Selling without selling
“The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” – Tom Fishburne
Most people associate marketing with hype, exaggeration, or manipulation. But at its core, great marketing is about helping people discover solutions that genuinely improve their lives.
If you’re building something useful — something you believe in — then you owe it to the world to sell it. Not for the sake of growth metrics or investor updates, but because the right person is out there, struggling with a problem you’ve already solved.
The Best Marketing Doesn’t Feel Like Marketing
The most effective marketing is invisible. It doesn’t scream for attention. It doesn’t feel like a pitch. It feels natural — like something that just makes sense.
When you truly believe your product improves lives, selling isn’t manipulation — it’s education.
You're not trying to trick anyone. You're showing them something that solves a problem they already have. That’s not sales — that’s help.
Reframe selling as serving.
If you’re offering something valuable — something that fulfills a real need — then not selling it is doing your audience a disservice. It’s your responsibility to show them that better way.
You’re not begging anyone. You're not trying to "convince" someone who doesn't care. You're finding the people who are already hungry — and then giving them a place to eat.
Like opening a restaurant in front of a starving crowd, the goal isn't to force demand. It’s to recognize it, respect it, and meet it head-on.
When the product is right and the story is clear, people don’t feel sold to — they feel seen.
Marketing Is Just a Series of Experiments
There’s no universal playbook. No single strategy works for every product, audience, or moment. Marketing is ultimately a series of educated guesses — small, fast experiments designed to uncover what works.
You won’t know what channels or messages will click until you test them. That’s the game:
→ Guess. Try. Observe. Repeat.
Start small. Post something. Send a message. Build a feature. You’ll only learn by doing.
Once something works — a channel, message, or tactic — double down. If it flops, kill it fast.
The only rule? Change one thing at a time. If you rewrite the copy and redesign the page and launch a new channel, you’ll never know which variable moved the needle. Keep your experiments isolated so you can measure cause and effect clearly.
Marketing isn’t magic — it’s momentum. Each win gives you a little more data, a little more clarity, and a little more reach.
Your Funnel Is a Hypothesis
A marketing funnel describes how strangers become customers — awareness, interest, consideration, and conversion. But that funnel is just a theory until you test it.
And it’s not just about what you say — it’s how you sell.
That shift — from what you prefer to what your market needs — is one of the hardest, most humbling parts of early growth.
So don’t just experiment with what you market. Experiment with how you deliver it.
Sometimes the biggest unlock isn’t a new ad or channel — it’s simply picking up the phone.
1. Start with Where People Actually Look
Too many founders waste time chasing the wrong channels. The key question isn’t, “How do we go viral?” It’s:
“If someone like you was searching for a tool like ours, where would you go first?”
That one question can save you months of trial and error. The answers might be:
A Reddit thread
A YouTube tutorial
A niche Discord server
A blog post comparing tools
A trusted friend’s tweet
Real buying behavior isn’t found in dashboards — it’s found in conversations. Once you understand where your users naturally gather and seek help, you can reverse-engineer your way into those spaces.
If you don’t know, ask them.
2. Choose the Right Funnel (High-touch, Low-touch, or Hybrid)
Your growth model isn’t just about landing pages and CTAs — it’s about matching the buying process to your product’s price and complexity.
Low-touch is ideal for:
$5–$99/month products
Tools with viral loops or strong PLG (product-led growth) elements
Indie founders or small teams without a sales force
High-touch works better for:
$500/month+ or enterprise pricing
Solutions that require deep trust, onboarding, or customization
B2B services where buyers expect a conversation
Hybrid models are often the most scalable:
Free tier or trial to attract volume
Sales team to convert larger accounts
Automation layered in without removing the human element
The biggest mistake? Forcing a low-touch funnel on a high-trust product. It’s like trying to sell a $10,000 Rolex with a Google ad and a “Buy Now” button.
3. Diagnose the Real Problem in Your Funnel
If growth has stalled, don’t assume you need more leads. Look at where users drop off:
Plenty of traffic, low signups? Your positioning might be off. You’re attracting curiosity, not intent.
Signups, but no upgrades? Onboarding is the bottleneck. Users aren’t hitting “aha.”
Good usage, but short retention? You may have a nice-to-have, not a need-to-have.
Always diagnose before you prescribe. Throwing money at ads won’t fix a leaky funnel.
4. 11 Underused but Effective Marketing Plays
Here’s a tactical list of things that are working in 2025 — especially for underdog teams:
Engineering as marketing – Build a simple, useful tool related to your product and give it away.
Cold outreach done right – Highly personalized, relevant DMs or emails. No spam.
YouTube SEO – It’s the second-largest search engine. Tutorial-based content wins.
Marketplace distribution – App stores (Shopify, Notion, Chrome) are the new SEO.
Podcasts and YouTube guesting – Not your own show. Appear on someone else’s with an audience.
Partnering with complementary tools – Co-promotions or integrations = shared trust.
Early access groups – Invite early users into a private channel (Discord, Slack) and learn fast.
Affiliate or reseller incentives – Especially powerful in non-US markets.
Sharing changelogs publicly – Transparent updates show progress and build trust.
Embedding virality – Make sharing part of the product experience, not an afterthought.
Content that answers buying questions – Think: “X vs Y” or “Best tools for Z” comparisons.
5. Make People Feel Understood, Not Sold To
The best products often win because they sound like they were built by someone who gets it. Your homepage, copy, and outreach shouldn’t scream “Look at us.” They should whisper, “We’ve been in your shoes.”
Build a message so relevant that it feels like a recommendation, not a pitch.
When in doubt, return to these first principles:
People buy solutions to their problems — not your features.
The most trusted brands often grow slowly, but compound like crazy.
Selling, at its best, is an act of service.
Until next week —
Jay