Marketing doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. In our experience, some of the most useful improvements come from regularly checking the basics and making sure they’re still working as intended.
Here are three simple marketing building blocks worth revisiting, whether you’re an established organisation or a start-up getting things off the ground.
1. Can people sign up to my newsletter?
This sounds obvious, but it’s something we regularly see slipping out of place.
If you’re an existing business:
Take a moment to check where your signup forms actually sit on your website. Are they easy to find? Are they clearly labelled? Or have they ended up tucked away in a footer or behind several clicks?
It’s also worth checking whether the messaging still reflects what you’re offering now, not what you were doing a year or two ago.
Regularly test any forms from start to finish. Make sure sign-ups are reaching the right inbox’s, not forgotten email address’, and that details are still being captured properly for future use.
If you’re a start-up:
You don’t need a full website before you start building a mailing list. Collecting sign-ups early gives you a direct way to stay in touch with people who are interested in what you’re doing, even while other parts of your marketing are still taking shape.
A quick tip:
A simple sign-up form can go live while your website is still under construction, paired with a short “coming soon” message or early-access hook, so you’re already building an audience and gathering valuable data before launch day.
2. Am I tracking what happens after I send an email?
Sending an email campaign is only part of the picture. Understanding how people interact with the email and with your website as a result is key.
If you’re an existing business:
Email tracking helps you see which links people actually click, how the emails are driving traffic to your website and how email supports your wider marketing activity. Over time, this makes it easier to spot patterns, understand what resonates, and refine what you’re doing.
If you’re a start-up:
You don’t need to analyse everything in detail straight away. Start with the basics: are people opening your emails, and are they clicking through to your website? Even just tracking these two things gives you useful signals about what’s working and helps you build meaningful data from the very beginning.
A quick tip:
Most email platforms, including Campaign Monitor or MailChimp integrate with tools like Google Analytics. Once set up, tracking is added automatically to your links, giving you simple, practical insight without too much extra effort.
3. Is my website ready for the traffic I’m sending to it?
As soon as your emails or social posts start directing people to a website, performance matters.
If you’re an existing business:
Slow page speeds, broken links or hidden errors can quietly undermine otherwise good marketing. Regularly checking how your site performs helps ensure interest isn’t lost once people arrive, and that the effort you’ve put into driving traffic doesn’t go to waste.
If you’re a start-up:
Even a simple website needs to work reliably. Early traffic is valuable, and making sure pages load quickly and function properly helps create a positive first impression.
A quick tip:
Tools like WP Engine’s Performance Insights provide a basic behind-the-scenes view of how a website is performing, highlighting things like page speed and error rates without needing deep technical knowledge. We encourage the use of tools like this to keep client websites running smoothly and in good shape, but it’s just as important to sense-check the content itself. Make sure people land on a page that matches what they were promised in your email or social post, so they’re encouraged to stay, read, interact and ultimately get in touch.
Final thoughts
None of these checks are complicated, and they don’t need to be done all at once. But together, they form a strong foundation for effective, sustainable marketing.
These are the kinds of building blocks we regularly review with our clients, because small, thoughtful improvements often make a big difference over time.
Whether you’re just getting started or taking stock of what’s already in place, it’s well worth checking that these basics are still doing their job.
If you’d like a hand reviewing any of these areas, we’re always happy to talk things through.