The best kind of problem to have


I was in a meeting with a brand new client and they said six of my favourite words to hear from a small business owner:

We’re getting traffic, just not conversions.”

While this person was understandably frustrated and upset that they were spending nearly $800+ a month on Meta ads, it was music to my growth marketing ears.

Because even though they felt like “nothing was working,” technically, the ads – a top of the funnel marketing tactic – were doing what they were designed to do:

Attract new audiences and drive traffic to the website.

Check and check.

So that part is working, but the website… Well, that’s where things start to break down.

Because it’s the website’s job to help visitors discern and decide; and ultimately make a purchase. It sits in the nurture and conversion layers of your marketing sandwich.

But in this client’s case, despite the traffic they weren't seeing sales. A classic case of a leaky funnel.

That’s good news though. Because fixing a leak is a lot easier than starting from scratch.

Knowing that the ads are driving traffic as intended but the website wasn’t converting helped form a hypothesis:

💡 Improving the website will increase conversions.

Is it guaranteed to instantly triple sales? Absolutely not. There is no such thing.

But it gives us a place to start. Now we can test and experiment changes on the website.

And because we’re already starting with a foundation, chances are we’ll see results faster than just throwing more random spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks.

It’s too early in our experiments to share the results but I’ll report back when we have something more concrete to share.

In the meantime, I’m sharing this story because if this feels familiar, chances are you’re closer than you think.

Here’s a reflection exercise to try:

Where are you putting a lot of effort/time/money into marketing but it doesn’t quite feel like it’s “working?”

What is the primary objective of this marketing tactic? Is it designed to attract, connect or convert?

Is it meeting that specific objective?

If the answer is yes:
That’s great! Where does that piece of marketing lead to? Answer the same questions for that tactic until you find a no.

If the answer is no:
This is where you start! What can you tweak or edit to make it work better? Choose one thing to change and see what happens in two to four weeks. Rinse and repeat until it starts to work.

If you want help finding your leak, that's exactly what an Audit & Action Intensive was designed to do. Book a session and let's find where your marketing funnel is leaking.


Until next time,

Amanda Laird
Growth Marketing Strategist

PS: If you try the "attract, connect, convert" exercise on your own marketing, hit reply and tell me where you got stuck.


Unbranding is a five-part podcast series about letting go of Slow & Steady and building as a personal brand.

Tune in to hear more about the decision, how I used data to validate my intuition and why I don't think slow or steady is what small businesses need to hear right now.

🔗 Tabs

Obsessed with the Legends Five Star Fest. A leaderboard hates to see me coming.

An online summit I'm actually excited to attend! (And I have a discount code if you want to come too!)

While my A/C is blasting and there is still so. much. summer left... I started brainstorming Black Friday last week. Here's a round-up of the best 2025 BF/CM email campaigns if you're looking for inspiration.

And my love language.

✴️ Ready for more?

Snail Habitat , Toronto, Ontario M6P 3N3
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