growth @ Selzy // paid social @ FirstPour

I’ve been in digital marketing since 2017, and I kept seeing the same pattern: fuzzy results and no clear ROI.

I always wanted one thing — direct, measurable impact.

In 2022, I moved to a new country, started freelancing, and then built Dedicado Agency. Survival was simple: make marketing work.

I went all-in on B2B, tested multiple channels, and found outbound to be the most effective. For the first time, I saw Sales truly respect Marketing — we generated enough qualified leads to sign 3 new clients within a couple of months.

Since then, I’ve replicated the same playbook for multiple clients and for my own agency. It wasn’t easy: long days, heavy tooling investment, documenting processes from scratch, and building a team — with more than one moment of considering a return to full-time employment.

But it paid off.

Today, I know which projects can win with outbound — and which can’t. And I’ve gone beyond outbound to build full GTM systems (outbound + paid ads + organic content) that don’t just generate leads, but also build trust and awareness within a clearly defined audience — and turn that into demand.

If you’re building B2B and want a repeatable way to generate demand and pipeline, feel free to connect or DM.

Evgeny Kotelevskiy

After 4 years of working 100% remotely, I realised one simple thing:


This is the ideal work format for me.

Why ideal:

↳ You can focus 100% on work, eliminating water cooler small talks, coffee runs, and the like.

↳ The number of useless meetings decreases significantly.

↳ You choose where to work; in my case, the bike replaced the subway, and instead of the soulless skyscrapers of an office center, I started working in a cozy coworking space with a garden where roses bloom year-round 🌹.

↳ Conveniences like dress codes are a thing of the past - I never understood the relevance of clothing to professionalism.

I see two main advantages of remote work:

↳ Development of independence: there's no Maria or Peter sitting near you to give you hints or do something instead of you; you have to figure it out yourself.

↳ Considering all the above, your professional growth happens much faster.

What are your thoughts on the 100% remote format?

#remoteworker #remoteworklife #remotework

I created Dedicado Agency in 2024. The goal behind it was simple: prove to myself that I can make marketing work and make it clearly measurable.

Why this idea?

Before that, I’d seen so many teams (including myself) doing so many things that didn’t produce results:

- Generating reports for the sake of reports, full of BS
- Infinitely forwarding emails back and forth to approve one simple thing that could’ve been approved in 2 minutes
- Burning budgets on channels that didn’t generate any profit and inventing metrics to "prove" they actually bring results

The more I run my agency, the more I understand this story is less and less about money for me, and more about finding the connection between business results and marketing activities. And for that, I can tolerate a lot:

- Spending more and more money on tools, even if projects can go unprofitable
- Working with "hard clients" who aren’t very friendly, if I see they have product-market fit
- Focusing 100% on my work and on nothing else

That’s why the agency is called Dedicado [Dedicated].

Go all the way to the end.

I’d like to say this is a joke, but there’s zero irony here. I’m pretty damn serious.

🤑 How much does DIY outreach cost?

Last week I did a quick exercise to understand how much money you need for lead gen tools to launch properly on your own — and I was kinda shocked 🤪.

Let’s use our starter plan at Dedicado Agency as a benchmark.

2,000 contacts: 5,000 emails + 1,000 LinkedIn connections for $1,990/month

Let’s go:

↳ Lemlist (2 seats) — $198 (LinkedIn + email sender)
↳ Apollo — $100 (contact source)
↳ LinkedIn Sales Navigator — $120 (LinkedIn contact source)
↳ OpenAI API — $50 (to plug AI into spreadsheets, etc.)
↳ Apollo scrapers — $30 (so you don’t hit limits)
↳ MillionVerifier — $30 (email verification)
↳ Catch-All Verifier — $20 (to double-check emails after MillionVerifier)
↳ GetProspect — $50 (Sales Navigator scraper + email finder)
↳ Make.com — $19 (automations)
↳ Domains (10) — $130 (one-time payment)
↳ Google Workspace via Zapmail (12) — $70
↳ Apify — $100 (scrapers)

Then you choose:

🔴 Budget option:
GPT for Sheets — $30 (data work)
Perplexity Pro for 3 accounts — $20 (website research)

🟡 Optimal option:
Clay Explorer — $349 (data work)

🟢 Recommended add-on:
+ MasterInbox — $299 (reply management)

What you get in the end to launch your campaign:

🔴 Budget option:
$967 [$817/mo + $150 once a year]

🟡 Optimal option:
$1,317 [$1,167/mo + $150 once a year]

🟢 Optimal option with the recommended add-on (MasterInbox):
$1,616 [$1,466/mo + $150 once a year]

Writing this not only for you, but also for myself — to understand where the money is actually going. 😂

Outbound should work like this:

- A steady flow of interested leads
- Converting into meetings
- Meetings turning into sales

Yes, there can be nuances:

- The % of interested people can vary a lot
- You may need 2-3 follow-ups before someone agrees to a call
- The deal cycle can stretch out, and it’s not guaranteed a deal happens within a month

But the main thing is this:

!! Understanding that people are replying and that there’s interest. !!

If you have replies and you have interest, you can:

- Scale volumes multiple times
- Fine-tune your offer to make it more attractive
- Add extra channels (LinkedIn, WhatsApp, etc.)

But if you don’t have that, you need to think about 3 key things:

- Who you’re pitching
- What you’re pitching
- Do they actually need it

Because if at scale (1,000+ contacts) you’re not getting replies, most likely you’re not hitting the right audience with the thing they actually want.

Because if you are hitting it, people will forgive you for:

- Not-perfect deliverability
- AI-generated profile pics
- Domains that lead nowhere
- Your non-native or ChatGPT-ish English

All of that matters and affects conversion rate. But it’s not the core thing.

The core thing is understanding what your audience needs and communicating value that can actually satisfy that need.

That’s it!

Freelance, self-employed

▪️Being a Business Strategist I provide advisory and consultancy services for business owners and companies in establishing marketing and go to market strategies, product positioning, implementing lead generation strategies and tactics, launching comprehensive marketing communication campaigns with market specific content, while keeping focus on stakeholder engagement and profitability. 
▪️I also provide one-to-one or team coaching services.

Business, Brand & Marketing Strategist ⚈ Content Evangelist ⚈ Employer Branding Expert ⚈ Advisor

8Privé

📌My role as a Partner and the Project Evangelist of 8PRIVÉ Group is the overall project development and management of our art related and other projects.

▪️8Privé is a multi layered company dedicating its main objectives to design, art and creativity. We are a design consultancy company providing Interior Design, Product Design, Fashion related design concepts, Image Rebranding, Art Advisory and complete concept planning.

▪️Privé Art is our art division - Our interest within the Arts industry is one of the driving factors in our philosophy and this has been reflected by not only by artist in which we represent but also in the uniqueness of the art in which we exhibit.
Our mission statement is to bring internationally acclaimed and exclusive pieces of fine arts to the wider public, to engage them with the collections through interactive experiences that traditional galeries don’t provide.

For investors and art lovers we also offer highly investable pieces which carry full documentation and valuations. Privé Art is a subsidiary of 8Privé an award winning design house, and part of the Group.

Partner and Project Evangelist

𝗗𝗝𝗜𝗡𝗡 — 𝐀 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥”  / Roger Eaton Exhibition at Art Market Budapest 2019
▪️ Fine Art Photography Exhibition / Art Market Budapest 2019
▪️This exclusive exhibition was brought to Budapest by 8PRIVÉ featuring the highly acclaimed British cinematographer & photographer: Roger Eaton. 
▪️ Our exhibition was visited by 35.000 visitors at one of Europe’s most prestigious art fairs where we presented some special pieces of the collection inspired by ballet dancers.

Marketing Director and Curator

i-Business Talk®️

Owner of “i-BUSINESS TALK®️ – the Innovative Business Talk” brand which provides valuable content through different online platforms. 

🌀 i-BUSINESS TALK®️ is for everyone who wants to accelerate his or her business or career!

🌀 THE MISSION of i-Business Talk®️ - Giving to the Business Community, International Knowledge Sharing, Changing Experiences and Inspiring each other. I truly believe in giving and helping to our Clients, Business Partners, our Peers and the wider Public is the foundation of trustful partnership and the strongest driving force of success in business!

✳️ Areas covered:
 ✔️business, 
✔️entrepreneurship, 
✔️innovation, 
✔️technology, 
✔️marketing, 
✔️digitaltransformation, 
✔️branding, 
✔️futureofwork, 
✔️employerbranding and more.

✳️ Content focuses on:
✔️ success stories of Entrepreneurs, Businessmen and Women from all over the World,
✔️ personal stories not only about the rocky road they walked but 
✔️ several practical tips, secret formulas and guidelines
✔️ how people can accelerate their success in business or career,
✔️ funny and adorable moments by the interviewee persons from their lives.

Owner - Content Evangelist

DMS One Hu

Market leader software developer & distributor in Hungary providing innovative software solutions in the CEE region. The BIXBIT collaboration software is one of the key products – it integrates 4 key aspects of operation processes: document management, collaboration, task & workflow management. BIXBIT is one of the key products of DMS One Corp.

▪️ Managed the SaaS product introduction of the BIXBIT collaboration software in 4 markets:  HU, RO, CZ and PL – Marketing and Product Strategy development, Branding, market-specific Marketing Communication, Content Marketing Strategy, etc;
▪️ Drove market segmentation & market research to identify business opportunities and effectively target marketing activities - Domestic & International Business Division.
▪️ Developed product strategy & innovative and targeted tactics;
▪️ Drove the development of web-based platforms, product demos, tutorial videos, case studies, and coordinated UX/UI development processes;
▪️ Designed and implemented online marketing campaigns – Google Analytics, PPC, blog articles and Social Media posts;
▪️ Evaluated CRM data to fine-tune lead-generation tactics based on advertising campaigns and Social Media analytics;
▪️ Leveraged Google Analytics to drive SEO
▪️ B2B event management - to represent the company & services in the key markets.

Head of Marketing Department at DMS One Corp.

Waberer's International

The third-largest European road transportation and logistics service provider with one of the biggest fleets on the European market of 3500 own asset trucks, 5500 employees and 530 million € of annual turnover. The company operates in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Romania & Slovakia and the headquarter is located in Hungary/Budapest.


▪️ Managed the overall Marketing activities and an era-changing brand repositioning strategy of the company in all verticals and drove market-specific Online Marketing Campaigns;
▪️ Established the B2B marketing & PR strategy aligning with sales & commercial targets - both domestic and country-specific projects in key markets: UK, France, Germany, Italy, and the Benelux region;
▪️ Collaborated with agency partners to fine-tune customer retention tactics, based on advertising campaign results and Social Media analytics data; 
▪️ Managed strong and precisely targeted account-based Marketing and PR strategies and tactics;
▪️ Multi-Channel Marketing - Online and offline European advertising campaign management;
▪️Reviewed, maintained and operated a communications framework - ensuring consistency across all channels and functions;
▪️ Developed a set of processes and tools to ensure best-practice communication delivery;
▪️ Overall responsibility in representing the company at the biggest European Supply Chain and other B2B events - marketing strategy, organizational tasks and project management;
▪️ Planned and managed the implementation of an annual budget for the overall marketing activities;
▪️ Overall marketing and corporate communications project management of the IPO (Initial Public Offering) for introducing the company's shares to the Stock Exchange.

Marketing Manager - Head of Marketing Department

Gemius

Gemius SA is an international research and tech company providing research solutions and industry benchmarks for eCommerce businesses, Digital Publishers, and Advertising Agencies in 20+ markets in Europe and Asia. Main services: web analytics, online campaign management, ad serving and online audience research.

▪️ Multi-Channel Marketing - Responsible for the comprehensive marketing, corporate communication and PR activities of the Hungarian subsidiary;
▪️ Product Marketing of 10 products – managed digital product pages and collaterals in strong strategic cooperation with the sales director and the key account manager;
▪️ Managed the Branding and Content Strategy in alignment with the global guidelines, but serving domestic market-specific needs;
▪️ Managed Corporate Marketing and Communications functions with budget responsibility;
▪️ Managed Social Media and Content Marketing campaigns, overall content management – story pitching, case studies to provide, research data;
▪️ Enhanced PR activities and developed Press Relations – As the primary contact person provided industry benchmarks, research data and insights for journalists, key clients, and other stakeholders;
▪️ Collaborated with the sales director and key account manager on working out strategies – had access to an EMEA regional market overview;
▪️ Contributed to the introduction and dissemination of the company's main service: the Online Audience Measurement, as the official measurement benchmark of the local digital market;
▪️ Organized specific workshops for key business partners – the movers and shakers of the Hungarian internet industry: Publishers, Agencies and Advertisers.

Marketing & PR Specialist

FiberNet Telecommunication and Broadband Cable Co.

B2C telecommunication service provider – Product portfolio: cable TV and digital TV, broadband and digital internet, local area network (LAN) infrastructures and fixed telephony across 250 settlements in Hungary. 

▪️ Managed the Multi-Channel B2C Marketing Communication and the Regional Campaign Promotions activities including production; 
▪️ Lead generation support and overall product Marketing Communications of 3 main product segments;
▪️ Managed specific lead-generation activities; 
▪️ Managed the Marketing Communication of the 3 key product segments while collaborating with product managers;
▪️ Contributed to the development of the marketing communications strategy in collaboration with Product Managers;
▪️ Overall Customer / Client communication – Official announcements about changes in General Terms of Conditions, prices, regional sales offers, changes in service packages, TV content packages, etc;
▪️ Managed Internal Communication activities, PR  and Company Events;
▪️ Managed Press Relations 
▪️ Website and Intranet content management

Communications and PR Manager

Budapest Week Publishing

Premium magazine publisher and Business and Entertainment Event Management Agency for C-suit executive clients. Two business lines: 1.) Publisher of premium English-Hungarian magazines of business, trade, diplomacy, hotel, tourism, and hospitality industry, 2.) business and entertainment event management agency focusing on C-suit executive clients in these segments.

▪️ Managed the general PR activities of the publisher and events organized by the company; 
▪️ Key Account management: C-suit executives and business owners, diplomacy officers, embassies, chambers of commerce, and organizations from the hotel, tourism, and hospitality industry;
▪️ Collaborated on the rebranding of the corporate image and the planning of marketing campaigns - briefs, creative conceptions, and key messages;
▪️ Managed the marketing and certificate project called “Best of Budapest” in collaboration with key stakeholders;
▪️ Managed sponsorships and contracts;
▪️ Gained widespread experience in organizing various business and entertainment events

PR & Event Manager

📣WE ENTERED TO 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐑𝐀 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐒/𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒! It is not just the technology or the digital world that is changing but so does consumers’ behavior, problems, needs, and the way they want to consume digital content.

💥Are you looking to take your overall Marketing Activities and Customer Engagements to the next level? 

💚Do you want to create immersive and captivating Conversations that resonate with your brand?

👨🏽‍💻Do you want to create more engaging Content that is relevant to your target audiences and grabs their attention?


🔵 HOW CAN I HELP YOU?

𝟯𝟲𝟬 𝗗𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘅 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗿 - 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 - 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀
~ As a Business, Brand, & Marketing Strategist I help my clients in transforming their services and products into outstanding BRANDS in this heavily distracted world where they have to compete on an extremely challenging playing field. Together we create their VISIONS and craft their CONTENT and VOICE.
As an Employer Branding expert, I show them how to become attractive EMPLOYERS and engage talents. 

~ My advisory services: establishing marketing and go-to-market strategies, product positioning, implementing lead generation strategies & tactics, launching comprehensive marketing communication campaigns with market-specific content while keeping the focus on stakeholder engagement and profitability.

🟠 PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

15+ Years of Experience as a Marketing Leader in 10+ Different Segments:

Digital Marketing | Internet Industry and Online Research | Online Audience Behaviour Research | SaaS |
Telecommunication | Logistics | Event Organizing and Sponsorship Management | Media and Publishing | Recruitment Marketing | BTL Agency | Fine Art Exhibitions and Curation| Advisory Services and Coaching


~ I drove international marketing campaigns and acquired a wide range of knowledge about Organizational Operations, different Processes & Workflows, which also gained me a complex understanding of the key factors that have a strong influence on the productivity and profitability of a company

~ I participated in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) procedure of the 3rd largest European logistics company aiming to introduce the company’s shares to the Stock Exchange

~ I started my entrepreneurial journey by opening my restaurant in my mid-20s which I made with passion

ILDIKO BUJAKI

Your brand is no longer what you say it is, but what customers say and prove it is.

The era of private complaints is over. Every customer experience can become public content and reach thousands.



How can brands survive the era of public conversations and user-generated content?

Customers have a strong opinion about what they paid for and they are not afraid to say it out loud. 

Within minutes, their experience can turn into a post, a story, or a review that everyone can see.



THE CONSEQUENCE CAN BE: 
a.) They are thrilled and put your brand in the spotlight, driving others to buy from you. 
b.) Or they put you under fire and your brand gets roasted in a few hours.

🎯 They can turn your product into a recommendation engine, or…

🎯 With a single sentence or a revealing photo, they can destroy credibility, turn potential buyers away, and damage your brand reputation.




WHAT TOOLS DO THEY USE?

▶︎ They rate and review. 
▶︎ They share unboxing videos and content about quality and experience. 
▶︎ They go into Social Media groups and communities to share THEIR VERSION OF THE TRUTH about you, your product, or your company.




THE HARD REALITY BRAND OWNERS NEED TO FACE:

🥊 Customers’ Truth Often Beats PR and Your Beautiful Storytelling! 
↳ People rely much more on what other people say vs what a brand tries to make them believe or feel. 


🥊 The Real Relationship With Your Customers Starts After The Purchase. 
↳ That’s when expectations, reality, and emotions meet. That’s when they decide whether they will recommend your product/service, or not.


🥊 From Then, They Feel Authoritative and Influential.
↳ By sharing the results they gained, the value they experienced, or the promises you kept ⮂ or broke, they actively shape how others perceive your brand, product/ service, or you as an expert.





WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?

1. Public conversations are more powerful than ever, and brands have less authority to control or interrupt them. 
↳ You can’t delete every comment or negative review, and you have zero control over private accounts and closed communities where UGC (User Generated Content) lives.


2. So the real question is:
❓Do customers still trust what brands say, and what paid influencers show?
❓ Or do they trust unfiltered voices from ordinary people more?
❓Can your brand or product survive real public conversations and honest assessments?


3. Customers won’t stop talking and sharing.
↳ Your brand can only survive, if you work on elevating the quality, and the overall CX across all touchpoints and journeys.



👩🏼‍💻 My best advice is to invest deeper in the experiences that generate positive public conversations. 
↳ Elevate product quality, refine service at every touchpoint, and design customer journeys worth recommending. 

Because in this era, earned trust beats paid reach; and real advocacy can't be bought, only built!





People are already talking about your brand. 


♻️ Are you giving them something worth sharing?

 ILDIKO   BUJAKI

◘ International Business, Brand & Marketing Transformation Leader▐ Shaping AI-Ready Strategies for Ambitious Brands▐ Committed to Human-Centered Tech Development▐ Fostering GCC Innovation through Strategic Relationships

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The Battle

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