I’m extremely excited to be launching Rithm Marketing! It’s difficult to document all the events that led to this but I’ve always wanted to build something of my own. I’ve been thinking about business ideas for years. Call it the entrepreneurial spirit, but whatever it is, I’ve taken the leap into a highly competitive and noisy space.

For the last six years I have served not only as a digital marketing practitioner, but an analyst of the space. I’ve written over 1,000 articles, a series of reports and have listened to hundreds of presentations from experts in the digital marketing space. I’ve learned technical, strategic and creative digital tactics that drive growth. But the biggest thing I have learned is that small businesses continue to struggle to effectively promote their business online, and by no fault of their own.

The reality is that many digital marketing agencies have over-promised, over-hyped and over-sold, while under-performing. Any small business that has had this kind of experience has likely been turned off by the entire digital marketing space. My intention is that Rithm will be a refreshing option for small businesses. One that offers more personal and timely customer service, more transparent practices/prices and clear reporting on results.

Ultimately, however, the success of a small business depends on the people that run it. If you do great quality work, provide what your customers want, and bring honesty and integrity to everything you do, you’ll succeed. But if you add an effective digital marketing strategy to the equation, you’ll grow and expand.

From a more tactical perspective, our objective is to bring the right balance of artistry and technique to small business digital marketing. Some tactics allow for more creative expression while others are more technical. But all require both, it is simply a matter of identifying the right blend of the two.

You’ll notice on our website that we have broken down the art-to-science ratio for each digital channel. For example, you’ll notice on the search engine optimization (SEO) page we have a 20% art, 80% science approach. While the vast majority of SEO requires an understanding of how search engines interpret website data which is very technical in nature, there is an element of creativity when it comes to which keywords to actually optimize for and how to execute these strategies.

We’ve shared our approach to each of these channels, and in the aggregate, it is nearly a 50/50 split of art and science. This balance is extremely important to us because weighted one way or the other will result in under-performing strategies. Heavy on the creative and you’ll look great, but without understanding the technique, you won’t necessarily reach people or the right people. Heavy on the science and you’ll reach a ton of people, but you’ll be ignored if you’re not interesting, unique, professional and memorable.

In addition to understanding the possibilities with each channel, we tailor our strategies based on your personality, your business, your staff, your industry, your objectives, your budget and your audience. We believe that every one of our services is important, however when we consider all of these variables, your digital marketing strategy will be unique to you.

From a service perspective, we best serve businesses in the Metro Detroit area. While we are open to working with businesses outside of this area, we value face to face meetings. Being based in Royal Oak, MI, businesses in the greater Detroit area (Wayne, Washtenaw, Oakland, Macomb, etc.) will be our focus.

We’re extremely excited to be launching Rithm and you can learn more about us here. If you want to set up a meeting to learn more about our services, contact us today!