Stop Promoting. Start Showing Up.

If you're reading this, you're either someone who knows me, someone who's curious about marketing that actually works, or someone who accidentally subscribed and is now too polite to leave. (Stay. It'll be worth it.)

Every week I'm going to break down one thing happening in marketing, teach you something you can actually use, and share a few shortcuts I've found along the way. Plus a little peek behind the curtain of what I'm working on, because the best way to learn marketing is to watch someone do it in real time.

Let's get into it.

If you've Googled anything lately, you've probably noticed something different at the top of the results: a big AI-generated summary answering the question for you. No clicking required.

These are called AI Overviews, and they've quietly become one of the biggest shifts in how people find businesses online.

Here's what that means for you: when someone searches "best place to stay in Midcoast Maine" or "accountant near me," Google's AI is building an answer from the businesses it trusts most. If your website isn't structured, clear, and credible? You're not in that answer.

This is exactly why I keep talking about AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). It's not a buzzword. It's how search works now.

More on this in future issues. For now, Google your own business and see what shows up. You might be surprised.

The one thing I wish someone had told me three years ago.

Most small business owners think about marketing as promotion. Run an ad. Post on Instagram. Send a blast email. Hope people notice.

And look, promotion works. But it has a shelf life. The ad stops, the attention stops. The post gets buried in 24 hours. You're basically renting attention, and the rent keeps going up.

The businesses I see growing consistently right now? They've made a different shift. They've moved from promotion to presence.

Presence means your website answers the questions people are actually asking. It means you show up when someone asks an AI tool for a recommendation in your category. It means your content exists in enough places, consistently, that people feel like they already know you before they ever reach out.

A clear, updated website that says what you do and who it's for. Consistent content on one or two platforms (not all of them). A Google Business Profile that's actually complete. Reviews that are recent and responded to. Information structured so AI tools can find and trust you.

None of this requires a big budget. It requires showing up regularly with clear, honest information about what you do. That's it.

Promotion feels productive. You spend money, you see a spike, you feel like you did something. Presence feels slow... until suddenly it's the reason your phone rings and you're not sure how they found you.

That's the goal. Build a presence so strong that customers come to you already trusting you.

This week I'm deep in Beehiiv learning how to make this newsletter not look like it was assembled by a toddler. (Grant did offer to help. I declined.)

I'm also finalizing a new local SEO audit for Brightside clients. Basically a way to show businesses exactly where they stand in local search results and what to fix first. The early results have been eye-opening. More on this soon.

And honestly? Hitting "send" on this first issue is terrifying. I've spent years building brands that showcase others. This is the first time I'm putting my own name on something like this. If you're reading, thank you. It means more than you know.

Next week: the three things your website needs to say if you want AI tools to recommend you. It's simpler than you think.

See you on the sunny side,
Heather ☀️