You're drowning in marketing tactics (and it's killing your career) 🌊

The difference between $80k and $250k marketers

Most marketers spend their careers collecting tactics. ❌

• “Post exactly at 9 AM on LinkedIn!”

• “Use these 5 email templates!”

• “Copy this landing page format!”

But here’s what nobody tells you: Top marketers ignore all that.

They play a completely different game.

They hunt for ideas. ✅

Let me show you what I mean.

Tactics have an expiration date 📅

The moment a tactic works → everyone copies it → it stops working.

That’s why:

• Yesterday’s “perfect” cold email template = today’s spam

• Last month's “viral” LinkedIn format = this month’s cringe

• 2024’s “genius” landing page = 2025’s generic template

The half-life of marketing tactics is getting shorter and shorter.

But ideas? They’re timeless.

Why most marketers stay stuck at $80k 🪜

The career ladder in marketing looks like this:

• $80k = Tactical execution

• $120k = Tactical innovation

• $170k = Idea spotting

• $250k+ = Idea creation ← this is where you want to be 💡

Most marketers NEVER make it past tactical innovation because they’re too busy:

• Copying viral templates

• Following tactic-focused newsletters

• Chasing trends instead of understanding why they work

It’s not about your level, years of experience, or whether you’re in a leadership role. It’s about always looking for ideas (instead of tactics).

Your $250k promotion lives in this one question 🔑

The secret to finding breakthrough marketing ideas is simple...

Stop asking HOW and start asking WHY:

1. 💌 Instead of asking tactical questions like: “How should we do our email marketing?” → Ask idea questions like: “Why would someone actually want to hear from us?”

2. 👤 Instead of: “How do we make customers talk about us on social?” → Ask: “Why do people share things with friends?”

3. 🧑‍💻 Instead of: “How do we get more signups?” → Ask: “Why would someone take a chance on something new?”

A lesson from billion-dollar companies 🦄

I noticed this extremely simple pattern while interviewing marketers from companies like MongoDB, Duolingo, and Figma.

The most successful marketers didn’t start with HOW to do marketing.

They started with WHY ↓

💾 Save this to become a top 1% marketer

Each “why” led to an idea that spawned dozens of successful tactics.

You’re already ahead of 99% of marketers 💎

Don’t worry - you’re on the right track. You’re reading this newsletter because you hunt for ideas, not just tactics.

That’s what the top 1% of marketers do.

Look at previous ideas we’ve explored together:

1. ⚙️ How mini-tools beat free trials for lead generation

2. 🏆 Why praise-led marketing creates viral growth

3. 🫨 How to engineer ‘holy sh*t’ moments that sell

4. 📸 Why screenshot marketing triggers curiosity

5. 🐔 How reverse psychology sells more than direct asks

6. 💌 Why love letters beat testimonials

The gap between $80k and $250k is not about working harder. It’s about focusing on marketing ideas. And you’re on the right path.

See you next week ✌️

Tom

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