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!
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
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.
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.
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
