Marketing a Marketer Isn’t as Simple as You’d Think

Transitioning from head of marketing at a company to freelancing was exciting — and yes, a little nerve-wracking. Leaving a salaried role brings responsibility: your own name, your reputation, your livelihood. That “healthy anxiety” keeps you sharp, reminding you that every decision matters.

But here’s the thing: even when you’ve run big marketing operations, even when you’ve been around the block, you still get things wrong. And that’s okay — as long as you listen, learn, and take the necessary corrective measures.

The move to “Help Me with Marketing” — and where it didn’t quite land

When I first went freelance, I operated under the name ‘Help Me with Marketing’. It made sense at the time: it sounded serviceable, human-centred, clear. But gradually I realised that, for some prospective clients, the name and the “agency feel” of Help Me with Marketing put them off.

Instead of thinking “I want his brain,” they thought “another marketing agency.” They expected big teams, expense, and sometimes less personal attention.

Prospective clients didn’t always say it outright, but feedback and analytics hinted at click-throughs not converting and occasional hesitancy in decision-making. I compared that with the kinds of responses I got when people contacted me directly — when they knew it was me, not an agency.

This wasn’t a catastrophic mistake — more of a nuisance that diluted clarity. But it underlined a truth I already believed: branding and messaging aren’t set-and-forget. They evolve when you test, when you ask, and when you listen.

Even the experts slip up — and live to tell the tale

You don’t need to be perfect to be trusted. Even household names have made costly marketing mistakes. Consider:

Coca-Cola’s “New Coke” experiment in the 1980s: in attempting to modernise the taste, Coca-Cola misread how emotionally attached people were to the original formula. The backlash was swift, and they reverted to “Coke Classic” — a humbling lesson in underestimating audience attachment. Or more recently, when Coca-Cola tried water brands (Dasani et al.), but those efforts sometimes struggled because they didn’t convincingly convey why consumers should pick them over established choices. Even with gargantuan budgets and distribution power, knowing what your consumer truly wants (and believes) is crucial.

These examples remind me (and hopefully remind you) that even the “expert” or the “brand” giant can err. What matters is what you do after the error — how you respond, learn, pivot and shift.

Feedback + analysis = your compass

The reason I share my misstep is not to wallow, as many lack the honesty to acknowledge, let alone share their learnings, but to show how feedback and analysis guide better marketing.

Some of the ways I used feedback in this case:

• Quantitative data: Did certain pages or message variants lose people? Did some outreach formats generate more replies? Which enquiry types turned into Opportunities?

• Qualitative feedback: Conversations, emails, casual remarks from prospects and clients — “I liked that you sounded like a person, not a big agency,” or “I wasn’t sure what your focus was under the Help Me With brand.”

• Small experiments: A/B headlines, different domain names, variations on calls to action — nothing massive, but enough to spot patterns.

  
  

From all that, it became clear: people were seeking me — my experience, my thinking, my hands-on execution — not an “agency brand.” And as a freelancer, I could lean into that.

Hello, The Marketing Bloke

So, I’m phasing out helpmewith.co.uk and steering fully toward themarketingbloke.com. It’s more me. More direct. More about what I deliver than how big I look.

The Help Me With brand was not at all disastrous. It did good work. But its look and feel sometimes created distance. People wanted the person behind it. They wanted the strategist, the implementer, the one who cares.

The Marketing Bloke says: This is me. I work with businesses, marketing teams, agencies, and owners who want clarity, execution, and impact — without the fluff or fancy overhead.

A reminder (to you, and me) about marketing humility

• Mistakes are inevitable. It’s part of the journey.

• What separates marketers is what you do with those mistakes. You test, you measure, you listen, you adapt.

• Branding and positioning must match how your customers see you. If there’s a mismatch, no amount of clever design will fully compensate.

• Staying curious and open to feedback is non-negotiable.

  
  

So here I am, The Marketing Bloke, applying the same principles I preach. If you feel your marketing feels a bit off, or you’re not attracting the right customers, let’s talk. I might have a fresh perspective (and I’ve made a few of these missteps, so you don’t have to).