Hey friends —
Over the past six weeks, we built your Marketing Flywheel:
Audience → Message → Platform → Consistency → Refine
If you followed along, you don’t just have “marketing.”
You have a system.
But here’s the truth:
A system only grows if it’s tight.
If there’s friction in the gears, adding power — or AI — just breaks things faster.
Last week we went deep on Refine and how to actually look at your numbers.
Before we move forward, I want to zoom out and run a quick diagnostic across the whole wheel.
Is it spinning?
Or is it wobbling?
The 5-Minute Flywheel Checkup
You don’t need a new dashboard.
You don’t need another subscription.
You just need honest answers and the right prompts to surface the leaks.
1️⃣ Audience
Are you still chasing “everyone”?
Most businesses can describe their customers broadly.
Very few can describe their best customers specifically.
Run this:
“Here are the last 15 customers who spent the most money with me: [list what you know]. What patterns do you see? What is the hidden common denominator?”
Look for:
Life stage
Buying trigger
Urgency
Shared problem
If there’s no clear pattern, your message will stay generic.
2️⃣ Message
Do you sound like you… or like everyone else?
If your website says:
“Quality service”
“Family owned”
“We care about our customers”
That’s not differentiation. That’s description.
Try this:
“Here is my homepage copy: [paste it]. Here is a competitor’s copy: [paste theirs]. Compare them. Where do I sound generic? Where do I clearly stand out?”
If someone removed your logo, would people still know it’s you?
If not, tighten the message before you add more traffic.
3️⃣ Platform
Are you everywhere… or where it actually matters?
More platforms don’t equal more sales.
This is the smarter question:
Where did your last 10 real customers actually come from?
“Here are my last 10 sales and how they found me: [list them]. Based on this, which channel is truly driving revenue versus just attention?”
Likes don’t pay payroll.
Sales do.
Double down where money is already moving.
4️⃣ Consistency
Is your marketing a habit… or a mood?
If you went offline for a week, would growth stall?
If yes, you don’t have a system yet.
Use AI to help build one:
“Create a simple weekly marketing routine for a [type of business] that can be completed in 45 minutes and supports long-term growth.”
You’re not looking for complexity.
You’re looking for rhythm.
5️⃣ Refine
Are you guessing… or actually diagnosing?
We get data for a reason.
But too many businesses either ignore it or panic when they look at it.
Instead, do this:
“I’m attaching my ad performance data. Analyze CTR, CPC, Conversion Rate, and ROAS. Identify the main friction and suggest three specific improvements I could test next week.”
You’re looking for clogs in the plumbing:
The Creative Leak: High impressions, low click-through rate? Your hook or copy is weak.
The Conversion Leak: Great clicks, no sales? There’s a mismatch between the ad and the landing page.
The Process Leak: Leads coming in but no follow-up? That’s operational, not marketing.
AI can help surface patterns.
But it is not the boss.
You still audit the ideas.
You make the final call.
New Vlog: Using AI as Your Business Consultant
Building on last week’s deep dive into Refine, I wanted to show you what this looks like at the workbench — not in theory.
I just released a new vlog where I walk through using AI like a consultant to analyze data from ads, Instagram Reels, and YouTube videos.
We cannot just post and let things sit there doing nothing.
If the numbers are talking, we should be listening.
In the video, I show you how to:
Paste in your data
Ask better questions
Spot friction faster
And decide what to test next
It’s practical.
No hype.
Just tightening the system.
Coming Up Next Week: The 3-Second Rule
Next week, we’re shifting from numbers to attention.
Hooks.
Whether it’s a Reel, a YouTube video, or even the opening line of an email — your success often hinges on the first three seconds.
I’ll be honest.
I’ve battled the fast-paced content style for a long time.
But results matter.
And when the hook is right, the results change.
I’ve been studying what actually makes people stop — and using tools like Gemini and Grok to refine hooks that fit our brand without turning into nonsense.
We’re going to break that down.
Before I build it out, let me ask you:
Which of these is the biggest headache right now?
A) Knowing which data (like ROAS or CTR) to paste into AI to get a real answer.
B) Stopping the scroll — getting people to stay for those first 3 seconds.
C) Creating video content that feels like “us” but still gets views.
Hit reply and let me know.
I’ll shape next week’s update around what you’re actually dealing with.
— Ryan