James Pybus Story – AI – ChatGPT4

I used to work as a driver/bodyguard for a businessman, which was quite an unconventional job. My typical day involved dropping him off at 7 am and picking him up at 11 pm, giving me ample time to manage my own businesses while being employed. However, there were downsides to the job. I was mainly confined to one location in central London, away from home. When my role ended in 2016, I found myself at a crossroads, uncertain about what path to take next.

 

Throughout the past 25 years, I’ve ventured into various businesses. From owning a website design and digital marketing agency, a bed and breakfast, to being a flooring trade supplier, an affiliate marketer, and a digital marketing trainer. Amidst this diverse range of industries, my true passion has always been digital marketing. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a wide array of clients, ranging from solopreneurs to major players like HP and Microsoft Platinum partners, as well as global retailers. In the past seven years alone, I’ve trained approximately 500 business owners, global digital teams, and marketing/PR agencies. I’m proud to mention that I’ve also been recognized as a Freeman of the City of London and Liveryman.

 

My desire was to transition into freelancing as a digital marketer, allowing me to enjoy flexible working hours and spend more quality time with my wife and children – James (9), Lily (7), and Molly (4). However, I realized that I needed to establish credibility to be taken seriously in the field. Unfortunately, I had very few qualifications as I didn’t pursue higher education after leaving school. At the age of 16, I joined the Army, where I served as a driver and provided close protection to senior officers, ambassadors, and NATO diplomats for seven years.

 

One thing that bothered me was the negative reputation some SEO professionals and self-proclaimed digital marketers had earned. They were often seen as “snake oil” salesmen, lacking the ability to offer even a basic optimization lesson. This tarnished the industry’s reputation and undermined the credibility of genuine experts. I strongly believe that digital marketing is not some mysterious dark art; it’s a process that requires time and effort to build something truly valuable.

 

I felt frustrated that despite my extensive experience in digital marketing, corporate decision-makers didn’t perceive me as credible. Unlike many senior digital marketers in corporate roles, I didn’t merely discuss digital marketing in theory; I was actively engaged in hands-on work, training individuals on the practical aspects of digital marketing and achieving remarkable results, all without formal training.

 

During my temporary contracts with global corporations, I had disheartening encounters with in-house marketing teams, particularly Digital Marketing Directors and Managers. It became apparent that many of these individuals lacked practical experience in digital marketing, despite being influential decision-makers responsible for significant marketing budgets. As someone coming from a small business background, where budgets are tight and expectations are high, I was shocked to witness the tremendous waste of money on ineffective marketing strategies.

 

One incident that stands out is when I became acquainted with a board member from a large organization I worked for. I asked him why so many senior managers possessed limited knowledge of digital marketing, despite controlling substantial marketing budgets. His response, which still resonates with me today, was eye-opening: “You only need to know 5% more than anyone else in the room to be an expert.”

 

My role as a driver/bodyguard was solitary and often left me feeling quiet, discreet, and lacking personal confidence. However, those words, “you only need to know 5% more,” sparked a realization within me. Suddenly, I felt a newfound sense of awakening. I had dedicated 24 years to honing my skills, enabling me to offer clear, coherent, and practical advice based on firsthand experience. In my opinion, advice filled with jargon and empty promises couldn’t hold a candle to a deep understanding of the industry. I wanted to make people recognize this.

 

If corporate “Digital Marketers” could do it, so could I! At the age of 49, I applied for an MSc in Digital Communications. Despite lacking formal qualifications, I managed to secure a place after a challenging two-hour interview. Despite my persistent lack of confidence, I chose not to disclose my dyslexia, fearing it would jeopardize my chances of completing the course.

 

Starting the course made me nervous, as I battled with confidence issues that made me feel inferior to my fellow students. However, I remained determined and focused. Over the following year, I developed strong connections with my peers, some of whom are still friends today. Surprisingly, out of the 20 students in the program, only three had any knowledge of digital marketing. As the terms progressed, I became increasingly disappointed and disillusioned with the course. I had naively assumed that a Master’s degree would equip me not only with theoretical knowledge but also with practical execution. Instead, the coursework was overwhelmingly theoretical, formal, and academic, lacking the practical elements I craved. Despite my reservations, I completed the first year and obtained a Postgraduate Certificate before resigning from the program.

 

At that point, I realized that the corporate life I once aspired to wasn’t for me. I discovered that my skills were better suited to working with smaller businesses rather than within corporate settings, which often seemed rife with politics, empty rhetoric, and individuals desperate to climb the ladder, even if it meant resorting to unethical actions. From my experience, although small and medium-sized enterprises may have smaller budgets, they tend to be more dynamic and receptive to logical reasoning. When collaborating with SMEs, we’ve achieved quick and efficient results without the need to convince a series of “marketing professionals” lacking practical industry experience, who cling to their own misguided marketing approaches instead of paying attention to the data.

 

Around 20% of my business in 2018/19 revolved around training digital agency staff. This experience was enlightening. It seemed that the business owners initially specialized in a specific digital channel, such as paid ads. Over time, as their customers demanded additional digital services beyond their area of expertise, they began hiring freelancers or employing staff to fulfill those needs, ultimately growing into full-fledged digital agencies. However, this approach presented a couple of issues:

1.) Each “department” operated as a separate team, failing to provide customers with an integrated digital strategy. 2.) In the four years of training agencies, not a single one could share their digital strategy with me. Each department had its own ideas and workflows, resulting in duplicated essential tasks like keyword research. The customer had to pay for the same work repeatedly. Additionally, the content team rarely communicated with the optimization team, leading to inconsistent and unfocused content and anchor text.

 

A few years ago, I worked on a contract for a large business that paid one of their employees $50,000 per year for paid advertising. However, upon investigation, I discovered that this employee was merely reporting on the ads, while the actual setup, monitoring, and adjustments were outsourced to an external digital agency for an additional $1800 per week, excluding the advertising budget. This external agency relied heavily on automation, which often resulted in excessive spending on paid ads. In my opinion, if you’re paying an in-house employee $50,000 annually, they should be capable of managing the entire ad process without resorting to outsourcing. This was just one example of the wastefulness I observed in corporate settings—an absurd scenario.

 

Another intriguing experience occurred when I provided training to a prominent digital agency supporting eight well-known high street brands. After the session, I inquired about their thoughts, and the senior manager confessed, “It was great training for the junior members and helped me understand how the digital channels fit together. However, we have a problem—we haven’t implemented half of what you taught us. It will take us 18 months to 2 years to catch up.” Astonishingly, their proposed solution was to gradually phase in the changes over two years and hope no one would notice. This attitude was particularly alarming considering the high monthly fees their customers paid for their services.

 

Recently, I’ve noticed larger organizations, especially global retailers, becoming more cost-conscious and aware of their wasteful spending. Since January 2023, I’ve received four corporate inquiries from businesses seeking to bring their marketing in-house and requesting quotes for training their internal digital marketing departments with an integrated digital strategy.

 

One of the most significant insights I’ve gained in recent years is that small businesses can compete online against larger corporations if they have a well-defined strategy (something many larger organizations lack). Regardless of a company’s size, the same principles apply when it comes to websites.

 

Based on my unique experiences and witnessing the recurring issues faced by different organizations, I’ve come to recognize the importance of a standardized framework for Digital Marketing. This inspired me to create a methodology that I could share with businesses. In 2019, together with my wife Dr. Gemma Pybus (a data analyst and now a senior lecturer at West London University), we developed “The Logic Digital Marketing Methodology.” This methodology encompasses keyword research, optimization, paid ads, and ongoing content strategy. Once the foundational elements of the Logic Digital Marketing Methodology are established, businesses can consider other digital channels like social media and email marketing.

 

In the same year, we self-published a book on the Logic Digital Marketing Methodology, which Dr. Gemma Pybus has now rewritten to include our latest insights. Alongside the strategy, we developed the Keyword Strategy Tool, which won the Best Marketing Management Tool award at the B2B Marketing Expo in London just before the lockdown of 2020.

 

I feel like I’m leaving behind a meaningful legacy. My wife is pursuing her second PhD, and I have the opportunity to guest lecture university MSc students and students at Hult International on digital strategy.

 

In our new business, we specialize in laying the foundations of a solid digital strategy. We’re continuously improving our keyword research tool, set to relaunch in September/October 2023. My hope is to share our strategy/methodology with businesses across industries at an affordable cost, aiming to spread the word. I firmly believe that this logical methodology can significantly benefit any business, providing greater online visibility and success.

 

It brings me immense joy to think that we can help all businesses, large and small, if they give us an opportunity and listen to our insights.

 

Nowadays, I enjoy the freedom to spend time with my family. I have the privilege of taking my children to school and picking them up each day. Working from home eliminates the daily two-hour commute to and from London.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Best regards, James Pybus

If you’re interested in discovering how we can assist your business, please feel free to contact me through LinkedIn (James Pybus). I would be delighted to hear from you.

 

We offer a three-month Digital Marketing Package that focuses on establishing your website strategy foundations.