The Marketing Advice That's Keeping You Stuck

For anyone tired of advice that sounds helpful but goes nowhere

"Post consistently."

"Know your audience."

"Be authentic."

"Provide value."

"Tell your story."

You've heard it all before. You've probably even tried to follow it. Unfortunately, most marketing advice tells you WHAT to do without telling you HOW to do it.

And the "how" is where everything falls apart.

The Advice That Sounds Smart But Isn't Actually Helpful

Let's talk about what happens when you try to follow generic marketing advice.

"Post Consistently"

Okay, but post what? About what topics? In what voice? With what message?

"Consistently" doesn't mean anything if you're consistently posting content that doesn't connect. You end up posting just to post, creating noise instead of value, and wondering why it's not working.

The missing piece: You need to know what you're trying to say before you worry about how often to say it.

"Know Your Audience"

Great advice. Now what?

You read some demographic data. You create a persona called 'Member Mike' who's been in the industry for 10+ years, values networking, and needs continuing education credits. And then...you still have no idea what to actually say to him.

The missing piece: Knowing who your audience is doesn't tell you what problems they have, what language they use, or what would make them choose you over someone else.

"Be Authentic"

This might be the most useless advice in marketing.

What does "authentic" even mean? Does it mean sharing your struggles? Being vulnerable? Using casual language? Posting photos of your morning coffee?

When everyone's trying to be "authentic" in the same way, nobody's actually being authentic.

The missing piece: Authenticity isn't a tactic you deploy. It's what happens when your brand voice is so clear that you naturally sound like yourself.

"Provide Value"

Okay, but what value? To whom? In what form?

This advice assumes you already know what your audience finds valuable. Most people don't. So they guess. They create content they think is helpful and wonder why nobody cares.

The missing piece: You need to understand what your specific audience actually needs before you can provide value they care about.

"Tell Your Story"

Which story? Your origin story? Your why? Your journey? A client success story?

Everyone says "storytelling is powerful" but nobody explains how to figure out which stories actually matter to your audience or how to tell them in a way that connects to your business.

The missing piece: Not every story is relevant. You need to know what you're trying to communicate before you pick which stories support that message.

Why This Advice Doesn't Actually Help

Here's what all of this generic advice has in common: it assumes you already have a foundation that most businesses don't have.

It assumes you know:

• What makes you different

• What you're actually selling (the outcome, not just the service)

• Who needs that outcome most

• How to talk about it in a way that resonates

• What your brand voice is and how to maintain it

Without that foundation, all the tactical advice in the world won't help. You'll just be executing tactics on top of a shaky base.

It's like telling someone to "drive safely" without teaching them how to drive. Technically true, completely unhelpful.

What's Actually Missing

The reason generic marketing advice keeps you stuck is that it skips the foundational work and jumps straight to tactics.

But tactics don't work when your foundation is unclear.

Before you worry about posting consistently, you need to know what consistent even means for your brand voice.

Before you try to "know your audience," you need to understand what problem you solve and who has that problem.

Before you attempt authenticity, you need to figure out what your actual voice is—not what you think it should be or what sounds "professional," but what's distinctly yours.

The real work isn't in the tactics. It's in the foundational clarity.

Where to Actually Start

If you're tired of following advice that goes nowhere, stop trying to execute tactics and start with these questions:

What outcome do you create for people? Not your service, not your process—the actual result they get from working with you.

Who needs that outcome most? Be specific. "Small businesses" isn't specific. "Solo marketers stretched too thin trying to do the work of five people" is specific.

What makes your approach different? Not "we care more" or "we provide quality service" - what do you actually do that others don't? What don't you do that others do?

How do you talk about your work? What language do you use? What do you avoid? What's your perspective on your industry?

When you can answer those questions clearly, suddenly all that generic advice becomes actionable.

"Post consistently" becomes "share your perspective on X topic twice a week."

"Know your audience" becomes "I'm talking to solo marketers who are drowning in tactical advice but missing strategic foundation."

"Be authentic" becomes "I communicate directly, skip the jargon, and focus on what actually works."

The Real Starting Point

Stop collecting generic marketing advice and start building your foundation.

The advice isn't wrong—you probably should post consistently, know your audience, and provide value. But none of that matters if you don't have clarity on what you're saying, who you're saying it to, and why they should care.

Ready to stop spinning your wheels on tactics that don't work? Let's build the foundation first. Book a brand voice strategy session and we'll get clear on what makes your message distinctly yours—so every piece of marketing advice you follow actually has a foundation to build on.

The best marketing tactics in the world won't save unclear messaging. But clear messaging makes every tactic work better.