I kind of love this time of year for one reason: it makes what wasn’t working… extremely obvious.

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You posted more. You went viral. You ran ads.

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You did everything “right” to get more visibility.

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And now you’re staring at a year’s worth of data, wondering why the sales didn’t match the effort.

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That’s not on you. It’s on the assumptions we’ve all been sold about what marketing can actually do.

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So let’s say it together: marketing can’t save a business that isn’t structurally sound.

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Throughout the year, your content strategist (hi, that's me) probably gave you a few suggestions that didn’t involve "typical" content:

• Your sales page? Confusing as hell.
• Your booking flow? A maze.
• Your backend? Full of friction.
• Your offer? Not actually desirable.
• Your team? Too tapped to execute the plan they keep saying yes to.

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Some people listen. They make the changes. They fix the sh*t that’s been clogging the flow. And suddenly, their marketing starts converting. (Love that for you.)

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Others? They hear the same feedback and hit me with the endless list of buts:

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“But we can just post more.”

“But I don’t think it’s that big of a problem.”

“But we can run ads.”

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So they push harder on the wrong things. And now they’re wondering why their results still aren't where they want them to be.

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Because marketing only amplifies what’s already there.

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If your offer is flat, marketing just shines a spotlight on it.

If your team is scrambling, marketing adds pressure they can’t meet.

If your systems are clunky, marketing brings more people into that clunk.

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Let me be really clear - this isn’t hypothetical. These patterns show up across industries, offers, and business models.

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For example: I’ve seen launches where no one showed up to a workshop.

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Sometimes the promo goes out too late. Sometimes the team gets stuck in planning mode. The result looks like a marketing issue, but it’s usually ops and timing under the hood.

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Or the “Everyone knew about it, but no one bought” scenario.

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Right. People knew. But knowing isn’t the same as wanting. Visibility without desire doesn’t convert.

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I’ve also seen giveaways run with the exact same strategy and get wildly different results.

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Some had hundreds of entries. Others? Crickets. That’s not about effort. That’s the market telling you what it actually wants.

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And yet… the takeaway becomes: “We just need more eyeballs. Let’s post more about it so more people buy.”

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Babe, no. You need to stop using content as a distraction from the actual problem.

• Posting six times a week won’t fix a misaligned offer.
• Running ads won’t save a broken checkout process.
• Being “everywhere” won’t help if your backend can’t support the traffic.

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This is the kind of stuff your strategist is trying to tell you.

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Not to be mean. Not to make excuses. But because we literally can’t fix foundational issues with front-facing content.

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If your strategy keeps pointing at something uncomfortable to fix? That’s probably exactly what needs your attention.

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And yeah, it sucks. But that’s the work.

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If you’re feeling a little called out right now? You’re not alone. These patterns are common, especially for businesses in growth mode. And every single one of them is fixable.

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If you want help figuring out where the real friction lives, let's chat. Because that's exactly what I love helping my consulting clients figure out before building a content strategy that's effective and truly gets you the results you're after.

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Catch ya next week,

Marissa

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