“It would be a miracle if we got any deals from marketing this year.”
That’s what my client Steve told me, half-laughing, half-praying.
And honestly?
He had every reason to be cynical.
Steve runs an outsourcing firm. A couple years back, his business was booming—purely off referrals. Clients were thrilled. Word spread. Life was good.
He even landed a monster contract with REDACTED. We’re talking “makes-your-accountant-blush” money.
And like many business owners riding a wave of wins, he got…comfortable.
So when it came time to hire a marketing agency, due diligence went out the window.
“Who needs marketing,” he probably thought, “when Big Daddy REDACTED is footing the bills?”
He never said that out loud. But if you’ve ever coasted on one huge client, you know the vibe.
And then…
REDACTED got banned in the U.S.
Suddenly, Steve’s golden goose was cooked.
And that’s when he realized his marketing agency hadn’t actually been doing anything.
Or rather…they had been doing something.
They’d been blogging.
About bread.
🥖 Afghan flatbread recipes.
🥯 Global baking culture.
🍞 How to make pita like a pro.
Why?
Because Steve’s company worked with clients around the world.
So naturally, the agency decided to write fluff content “relevant to global audiences.”
Totally irrelevant to his services. Completely useless for ranking on buying-intent keywords. Not even entertaining enough to pass as clickbait.
In their heads, it made sense.
In reality?
Steve flushed half a million dollars on what amounts to a gluten-heavy ghost town of a blog.
But let me ask you something:
Are YOU Blogging About Bread?
Not literally, of course.
But figuratively…
- Are you pouring time, money, or energy into content that doesn’t sell?
- Paying for “marketing” that produces no traffic, no leads, no results?
- Investing in busywork instead of business growth?
This doesn’t just apply to blog posts. It applies to:
- Emails that say nothing.
- Ads with no offer.
- Websites that “educate” but never convert.
- Social posts that get likes but never build your list.
It’s the modern marketing trap:
Activity masquerading as strategy.
And it’s everywhere—especially inside agencies and startups that think “content” is the same as “conversion.”
It’s not.
Want to Get Serious About Marketing That Works?
Then stop letting fluff siphon your budget.
And start building a real engine that pulls in clients—reliably, predictably, and profitably.
That’s what I teach on my email list.
You’ll get daily lessons on what actually moves the needle—writing that sells, systems that scale, and how to never waste money on “bread blogs” again.
👉 Join here: nickbandy.com/freelance
Highly profiterole marketer,
Nick
