Bold Types: Adriana Tica 🇷🇴

On no-BS, zero hacks marketing [#7]

I’m not big on International Women’s Day (it’s every day, as far as I’m concerned) and it’s hard to get enthusiastic when nothing much changes, but we do need to keep banging on about inequality and helping each other.

So a shoutout to all the strong, kind, and supportive women in my network who lift me up and keep me going. THANK YOU. It is much appreciated.

The other day, I was asked to promote a panel in parliament that was all blokes. “Where are the women?” I asked my colleague.

“Doing all the background work for less pay as usual, probably.”

But he did flag it and asked if we should suggest a more balanced panel. The usual female speaker was ill, so it was last minute, but there are other women who could’ve stepped in. 

I posted on LinkedIn here about #IWD2024 campaigns worth supporting:

• United Nations: Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress - show us the money! #InvestinWomen #FundFemaleFounders

• The NUJ’s #ShowUstheMoney pay transparency campaign

And it’s Mother’s Day. First priority today: calling my lovely mum.

I did appreciate the flowers and dark chocolate waiting for me when I got back from the conference 💐 🍫

We’re off to Bella Vista for a mother-and-daughter day dinner.

Nika

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Wine is my drink of choice. I even thought about becoming a sommelier at some point. I write about some of the gems I discover on Instagram

Conversations with digital entrepreneurs on courage, craft, and creative living.

I really enjoyed chatting with Adriana Tica, a strategist, writer, trend forecaster, and entrepreneur known for her no-BS, zero-hacks marketing strategy. We met on LinkedIn.

She’s built not one but two businesses on her own, with absolutely minimal investment, zero paid ads, and zero PR effort. “My rise to (moderate) internet fame was “more organic” than Whole Foods.”

“Getting hooked on independence doesn’t take much.” I agree!

And now introducing biz no #3: Ideas to Power Your Future, her brilliant weekly newsletter, which she says is the best lead generation tactic she’s ever built.

Semrush named her one of the world's top 100 Content Marketing Influencers, and Buffer said she knows a thing or two about social media.

She’s a digital nomad who loves working remotely, especially from a Mediterranean island. She also speaks six foreign languages.

I like that she’s not your typical ultra-niched strategy consultant. There’s so much pressure to narrow down and be known for one thing, but broad expertise across industries is a superpower. It gives you an edge.

One of the things the Executive loved about the conference was the “non-industry attendees.” And in the feedback survey, the members always ask for more “speakers outside of the industry.”

Worth bearing in mind when you’re pitching yourself as a speaker. Be bold, and as Cindy says, never give it away for free ;-)

Super inspiring. Enjoy! (scroll down for the video 🎦)

Hi Adriana, firstly, I’d love to know where you grew up and your first job. 

I grew up in Craiova, Romania, and then moved to Bucharest for college, where I stayed. These days, I’m a digital nomad who enjoys working remotely, especially from a Mediterranean island.

My first job was waitressing when I was 16. It lasted for exactly six days; it turns out I’m not cut out for smiling at jerks 😊. In college, my first job was in ad sales—also not a good fit for the same reason: the utter lack of a poker face.

What do you do and why?

I started my business out of sheer need. It was supposed to be short-lived, with a few freelancing gigs between jobs. But those freelancing gigs took off, and before I knew it, I was making more freelancing for a couple of hours a day than my full-time job paid.

So, I stopped going to interviews and turned my freelancing gigs into a digital marketing agency in 2015. My goal has always been to create great content for our clients, not the SEO fodder you see everywhere, and I’m proud to say I have succeeded.

At the end of 2022, I launched Ideas to Power Your Future, a weekly newsletter about no-BS marketing strategy. As this newsletter and its community keep growing, I’m happy to see how many people are over hacks and quick wins and focus on building a solid foundation for their business instead. 

This is what I set out to teach my subscribers, and despite all the bro marketing out there, it resonates with my community.

What are you most excited about at work right now? 

Growing my newsletter and my consulting business. I love seeing the spark in my clients’ and subscribers’ eyes when something clicks. When they realise they don’t have to hack social media algorithms to grow their audience or sell their soul to sleazy marketing tactics.

I know everyone hates marketers – and they have good reasons to. I’m here to show there’s a better way to market your business, one that lets you sleep easily and doesn’t annoy your audience.

How do you stay on top of industry trends?

I read a lot, perhaps too much. I focus on mainstream media (The Economist, HubSpot, Forbes, and so on) and obscure blogs, newsletters, or social media accounts that border on fringe. It’s very easy to dismiss them, but they are usually trendsetters.

Piecing the information together is my favourite thing to do, along with finding correlations between seemingly unrelated industries or trends, i.e. how does the state of the economy affect the creator economy? Or is there a connection between the housing market and the travel industry? Fun questions to answer!

Tell us about your marketing process. How are you finding clients, and building your network?  

Most of my clients and subscribers come from LinkedIn and Twitter, the platforms I’m most active on. My newsletter is the trust bridge that establishes me as a credible strategist and the best lead-generation tactic I’ve ever built.

Social media is also where I find partners, friends, and networks like Lettergrowth (for newsletter cross-promos) and the Convert Kit Creator Network.

Samaria Gorge in Crete, Greece - her favourite place

How do you define success? And balance ambition and contentment?

Success is the most subjective word. For me, success means not dreading my work and being excited about the future. Every job and every business has ups and downs. But as long as there are more ups than downs, I count it as a success.

I never set out to rule the world, so I’m content with carving a small corner of the internet for myself and a business that feeds me and allows me to travel without claiming my soul in return.

How do you manage your health and prevent burnout? 

I’m afraid I don’t do enough here. I love what I do and tend to become hyper-focused on my work. Since I’ve already dealt with severe burnout once and definitely don’t want to go back there, I force myself to take breaks, exercise, and disconnect at least one day a week—even when I’d rather be working.

Can you recommend one book and one podcast for digital entrepreneurs?

Before you get to the trendy books, I recommend reading Philip Kotler’s Principles of Marketing. The book may be slightly dated, but it has everything you need to understand the foundations of marketing. Mastering a new trendy channel or tactic will be a breeze if you read this.

My favourite podcast is Everyone Hates Marketers by Louis Grenier. His conversations with his guests are refreshingly candid, with zero boasting and posturing.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? 

Paul Graham’s “Do the things that don’t scale first” is my guiding light. This is what you need to do in the beginning – talk to your customers and your partners, gather feedback and ideas, and mine the web for information.

And you have to do all this yourself, not by automating DMs through AI. It’s a crucial step most digital entrepreneurs miss in their chase for quick hacks.

Are you happy, and what would you change? 

Oh, that’s a loaded question! Yes, I’m happy and content overall, but there’s always room for improvement. If I were to change one thing, it would be my working hours; I need a better balance here. I’m working on it!

Who should I interview next and why? 

Hannah Szabo and Michael Scott Overholt are the smartest, most fascinating people I’ve met on LinkedIn, and I’m proud to call them friends. I think you’ll like how their businesses are built on solid principles and ethics. (I surely will! Send me your questions for Hannah and Michael).

How can readers get in touch with you?

The best way to get in touch with me is to subscribe to my newsletter, Ideas to Power Your Future. This is where I publish my best work and answer every email from my subscribers. You can also find me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Resources

• Special issue: One-year anniversary - How I grew and monetised this newsletter in the past year (what fuels the growth of her newsletter - ranked from best to worst). Read it here. 

• Spending too much time creating content? Read this! (why repurposing and reusing are your best friends). Read it here.

• Is the subscription economy in trouble? (tips on how to price a paid newsletter or paid community and future-proof yourself as a newsletter writer). Read it here. 

Work with me

Wanted to be Jane Bond but ended up in journalism 🤷🏻‍♀️

I run Firebird, the content consultancy helping entrepreneurs impact the world with their stories. I want to see more female founders succeed. See my services here.

Newsletter Talent Directory! For creative collaborations. Feel free to add your deets here.