Grouts Online

We're helping founders and marketers at Seed & Series B B2B SaaS companies to hit their growth targets by generating more demo requests that convert to pipeline using our Paid Ads frameworks and experimentation.

Services:
- Paid media strategy & campaign media planning
- Google Ads campaign management & reporting
- Landing page conversion rate optimization & Ad creative testing
- Data and website analytics & tracking management

Founder

Performance Marketing Consultant

Driving Demand

Driving Demand is an invite-only community for European B2B marketers obsessed with revenue.

Member & Podcast Guest

Easygenerator

Paid Social Specialist

I grow a pipeline leveraging Paid media and Organic Social for content distribution.

I built a Demand Generation strategy and systems to deliver our message to ICP. I manage the process from hypothesis, research, ideation, and production to content distribution. The process covers stakeholder engagement and alignment.

Data Analysis helps me to make informed decisions for our further activities and evaluate our actions. I regularly report to senior stakeholders the results and the status of marketing projects.

Performance Marketer

Freelance

- Running campaigns and consulting for an agency with SME clients
- Managing campaigns for clients from the SME segment. Direct communication with owners or CEO
- Creating automatic reports in Data Studio
- Meetings with clients, reporting the results of campaigns and proposing next steps
- Supporting digital agency as an external consultant on different projects - paid media, website analytics

Digital Marketing Specialist

MarketUP s.r.o.

I worked as a Campaign specialist with portfolio of performance clients such as Nordic Telecom, UNI HOBBY, Člověk v tísni, TayllorCox, Axa Assistance (CZ, SK, AT) and A3 Sport (CZ, SK, DE). Performance channels include Paid search, Shopping, Google display/discovery and Facebook campaigns (Objective conversions or Catalog Sales). 

Specialized in e-commerce with focus on revenue growth and driving conversions. 

I work with Google Ads Automation, using Google Scripts, SQL, BigQuery; advanced performance campaign management. I completed a training Google Automation HERO from Google in order to work with automatization in Google Ads. 

I also have experience with comprehensive digital campaigns with brand awareness targets. Usually, there were channels as Google Display, Youtube and Facebook.

Senior PPC Specialist

BIO4BODY

Running an e-commerce website with natural cosmetics and supplements. I did operational matters and create and execute marketing strategies.

Business Owner

Antee s.r.o.

Management of PPC campaigns in Google Ads, Sklik, Facebook Ads for the small business segment with a small marketing budget.

PPC Specialist

- Acquisition of new customers in the SME segment
- Identification of client requirements and design of solutions and project management
- Obtaining materials for classification analysis, copywriting, graphics
- Assignment for UX designer - description of web functions, structure design and wireframe sketching
- Communication between the customer and specialists, incorporation of requirements
- Customer care - web development and providing online marketing services

Account Manager

Customer care by handling requests received by phone or into CRM (REDMINE)
I helped edit the website in the content management system and other modifications using HTML and CSS, setting up emails to clients and editing DNS records

Technical Support - HELPDESK

Google Ads for B2B SaaS companies | Founder at Grouts Online | Book a Call below to fix and scale your ads

Helping B2B SaaS founders and marketers to increase demo requests that convert to a pipeline with Paid Search. 

We work as an extension of your marketing team and build and execute your Google Ads strategy that generates more high-intent demos with a proven framework implemented for multiple B2B SaaS companies.

Results for our clients:
- Generated $1,65 in pipeline from Paid Search campaigns in 12 months
- Scaled Google Ads from 0 to 30+ demo requests a month in 6 months
- Generated $100k in the Pipeline in 2 months with 5k/month in Paid Search
- Improved conversion rate from 0.3% to 2.25% and reduced CPA by 83%
- Scaled Paid Search from 10k to 20k/month and generated 200k in pipeline in first month

So, If you are a marketing lead or B2B SaaS founder and want to reduce CAC and scale your Google Ads, DM me, and we can chat.

Roman Krs

Cheatsheet: How to use Demand Gen campaigns for B2B SaaS.

A tactic that now outperforms Search in many accounts.

Google Ads for B2B SaaS companies | Founder at Grouts Online | Book a call to cut wasted spend & scale pipeline → best for $20K+/mo budgets

How we generated $693,000 in direct pipeline with Paid Search in 3 months.

Here’s the exact Google Ads strategy we used with a $15K/month budget.


Context:

Company: Series B B2B SaaS
Segment: Midmarket
ACV: $25K+
Goal: Demo Requests
Budget: $15-25K/month
Channel: Google Ads


Strategy:

1/ Search Campaigns

Our focus was on the main category keywords + capturing demand from the legacy category.

Campaign set-up:
- Keywords: Category keywords, competitors, legacy category/competitor terms
- Match Types: Combo of Exact Match + Phrase Match
- Bidding: Max. conversion bidding strategy
- Landing Pages: Started with product pages, then tailored to intent
- Device Targeting: Desktop only (for now)

First, we had to clean up duplicate conversion actions and pause low-intent & low-volume keywords to set good foundations.


2/ Demand Gen

Then, we covered retargeting with a Demand Gen campaign and also expanded it to cold audiences.

Campaign set-up:
- Custom audiences with competitor keywords & high-intent keywords
- In-market audience directly related to the category (kept only this one)
- Used product videos, UI visuals, and testimonials
- Sent traffic to a conversion-focused landing page
- Google Ads conversion event as primary conversion
- Starting with $50/day budget & Max. Conversion bidding

We let the campaign run for 2–3 weeks without making adjustments. Then, paused underperforming audiences and creatives.


3/ Youtube In-Feed

For top-of-the-funnel reach in the top-performing audiences, we promoted TOP webinars in the In-feed placement (Homepage, next videos, etc.)

We track CTR to video & consumption of people who start watching. 

And collect retargeting audiences to reach them with demand gen.


Reporting:
- HubSpot CRM integration & imported lead & deal data.
- UTM tracking + Traced pipeline back to specific campaigns.
- Google Data Studio Dashboard with Full-funnel tracking (Lead -> CW)


Results:
- $693,000 in direct pipeline in 3 months
- $37,000 in Google Ads spend
- $24,000 closed-won deal from Demand gen


Summary:
We focused on cleaning foundations and optimizing high-intent search and competitor campaigns to scale up & drive the pipeline.

Demand Gen helped to expand beyond search placement and capture in-market buyers on YouTube, Gmail & Discover. 

Also, the YouTube in-feed campaign helped to generate top-of-the-funnel reach and retargeting audiences.

As the conversion data was stable, we focused on tailoring landing pages for top-performing topics.


—-


If you’re a marketer in B2B SaaS, spending around $15k+/month, and need help with a Google Ads strategy

DM me, and let's chat about how I can help you grow your pipeline.


#b2bsaas #paidads #googleads

“I don’t know how to make Google Ads drive pipeline.”

I hear this from B2B SaaS teams often.

Here’s the framework I use to fix it:

Most Google Ads accounts struggle for the same reasons:

- High CPL and low demo volume
- No clear structure or keyword strategy
- Search-only setup with no top-of-funnel
- Missing tracking and offline conversions
- Budgets spread too thin with no learnings
- Landing pages not matched to the campaigns

When these issues exist, pipeline will always be unstable.


The shift happens when we start focusing on real revenue drivers: SQLs, Opportunities, Pipeline value.

Once this becomes the goal, performance gets more predictable.

You stop driving traffic and start building a pipeline.


From there, I rebuild the Google Ads engine:

- Clean campaign & keyword structure
- Proper match types, negatives, and exclusions
- Smarter bidding & budget consolidation
- Strong high-intent keyword coverage
- Demand Gen & YouTube for incremental reach
- Ad copy improvements & testing
- LP message match and conversion flow fixes
- Tracking, offline conversions, CRM alignment
- Reporting clarity from MQL → SQL → Opp → Revenue

This is the core of the 6-Week Growth Sprint.

And it works.

Recent outcomes:
- $693,000 in qualified pipeline in 3 months on $37K spend
- $1.1M in direct pipeline with Paid Search in 6 months
- More consistent cost per opportunity every quarter
- Accounts stabilizing after inconsistency periods
- Search performance recovering after restructuring + TOF activation

Proof beats promises.

I also hear the same things repeatedly:

• “We already have someone managing the account”
• “We tried Google Ads, it didn’t work”
• “Our CRM isn’t the issue”
• “Our landing pages are fine”

But once we dig into tracking, keywords, bidding set-up, and landing pages.

That’s where everything finally makes sense.


If you’re a B2B SaaS spending $15K–$50K/month on Google Ads and:

- results feel unstable
- demos fluctuate
- CAC isn’t predictable
- Search performance hit a ceiling
- you don’t know what’s actually working

…this is for you.

DM me “Sprint” and I’ll show you how to get clarity, structure, and confidence in your Google Ads in the next 6 weeks.

Demand Gen campaign just generated a $24,000 closed-won deal from $2.8K in ad spend for a B2B SaaS.


Cold audience.

Discovery placement.

Attributed directly in HubSpot.


People overlook Demand Gen because it seems too top-of-funnel.

But this is exactly why it works.


It reaches your ICP before they search.

It builds familiarity.

And it drives incremental demos from in-market buyers that search alone can’t capture.


Here is the exact setup behind this result:

- In-market audience relevant to the industry
- 1-minute animated product intro walkthrough
- Max. conversion bidding w/ min. $50/day budget
- Traffic sent to a conversion-focused landing page
- Keeping the learning phase stable.


Demand Gen is not replacing Search.

It expands your funnel and adds a new layer on top.

And supports the search results because people recognize your brand.


---


If you want a system that consistently drives pipeline, send me a DM and we can discuss how I help B2B SaaS marketers grow qualified demos from Google Ads

Here’s the simple framework I use to optimise landing pages for Google Ads.

Recently, it increased the conversion rate from 2.8% to 8% (+191%) for one B2B SaaS client.

By making the landing page longer, not shorter.

Here’s the breakdown:

1/ Match the headline to the keyword intent

- Make the headline and subheadline reflect the exact search intent

The user should instantly know they’re in the right place.

2/ Build a conversion-focused page structure

Navigation:

Use a scroll-based floating navigation with core sections:
- How it works
- Customer stories
- Pricing
+ Demo CTA that scrolls directly to the form

Now the structure itself:
- Hero section with keyword-aligned headline + primary CTA
- Social proof with logos, etc.
- Problem / Positioning section
- Capabilities/product value pillars
- Features section
- Mid-page CTA
- Testimonials + case study highlight
- Optional second mid-page CTA (depends on design length)
- High-level pricing overview
- Embedded demo form (all CTAs scroll here)
- FAQ to remove objections


This structure keeps users focused & increases consumption.


You provide answers at every section without friction.

You avoid scaring users with a form the moment they land. 

And you make key information easy to find.


The best-converting pages are simple.

Clear, relevant, and easy to act on.

I thought the biggest challenge in my business was scaling to an agency.

I was planning to hire, expand services, and grow fast.


Then life happened.


A lot of unexpected pressure at home.

Too many services to deliver.

Too much operational chaos.

And suddenly the thing I thought I wanted… felt impossible.


I was spread thin.


Clients weren’t getting my best work.

And I didn’t have the mental space to grow anything.


So this year, I made one decision that changed everything: I went solo and simplified.

I stopped chasing “more.”
I narrowed my service to Google Ads for B2B SaaS.
I rebuilt my systems.
And I focused on one thing I can do exceptionally well.

The result?

More clarity.
More peace.
Better client results.
More time with family.
Far less stress.

Sometimes growth isn’t about adding.

It’s about removing everything that dilutes your focus.

CRM conversions won’t improve Google Ads.

Often, it makes performance worse.

If you switch too early.


Teams want to set the primary goal to MQLs, SQLs, or Opps.

But if the account isn’t ready, Google suddenly loses:
- volume
- historical data
- reliable conversion signals

Google can only optimise what it consistently sees.

And CRM-stage conversions are often slow, inconsistent, lower-volume, and incomplete when the setup isn’t mature.

And if your primary conversion has years of history, changing it can cause more harm than good.


Here’s the safe(r) way to transition:
- Keep demo or signup as the primary conversion 
- Add SQL / Opp / Closed Won as secondary signals
- Ensure Offline Conversions update correctly and consistently for months
- Switch when you have 30–50 conversions per month, at stable volume on campaign
- Avoid resetting the learning phase before you have enough data, let it run for months
- Expect a performance dip during the transition and don’t panic
- If unsure, test in isolated campaigns and limit the risk

If you’re not ready, don’t switch.


Changing goals too early doesn’t improve quality.

It removes the signals Google used to get, and it needs to learn again.

Seasonality is coming for B2B SaaS Google Ads.

It happens every year in the last two weeks of December.

Search volume drops, CPCs fluctuate, and conversions become inconsistent.

And if you don’t prepare, the algorithm starts overbidding and overspending. 

Here’s how to keep your Google Ads stable through the seasonal dip.


First - don't pause the campaigns!

- Keep them active so you start January with stable signals.

Second - avoid budget changes. Reduce only if necessary and instead:

1/ Set stricter targets in your bidding strategies
2/ Add seasonality adjustments to limit bidding
3/ Keep demand-creation tactics (Demand Gen, YouTube)
4/ Run retargeting to warm up the audiences
5/ Review search terms & do account hygiene


December seasonality is guaranteed.

Your job is to keep the system stable until intent returns.

And make sure you capture it when it does.

When the work gets boring, you still have to keep going.


You signed up for that when you chose to build your own business or consultancy.


In the beginning, everything is new and exciting.

You feel momentum, and every win feels big.


Then the routine hits.

Some days feel the same.
Some weeks are just execution.
You work solo most days.

It gets boring.

And that is exactly where most people get distracted.

They start something new, change direction, or give up too early.


The truth is simple.

Boring work is what compounds.

Boring work is what builds a business.

Boring work is what keeps clients and creates results.



The boring work is usually the work that moves you forward.

You just have to stay long enough to see it.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned running Google Ads in 2025:

The highest-value skill is knowing when not to touch the account.


This only applies when the foundations are right.

Clean structure.
Correct tracking.
Optimized landing pages.
Clear conversion goals.

Once those are in place, constant changes do more harm than good.

Every unnecessary tweak resets learning.


The biggest wins don’t come from doing more.

They come from building a solid system, making deliberate changes, and then letting it run.


My lesson for 2025:

1/ Build strong foundations first.
2/ Make fewer, higher-quality decisions.
3/ Then get out of the way.


Not touching the account is often the hardest optimization.

But the most impactful in the long term.


PS: Don't get me wrong, basic account hygiene and isolated experiments are still needed.

This is a nightmare for a performance marketer.

(the last one is the worst)


Here are 5 examples of a messy user journey in B2B SaaS:


1/ The website has 3–5 different CTAs and contact forms. Each form has 6–10 fields.

If it is confusing to you, users will not know what to do either.


2/ Other CTAs promote content downloads and gated case studies.

The goal is demos, but people get too many options and reasons to submit other forms instead.


3/ The website has a global ribbon promoting webinars or content.

It drives attention away and hurts conversion rates.


4/ Stages in HubSpot do not get updated correctly.

The sales funnel is well defined on paper, but the CRM does not reflect it. And you can't optimize towards the right stages.


5/ Source attribution is missing or incomplete.

Leads come into the CRM without a source. Or the source does not get passed to the deal property. 

You run blind on what actually contributes to the pipeline.


Ads do not save a broken journey.

They only amplify what is already there.


Make sure you solve these bottlenecks to unlock better results.

A brand can generate $693,000 in qualified pipeline in 3 months with $37,000 in Google Ads spend.

While others struggle to convert leads, no matter the budget.


That’s when ads boost organic growth for a winning brand with market fit.


Ads are often seen as the solution to drive growth.

But when they’re not working, it’s usually not the ads themselves.


Even if you do everything right, it’s hard to make it work.

It’s more expensive. 

Everything takes longer.


But when you have strong organic momentum, ads accelerate growth.

With much better unit economics, which allows you to spend even more.

And this allows you to outspend the competition.


It’s not that ads don’t work.

They just amplify what is already there.


PS: If you are a B2B SaaS brand with strong organic momentum and want to scale ads, DM me, and we can chat.

B2B SaaS brands miss a huge opportunity to tell people what they actually do.


They create product videos that get buried. 

They put them on the homepage and that’s it.


But you can use these videos to tell your story across multiple channels.


B2B SaaS solutions are complex.

A good 2–3 minute product explainer can highlight the problem you solve, who you solve it for, and how.

It can speak for your sales team and website, and do it consistently.


Here are the best ways to distribute your product video:

1/ Landing pages / Website

- This is where it ends for most companies. 

Only people who already visit your site can see it.

2/  LinkedIn Ads / Social

- Show your product and your message to the most relevant people. 

Use it for cold audiences to build a warm retargeting pool.

3/ Google Demand Gen

- Distribute it on YouTube to broader audiences. 

Let the algorithm find users who are most likely to convert.


You can start with $10/day and get it in front of thousands of people.


Your product video already tells the story.

Paid ads make sure the right people hear it.

Google reps are very well-trained salespeople.

The way they recommend features is always interesting.

And when you push back, you often get the same line:
“I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t know it works. Why don’t you want me to help you succeed?”

Recommendation from Google rep:
- Turn on AI Max for this campaign so Google finds queries that are valuable to you
- Add broad match to use the full power of AI and not limit yourself
- Enable audience expansion because Google is smarter

The problem is simple.


These features work great.

When your account is clean, structured, and already converting.


But it's not always the case.

Often, the account isn't even ready for that, and it's not a fit for the segment.

And when these foundations aren’t there, they make everything worse.


Reps push what ticks their internal boxes and KPIs.

Your job is to protect your results.

Walter Sandfeld

Helping B2B SaaS & Tech Founders tell their Story online (and profit from doing so).

Content Strategist & Ghostwriter

Storysellers

Actionable resources, tips and learnings on how to grow your brand through story - delivered in newsletter form.

I write about creativity + storytelling as growth tools from running my own business.

Newsletter Author

Holisto

A Full-Service Growth Partner for ambitious Founders & Founder-Led Businesses.

Our services include:
- Paid Social
- Email Marketing
- Web Development & CRO
- Content Creation
- Personal Branding

Co-Founder & Partner

Algorize

As part of Blazar Capital, Algorize helps startups and scale-ups surpass their growth goals through Full Funnel Marketing, utilizing:

- Paid Social (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok)
- PPC (Google)
- Email Marketing (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and ActiveCampaign)
- Graphic Design (Photoshop and Canva)
- Strategic Consulting

Best One A/S

Digital Marketing Specialist at Denmark's largest privately-owned marketing agency.

Key Responsibilities:
- Setting up and optimizing paid advertising campaigns on platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Instagram
- Designing content in Photoshop
- Copywriting
- SEO
- Analyzing KPIs, customer behavior, and other data using Google Analytics and various customer data platforms

Digital Marketing Trainee

Digital Disruption Media A/S

The Danish IT company, Digital Disruption Media, operates a range of well-known search engines and portals within the housing and office sectors.

Key Responsibilities:
- Web Crawling
- Marketing
- Accounting/Invoicing
- Research
- Customer Support
- Process Optimization
- SEO

Jr. Marketing- & Communications Employee

Polus Marketing

I decided to start Polus Marketing due to a burning desire to help small and medium-sized businesses become more visible and generate more sales during COVID-19, through advertising on Facebook and Instagram.

Freelance Marketing Consultant

Driving Brand-Centric Growth for Start-Ups & Scale-Ups 🚀 Loading Next Chapter…

In early 2025, I changed direction.

I had just spent nearly 2 years running my own marketing agency: leading clients, building campaigns, and doing the work. All of it.

We helped brands grow, and on paper, it looked like a win.

But behind the scenes, I was doing what many founders end up doing:

→ Writing newsletters at night.
→ Putting out fires during the day.
→ And slowly losing the spark that made me start in the first place.

So I stepped back. Not from the work itself, but from the model.

And I asked myself a simple question:

What kind of work do I actually want to do?

The answer?

Writing. Storytelling. Helping people say what they really mean—clearly, strategically, and in a way that makes others listen.

Today, I help B2B brands and founders grow through strategic content and personal branding.
That might look like:

→ Weekly LinkedIn posts that actually sound like you.
→ A content engine that runs without you hiring a full-time team.
→ Positioning that makes people say: “That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”

I combine what I learned in performance marketing with what I know about brand building and narrative.
Because content shouldn’t just fill a feed—it should move something.

If that resonates, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Book a free strategy session with me here: https://calendly.com/hello-waltersandfeld/discovery

Here are 5 reasons you should NOT hire a ghostwriter ↓

(coming from a ghostwriter.)

#1 You have an immediate need for new business.

↳ Ghostwriting is a long-term play. If you need leads next week, buy ads or pick up the phone. Good content builds trust over months, not days.

#2 You're ashamed to have stuff written for you.

↳ If you feel weird about working with a ghostwriter, that energy will show up in the content. You'll second-guess everything and water down the good stuff.

#3 You don't have real-world experience with what you want to write about.

↳ I can't manufacture expertise that doesn't exist. If you've never actually solved the problems you want to talk about, no amount of good writing will fix that.

#4 You refuse to say what you truly believe.

↳ Whether it's because of a conservative board or your own fear, watered-down opinions create watered-down content. Ghostwriters amplify your voice → they can't create one for you.

#5 You genuinely believe your posts would be better if you wrote them yourself.

↳ Then write them yourself. Seriously. If you think you're the better writer, you probably know your voice better than anyone else.

The best ghostwriting relationships happen when you have the expertise and opinions but need help with the time, structure, and consistency.

If none of these apply to you, let's talk. Link in my profile.

Story-Driven Ghostwriter → Helping busy Founders & Executives tell their stories online (and profit from it)

If your posts feel boring, they're probably missing conflict.

You write things like:

· "5 tips for better client calls."
· "Why you should raise your rates."
· "Here's what I learned about pricing."

Technically correct. Completely forgettable.

Try adding conflict instead:

· "I realized I was asking the wrong questions here."
· "I was scared to lose clients so I undercharged."
· "I doubled my rates and lost 3 clients."

Same lessons. Different engagement.

Conflict is what makes people keep reading.

Without it, you're just sharing a sequence of events. With it, you're creating tension that needs resolution.

The sharper your conflict, the more people lean in.

✕ Vague: "Business is hard"

✓ Specific: "Your email open rates dropped 30% last quarter and you have no idea why"

✕ Vague: "Pricing is tricky"

✓ Specific: "You're charging $75/hour while your competitor charges $200 for the same work"

(be aware: the cost of specificity is words. sometimes it's okay to tell rather than show)

Look at your last 3 posts. Can you identify clear conflict in each one?
If you can't, that's probably why they didn't perform.

↓ 

PS.

Conflict is one of the three core elements that make any story work. I cover how to identify and embed it in different content formats in The Storyseller's Handbook: https://lnkd.in/duZ3AYNQ.

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Quick tip for your content:

Stop faking vulnerability.

You've seen this post a hundred times:

· "I have to admit... this was a huge success."
· "I'm scared to share this... but we just hit 7 figures."
· "Nobody talks about this... my business is thriving."

That's not vulnerability. That's a humble-brag with extra steps.

You're baiting people with the promise of honesty, then hitting them with how awesome you are.

It's like a reverse bait-and-switch where the punchline is you're winning.

And it makes people roll their eyes.

Real vulnerability means sharing something that doesn't make you look good.

The client you lost because you weren't clear on scope.

The launch that flopped because you misread your audience.

The mistake that cost you money and taught you nothing until months later.

If your "vulnerable" post ends with you looking smart, it wasn't vulnerable.

Brandon Sanderson taught me something about character creation that completely changed how I approach ghostwriting.

His framework for compelling characters has three pillars:

· Relatability
· Proactivity
· Capability

Most compelling characters excel in one area, show moderate strength in another, and actively develop the third.

Turns out, the same applies to founders on LinkedIn.

1) Proactivity is about moving the story forward. 

The best content comes from founders who share what they actually did, not what they think about trends.

"I fired a client yesterday" beats "Here's my take on client management."

2) Relatability is the bridge to your audience. 

Universal experiences connect faster than unique achievements.

The late-night doubt. The difficult conversation. The mistake that taught you something.

When clients ask "Is this too basic to share?" the answer is usually no.

3) Capability is demonstrating expertise without bragging. 

Show your process, not just your results.

"Here's how I approach pricing conversations" beats "We closed another big deal."

Your content doesn't need to excel at all three. 

They just need to be strong in one and honest about the rest.

Some clients are insanely capable but not relatable → we focus on sharing the human moments behind their expertise.

Some are super relatable but lack proactivity in their content → we shift from observations to actions they took.

Fiction writing keeps teaching me how to make real people more compelling.

↓ 

P.S. If you want to receive actionable advice on using storytelling to grow your business & personal brand, read my newsletter.

Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/d5Qz48ka

I set a goal at the start of 2025 to build and publish a Digital Product.

Come October, I still had nothing...

With 2 months left of the year, I had to either accept I wouldn't hit this goal or actually commit.

I chose commitment.

Now I just ad to decide... commit to what?

As some of you may know, I've been writing a novel for the past +2 years. 

To get better at fiction, I studied story structures, character creation, and narrative frameworks.

Somewhere along the way, I realized these principles weren't just useful for fiction, they also applied to every piece of business writing I was doing for clients.

That became the idea: 

Translate everything I'd learned about storytelling from fiction writing into practical frameworks for writers.

Flash forward to now → The Storyseller's Handbook is live.

It's built for working writers who want to add narrative depth to their content:

· Agency writers looking to differentiate their work
· Freelance writers handling multiple client voices
· Brand builders tired of having a generic voice

You'll get a Handbook in 4 Acts:

· Act I: Core psychology of story
· Act II: Proven story formats
· Act III: Workflows and systems
· Act IV: Templates, checklists, and tools

This is the first thing I've built that isn't for my usual clients (B2B founders needing ghostwriting). 

If you'd like to check it out, drop a comment and I'll send you the link ↓

Fiction writers obsess over subtext.

What the character doesn't say often matters more than what they do.

Turns out, the same applies to ghostwriting.

When I'm interviewing clients, I listen for what they avoid talking about as much as what they emphasize.

The founder who never mentions competition → probably insecure about market position.

The consultant who over-explains every methodology → doesn't fully trust their own expertise yet.

The agency owner who only talks about systems and process → avoiding the messy human parts of running a team.

These gaps tell me where the interesting content lives.

Because the stuff people avoid is usually what their audience needs to hear.

In fiction, if a character refuses to talk about their father, that's where the story goes eventually.

In business content, if a founder skips over failures or only shares wins, that's the vulnerability gap their audience feels.

My job is to notice those gaps and figure out how to address them without forcing it.

Sometimes that means asking direct questions: 

"Why don't you ever post about pricing?"

Sometimes it means circling back three months later when they're ready.

But the subtext always reveals where the real story is hiding.

Every story you write (yes, even 200-word LinkedIn posts) has 3 core elements:

· Character → Who we follow
· Conflict → What they're up against
· Change → How they transform

Skip one and it's just information. 

Include all three and people read to the end.

I learned this from fiction writing but it applies to every piece of content I create now.

Character:
· "Sarah, a SaaS founder..." (client story)
· "You've probably felt this..." (reader as character)
· "Three years ago, I was terrible at..." (you as character)

Make them specific enough to feel real.

Conflict:
· "Your landing page converts at 1.2%, but you need 5%"
· "You second-guess every subject line you write"
· "The market shifted overnight and your messaging feels outdated"

This is what keeps people reading. Without conflict, you just have a timeline.

Change:
· "I used to guess at pricing. Now I have a system."
· "We went from 12% churn to 3% churn in four months."
· "I went from dreading client calls to looking forward to them."

The transformation is what makes it memorable.

I started testing this on my own posts. Turns out, the ones that performed best all had these three elements. 

The ones that flopped were missing at least one.

Try it: look at your last 3 posts and identify character, conflict, and change in each.

If any element is missing, you've found your rewrite opportunity.

↓

PS. 

I broke down how to apply these elements across different formats (LinkedIn posts, emails, case studies, landing pages) in The Storyseller's Handbook.

Grab it here if you want the full framework: https://lnkd.in/duZ3AYNQ.

I'm building something for writers, not founders.

(A bit outside my usual lane, but hear me out.)

For the past 4 years, I've been writing for agencies, B2B brands, and busy founders. 

The one skill that's made the biggest difference in my work is storytelling.

Not "use a hook and add some bullets" storytelling.

Actual narrative structure. The kind that makes people read to the end without realizing they did.

So I'm putting together a mini-course on it.

It's called The Storyseller's Handbook (working title).

Here's what's inside:

· 5 story structures you can adapt to any format
· The psychology behind why stories work in content
· My editing process for tightening copy without killing your voice
· Workflows that keep your calendar full without burning out
· Swipe files of openings, transitions, and closings
· Complete tech stack and tools I actually use

4 acts. No fluff. No "unlock your viral potential" nonsense.

Just practical frameworks for writers who want to add narrative depth to their work.

Who this is for:

Working copywriters, freelancers, agency writers handling multiple clients.

People who already know how to write but want to make their writing stick.

Who this is NOT for:

My usual audience. If you're a founder looking for ghostwriting help, this isn't it.

This is writer-to-writer craft development.

I'm still building it, but wanted to share what I'm working on.

More details coming soon.

10 tools I use (almost) every day as a content strategist & ghostwriter ↓ 

1. Notion
↳ My second brain for content planning, client systems, and swipe files.
[www.notion.so]

2. Anthropic (Claude)
↳ Draft ideas, test hooks, or challenge my thinking. Great when used intentionally.
[www.claude.ai]

3. Readwise
↳ Highlights from everything I read—turned into content prompts.
[www.readwise.io]

4. Fathom.ai
↳ AI Notetaker. I use it as fallback-notes alongside the notes I write myself on meetings.
[www.fathom.video]

5. Substack
↳ Curated content marketing reads—my go-to for inspiration outside the bubble.
[www.substack.com]

6. Canva
↳ Clean visuals for carousels and brand mockups in a pinch.
[www.canva.com]

7. Hemingway Editor
↳ For trimming fat and simplifying complex ideas.
[www.hemingwayapp.com]

8. Typeshare
↳ See how great ideas are structured. Perfect for formatting swipe files.
[www.typeshare.co]

9. Loom
↳ For async reviews, feedback, or quick breakdowns of content strategy.
[www.loom.com]

10. Grammarly
↳ Final pass for polish and tone—especially helpful on client work.
[www.grammarly.com]

Anything I should add for 2026?

taplio

The Battle

Roman Krs

Walter Sandfeld

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taplio

The Battle

Roman Krs

Walter Sandfeld

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);}Roman Krs's LinkedIn Performance

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