How to Build a Marketing Strategy That Doesn’t Suck

Good morning. In this edition:

⚡ A repeatable 4-line strategy framework that forces clarity
🔥 Why most strategy decks collapse on execution
💥 The test I run before building any funnel or launching spend
🧠 7 questions to pressure-test your strategy before you scale

Most Marketing Strategies Suck

Not because they’re wrong.
Because they’re useless.

They look good in a deck. They sound smart in a meeting.
But when it’s time to ship? They vanish.

No decisions get easier. No systems get clearer.
No one knows what to prioritize on Monday.

If that’s your strategy - 🔥🔥🔥 it.

First: Strategy ≠ Tactics

Let’s get definitions right:

• Strategy is the game you’re choosing to win.

• Tactics are the moves you’re making today.

• Strategy is intentional. Tactics are responsive.

Change tactics often.
Change strategy rarely.
If you’re doing both at the same time, you’re probably just guessing

⚡ The 4-Line Strategy Framework (That Doesn’t Suck)

This is the strategy operating system I use with every brand I work on.

The Argument

• The Current Model – Here’s how things work in the market today.

• Why This Sucks – The problem with the way things are.

• Our Belief – The breakthrough insight that sets us apart.

• Our Solution – How we’ll leverage our insight to fix the problem and create massive value.

The Strategy in One Sentence

A clear, no-fluff one-liner that summarizes the game plan.

Example: Build a billion-dollar wellness brand by transforming one-time buyers into loyal subscribers through foundational bundles, personalized health journeys, and strategic integrations that turn Super Greens from a product into a lifestyle.

The Execution

Here’s how you ship it.

• First, we need to test [initiative] with [audience] in [markets]

• Then, we optimize based on what works

• Finally, we scale what delivers the best [key result]

🔥 Why Most Strategy Decks Collapse on Execution

Because they aren’t built for operations — they’re built for presentation.

Common failure modes:

• Context with no conclusions

• Goals with no tradeoffs

• Vision with no velocity

If your strategy doesn’t tell the team what not to do, it’s noise.

Real strategy shapes:

• Product – What gets built and in what order

• Brand – What you signal and to whom

• Distribution – Where you show up

• Marketing – What you say, test, and measure

If your strategy doesn’t infect these layers, it won’t scale. It’ll stall.

💥 The First Test I Run Before Touching Growth

Before I launch spend, build funnels, or brief a creative team, I pressure-test the 4-line strategy. If it’s not:

• Clear

• Contrarian

• Connected to real customer pain

...then it’s not ready. Doesn’t matter how good the copy or media is…you’ll burn money trying to force something vague to work.

This test saves weeks of wasted time and thousands in CAC.

🧠 7 Questions to Pressure-Test Your Strategy

1. What does your customer wake up worrying about?

2. Where are they already looking for solutions?

3. What have they already tried — and why didn’t it work?

4. What makes us different — and does our funnel prove it?

5. Are our conversions tagged and routed to real decisions?

6. Can our team explain why this campaign type exists?

7. What was the last “working” thing we killed on purpose?

Final Thought

Strategy isn’t the slide.
It’s the operating system.

Make it simple.
Make it specific.
Make it scale.

This newsletter is for you. What marketing challenges are you facing in your startup journey? Reply directly to this email with your questions or topics you'd like to see covered in future issues.

Until next week,

Adam

P.S. Found this helpful? Forward it to another founder who might benefit—we're all in this together.