Hi, I’m Ryan
In a past life I was a designer and musician (even briefly a DJ). I went by Phonografik because I thought it was a cool interplay between “Phonograph” (music) + “graphic” (design). Whilst I may no longer be ‘cool’ (was I ever?) I still sit at the interplay between different mediums.
Over 15 years of marketing in media companies, subscriptions and startups I’ve always worked across the edges, connecting dots across product, operations, data and brand.
A CRM that couldn’t see the product data. A newsletter run separately from the paywall. Messaging that contradicted brand direction. The plan in one document, the numbers in another. The job I kept ending up with was joining them up, so the business could see what was actually happening and act on it.
This is one of the challenges of marketing, only compounded in the age of AI. The important stuff, understanding what works, figuring out what customers care about, building campaigns that tap into that, that all sits on top of systems and processes. Which are often learnt from scratch by doing.
A great marketing strategy needs clear strategic direction, a solid understanding of your positioning, your customers, how your product serves them and how best to communicate that.
But a strategic direction without good systems underneath won’t produce good results.
Phonografik joins together these dots, providing fractional marketing direction for B2B software companies, and the systems to run it effectively.
Growth from the founders’ network might be slowing, and marketing is either happening in the gaps of someone else’s job, or by a junior tasked with delivering the full strategy and execution. Everyone’s trying to use AI and nobody has the time to make it work effectively.
The usual answer is to hire in the expertise: a marketing director, or a CMO. A five or six-figure ongoing commitment for judgement you might only need in bursts.
Many companies don’t need a full time senior person yet. But they do need the direction and the systems that senior hire would build.
A six-week reset: I come in and do the digging, research your company, the market, your competitors. I’ll interview your team and run workshops to get everyone aligned on where you’re actually differentiated. At the other end you get a documented plan: the position, roadmap, KPI tree, what to do first and next, handed over so you can run it yourselves.
Then if you want it, the systems: I make that strategic direction usable. Your position, messaging, voice and proof structured so your team and AI tools are pulling it from the same source. I will also advise on the surrounding stack. CRM, tooling and reporting.
And if you want ongoing input I can stay on as retainer. A monthly check in against the roadmap, weekly 1:1 with whoever’s running marketing day to day and availability for async feedback in between.
A career of learning by doing. Experimentation’s in my DNA.
- At The Spectator I built the newsletter strategy that combined the website platform with digital subscriptions, taking the main daily email from a few thousand subscribers to around 60k.
- At PIRATE.COM I led a 20-person cross-functional team connecting the dots between the product experience and the marketing levers that drive retention.
- At Sifted I built the marketing function and tripled paying members, repeating the connection playbook between the newsletter and website tech stacks.
- At Boardwave I built the Digital Community from zero to 500 members, launching a Masterclass series within it and wiring the underlying tech stack myself.
- As a fractional marketer I’ve helped clients in Fintech, EdTech, AI Risk Intelligence and Startup Recruitment figure out their positioning and connect their systems together.
Most marketing problems are a positioning problem, or a wiring problem. I can help fix both.
Outside of client work I like to build things too. Including PastMaster, a 12-time award-nominated comedy-history podcast, and Podato, a solo-built SaaS tool for fellow podcasters.