023Jan. 25, 2023
Last call on today’s workshop—How to Package, Price, and Sell Custom Consulting Engagements
January 23, 2023Jan. 23, 2023
Standing out in a genre
January 19, 2023Jan. 19, 2023
The dichotomy of advice
January 13, 2023Jan. 13, 2023
How to Package, Price, and Sell Custom Consulting Engagements [Upcoming Workshop]
January 9, 2023Jan. 9, 2023
Intellectual property assets that pay dividends
January 5, 2023Jan. 5, 2023
Show, don’t tell
January 3, 2023Jan. 3, 2023
Get busy, then get picky

2022

December

December 30, 2022Dec. 30, 2022
Selling custom before productizing your consulting services
December 29, 2022Dec. 29, 2022
What we can learn from Peloton about leverage
December 20, 2022Dec. 20, 2022
Why don’t you just implement for me?
December 19, 2022Dec. 19, 2022
Judging your own work
December 18, 2022Dec. 18, 2022
Thinking of you
December 6, 2022Dec. 6, 2022
How long should the consulting sales process take?
December 5, 2022Dec. 5, 2022
Treat well your referrers
December 2, 2022Dec. 2, 2022
What to do before productizing your consulting services

November

November 29, 2022Nov. 29, 2022
On choosing your podcast guests
November 28, 2022Nov. 28, 2022
Marketing is permission
November 25, 2022Nov. 25, 2022
One person a day
November 24, 2022Nov. 24, 2022
Workshop: How to design highly profitable productized advisory services
November 23, 2022Nov. 23, 2022
The power of the follow-up
November 22, 2022Nov. 22, 2022
Why people don’t buy right away
November 21, 2022Nov. 21, 2022
A few notes on packaging advice
November 18, 2022Nov. 18, 2022
Eliminating execution work
November 17, 2022Nov. 17, 2022
Too long, didn’t read
November 15, 2022Nov. 15, 2022
The best advisors are also teachers
November 14, 2022Nov. 14, 2022
The alternative form of leadership
November 11, 2022Nov. 11, 2022
The risk of overwhelm
November 10, 2022Nov. 10, 2022
The value of an introduction
November 9, 2022Nov. 9, 2022
Getting into physical proximity
November 8, 2022Nov. 8, 2022
Shutting down Mindshare forum—and moving to Slack
November 4, 2022Nov. 4, 2022
Need something a little… different?
November 3, 2022Nov. 3, 2022
How to advise from a birds-eye view

October

October 28, 2022Oct. 28, 2022
The art of the pre-selling your knowledge products
October 26, 2022Oct. 26, 2022
Three ways to design highly profitable 1:1 advisory retainers
October 21, 2022Oct. 21, 2022
Selling a small knowledge product
October 19, 2022Oct. 19, 2022
Investing in your business
October 18, 2022Oct. 18, 2022
What if your home page wasn’t about you?
October 14, 2022Oct. 14, 2022
A suite of options
October 12, 2022Oct. 12, 2022
The importance of taking notes
October 7, 2022Oct. 7, 2022
200. Kevan Lee on part-time advisory work, mentorship, equity compensation, and more
October 6, 2022Oct. 6, 2022
How to successfully onboard your advisory clients
October 5, 2022Oct. 5, 2022
An operating system for advisors
October 4, 2022Oct. 4, 2022
Your business depends on it
October 3, 2022Oct. 3, 2022
Simple and consistent or fancy and complex
October 2, 2022Oct. 2, 2022
Admiring your own widgets
October 1, 2022Oct. 1, 2022
Goals, measurement, value, price, and scope

September

September 30, 2022Sep. 30, 2022
199. The three core ways to get more consulting clients
September 29, 2022Sep. 29, 2022
The path of the expertise merchant
September 28, 2022Sep. 28, 2022
It bears repeating
September 27, 2022Sep. 27, 2022
198. Lowering the barrier for email
September 26, 2022Sep. 26, 2022
Expertise rusts
September 25, 2022Sep. 25, 2022
Manifestos and principles
September 24, 2022Sep. 24, 2022
Playing a level up
September 23, 2022Sep. 23, 2022
What exactly is an expertise business?
September 22, 2022Sep. 22, 2022
What it really means to be profitable
September 21, 2022Sep. 21, 2022
The expert’s risk of creating overwhelm
September 20, 2022Sep. 20, 2022
Audience and relationship assets
September 19, 2022Sep. 19, 2022
The six main reasons why people are buying (or not)
September 14, 2022Sep. 14, 2022
Are you an expert or an explorer?
September 13, 2022Sep. 13, 2022
197. How to put your advisory clients at the epicentre of your business
September 12, 2022Sep. 12, 2022
“Didn’t you check our Instagram account?”
September 7, 2022Sep. 7, 2022
196. Iteration and innovation is the way
September 2, 2022Sep. 2, 2022
Cut, consolidate, expand, and deconstruct
September 1, 2022Sep. 1, 2022
My current audio, camera, and lighting setup (late 2022)

August

August 26, 2022Aug. 26, 2022
Make offers
August 23, 2022Aug. 23, 2022
Don’t let the “competition” scare you away from a new niche
August 19, 2022Aug. 19, 2022
How to turn your method into marketing
August 18, 2022Aug. 18, 2022
How to add an Apple Podcast banner on mobile devices with one line of code
August 17, 2022Aug. 17, 2022
My two fiddle leaf figs
August 16, 2022Aug. 16, 2022
What to do when you need clients and don’t know where to start
August 15, 2022Aug. 15, 2022
195. Selling confidence
August 11, 2022Aug. 11, 2022
Reading the tea leaves
August 9, 2022Aug. 9, 2022
Google Analytics 4 Live Workshop
August 5, 2022Aug. 5, 2022
194. How to avoid the “employee” trap as a fractional CXO

July

July 29, 2022Jul. 29, 2022
Two ways to think about positioning
July 22, 2022Jul. 22, 2022
Why I don’t position myself as a fractional CMO
July 19, 2022Jul. 19, 2022
The definition of “advice”
July 18, 2022Jul. 18, 2022
Is this advice?
July 15, 2022Jul. 15, 2022
Where my advisory clients come from (and that quiet inner voice)
July 8, 2022Jul. 8, 2022
Don’t bonk out

June

June 17, 2022Jun. 17, 2022
Advice for independent marketers during a recession or downturn
June 10, 2022Jun. 10, 2022
Getting paid to think
June 8, 2022Jun. 8, 2022
What to do if nobody is buying your productized services
June 3, 2022Jun. 3, 2022
Predicting the future of in-house and outsourced hybrid marketing teams

May

May 26, 2022May 26, 2022
Why you may want to offer multiple price options (audio)
May 20, 2022May 20, 2022
Coaching and gut instincts
May 17, 2022May 17, 2022
What to do when clients don’t take your advice (audio)
May 16, 2022May 16, 2022
Selling your expertise, not your hands (an interview with Alastair McDermott)
May 13, 2022May 13, 2022
Twitter growth and memes-as-marketing with Dagobert Renouf (audio)
May 11, 2022May 11, 2022
“In order to do this right…”
May 10, 2022May 10, 2022
Why I’m allowing myself to stop publishing daily (audio)
May 9, 2022May 9, 2022
I’ve decided to stop writing daily
May 8, 2022May 8, 2022
A problem you’re uniquely capable of solving
May 7, 2022May 7, 2022
The power of “memes-as-marketing”
May 6, 2022May 6, 2022
Customer surplus and price-to-value-ratio
May 5, 2022May 5, 2022
Live Interview: Memes as Marketing + Twitter Growth with Dagobert Renouf [RSVP]
May 4, 2022May 4, 2022
The inner game of what we do
May 3, 2022May 3, 2022
The medium forms the message
May 2, 2022May 2, 2022
A list of ways to sell your head—not just your hands
May 1, 2022May 1, 2022
Make the call

April

April 30, 2022Apr. 30, 2022
Pricing based on how you feel
April 29, 2022Apr. 29, 2022
“What if my marketing budget doesn’t allow me to implement your advice?”
April 28, 2022Apr. 28, 2022
What to watch for (and manage) in a new engagement
April 27, 2022Apr. 27, 2022
Tough love
April 26, 2022Apr. 26, 2022
How to create super crunchy testimonials
April 25, 2022Apr. 25, 2022
The five buyer types
April 24, 2022Apr. 24, 2022
How does your brain work?
April 23, 2022Apr. 23, 2022
Three core ways to monetize your expertise
April 22, 2022Apr. 22, 2022
How narrowly should you niche when starting out as a consultant?
April 21, 2022Apr. 21, 2022
How to properly categorize your products and services
April 20, 2022Apr. 20, 2022
A question of value
April 19, 2022Apr. 19, 2022
I made a categorical mistake
April 18, 2022Apr. 18, 2022
My best definition of positioning
April 17, 2022Apr. 17, 2022
The relationship between hourly and commodity work
April 16, 2022Apr. 16, 2022
The right amount of work
April 15, 2022Apr. 15, 2022
The story of the auto detailer
April 14, 2022Apr. 14, 2022
The problem with generalist positioning
April 13, 2022Apr. 13, 2022
When is enough… enough?
April 12, 2022Apr. 12, 2022
What to do when a client wants to cancel before the term ends
April 11, 2022Apr. 11, 2022
What does good performance mean to you?
April 10, 2022Apr. 10, 2022
Design sends a message
April 9, 2022Apr. 9, 2022
Work that lights you up
April 8, 2022Apr. 8, 2022
Cleaning up
April 7, 2022Apr. 7, 2022
Meaningful work
April 6, 2022Apr. 6, 2022
How to switch your niche or business model with less risk
April 5, 2022Apr. 5, 2022
The benefit of being solution-agnostic
April 4, 2022Apr. 4, 2022
What does a marketing strategist do?
April 3, 2022Apr. 3, 2022
Some people need to hear this
April 2, 2022Apr. 2, 2022
Optimizing for conversations
April 1, 2022Apr. 1, 2022
Are your prices negotiable?

March

March 31, 2022Mar. 31, 2022
Innovate on top
March 30, 2022Mar. 30, 2022
How to publish more consistently
March 29, 2022Mar. 29, 2022
Would you use an axe or a baseball bat?
March 28, 2022Mar. 28, 2022
Choices and trade-offs
March 27, 2022Mar. 27, 2022
How to stand out in a sea of competitors
March 26, 2022Mar. 26, 2022
The idea disease
March 25, 2022Mar. 25, 2022
Time for yourself
March 24, 2022Mar. 24, 2022
Mindshare Radio is now public
March 23, 2022Mar. 23, 2022
My take on “Start With Why”
March 22, 2022Mar. 22, 2022
Build your wings before you jump
March 21, 2022Mar. 21, 2022
Using focus to your advantage
March 20, 2022Mar. 20, 2022
The smallest possible step
March 19, 2022Mar. 19, 2022
Fall in love with the process—not your products
March 18, 2022Mar. 18, 2022
170. Building around your super-consumers
March 17, 2022Mar. 17, 2022
Why your new products or services don’t sell
March 16, 2022Mar. 16, 2022
Write for the platform
March 15, 2022Mar. 15, 2022
Thinking like an agency
March 14, 2022Mar. 14, 2022
Finding your thing
March 13, 2022Mar. 13, 2022
Why the best marketing KPI dashboard is a spreadsheet
March 12, 2022Mar. 12, 2022
Collecting your insights
March 11, 2022Mar. 11, 2022
The real benefits of a well-defined process
March 10, 2022Mar. 10, 2022
Developing your own teaching framework
March 9, 2022Mar. 9, 2022
Marketing from a standstill
March 8, 2022Mar. 8, 2022
Not niched down enough
March 7, 2022Mar. 7, 2022
Show me the incentives
March 6, 2022Mar. 6, 2022
Best in the world at what you do
March 5, 2022Mar. 5, 2022
Too niche or too broad
March 4, 2022Mar. 4, 2022
Where is the line?
March 3, 2022Mar. 3, 2022
Permission to change your mind
March 2, 2022Mar. 2, 2022
5 ways to level up your strategic messaging skills
March 1, 2022Mar. 1, 2022
Everything is feedback

February

February 28, 2022Feb. 28, 2022
Don’t settle for the easy stuff
February 27, 2022Feb. 27, 2022
Where real innovation comes from
February 26, 2022Feb. 26, 2022
Show, don’t tell
February 25, 2022Feb. 25, 2022
How I plan to write and publish a book
February 24, 2022Feb. 24, 2022
Productized services are not permanent
February 23, 2022Feb. 23, 2022
Have you ever considered being a mentor?
February 22, 2022Feb. 22, 2022
My unofficial definition of strategy
February 21, 2022Feb. 21, 2022
The remedy
February 20, 2022Feb. 20, 2022
Belonging to a genre
February 19, 2022Feb. 19, 2022
Playing in traffic
February 18, 2022Feb. 18, 2022
This work is hard
February 17, 2022Feb. 17, 2022
How to scope a consulting service
February 16, 2022Feb. 16, 2022
What does a marketing consultant even do?
February 15, 2022Feb. 15, 2022
The 5 major problems with execution work
February 14, 2022Feb. 14, 2022
Have a bias for action
February 13, 2022Feb. 13, 2022
Your niche and your identity
February 12, 2022Feb. 12, 2022
Refuse to phone it in
February 11, 2022Feb. 11, 2022
Work for the people who love it
February 10, 2022Feb. 10, 2022
You can survive without a niche
February 9, 2022Feb. 9, 2022
Brand vs. performance marketing
February 8, 2022Feb. 8, 2022
Be a co-buyer with your prospects
February 7, 2022Feb. 7, 2022
When you think small, big things happen
February 6, 2022Feb. 6, 2022
Nobody buys “advice”
February 5, 2022Feb. 5, 2022
Put in the grunt work
February 4, 2022Feb. 4, 2022
How to design your business model
February 3, 2022Feb. 3, 2022
All the answers to the test
February 2, 2022Feb. 2, 2022
What is your universal value proposition?
February 1, 2022Feb. 1, 2022
Why I don’t love the term “Fractional CMO”

January

January 31, 2022Jan. 31, 2022
Thinking in “units”
January 30, 2022Jan. 30, 2022
Fish at your feet first
January 29, 2022Jan. 29, 2022
Would you let people audit your work?
January 28, 2022Jan. 28, 2022
Come hell or high water
January 27, 2022Jan. 27, 2022
Forget passion, follow your curiosity
January 26, 2022Jan. 26, 2022
The ‘Golden Goose’ approach
January 25, 2022Jan. 25, 2022
The constraints being a fractional CMO (audio)
January 24, 2022Jan. 24, 2022
Why FAQs are so great
January 23, 2022Jan. 23, 2022
Write to capture the value of your ideas
January 22, 2022Jan. 22, 2022
Creativity takes iteration
January 21, 2022Jan. 21, 2022
162. Three ways to get clients to take your advice
January 20, 2022Jan. 20, 2022
Growing by referrals
January 19, 2022Jan. 19, 2022
161. Why you should have (and stick to) a core process
January 18, 2022Jan. 18, 2022
Most people won’t buy today
January 17, 2022Jan. 17, 2022
Who are you writing to?
January 16, 2022Jan. 16, 2022
Get that thing done
January 15, 2022Jan. 15, 2022
Quick question
January 14, 2022Jan. 14, 2022
Frequency, recency, and potency
January 13, 2022Jan. 13, 2022
Copywriting inspiration
January 12, 2022Jan. 12, 2022
Should you offer advisory clients unlimited access to you?
January 11, 2022Jan. 11, 2022
General feedback
January 10, 2022Jan. 10, 2022
Documenting everything you know [EP. 160]
January 9, 2022Jan. 9, 2022
A book and a podcast recommendation
January 8, 2022Jan. 8, 2022
Three ways to turn your content into assets
January 7, 2022Jan. 7, 2022
Reader response on the “overwhelm” strategy
January 6, 2022Jan. 6, 2022
Overwhelming the problem
January 5, 2022Jan. 5, 2022
Nine tips for greater energy, output, and income
January 4, 2022Jan. 4, 2022
Knowing you exist is half the battle
January 3, 2022Jan. 3, 2022
Don’t niche too quickly
January 2, 2022Jan. 2, 2022
How Tim Ferris does his year-end review
January 1, 2022Jan. 1, 2022
Most people don’t need you right now

2021

December

December 31, 2021Dec. 31, 2021
Was this year a success?
December 30, 2021Dec. 30, 2021
Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself
December 29, 2021Dec. 29, 2021
That’s not the real problem
December 28, 2021Dec. 28, 2021
How to create a new productized consulting service
December 27, 2021Dec. 27, 2021
Have the guts to stop doing it
December 26, 2021Dec. 26, 2021
Buying credibility with ads
December 25, 2021Dec. 25, 2021
Build in the love
December 24, 2021Dec. 24, 2021
Prove your expertise with samples
December 23, 2021Dec. 23, 2021
How to be hired faster and paid more to do better work
December 22, 2021Dec. 22, 2021
Be sub-specific
December 21, 2021Dec. 21, 2021
My not-so-secret to attracting clients
December 20, 2021Dec. 20, 2021
What audience growth and client acquisition have in common
December 19, 2021Dec. 19, 2021
Asking for referrals
December 18, 2021Dec. 18, 2021
Loyalty, acquisition, programs, and campaigns
December 17, 2021Dec. 17, 2021
Actual expertise vs. marketing yourself well
December 16, 2021Dec. 16, 2021
Is it fear or a desire to do things right?
December 15, 2021Dec. 15, 2021
Who are you intrinsically interested in serving?
December 14, 2021Dec. 14, 2021
Set a goal, create a system, and put in the work
December 13, 2021Dec. 13, 2021
Make time for tinkering
December 12, 2021Dec. 12, 2021
Bring your best self
December 11, 2021Dec. 11, 2021
Chase one shiny object at a time
December 10, 2021Dec. 10, 2021
Be liberal with your pruning
December 9, 2021Dec. 9, 2021
These are your people
December 8, 2021Dec. 8, 2021
What to do when nobody is buying
December 7, 2021Dec. 7, 2021
What to do if your marketing feels generic
December 6, 2021Dec. 6, 2021
Your work gets easier as your prices go up
December 5, 2021Dec. 5, 2021
How to make hiring you more compelling
December 4, 2021Dec. 4, 2021
Buying into your taste
December 3, 2021Dec. 3, 2021
Copy and paste your best clients
December 2, 2021Dec. 2, 2021
You can’t rush a new consulting business
December 1, 2021Dec. 1, 2021
Find a niche you belong to

November

November 30, 2021Nov. 30, 2021
Life is too long to dread what you do
November 29, 2021Nov. 29, 2021
Earn your right to promote
November 28, 2021Nov. 28, 2021
Create your own lane
November 27, 2021Nov. 27, 2021
Trust your way of doing things
November 26, 2021Nov. 26, 2021
Don’t just plan for fair weather, plan for reality
November 25, 2021Nov. 25, 2021
The three ways to generate more business
November 24, 2021Nov. 24, 2021
The advantage of an outside observer
November 23, 2021Nov. 23, 2021
What happens if you fail?
November 22, 2021Nov. 22, 2021
Ask better questions
November 21, 2021Nov. 21, 2021
Only accept clients you trust
November 20, 2021Nov. 20, 2021
The difficulty of your marketing *is* the message
November 19, 2021Nov. 19, 2021
Some things don’t change, but most things do
November 18, 2021Nov. 18, 2021
This is almost guaranteed to attract clients
November 17, 2021Nov. 17, 2021
Leading and lagging indicators
November 16, 2021Nov. 16, 2021
Setting arbitrary goals
November 15, 2021Nov. 15, 2021
What to do when you’re feeling stuck
November 14, 2021Nov. 14, 2021
The profound difference between management and leadership
November 13, 2021Nov. 13, 2021
The strategy of pre-eminence
November 12, 2021Nov. 12, 2021
A sign you should raise your prices. 
November 11, 2021Nov. 11, 2021
A simple system that worked
November 10, 2021Nov. 10, 2021
Build credibility with a research-backed, clearly-stated problem