At any level, any advertising workforce has infinite concepts and alternatives.
New applied sciences, channels, methods, and techniques are consistently rising. It’s unimaginable for any workforce to pursue each thought.
What do you do then? How do you vet every thought and resolve which one to take a position sources in?
We’re no strangers to this downside too.
That’s why we determined that we wanted a constant option to vet concepts. Not simply to select the perfect ones, however to additionally perceive why we have been pursuing them.
Getting issues finished is nice, however you additionally should be strategic and keep away from losing time and sources on initiatives that gained’t transfer the needle.
So we created the B.R.E.W. framework.
The BREW framework stands for:
- Business potential
- Revery
- Effort
- Who
Let’s unpack every half:
B: Enterprise Potential
“How nicely are you able to pitch your product?”
We rating each advertising thought from 0-3 based mostly on how important our product is to the issue.
- 3 — Our product is an irreplaceable resolution to the issue
- 2 — Our product helps fairly a bit, however isn’t important to fixing the issue
- 1 — Our product can solely be talked about fleetingly
- 0 — There’s no clear option to point out our product
R: Attain
“Who will see this and the way many?”
Attain isn’t nearly numbers; it’s additionally about relevance. A viral tweet or TikTok video would possibly get tens of millions of views and cost you with dopamine, but when they’re all random individuals, then it’s simply noise.
For instance, I as soon as went viral on Threads. I didn’t even get one new follower
Distinction this with my colleague Louise’s article on how one can observe AI site visitors. The key phrase she focused didn’t have a lot search quantity:
However her article was learn by choice makers, even influencing them to make a change of their workflow:
E: Effort
“How a lot time and sources would you want? And is it even value it?”
Assessing effort isn’t simply in regards to the hours required; it’s about understanding the hidden prices and implications:
- Time: How lengthy will this realistically take to finish?
- Manpower: Do you could have ample sources obtainable internally?
- Dependencies: Are you reliant on different departments, exterior distributors, or know-how?
- Threat: What’s the probability of issues going flawed or surprising challenges arising?
- Alternative price: Each minute spent on one thought is a minute misplaced elsewhere. May your effort be higher allotted elsewhere?
Moderately than shying away from formidable, high-effort concepts, at all times begin by asking: “What’s a lower-effort model of this we will check first?”
For instance, our two-day convention, Ahrefs Evolve, is a large advertising effort that takes no less than half a yr to plan and execute. It includes coordinating between exterior distributors and inner groups, resembling design. It prices us no less than $400,000.
However we didn’t soar straight into this undertaking. It truly took us years earlier than we even determined to run one. We began by sponsoring occasions, then moved on to gentle networking periods we hosted at our workplace.
We solely began scaling and growing complexity once we proved the worth at every step.
W: Who
“Do you could have the appropriate individuals or expertise to execute this concept successfully?”
With out the appropriate individuals, and even an inner champion to cleared the path, even the perfect concepts can stall or fail.
Critically consider your workforce’s capabilities. Transparently acknowledge your workforce’s strengths and gaps upfront. If vital, complement with freelancers, consultants, or businesses.
For instance, when our Chief Advertising Officer Tim Soulo needed to construct hyperlinks to his content material, he employed an company as a substitute of asking the workforce to deal with it.
Not as a result of the workforce didn’t understand how, however as a result of he would have needed to redirect our time and a spotlight away from different duties to serving to him construct hyperlinks.
He judged that it wasn’t use of sources and due to this fact determined to outsource it to an company with SOPs and processes.
Our B.R.E.W framework might be utilized on any scale. You’ll be able to apply it to particular person tweets, posts, and articles or one thing as large as working a two-day convention.
Listed below are some examples of how we scored totally different advertising actions:
1. Focusing on the key phrase “weblog submit concepts”
Earlier than we created B.R.E.W, I as soon as pitched the subject “weblog submit concepts” to the content material workforce.
There was a simmering feeling from the workforce that concentrating on this key phrase wasn’t the perfect use of my time. Not solely was it a particularly newbie key phrase, its search quantity was additionally on the decline.
Is smart: with LLMs, who nonetheless wants an article to present them weblog submit concepts? The thought was shot down.
Actually, this was one of many triggers behind B.R.E.W. We needed to cease evaluating advertising concepts by intestine and have a strategy of vetting them.
Right here’s how I’d consider the subject as we speak with B.R.E.W:
| B.R.E.W | Rating | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise potential | 1 | You should utilize Key phrases Explorer to generate concepts, but it surely’s not 100% vital. |
| Attain | Respectable | Ahrefs’ Key phrases Explorer exhibits a Site visitors Potential of two,300, which is fairly good. Nevertheless, its precise search quantity is declining. A Google seek for the subject additionally exhibits a “Sources from the online” SERP function that lists out loads of concepts.
Actual click-through charges for this subject should have declined considerably. Additional, it’s a particularly newbie key phrase, so we’re reaching newbies. Not our supreme buyer (or maybe sooner or later.) |
| Effort | Low | I can whip out this submit in a day or much less. |
| Who | Me | We’ve a content material workforce (sure, me) that may make this submit. |
We finally concluded that because it was so low-effort, the payoff was value it and due to this fact I wrote the submit.
2. Programmatic search engine optimisation for ‘Prime Web sites’
In 2023, we launched “Prime Web sites”: a web page displaying the highest 1000 most visited web sites on this planet by our natural search site visitors estimates.
That is how we scored it:
| B.R.E.W | Rating | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise potential | 2 | Whereas it doesn’t showcase our product in motion, it closely options our knowledge and advertises the way you’ll want Ahrefs to see search site visitors for different web sites. |
| Attain | Very excessive | Not solely do the key phrases “hottest web sites” and “most visited web sites” have tons of site visitors potential, we will additionally rank for every web site’s model. Nevertheless, the site visitors might not be of the very best high quality. |
| Effort | Medium | Builders have been wanted however LLMs made a whole lot of the work simpler (e.g., copy) |
| Who | Our product supervisor | We’ve a devoted product supervisor to see this undertaking by way of |
Right here’s a enjoyable truth: this undertaking was truly within the pipeline for years. However it was thought of too high-effort—we wanted developer sources, copy, design, somebody to steer the undertaking, and extra. So, it was by no means prioritized.
Nevertheless, issues modified. The workforce grew larger, so we had extra developer sources. We employed a product supervisor whose considered one of his tasks included programmatic search engine optimisation initiatives.
The development of LLMs additionally made all the pieces simpler. For instance, we might generate copy for every web page with out having a poor copywriter writing along with his eyes glazed over.
The lesson right here: simply because a undertaking didn’t rating nicely the primary time with B.R.E.W., doesn’t imply you completely surrender on it. It merely goes again into your backlog of concepts.
Revisit them from time to time and re-score them. A few of these initiatives grow to be attainable when your workforce grows, your sources enhance, and know-how advances.
3. Ahrefs Evolve
In 2024, we organized a 500-person, multi-day convention in Singapore known as Ahrefs Evolve.
Right here’s how we scored it:
| B.R.E.W | Rating | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise potential | 3 | The convention is actually Ahrefs Evolve. Because it’s our convention, we will promote our model and toolset closely in all places. |
| Attain | Medium | Reaching 500 individuals isn’t quite a bit. Nevertheless, these 500 individuals will possible be decision-makers or individuals who can affect them. Lots of them can even be our clients with whom we will construct nearer relationships.
They’re even flying down (in the event that they’re not locals) to the convention in Singapore. Discuss dedication. |
| Effort | Very excessive | Organising a convention isn’t any small matter. Numerous coordination between inner groups, exterior distributors, sponsors, and audio system; a whole lot of planning and execution; a whole lot of advertising in order that tickets might be offered and sponsors wish to sponsor the convention; a whole lot of fire-fighting as Murphy’s Regulation dictates.
Nevertheless, we’ve constructed as much as this over the previous years. We’re not ranging from scratch. We are able to re-use present sources and replace and improve them. |
| Who | Shermin | We’ve a devoted occasion advertising supervisor. |
If we had scored our convention from the start, it might by no means have been finished. Effort would have been extraordinarily excessive; we must study and begin all the pieces from scratch (and hope to not lose an excessive amount of cash); and we must redirect somebody from their tasks to do it (with none expertise!)
Certainly, it was most likely the case for a few years as we watched our rivals and different SaaS firms launch their very own conferences.
Nevertheless, by decreasing the trouble and making one thing smaller first, it reduces the complexity and may function proof-of-concept for the channel.
Actually, that is most likely how we’d have scored our first networking periods (search engine optimisation Beer and Snacks):
| B.R.E.W | Rating | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise potential | 2 | Because it’s simply networking, it doesn’t have excessive enterprise potential. However we will improve its enterprise potential by including branding components to the meetup (e.g., freely giving swag, utilizing branded standees, inviting enterprise purchasers so we will construct goodwill with clients, and so on.) |
| Attain | Low | Networking periods are sometimes small. Nevertheless, they’re extraordinarily focused because the possibilities of random individuals turning up are very low. |
| Effort | Low | We have already got an present venue: our workplace. We simply have to ship out invitations and get individuals to come. |
| Who | Shermin | We’ve a devoted occasion advertising supervisor. However even earlier than that, I had expertise organizing networking occasions. |
Last ideas
To get a inexperienced gentle, your advertising thought must be balanced by way of these 4 components.
For instance, if there’s an opportunity to get insane attain, however the enterprise potential is low and energy is excessive, then it’s most likely not value it. Then again, if enterprise potential is excessive and energy is low, then the concept would possibly make sense even when attain is low.
In the long run, nobody can let you know whether or not an thought is nice or unhealthy. It’s as much as you to vet, rating, and consider them to see if they’ve legs.
And bear in mind: even when an thought doesn’t have legs now, it doesn’t imply it’s not viable without end. Issues change and a backlogged thought can grow to be the following thought to execute as we speak.
