Hey Reader,

Last year, so many of you asked this question: How are you generating leads? What's actually working?

Grab your coffee and snuggle up because this is what I'm doing behind-the-scenes.

Before we dig in, two caveats. Because if you walk away thinking "I should do exactly what Michelle's doing," I will have failed you.

Caveat #1: My business model requires more marketing than yours probably does.

I'm in what I call the Leveraged Expert model—I need to reach more people to make my business work.

If you're a consultant who needs 5-10 high-touch clients a year, my strategy would be wildly wrong for you. Your marketing should look completely different. More relationship-focused. Less volume.

This is exactly why The Expert Up Club exists—I believe every expert needs a strategy tailored to their business model, not a copy-paste of mine.

Caveat #2: I'm a freak who actually enjoys marketing.

I LOVE marketing. I genuinely find it fun to figure out what's working and what's not. I'm doing more marketing than I technically need to because I like the puzzle of it.

(The upside for Expert Up members? They get that obsessive puzzle-loving part of me applied to their marketing.)

Okay. Caveats delivered. Let's dig in.

The Question Driving Everything This Year

There's a question I keep coming back to:

How can I out-care my competition?

In an industry full of people promising hacks and shortcuts, I've realized that caring about my people is my actual competitive advantage. Genuinely giving a damn is an underrated advantage.

Everything below flows from that question.

How I Think About Marketing: Grow, Engage, Offer

Everything fits into three buckets.

GROW: Building Audience & Brand Awareness

Summits and collaborations are still my biggest lever. In 2025, collaborations brought in over 1,700 new email subscribers.

Why does this work? I'm showing up in front of audiences who already trust the person introducing me. That borrowed trust is worth more than a thousand cold LinkedIn posts.

SEO and AI optimization are my new frontiers. I'm getting serious about making sure that when someone asks ChatGPT "Who helps experts with marketing messaging?"—my name comes up. I refuse to be invisible to AI.

ENGAGE: Nurturing People Who Found Me

Here's where things are shifting. I'm putting the podcast on pause.

Make Marketing Suck Less has been my baby. But here's the truth: podcasting is brilliant for nurturing people who already know me. It's terrible for discoverability. And I was feeling the early creep of burnout—that familiar dread when it's time to record.

So I'm turning my attention to YouTube.

Three reasons:

1. The SEO gap is wide open. Almost no one is creating content about marketing messaging. I plan to fill that gap.
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2. I can finally SHOW things. I've been dying to do messaging teardowns—walking through real examples of what works and what doesn't. You can't do that on a podcast. On video? Watch me mark up a sales page in real-time.
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3. Double-dipping on search. YouTube is a search engine. Every video feeds both YouTube search AND Google search. That's efficiency I can't ignore.

Email marketing stays—with a twist.

I'm still showing up in your inbox (hi). But this year, I want more conversation. More replies. More back-and-forth.

This is the "out-caring" part in action. When you hit reply, I actually read it. And I will always respond. I want more of those exchanges, because that's how I learn what you actually need, not what I assume you need.

OFFER: Inviting People to Work With Me

Launches still work to get people in the door for The Expert Up Club. Private tours and consults are still how people decide if it's right for them. I’m adding personal invitations to the mix, too.

What's evolving is what I'm offering inside.

What I'm Selling This Year

​The Expert Up Club is my signature offer—and where I'm pouring my energy.

This is where the "out-caring" thing gets real. Inside the Club, I answer every question. I show up to every call. I don't disappear behind a team or a content vault. You get me—obsessively working on your marketing puzzle like it's my own.

We're adding a Relationship-Driven Marketing Sprint this year because relationship marketing matters for every business model, whether you need 5 clients or 100.

​Done-For-You Messaging is for people who want me directly in their business. If community isn't your thing and you'd rather work 1:1 to nail your message or get mentorship on your marketing—this is where you'd go.

​Fix It Fast Sessions are for when you just need a small dose of my brain. An hour to untangle a specific problem. A fresh perspective on copy that isn't converting or a review of your marketing strategy. Quick, focused, useful.

What About You?

I'd genuinely love to know: What are you focusing on this year? What marketing questions are keeping you up at night?

Hit reply. I read everything. And I will write back.

Yours in rebellion,
Michelle

P.S. If The Expert Up Club sounds interesting and you want to know more about the Relationship Marketing Sprint, just reply and ask. Happy to share details.

Dr. Michelle Mazur Message Strategist & Founder of The Expert Up Club ​Podcast / 3 Word Rebellion Book​ ​

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