Why is my marketing not working?

You're spending on ads, posting content, sending emails. Nothing moves. Before you switch agencies or try a new channel, run a diagnostic on the message itself.

The message-market fit test

Open your homepage. Read the headline. Now answer honestly: 1. Does it name a specific person? 2. Does it describe a problem that person actively feels? 3. Does it explain what changes after using your product?

If any answer is no, the marketing isn't the problem. The message is.

Why switching channels won't help

Moving from Facebook to LinkedIn doesn't fix a confusing value statement. Better ad creative doesn't save a headline nobody understands. More blog posts just spread the fog further.

Distribution amplifies what you already have. If what you have is unclear, you're amplifying confusion.

A meal kit service that diagnosed its real problem

They'd spent $40K on paid social over three months. Click-through rate was fine. Landing page bounce rate was 74%.

Their headline: "Farm-to-Table Convenience, Reimagined."

The diagnosis: Nobody knew what "reimagined" meant. The word did zero work. Visitors clicked from the ad, read the headline, and left because they couldn't tell what was different from every other meal kit.

The fix: "Meal kits for people with food allergies. Every ingredient labeled. Every recipe safe."

Bounce rate dropped to 41%. Same traffic source, same ad spend, same product. Different message.

The diagnostic sequence

Before optimizing tactics, answer these three questions: 1. Can a stranger understand your homepage in 8 seconds? 2. Would your best customer describe you the way your website does? 3. Is there one obvious thing that separates you from competitors?

If you can't answer all three with confidence, start there. Everything else is downstream.

How to diagnose what is actually broken

Run this sequence: First, check your [homepage headline](/answers/what-should-my-homepage-say). Does it name a person and a problem? Second, look at your traffic sources. Are the people arriving the same people you built the product for? Third, check your bounce rate vs. time on page. High bounce with low time means the message failed. High bounce with decent time means the offer failed. Each diagnosis points to a different fix.

Is it a channel problem or a message problem?

If you are getting clicks but no conversions, the channel is working but the [landing page is not](/answers/traffic-but-no-conversions). If you are not getting clicks, the hook or targeting is off. If you are getting conversions but no retention, the promise and the product do not match. Most founders change channels when they should change the message.

servo runs you through this diagnostic and gives you the words that make your marketing land.