Marketing Motions

Go to market motions for early stage startups.

The Motions

Cold Email

Build a targeted list of your ideal clients and get your offer in front of them.

LinkedIn Outreach

Connect with the right people and start real conversations.

Short-Form Video

Trending topics, ready-to-film scripts and edits for Instagram, TikTok & YouTube.

YouTube

Long-form talking head videos. Scripts, editing, titles and thumbnails.

Podcasts

Build relationships & create content in a fun and casual way. Talk to potential clients, partners and industry influencers. Full virtual production or guest outreach.

Webinars

Get your audience in a room and give them something worth showing up for. Topic, slides, promotion and follow-up.

Partnerships

Find the people who already have your audience's attention and figure out how to work together.

Other

Reddit, directories, awards, events, website management, sales enablement. Ask me about any of it.

About John

Spent 2 years in political campaigning & 4 years at a PropTech start up in London.Got fed up of big city life.Ran away 🏃Now spend my time working remotely from South East Asia & South West England.

Testimonials

Ed Davidson
Marketing & Growth Consultant
"John is a great growth marketer. He knows how to find the right audience, craft the right message, and build out core channels to find traction fast. He gets stuck in and drives results, which I saw first hand when working with him at Brickflow."

Lee Robinson
Lee Robinson Property Finance
"John is reliable, creative and easy to work with. Would recommend him to any business looking for hands-on marketing support."

Pricing

£250 per day

Worth a chat?

You can talk about your business needs. I'll talk about what I can do. We'll see if there is any crossover.

About Me

Hey
I'm John
Welcome to my website.I started out in political campaigns
Old school marketing
No money to spend.Organising protests
Knocking on doors
Putting up posters
Asking people to volunteer.Was getting paid peanuts
And Guinness wasn't getting cheaper
So moved to a tech startup
To learn some new tricks.Joined as the first marketing hire.
Four of us in total.
Tried loads of marketing methods.
Cold email
Webinars
LinkedIn
Partnerships
Events.Took a new product from 0 to 500 customers.
Hit £1m revenue.
Raised VC funding.Got fed up with London.
Moved to South East Asia.
Started freelancing.Now, the goal.
Build a super lean growth agency.
That helps seed stage startups get clients.
Without having to give away all their equity.Find the acquisition methods that work.
And scale 🚀.

🏆🏆🏆

Political Campaigns

Helped double the Lib Dem vote in SW London Assembly elections (30k > 61k) & secure the highest vote in 50 years at a Richmond by-election.

Brickflow

Helped launch Brickflow from 0 to 500+ customers, get to £1m ARR & win industry awards.

How I work

  • I work remotely from South East Asia/South West England

  • I'll block out days & communicate them to you

  • In Asia my workday is 4 am - midday (UK)

  • My day rate is £250

Testimonials

Ed Davidson
Marketing & Growth Consultant
"John is a great growth marketer. He knows how to find the right audience, craft the right message, and build out core channels to find traction fast. He gets stuck in and drives results, which I saw first hand when working with him at Brickflow."

Lee Robinson
Lee Robinson Property Finance
"John is reliable, creative and easy to work with. Would recommend him to any business looking for hands-on marketing support."

Suki
Cockapoo
"Zero missed walks, industry-leading ball pickup rate, treat quality score growing 30% YoY."

Worth a chat?

You can talk about your business needs. I'll talk about what I can do. We'll see if there is any crossover.

Cold Email

The most efficient channel
*in my opinion

List building

  • I'll build an email list with Apollo using filters such as industry, keywords, company size and role

  • I'll use an email verification service to avoid bounces

  • I use Apollo as it's quick, effective and cheap to get going. I can also use tools like Clay.

Messaging

  • To start, I'll draft two simple direct email sequences of 2 emails each

  • Once those are running, I'll draft some other ideas to test

  • I find providing value in the form of an invite to event, a community or webinar can be effective when a direct offer doesn't convert

Infrastructure

  • I'll create new domains and warm them so your emails don't land in junk

  • I'll use a sending software called Instantly to send them out

Responses

  • I'll send over the positive replies, take care of the unsubscribes and flag anyone who clicked a link for your sales team to contact

Campaigns to try

  • Personalised resource / lead magnet

  • Free audit / review

  • Ask for their opinion

  • Early access / beta invite

  • Invite to a webinar

  • Invite a free community/group

  • Invite to a podcast

  • Invite to a live event

Example Results

Here's what you might expect with a standard cold email directly promoting your product:

  • Domains: 2

  • Email accounts: 6

  • Warm up period: 21 days

  • Monthly sends: 3500

  • Opens: 1000 (30%)

  • Click Rate: 53 (1.5%)

  • Demos: 3 (0.1%)

Less direct methods:

  • Webinar: 1% register, 40% attend

  • Join a group: 2%

  • Invite to a podcast: 5%

  • Invite to a live event: 2%

Obviously numbers can vary depending on the industry & offer

Pros ✅

  • Relatively quick to set up

  • Low cost compared to paid ads

  • Scales easily

  • Works well with a good lead magnet

Cons ❌

  • Conversion rates can be very low

  • Need a very good clear & direct offer OR a very good lead magnet

  • Less effective with a small target audience

  • Slightly complicated setup to avoid landing in spam

Examples

Lee Robinson Property Finance

Real pain point + new, credible solution

  • Audience: Property Developers

  • Tactic: Development sites are arguably the most important part of property developers businesses. We proposed a credible route to access them otherwise unavailable.

  • Emails Sent: 658

  • Positive responses: 15 (2.3%)

Invitation to a WhatsApp Group

  • Audience: Developers & Introducers

  • Tactic: We invited people to a WhatsApp group to connect with others and share opportunities. The strategy here was to build trust so they'd be more responsive later on.

  • Emails: 3761

  • Asked to join: 38 (1%)

John Leaver Marketing

  • Audience: Startups 2-15 employees

  • Tactic: Sent very simple offer of free work, a case study, my story & price

  • Emails Sent: 4375

  • Meetings Booked: 12 (0.3%)

Example Costs

My time ≈ 3 days (£750)

  • List building using Apollo filters & email verification

  • Two email sequences, three emails each

  • Full sending infrastructure setup -domains, email accounts, warming, Instantly config

Additional tool costs:

  • Apollo: $100 per 4,000 emails

  • Email verification: $40 for 10,000 emails

  • Instantly: $97 for 25k contacts

  • Domains & mailboxes: $20 setup + $30 p/m per 4k monthly sends

You'll own all the tools and accounts.
I set them up, you keep them.

Worth a chat?

You can talk about your business needs. I'll talk about what I can do. We'll see if there is any crossover.

Short-Form Video

Video scripts & edits. All you have to do is hit record.
Designed for Instagram - can be used on LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube.

Topic research

  • We research trending topics in your niche then present you with a list of ideas

Script writing

  • You pick the ideas you want to run with

  • We write the scripts - ready for you to film

Filming instructions

  • We'll send you simple instructions on how to film

Editing

  • You send us the raw footage

  • We edit and send you the finished videos

Examples

Example costs

My time ≈ 4 days (£1000)

  • A list of 20 trending topic ideas with examples

  • Scripts and filming instructions for 10 videos

  • Subtitling and simple video edits

Pros ✅

  • Works across multiple platforms

  • Builds trust and authority over time

  • Old videos keep getting views

Cons ❌

  • You have to film

  • Can be fairly time intensive

  • Can takes some time to get traction

Worth a chat?

You can talk about your business needs. I'll talk about what I can do. We'll see if there is any crossover.

LinkedIn Outreach

List building

  • I'll build you a list of LinkedIn accounts using a database, scrapes from post comments or boolean searches.

Messaging

  • I'll work with you to draft a variety of short messages

Automated send-outs

  • I'll configure a safe-to-use automation system

Example Results

  • Sender: 1

  • Connection Requests: 100 p/w

  • Accept: 30 p/w

  • Positive replies: 5 p/w (non-salesy message)

You can only really open conversations with 30 new people per week so I suggest messages that convert better.These types of messages can do well:

  • Invite to free community/group

  • Invite to webinar

  • Invite to podcast

  • Personalised resource / lead magnet

  • Or manual messages

Examples

Introducer Campaign

  • Audience: Property Professionals

  • Tactic: Invite people to our partnership programme.

  • Emails Sent: x

  • Positive responses: x (x%)

Community & Directory for Freelancers

  • Audience: Marketing Freelancers

  • Objective: Bookings for a virtual co-working session

  • List: Commenters from a post asking for freelancers. Commenters were looking for work and active on LinkedIn

  • Tactics: Ask them if they want to join a directory and WA community for freelancers, the post the session in the group later.

  • Connection Requests: 120

  • DMs to accepts: 52 (43%)

  • Asked to join group: 26 (50%)

  • Sessions booked: 2

Example Costs

My time ≈ 2 days (£500)

  • List of 400 LinkedIn target accounts

  • 10 message angle ideas

  • 3 message drafts

  • Automated setup

Additional tool costs:

  • HeyReach: $79/pm per sender

Pros ✅

  • Conversion higher than email

  • People read all their messages

Cons ❌

  • Can only send ≈30 new messages pw

  • LinkedIn inboxes are cluttered - messages need to add value

Worth a chat?

You can talk about your business needs. I'll talk about what I can do. We'll see if there is any crossover.

YouTube

Talking head, informational scripts and edits

Why YouTube

Can be great for how-to walkthroughs
More engaging way to consume informational content
Can aids SEO & AEO efforts

Topic research

  • I'll research topics

  • Find what's already getting views and where the gaps are

  • Present you with a list of ideas to choose from

Script writing

  • I'll draft scripts using proven templates

  • I'm probably not the expert in your industry - so I'll use AI to script

  • You can sense-check before filming

Filming instructions

  • I'll provide a simple setup guide so you can film yourself

Editing

  • I do the basic edit - cuts, titles, captions

  • If you want colour grading or more polished post-production, I can hire a video editor

Titles & thumbnails

  • I'll design the thumbnails and write the title

Pros ✅

  • Evergreen content keeps working long after you post it

  • Ranks on Google and increasingly shows up in AI search

  • Works well in underserved B2B niches

Cons ❌

  • You still have to show up on camera

  • Scripts are AI-assisted, you'll need to sense-check for industry accuracy

What it costs

My time: 4 days ≈ £1000

  • 8 topic ideas researched - titles and rough summary

  • 4 full scripts ready for you to film

  • Simple filming instructions and kit list

  • Simple subtitled video edit

  • Title and thumbnails

Worth a chat?

You can talk about your business needs. I'll talk about what I can do. We'll see if there is any crossover.

Podcasts

Help with hosting your own podcast or outreach to book you in on others

Production

Sourcing Guests

  • A list of target guests in your niche

  • Email outreach

  • Meetings into your calendar

Guest Prep

  • A one-page brief for each podcast with info on the guest & suggested questions

Recording

  • You record on Riverside

Editing

  • Basic edit - cuts, tidy up audio and video

  • Can manage a video editor

Distribution

  • Upload to Apple Podcasts and Spotify

  • Show notes for every episode

  • Thumbnails and titles

  • Clips cut and edited

Outreach

  • Research relevant podcasts in your niche

  • Build a list to reach out to

  • Develop angles & talking points

  • Reach out via email and LinkedIn

  • Book you onto the shows

Pros ✅

  • Useful for building relationships with potential clients, partners and influencers

  • Generates content for other channels

  • Works well in small niches

  • Can get yourself alongside big names

Cons ❌

  • You still have to show up and talk

  • Might not lead to direct sales

Estimated Costs

My time: 3 days ≈ £750

  • 4 podcasts booked, briefed & edited

  • 8 short clips to use on social media

Additional Costs:

  • Riverside: £29/month

  • Mic, webcam & light (optional): £300

Worth a chat?

You can talk about your business needs. I'll talk about what I can do. We'll see if there is any crossover.

Partnerships

List Building

Identify potential partners across:

  • Businesses with the same audience

  • Trade bodies & industry associations

  • Communities & online groups

  • Industry events & conferences

  • Micro-influencers

Angles

I'll identify ways to work together:

  • Referral arrangements

  • Co-created content

  • Webinars & presentations

  • Speaking slots & event appearances

  • Joint campaigns

Delivery

  • I'll help coordinate and deliver on whatever we've agreed

Pros ✅

  • Warm introductions to audiences that already trust the partner

  • Gets you in rooms you wouldn't otherwise be in

Cons ❌

  • Slow to develop

  • Dependent on the other party following through

  • Hard to scale quickly

Estimated Costs

My time: 3 days ≈ £750

  • A list of 20 potential partners

  • Outreach to them

  • 2 days work helping to coordinate the partnership

Worth a chat?

You can talk about your business needs. I'll talk about what I can do. We'll see if there is any crossover.

Other Stuff

A few other things I can help with.

Reddit

  • Identify subreddits & threads to target

  • Create posting accounts

  • Build a Claude project to generate relevant, on-brand comments

  • Post comments

Directories

  • Research and identify relevant directories for your niche

  • Write and submit listings

  • Useful for SEO, showing up in AI search, and building credibility online

Awards

  • Research relevant awards to apply for

  • Write the applications

  • Where applicable, run campaigns to get votes

Events

  • Identify relevant events to speak at or attend

  • Help organise attendance & speaking slots

  • Promote your presence before and after

Note: I work remotely - worth factoring in for anything that needs someone on the ground.

Worth a chat?

You can talk about your business needs. I'll talk about what I can do. We'll see if there is any crossover.