Run Marketing With a Small Team (or Solo)

Be Flexible and Open

Running marketing with a tiny team—or by yourself—is part strategy, part juggling act, and part improv show.

You don’t have time for fluff. You don’t have budget for a 12-person creative team. And you definitely don’t need another “10-step framework” written by someone with three interns and a six-figure ad budget.

What you need is a realistic, flexible system that keeps the work moving without burning you out.

Here’s how to do it.

1. Start with a Simple Plan

Don’t try to do everything. Pick the two or three channels that actually matter for your business and do them well.

• B2B? Try LinkedIn and email.

• DTC? Try organic social and Meta ads.

• Local business? Focus on SEO and Google Reviews.

You don’t need a content calendar color-coded through Q4. You need a clear goal and a short list of things you’ll actually do.

2. Repurpose Like a Maniac

Create once, use it everywhere.

• Turn one blog post into a LinkedIn carousel, a Twitter thread, and an email.

• Pull quotes from a podcast and use them as social content.

• Take your best-performing content and update it instead of starting from scratch.

Small teams survive by being scrappy. Don’t reinvent—recycle smart.

3. Use Tools, But Keep It Lean

Yes, automation is helpful. No, you don’t need 14 subscriptions.

• Use Buffer, MailerLite, or Notion—simple, affordable, and effective.

• AI tools? Great for first drafts and idea generation, not full-blown campaigns.

• Avoid tools that need a full-time person just to manage them.

Buy tools that save time, not create more work.

4. Be Flexible, Not Reactive

Stuff will break. A launch will flop. A campaign won’t convert. That’s the job.

The trick is to stay open to adjusting, not panic and start over every time something underperforms.

• Test fast.

• Learn faster.

• Drop what’s not working.

• Double down on what is.

You don’t have time to be precious. You have time to make progress.

Done > Perfect

When you're a team of one (or close to it), perfection isn't the goal—momentum is.

Be smart, be scrappy, and keep showing up.

Because even without a big team, you can still make big impact—as long as you’re focused on what actually moves the needle.