Daniel Murray

Founder @ The Marketing Millennials | Head of Media Strategy @ Workweek | Angel Investor Focused on Marketing/Sales Software | Former D1 Athlete

Hi! I’m Daniel. I’m the creator of The Marketing Millennials and the founder of Authority, a B2B LinkedIn growth agency that creates and distributes content to turn attention into authority for your business.

 
I’m a former D1 athlete. GO BEARCATS. I live in the Miami, FL with my badass wife, Ari, who is arguably a way better marketer than I am. You can say we are a marketing power couple. 

I’ve spent most of my marketing career focused on Marketing Operations (at companies like SnackNation, Oracle, ChowNow, ServiceTitan, and Clearbit). BUT, I have a love for all types of marketing because to be great at Marketing Ops - you need to be well versed in all of marketing. I started The Marketing Millennials as a way to meet other marketers - and I can officially say mission accomplished.

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Just launched my marketing newsletter with workweek. Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/3OvHkWs

“So what does a marketer actually DO?”

Everything. The answer is everything.

I’ve seen marketing job descriptions that list 47 different responsibilities.

Social media, email, ads, SEO, content, design, events, analytics, copywriting, video editing, community management, partnerships, and oh yeah can you also help with sales enablement?

It’s gotten RIDICULOUS.

Companies hire 1 marketer and expect them to be a full agency.

New marketers don’t know any better. They think this is normal. They say yes to everything. They burn out in 18 months.

If you’re hiring a marketer, get specific about what you actually need.

If you’re a new marketer, ask in the interview: “Which of these 47 things are you REALLY prioritizing in the first 90 days?”

Marketing is not 1 job. It’s 15 jobs wearing a trench coat.

And if you’re currently that one person doing it all? You’re not failing. The job description is just broken.

Founder - The Marketing Millennials | Founder @ Authority - Turn attention into authority on LinkedIn | Former D1 Athlete

This is why every detail and touchpoint matters in marketing.

H/t: Don McMillan

This is TOO accurate.

“Should we run paid ads?”

IT DEPENDS.

“How many emails should I send?”

IT DEPENDS.

“Is LinkedIn or Instagram better?”

IT DEPENDS.

“Should we use video or static creative?”

IT DEPENDS.

Marketers LOVE saying “it depends” because… it actually DOES depend.

On your audience.

On your budget.

On your goals.

On your industry.

On your product.

On your competition.

But here’s the thing:

“It depends” is the RIGHT answer.

Anyone giving you a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy is either lying or selling you something.

Marketing isn’t about copying what worked for someone else.

It’s about figuring out what works for YOUR business.

And yeah… that depends.

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You can’t automate what you don’t understand.

I’ve always believed this: You need to do something MANUALLY before you use automation or AI.

Because if you don’t know how it works…

You can’t tell when it’s broken.

You’re just blindly trusting the output.

This is why humans aren’t going anywhere.

If you’re GOOD at your job…

You have TASTE.

You know what good looks like.

You can spot when the AI missed the mark.

You can fix what’s broken.

You can make it BETTER.

AI is a tool.

Not a replacement for expertise.
Learn the fundamentals FIRST.

THEN let AI make you faster.

Being TOO good at your job will backfire on you.

I learned this the hard way.

Early in my career, I was CRUSHING deadlines.

Week-long projects done in 3 days.

Revisions requested at 4pm in their inbox by 6pm.

I thought I was being impressive.

Turns out, I was just training everyone around me that “Daniel delivers in 48 hours” was the new normal.

Fast became the expectation.

And when I couldn’t maintain that pace (because I’m human), people got frustrated. With ME.

That’s when my boss pulled me aside:
“You teach people how to treat you.”

OUCH.

But he was right.

By always saying yes and delivering at lightning speed, I’d set an unsustainable standard. I built my own trap.

- Underpromise and overdeliver isn’t just something people say. It’s actually how you survive long-term without burning out.
- Boundaries aren’t rude. They’re necessary.
- Your emergency isn’t always my emergency.

And a sustainable pace will ALWAYS beat heroic sprints.

The best performers don’t just do great work. 

They do great work at a pace they can maintain for years, not weeks.

Stop training people to expect miracles.

Start training them to expect excellence within reasonable timelines.

Your future self will thank you.

Having employees with strong personal brands in your company is an opportunity. 

Not a threat.

But most companies treat it like a threat.

They panic when employees start posting on LinkedIn. They worry about them getting poached. They think they’ll take clients with them when they leave.

So they discourage it. Or worse, they create “approval processes” for social media that kill any momentum.

Here’s the thing:

If you’re worried about an employee with a strong personal brand, you hired the wrong person.

Good employees with personal brands make your company better.

They attract talent. People want to work at companies where they can grow their reputation.

They bring inbound leads. Someone follows your employee, sees where they work, reaches out.

They build trust faster than your company account ever will. People buy from people, not logos.

They make your brand feel more human. Real faces and voices beat corporate speak every time.

Smart companies don’t just allow personal brands. They encourage them.

They give their team content to share. They celebrate when they post. They understand that rising tides lift all boats.

Stop being scared of your employees building in public.

Start building a company culture where personal brands make everyone stronger.

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Founder @ Kennedy Creative | Helping B2B leaders dominate their category on LinkedIn and convert influence into revenue through content and outbound

Most executives treat LinkedIn like a resume.

I treat it like a revenue engine.

I work with enterprise B2B executives and founders in the 7–9 figure range to turn authority into measurable growth.

Through The Creative Catalyst Method — a system built on content + outbound — my clients transform visibility into deal flow, building 7+ figure pipelines in as little as 6 months.

And the results speak for themselves:
	
• 30+ MQLs generated in less than 60 days
• Clients getting 3+ leads every week with content + outbound
• A 5-figure deal closed by an agency in under 60 days
• $100K pipeline built in less than 90 days for a SaaS company

What makes this possible isn’t just content.

It’s the combination of strategic positioning, executive voice, and consistent outbound touchpoints that makes your brand unforgettable — and turns authority into revenue.

If you’re an executive ready to move from authority → pipeline → growth, let’s talk.

👉 Book a call or connect with me here on LinkedIn.

Doug Kennedy

10 reasons why being a dad with small kids makes snow days better:

(No I wasn’t doing donuts at City Hall in Philly) 
	
1. You wake up already winning. Endless coffee is on the menu. 
	
2. Two inches of snow feels like a national holiday. (In this case, we got 8.)
	
3. Sledding/shoveling becomes cardio you didn’t schedule.
	
4. Coming back inside feels heroic.
	
5. Snow forts start outside and somehow end up in the living room.
	
6. Couch cushions turn into architecture.
	
7. Games last longer because no one’s in a rush to be anywhere.
	
8. Snacks disappear faster.
	
9. Time stretches in a way it rarely does.
	
10. Everyone crashes early, worn out in the best possible way.

Snow days hit different when you’re a dad.

They slow you down without asking permission.

You stop thinking about what you should be doing and start noticing what you’re part of.

Years from now, they won’t remember the snow totals.

They’ll remember you were there.

What did you do in the snow yesterday?

I have one memory of my grandfather.

So when I found this photo of me with him, surrounded by all the Kennedy men, it stopped me. 

(Some tears were shed)

My grandfather must have passed shortly after this photo was taken. 

My dad took it in the early 90s and I’d never seen it before.

He recently uploaded a bunch of old photos to OneDrive. I sat down one night to look through them and didn’t expect it to hit like it did.

It made me think about legacy in a quiet way. 

Not the big stuff. 

But just the everyday moments.

No lesson or corny analogy today fam. 

Just one of those photos that makes you pause and think about life. 

If you have a photo or memory that makes you think about legacy, I’d love to see it in the comments. 

P.S. I’m the redhead LOL.

10 years ago (crazy to say), I was packing up my life to spend a year in Paris for an internship that completely changed me.

It was wild.

Yes, I:

• Went to museums
• Drank so much espresso I got dizzy
• Ate pain au chocolat on the Champs-Élysées

But I also:

• Learned a new language
• Met my current pastor (on another continent, somehow)
• Helped build a church under a bridge in a gypsy camp
• Built habits I still carry today

That year gave me so many memories.

It rewired how I see the world, faith, work, and what’s possible when you say yes before everything makes sense.

Lately, I’ve had that same feeling again.

Something about 2026 feels different.

People feel locked in and excited about what’s coming.

For most, that energy will fade after a few weeks. Life will creep back in and the same ole patterns will return.

But I don’t know.

This feels like an adventure year.

The kind you don’t fully understand until you’re already in it.

You feeling it too?

360Brew sounds like a solid cup of coffee while I’m knocking out LinkedIn posts.
 
It’s also the name of the new algorithm model for LinkedIn. 

Feels about right for 2026 (can I get an amen?). 

Regardless, here’s what I’m focusing on this year:

1. Ownership.
2. Real stories.
3. Saying things plainly.
4. Sharing how I actually think.
5. Showing skill through the work itself.
6. Talking with people, not performing for them.
7. Posting even when it feels repetitive or boring.

Some people are pumped about what’s changing. Others feel like they’re getting crushed.

To me, it still comes back to doing the work and showing up like a real person.

What are you doubling down on this year?

You’re not where you want to be because you’re not desperate enough to get there.

That stings. But it’s true.

We can go as far as we want to go. 

The scary part? Personal responsibility.

Want to make more sales?
→ Contact 50 people a day, not 10.

Want to build your brand?
→ Spend less time making another reel and more time having real conversations.

Want to scale your business?
→ Stop hoping for “one big break” and start stacking small wins, daily.

The people who hit their goals aren’t necessarily smarter or more talented.

• They’re hungrier.
• They’re more consistent.
• They do the uncomfortable work, over and over.

The gap between where you are and where you want to be isn’t strategy.

It’s desperation.

How badly do you want it?

One of my coaching clients got their first inbound lead after two weeks of consistent posting.

I know people will say inbound on LinkedIn doesn’t work. 

“It takes months!”

“Only big accounts get inbound leads.”

It’s not true.

Just keep going:

• Optimize your profile so it clearly says who you help, what problems you solve, and why your perspective matters
• Post consistently in the same lane so your message compounds instead of resetting every week
• Talk about real problems your buyers already think about, using language they actually recognize

Most people quit right before LinkedIn starts working for them.

DM me if you want to join my LinkedIn 1:1 mentorship.

Some of the most useful feedback I’ve gotten in life didn’t question my ability.

It questioned my restraint.

“Hey, you’re capable of more.”

“You’re really good at what you do, but you keep holding back.”

“You’re trying a little too hard to make everyone comfortable.”

None of that was said to knock me down. 

It was said because the people saying it could see the gap between what I can do and how I was actually showing up.

The difference matters. 

When feedback comes from someone who respects your work, that usually means that they are able to see more clearly the patterns you’ve gotten stuck in.

I’ve been fortunate to have a few people in my corner who are willing to say those things plainly. 

Over time, those conversations have forced me to take an honest look at where I was playing it safe when I didn’t need to.

It wasn’t that I didn’t know better, but that it just felt easier. 

The relief comes from clarity. Once you see it, you can adjust it without overcorrecting.

When was the last time someone challenged how you were showing up, not your capability?

Low engagement doesn’t always mean your content failed.

It usually means the right people are watching quietly.

If you only optimize for visible reactions, you optimize for the wrong audience.

Here’s how to think about who’s actually on the other side of your posts:

The 3 Audiences Reading Your Content

“Building authority is like how my grandma baked her blueberry pie.”

The sentence just came out of thin air on a client call the other day. 

(Not even sure if I had the analogy all worked out)

Later, I thought: “wow that’s actually pretty good.”

Everyone loved my grandma’s blueberry pie.

It was one of her things. 

At family gatherings or church events, someone always asked if she brought the pie.

That pie was part of her reputation.

Here’s the recipe for both (simplified):

1. The crust sets the foundation. Clear values and a point of view give everything else something to stand on.
	
2. The structure keeps it repeatable. A simple framework makes the work sustainable over time.
	
3. The blueberries deliver the value. They’re the reason people remember it and come back.
	
4. The butter adds personality. You can feel the care and intention behind the work.
	
5. The sugar creates connection. It invites conversation and brings people together.
	
6. The lemon juice adds contrast. Stories and lived experience keep it from feeling flat.
	
7. The egg wash finishes the presentation. Details matter when you want to be taken seriously.
	
8. The thickener is consistency. Showing up the same way over time is what builds trust.

*See the instructions below to put it all together. 

She never called it branding, but she built trust the same way strong personal brands are built.

- One clear recipe.
- Executed consistently.
- Long enough that your name becomes shorthand for quality.

That’s how personal brands actually last.

Even heading into 2026, a lot of us are still mentally parked in 2025 (somewhat). 

- Closing loops.
- Tying things up.
- Making sense of what actually happened.

Right now looks a lot like:

• Looking back over performance data
• Following up with leads that went quiet
• Analyzing what worked and what didn’t
• And, of course, going through the books

That last one mattered more than I expected this year.

The margin for “I’ll clean this up later” disappears fast. I wanted clarity and confidence that I wasn’t missing something small that could turn into something painful later.

So I asked for help.

I reached out to We Got Your Books, and it was one of the better decisions I made in 2025.

They had a clean report for me in just a few days (it literally blew my mind). 

If you’re looking for support, reach out to 
Emma Smith.

Clean books change how you think. And how you plan what’s next.

The posts that gets likes and the posts that gets DMs are built for two different jobs.

Applause content feels good.

• Broad advice
• Clean conclusions
• Everyone nods along
• The loop closes

People leave thinking, “That was helpful” and then they move on.

DM-driving content does something else.

• It introduces tension
• It speaks to a specific problem
• It leaves the loop open

Instead of satisfaction, it creates recognition: “That’s exactly what I’m dealing with.”

That’s why posts like: “5 habits of successful CEOs” can rack up engagement…

…but posts like: “Most founders try to fix X, but the real issue is Y” quietly build pipeline.

One resolves curiosity. The other sharpens it.

A few simple shifts that change everything:

• Stop teaching. Start diagnosing.
• Share the what and why. Save the how.
• End with a question only the right person can answer.

This isn’t about tricking people.

It’s about writing content that does the job you actually want it to do.

Applause content has a place. So does DM content.

The mistake is expecting one to do the other’s job.

If you’re posting consistently and not seeing inbound, it’s usually not a volume problem.

It’s a positioning problem.

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The Battle

Daniel Murray

Doug Kennedy

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taplio

The Battle

Daniel Murray

Doug Kennedy

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Daniel Murray's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreDaniel Murray's LinkedIn Performance