How I Transformed My Side Hustle Into a Full-Time Business With Clear Positioning
Devin Reed
Big news! Reed Between The Lines 2 drops on January 15th!
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I filmed four episodes in San Diego with my favorite marketers to help you build a more inspired career.
​ Expect a quick email when new episodes are released every other Wednesday 👀
Inside today's episode
Meet my creative agency
Deep dive into my new positioning
How to hire me
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If you're looking to scale but don't have massive in-house resources, Algert.co​ is my go-to creative agency.
I worked with Algert.co to refresh my brand, design my website, and build my new website — I highly recommend them.
What sets them apart: ​ → Lightning-fast delivery with complete brand overhauls in as little as 3 months → Full-service creative team combining strategic branding, design, and UX expertise → Proven track record with leading tech companies, backed by CMOs and founders
If you want a standout brand, schedule a call below.
I had just quit my in-house Marketing Director role to run The Reeder full-time. ​ Until then, The Reeder was my side hustle. A passion project that put dollars in my pocket. ​ Then, it became my only hustle. I decided to put all my eggs into one proverbial basket. ​ Soon came the early wake-up call. ​ By my third sales call, I noticed I was struggling to answer what should have been a simple question: "How do you work with marketing teams?" ​ ​My answers weren’t wrong, but they were… long.​ ​ (Self-awareness moment: I've learned that long-winded answers usually signal we don't understand something well enough to explain it simply.) ​ I could feel the calls falling flat. They weren’t excited by my offer. And deals weren’t closing. ​ Then it clicked.
My offer wasn’t clear because my positioning wasn’t clear.
Ahhhaaaaaa. ​ ​During side-hustle mode, the casual, conversation-based approach worked fine. But now, trying to actively sell and advertise my services? Not so much. ​ ​I needed a clear offer — a straightforward way to describe my service, who it’s for, and why they should buy it now. ​ ​I needed a website that reflects that offer — a way for people to respond to that offer. (Leads, I’m talking about leads). ​ I had neither. ​ ​I also wanted an outsider’s view. ​ ​I was “too close” to the business. And the clock was a tickin’. ​ So, instead of figuring it out on my own, I decided to hire Fletch PMM. ​ This might come as a surprise since I shared how their Co-Founder, Anthony Pierri, slammed me online a few months back.
Tap for sick burns
Icy as his feedback was, I agreed. ​ I like Fletch’s point of view: Your homepage should say what your product does, not sell high-level benefits. ​ Perfect. ​ ​Here’s their process:
Here’s my original site so you can see what they had to work with:
I still love that site. It served me well.
The strategy sessions delivered the clarity I desperately needed.
​Robert Kaminski (Fletch PMM Co-founder) was a helpful thought partner. He asked questions, went deep, and didn’t let me off the hook. It was some of the most valuable critical thinking I’ve done as a marketer last year.
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Here’s the final positioning Canvas
I envy their level of organization
There’s a ton of important details and context above. ​ But boil it down, and he helped me answer 5 critical questions:
What do you sell?
What’s included in that offer?
Who’s it for?
Why do they need it?
Why should they choose you?
​ His process helped me transform my vague value propositions into a my new flagship offering: Content Strategy Design. ​ It's a 90-day engagement where I build (or rebuild) SaaS content strategies. It includes a full audit, content strategy deck, and 3 Performance Playbooks that outline exactly how to run channels, content programs or campaigns. ​ Now I’m ready to sell, market, and deliver my offering. ​ Well, almost.
Last thing was the web copy.
FletchPMM translated that canvas to a crispy homepage copy. ​
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My favorite part was the bold “problem” section in red. ​ Most SaaS homepages are all gain, no pain. I like to lead with the problem. It’s part of my marketing ethos. ​ After a couple rounds of iterations, the new copy was ready to roll.
But I didn’t wait for the new website to start selling.
Robert didn’t just give me clarity — he gave me confidence. ​ ​I immediately shifted my sales calls and landed two clients for my new Content Strategy Design offer the next week. Boom! ​ ​The final element was hiring Algert to do my branding, web design, and web dev (yes, same Algert advertised above. Imagine knowing two Algerts). ​ Here’s the final product:
Tap to see the problem section we cooked up.
The impact was immediate. Inbound leads went up 45% in the first week.
I also have a clear path in 2025 for how I’m going to help SaaS marketers and run my business. ​ If you’re struggling to market your product or marketing offers, start with those five questions. ​ And if you need help, I encourage you to give FletchPMM a shout. ​ Sometimes, the best investment isn't in more marketing tactics... ​ It's getting crystal clear on what you're selling and why it matters. ​ Holler at you later, Devin
How to Hire Me
I help SaaS marketing teams grow their brand, audience, and pipeline with high-performing content.
If your content is underperforming and you don’t know how to get it on track, it’s time for a full content strategy design like the one I ran at Gong, Clari, and many more.
"The Reeder has been transformational to our content strategy. I recommend Devin to anyone who wants to stop wasting time and resources and change their content game for the better." - April Crichlow, CMO, Centrical.
Want to turn your marketing into a high-performing content machine? My advising program is designed to help you get “unstuck” — so you can build content that connects, converts, and captures attention every time.
"Any amount of time spent with Devin is a masterclass for a content marketer who wants to level up their program and their own craft." - Jillian Hoefer, Senior Content Marketing Manager, UserEvidence.
Turn my audience into your next wave of customers. Access my audience of 100,000+ to grow your reach and pipeline.
"Devin helped us drive impactful marketing moments, including webinars with 200+ attendees for our AI product launches. And his co-marketing video content achieved some of our highest engagement metrics compared to branded ads." - Greg Swan, Senior Content Marketing Manager, ClickUp
