👾 Leveling Up 👾

Welcome to Leveling Up. Today’s newsletter is a 3-minute read. 

Here are some things we’re going to cover:

• The only right way to measure SEO

• Five fundamental marketing metrics

• Methods for managing a business from Bezos

Also, you should know we’ve just launched a community for Marketing School.

In this free community, you’ll receive:

• Strategies and tactics from marketing experts 

• Access to exclusive trainings.

• A network and group accountability

Check it out here (link).

Eric Siu :)

Want a Free Marketing Plan?

At Single Grain, our initial marketing plan is completely free – no strings attached.

If you’re qualified to work with us, our experts will analyze your business and send a detailed marketing plan of what you need to do moving forward.

Get your free plan here (link).

Links You Might Like

Here are some of the best links I’ve found since our last email. 

📈 SEO

Here’s the right way to measure SEO (link)

🤖 AI

AI can turn your presentations into blog posts (link)

🧠 Marketing

Five fundamental marketing metrics (link)

🏢 Business

Jeff Bezos’ methods for managing stress (link)

🪧 Advertising

Some of the best ads to come out recently (link)

Deep Dive: Losing Grip on a Company

Having too loose a grip on your company can kill it. 

People often talk about hiring CEOs and recruiting smart talent, and getting out of their way.

But that can also tank companies. I've lived it.

I remember when we hired our first CEO in 2018. I ate up all the Twitter wisdom around giving CEOs full agency upon hire and disappearing from the business.

I watched in agony as the culture fell apart and the people became unhappy. I wanted to intervene, but I also wanted to let it play out for 6 months.

It was exactly at the 6-month mark when 2 trusted team members asked to go to dinner with me.

Uh oh.

At dinner, they told me that the CEO was causing chaos and that something needed to be done. Everything I feared was confirmed.

I stepped back in and let them go.

Slowly, we pulled ourselves back from the abyss. 

To be clear, I'm 1,000% an advocate for hiring CEOs and A-players. You just need to be mindful of the 'get out of their way' part. You can have a looser grip, just not too loose.

Trust is built over time. Once it's built, you can trust, but you must still verify.

And even if you are the Founder Chairman, you'll still need to be involved in some way, shape, or form because you're the most incentivized. 

Nobody, and I mean nobody, will have the same guts or foresight as you when it comes to taking strategic risks. And that's often what drives long-term value.

Thoughts?

How I Can Help You

If you enjoy this newsletter and would like to collaborate with me, there are a few options available:

1. You can apply to work with my marketing agency (link)

2. You can join my Skool community for agency owners (link)

Interested in working at Single Grain? We have some new open roles:

• Business Development Representative (link)

• Paid Media Manager (link)

• SEO Manager (link)