Philip Morgan Consulting

After 15 years of trying and failing, Philip helped me finally succeed.

This post is both a plug for Philip and a note of encouragement. If someone like me, who has struggled with audience-building for years across multiple businesses, can now create a 3,000-person following—then so can you.

Maybe you’re like me—reasonably successful and driven by a clear goal, yet totally incapable of consistently producing content, despite 100 attempts! I read all the classic books, from Key Person of Influence to Positioning, and while they taught me what not to do, they didn’t offer practical, step-by-step advice. They didn’t help me tackle the hard part: deciding on an actionable plan and executing it.

Specialization was one of my biggest struggles. Most of my customers came from different industries and roles, each with unique needs. One major customer was a university CEO for whom we built 35+ solutions, while another was an operations head at a large power company needing a work management system. Every attempt at positioning, elevator pitches, and website messaging felt irrelevant to one audience or the other. Specializing felt impossible without potentially sacrificing revenue, and none of the books addressed this issue.

Beyond positioning, I’d tried various content marketing and audience-building strategies but could never sustain them. My attempts failed for a thousand reasons:

• Perfectionism: As a slow writer, I would write a paragraph, edit it, and get bogged down trying to make each word count.
• Overthinking: I agonized over titles, platforms, frequency, format, length, style, and target audience.
• Trial and Error: I tried recording, dictating, outsourcing—nothing worked. I never found a groove, despite repeated attempts over 15 years.

Then, a friend recommended Philip’s book, which turned out to be fundamentally more helpful for three reasons:

1. Relevance: Philip’s advice is tailored for indie consultants rather than product or large service businesses. It was specific, with relevant examples, giving me confidence it could work.
2. Insight: Philip helped me see not just that my positioning was broken, but why it was broken, and provided a framework to explore my options. This clarity gave me confidence in selecting a path aligned with my character and goals.
3. Approach: Philip outlined a phased approach, showing me that positioning doesn’t happen instantly. I realised that in the early stages of my new business, content could serve an additional purpose—helping me connect with and learn about my market (charities) through engagement with my newsletter.

I was 100% in. I’d just launched my latest business, Truffle Dog Digital, focused on finally solving my positioning challenges, but I knew I couldn’t go it alone. I reached out to Philip for his “done-for-you” newsletter service, and we got started immediately.

This immediate start was crucial—without Philip, this newsletter wouldn’t exist. He removed my concerns about tools, process, frequency, topics, and more, so I could focus on content. If I hesitated, Philip had answers, and I moved forward. No more getting paralyzed by details. I started writing one piece per business day for four months, publishing content every other day to start.

Philip’s support was key throughout:

• When I worried about audience overload, he reassured me.
• When my content was taking too long, he suggested lighter “soundbite” topics, freeing time for more in-depth pieces.
• To overcome bottlenecks, I experimented with dictating into Google Docs from my phone, which helped me focus on ideas rather than editing.

Having Philip edit my work sped me up immensely. Knowing he’d polish my rough drafts allowed me to drop my perfectionist loop. Philip also assisted with audience-building and LinkedIn outreach, even though it wasn’t part of his service. The primary benefit of this process has been in refining my target market and clarifying the language I need to reach my buyers effectively.

Starting with a broad target of “charities,” I soon realised the need to refine further. Government-funded organisations had different needs from those funded by philanthropists; schools and foundations weren’t a fit, while social services were so under-resourced that I could help them easily. Based on my experience, I targeted social services and adjusted my messaging accordingly.

After a few months, I noticed the challenge of limited urgency in government-funded organisations. They had little incentive to improve efficiency, which I initially focused on, but in reality, “efficiency” could sound negative in this sector. Now, I’m moving to a third version of my positioning, targeting “social purpose organisations” more broadly, recognising that this evolution is a process, not an instant fix.

This journey has also given me surprising benefits beyond direct feedback from readers. By regularly creating content, I’ve expanded my “insight” aperture, opening up new perspectives and ideas that simply weren’t coming to me before. I frequently find myself thinking, “I wonder if…”

Despite 15 years of struggling, I’ve been able to build a following relatively quickly, thanks to this strategic shift. While I haven’t perfected my pitch yet, I’m confident that if I keep moving forward, I’ll get there.

Now, producing content regularly and growing my subscriber base is finally in my rear-view mirror instead of feeling like an uphill battle.

Andrew Walker, Founder, Truffle Dog Digital