Inbound, Outbound, Hellbound. What’s your direction? A Founder’s Guide to Marketing

“Alright Sourav, see how is it going to change my game in terms of revenue?” I get asked a lot. See, it’s like going to the gym.

You don’t go deadlift twice your weight in your 1st month. The diet, timetable, routine, and whatnot. Marketing your product is similar. You work, analyze, and improve.

This is where we will start. If you are a founder who is worried about the marketing direction, this piece of writing will work like that shake you take before the gym. Let’s go.

Be like Eminem

In his game, Eminem is the top dog. Here’s how his process works.

It’s not about tools and apps or paper vs phones. It’s about getting used to content creation.  Nail one format or multiple, start with one. It’s not rocket science, it’s not about going with all the trends.

It’s about helping them from discovery till they continue to grow with you, using your products and services.

At the roots of the content, creation engine lies these components.

• The Core Philosophy (This is where lies all your beliefs about the brand that would evolve.)
• You: - The unique component. (This is not just you) - the culture, the team, the solution
• Mindset - (Lean, Practical, Growth, research)
• Implementation (Creation, Distribution, Optimization)

Then Comes the Platforms

You have to understand their plans and scheme of action. Here’s my nerd way of understanding them.

Here things become interesting. Overload of content on the best way, the proven ways, etc but here’s how you can nerd around.

Out there in open lies strategic information: Academic/Professional research papers like this one on Google’s BERT by researchers at Google. There must be some marrow and novelty, right? Savor them. Scan for interesting citations.

**Example: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1810.04805.pdf>

**Geek around on Google Scholar, find researchers, check earlier works, use platforms like arxiv, scan their work, amazing opportunities. Keep those Meta, TikTok, Google Researchers on your radar.

(You need to read faster though. Learn, another skill that makes you better in your game. In this case, information retrieval)

Patents: Search for those platforms, https://patents.google.com/

Get amazed by the finds.

The game is to know their game from an insider POV if you consider long-term co-existence with these platforms. Go geek around. **
**

**Answer the tough questions: This is where you introspect, go philosophic, deep down to the chambers and attic of your stories
**

• Why do you exist?
  

If your brand’s truths could be written by some branding experts, every rich tom, dick, and harry would have built a unicorn. You can acquire talent, and be an active partner in discovering your brand’s narratives as they evolve.

• Where in the life of the consumer do you stand?

• Why are you marketing the products or services?

• How committed are you to solve it?

  
  

  Answer them, what is it that you exist to do, to change to revolutionize?

  
  

Writing Essays and Whitepapers

Clarity is your weapon. Writing long form would give your ideas a place to play. The compilation keeps getting stronger. I use Notion, to let the ideas come to life. I like to write in plain google Docs, and keep them together in Notion for my visual ease.

Did you ever wrote a love letter or poetry,
a rap that can't  stop
Playing inside your head, afraid to express

Thinking your idea would flop.
If you still feel blocked, read this essay by PG

[http://www.paulgraham.com/words.html>
He is the OG.
(And That’s the end of my rap)

For the solo founder or the ones among the founder who writes. Start writing them down, those thoughts on how you are going to change the world.

Document the product and startup’s journey. Start with a platform you are most comfortable with. If you want to be authentic, you got to be yourself. No shiny object attraction would help. You are naturally unique, use those.

Implementation Manual

Scenario 1: You are comfortable with long-form. You can’t do video.

Step 1:

Start with Medium, Hackernoon, or your personal websites (If you have a distribution channel). Publish articles on Medium or Hackernoon. Both platforms have native readers, and an SEO edge, (Hackernoon has a status edge too because they have an editorial).

Step 2:

Re-purpose on LinkedIn, and share the Link on Twitter. Turn parts of the article into tweets, and build it up, the way it happens.

Step 3: Now that you wrote the first article, in what unique ways can you help/guide your users and industry? Meditate over it.

Step 4: DYOR, once this happens, go deep down the rabbit hole where your users dwell in the online realms.

Where to research?

• QnA Websites

• Reddit

• Google Trends

• FB search bar

• FB groups

• Discord Servers

• Telegram

• Your Competitors

• Players in Different geos

• Product hunt

• founders like you, (The discussions)

• The discussions happening on LinkedIn

  
  

Where do the disgust and delight lie? What are the answers you are not satisfied with, what are the answers you have?

Don’t wait to see the likes and comments, get back to doing what you do best, that’s where the stories would start to build up

Find which suits you best, and build relationships. Answer questions, and bring your content to work for you when you sleep.

Getting Uncomfortable and Asking Still Works

Ask questions on platforms, DM them, Connect and see for yourself. Aking still works. Talk to strangers IRL to become better.

Emails are Not Dead Either

Write emails, they can’t unsee. Lot has been said by experts and gurus. Use it the way you would communicate, like writing personal letters.

Being Community Centric

• Meetups

• Community - Discord, Reddit, groups

• Ask them the right question Set the right expectations

  
  

If IRL meetups work for you, they work best in this lonely looney world. A lot of ways, and platforms, try organizing one.

See the full circle being created, you have your essays, writeups, and videos in place.

Your marketing team now has the core ready.

Train Hard

It’s a process, you consume useful content, and you meet interesting people. Delve deeper into understanding Human Psychology (You start with Robert Cialdini’s Influence). Understand Neuroscience (You can start with Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast.) Exploit the tools. Some deep historical study never hurts, (You can start with Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens).

Now go create some history.

Go kill it.