Independent marketing consultancy
For leaders with a strong business and a bigger ambition.
You care deeply about what you’re building, and you’re excited by how much further you could take it. I help you find the opportunities worth investing in, then develop the positioning, websites and campaigns around them. You have someone to explore the possibilities with and trust with the detail.
Let’s talk about your businessA complimentary 30-minute conversation.
Explore working together
When there is more to build on
Sometimes growth means a wider audience for a service that already works beautifully. Sometimes it is an idea that deserves to become a new source of income. It can also mean a better mix of clients, giving the team more of the work it enjoys and does well. You can earn more from the expertise you’ve built and spend more time on work you enjoy.
01 / A wider audience
Winning larger clients or entering a new market starts with understanding what those buyers value. I help you make a compelling case for your expertise and create the positioning, sales materials and campaigns that bring it to their attention.
02 / A new offer
There may be a service in the team’s expertise that customers would welcome. Together, we shape it into something valuable to buy and worthwhile to deliver, with the positioning, sales materials and launch plan to give it a strong beginning.
03 / A team ready to grow
A new service, a different market, a bigger campaign: several paths may look promising. I help you and your team weigh the potential return against the cost and effort, then build a plan around the strongest opportunity.
Patrick Self
Marketing consultant & creative
The person behind the work
I’m Patrick. For more than a decade, I’ve helped founders build thriving, profitable businesses.
I work across strategy, writing, design and delivery, which helps me see where a decision will lead. A change to the offer affects the website; the questions people ask in a sales conversation can tell us what a campaign needs to explain.
Many of my client relationships last five years or more. I get to know the people, the customers and the reasons behind earlier decisions, so each new piece of work builds on that understanding.
More about PatrickMy contribution
The most valuable opportunity is not always another campaign. It might be a service customers would pay more for, an audience especially well suited to the business, or a better experience between enquiry and sale. My range helps me see those possibilities and develop the marketing around the one we choose.
01
I weigh likely value against cost, effort and timing. You get a recommendation about what to pursue, what to improve and what can wait, with the reasoning to make the decision confidently.
02
I help the people involved understand each other and build on the strongest ideas. A decision the team understands is easier to act on and takes less effort to keep explaining.
03
I stay involved from the decision through to the writing, design and delivery, bringing in specialists where they add value. You remain part of the decisions that matter, with someone who understands the business looking after the work between them.
A different perspective · Photo: Patrick Self
Services
A promising direction becomes much more convincing when you can see it taking shape: a website that represents the business properly, a campaign for a new service, a better way to stay in touch with customers. I develop the plan and create the marketing around it, with the tools and training your team needs to make it part of the business.
See what the work can include01 / Direction
Decide which customers and services offer the strongest opportunity, then give the business a clear direction for reaching them. I connect the longer-term plan with the offer, messages and priorities that make it practical.
Long-term marketing plans · Customer segmentation · Positioning statements · Offer development · Channel and investment plans
02 / Experience
Make the offer clear and convincing wherever people encounter it. I bring together the structure, words, design and implementation, with attention to what helps a prospective client take the next step.
Website overhauls · Landing pages · Brand identity · Sales copy and print materials · Photography & video
03 / Demand
Reach the people most likely to value the offer, through channels chosen for their contribution to the business. I develop the plan and the campaign assets, then use the response to guide improvements.
Digital advertising · Social media plans & graphics · Email & newsletters · SEO/GEO content · Referral campaigns
04 / Delivery
Keep marketing moving and make it easier for your people to carry their part of the work. I provide the plans, tools and instructions needed to use and maintain what we build.
Customer journeys · Marketing workflows · Reusable templates · Reporting tools · Staff training
Beyond attracting enquiries
01 / Before the enquiry
The first conversation feels different when someone already understands the value of the service and wants that experience. I bring those distinctions into the positioning, website and sales copy, so prospective clients can recognise what suits them before they enquire.
02 / After first contact
Follow-up emails, proposal materials and a clear process help a promising conversation reach a decision. Your team knows who is responsible, and the prospective client knows what happens next.
03 / Existing relationships
Satisfied clients and professional contacts can be a valuable source of introductions. I build the referral process and supporting materials around the people they are most likely to know, making the introduction easier for them and the follow-up easier for your team.
Less to carry. More room to grow.
Photo: Patrick Self
Client perspectives
These days, I rarely receive an enquiry from someone who isn’t a good fit.
Pat Self has been absolutely integral to building, running and growing my business, Brisbane ACT Centre, over the last 13 years.
No matter what I’ve needed help with, Pat has always been able to step in, understand the situation quickly, and provide practical, thoughtful solutions.
He is a deep thinker and knows how to decode deep thoughts so they make sense in the 'real world'.
Client stories
Different strengths within a specialist team created the opportunity to reach different customers. Over years of working together, I helped shape those audiences and build the website, advertising and referral materials around them. The practice grew from a standing start into a thriving business. Its founder could set the direction and trust me with the marketing, without having to supervise every detail.
A distinctive body of knowledge had the potential to reach far beyond the expert who developed it. Our work together brought the strongest ideas into focus and shaped them into an offer people could understand and want to explore. A new website and marketing plan now give that ambition a practical foundation. The next chapter is underway: taking the ideas to a wider audience.
A consulting team brought deep experience to the work it wanted to win. I helped draw out what made that experience valuable to its audience and give it a confident expression in the positioning, website and sales materials. The team now has a way to present its expertise that reflects the substance behind it, with materials to support the conversations that build the business.
A larger audience, a new offer, or more confidence that marketing is in hand. You bring the ambition and knowledge of the business; I bring the marketing perspective and take responsibility for the work we agree.
Our first 30 minutes are complimentary. I’ll reply personally to arrange a time.
Thirty minutes to explore your ambitions and the ideas you’re excited about, with questions and a fresh perspective from me.
A focused review at a fixed price, with a written assessment of your marketing and recommendations for where to invest next.
We can put the recommendations into practice through a project or continuing partnership. You’ll know the scope and fee before deciding.
If you already have a project in mind, we can start there.
A selection of long-term clients
