MAVERICK'S MONDAY MORNING MARKETING MEMO

October 5, 2026

Why Aren't You Advertising?

Do you want to know the real reason you’re not advertising right now?

Good.

Today I’m going to tell you why.

I have no doubt in my mind that you can find business and marketing advice on nearly every corner of the internet.

A lot of it is bad.

Some of it is good.

But there is absolutely no shortage of people willing to teach you how to advertise, how to set things up, how to optimize campaigns, and how to automate incremental improvement over time.

The information is everywhere.

So today, we’re not talking about the how.

We’re talking about the why.

Why aren’t you, specifically, advertising?

That is the mountain we’re going to climb.

That is the thing we’re going to dominate.

I’m Maverick, the marketing consultant.

I’ve spent about the last decade working in Fortune 500 marketing and small-business marketing, and I want to teach you everything I know without turning every lesson into a sales pitch.

And one of the biggest things I’ve learned is this:

A lot of business problems aren’t really business problems.

I Used to Think Every Business Owner Had the Same Problem

When I moved from big-brand consulting into small-business marketing, I thought most business owners fundamentally had the same kinds of problems.

Accounting problems.

Marketing problems.

Sales problems.

Operational problems.

Boy, was I wrong.

A lot of the problems that show up in business are actually emotional problems wearing a business costume.

Napoleon Bonaparte famously talked about human beings being moved by two great levers: fear and self-interest.

So let’s talk about one of those.

Fear.

“I’m Afraid”

Think about Rocky III.

After Clubber Lang knocks Rocky out and Rocky is sitting on the beach with Adrian, she keeps pressing him.

What is wrong with you?

What is really going on?

And eventually Rocky finally says it.

“I’m afraid.”

That is the moment.

He stops pretending the problem is training.

He stops pretending the problem is strategy.

He stops pretending the problem is Apollo Creed.

He finally names the actual problem.

Fear.

And I think a lot of business owners need to do exactly the same thing.

You’re afraid.

Don’t shoot the messenger.

Just think about it.

You have the time.

You have the resources.

You have access to more marketing information than any business owner in history.

You can learn how to build ads.

You can learn how to run campaigns.

You can learn how to track conversions.

You can learn how to build websites.

You can learn how to use Meta, Google, email, social media, video, and everything else.

The “how” is sitting right in front of you.

But you’re still not doing it.

Why?

Fear.

And It’s Usually Very Normal Fear

You may be afraid of losing money.

You may be afraid of putting yourself out there.

You may be afraid of being judged.

You may be afraid of looking like you’re bragging.

You may be afraid of promoting yourself.

I cannot tell you how many architects and other professionals I’ve met who are almost allergic to advertising because they don’t want to “show off.”

I’ve literally had people tell me that.

I’ll say, “You’ll probably make more money if more people see your work.”

And the answer is essentially:

“I don’t want to show off.”

That is not really a marketing problem.

That is an emotional problem.

And emotional problems can be solved.

But only after you correctly identify them.

The Charlatan Usually Advertises First

Here’s the part that should bother you.

Every week, businesses like mine get contacted by somebody who just entered an industry.

They might say:

“I have a tree-removal company.”

“When did you start?”

“Last week.”

“Do you have customers?”

“No.”

“Do you have much experience?”

“No.”

“But I need a website, I need advertising, and here’s what I want to make my first year.”

Sometimes they are completely unqualified.

Sometimes they barely understand the industry.

Sometimes they have almost no history.

But do you know what they are willing to do?

Advertise.

Immediately.

That matters.

Because while you’re sitting there worrying about whether you’re promoting yourself too aggressively, somebody worse than you is getting in front of your customers.

That person may have less experience.

Less skill.

Less integrity.

Less ability.

But they have fewer emotional brakes.

And that can be enough to win.

Charlatans Rarely Have a Marketing Problem

Think about some of the most famous frauds and charlatans in business history.

Elizabeth Holmes.

Bernie Madoff.

Whatever else you want to say about them, they were not afraid to present themselves.

They were not afraid to promote.

They were not afraid to tell people what they supposedly could do.

They didn’t sit around feeling guilty about getting attention.

They went after it.

Now compare that to the genuinely talented business owner who says:

“I don’t want to bother people.”

“I don’t want to seem salesy.”

“I don’t like talking about myself.”

“I don’t want to boast.”

That hesitation may feel virtuous.

But it can produce a terrible outcome.

The weaker competitor gets the customer.

You May Actually Have an Obligation to Advertise

Here is a different way to think about it.

You’re not merely advertising because you want more money.

You’re advertising because you may actually be better for the customer.

If you know you can do a better job than the competitors who are aggressively putting themselves in front of the market, then getting attention becomes more than self-promotion.

It becomes responsibility.

How many times have you seen one of your competitors’ advertisements and thought:

“Are you kidding me? I could do a hell of a lot better job than they do.”

Good.

Prove it.

Because that customer cannot hire you if they don’t know you exist.

They cannot choose the better option if the better option is hiding.

Training Changes Fear

One of the reasons I wasn’t constantly overwhelmed by fear when I was in Afghanistan was training.

I had been trained.

When I got into a situation, I didn’t have to invent the response from scratch.

I knew what I was supposed to do.

That changes fear.

Uncertainty magnifies fear.

Competence reduces it.

And marketing works the same way.

If advertising feels dangerous because you don’t know what you’re doing, then the answer is not to avoid advertising forever.

The answer is training.

Learn the system.

Learn how to structure the campaign.

Learn how to measure it.

Learn how to improve it.

Learn what the numbers mean.

Learn what to do when something underperforms.

Once you know what to do, the emotional temperature comes down.

You stop staring at the advertising platform like it’s a casino.

It becomes a system.

The Real Problem Is Usually Not Lack of Information

This is the part I want you to remember.

Most business owners today do not suffer from a lack of information.

There is more business information available than ever before.

The problem is often hesitation.

Fear.

Uncertainty.

Embarrassment.

Discomfort with self-promotion.

Fear of losing money.

Fear of judgment.

Fear that you’ll put yourself out there and nobody will respond.

That is what stops people.

And if you solve the wrong problem, you stay stuck.

If the real problem is fear and you respond by watching another 40 hours of YouTube tutorials, you haven’t actually solved anything.

You’ve just accumulated more information.

So Prove It

If you know you are better than the businesses already advertising to your market, then get in front of the customer.

If you know you can provide better service, prove it.

If you know you care more, prove it.

If you know you have more experience, prove it.

If you know the customer will be better off choosing you, then stop allowing weaker competitors to monopolize their attention.

You are not merely trying to increase sales.

You are not merely trying to increase revenue.

You are trying to create more customers, build something meaningful, and keep people from making a worse decision simply because somebody else was louder than you.

So the next time you tell yourself:

“I need to learn more before I advertise.”

Ask yourself whether that’s really true.

Or whether you already know enough to start, and what you’re actually feeling is fear.

Because once you identify the real problem, you can finally solve it.

I’m Maverick, the marketing consultant—your marketing consultant.

And if you’re better than the people already advertising to your customers, prove it.

To your success !