Stop Trying to "Just Be Consistent': ADHD-Friendly Marketing System
To structure the Balanced Marketing Strategy
I divide marketing efforts into three categories: algorithm-based marketing, content-based marketing, and relationship-based marketing.
I've encountered my fair share of marketing advice that simply doesn't fit the reality of living—and building a business—with an ADHD brain. The phrase "just be consistent" is promoted as a universal solution, but for entrepreneurs wired like me, those three words can feel more like a trigger than a form of encouragement. My energy and capacity don't always follow a predictable pattern. Some weeks, I'm riding a wave of hyperfocus and creativity, producing podcast episodes and outlining new projects with ease. Other weeks, even opening my laptop feels daunting. I created the ADHD-ish™ Method for people just like me, who don't need conventional wisdom—they need an ADHD marketing strategy that honors the unpredictable variability of the ADHD experience.
I experimented with so many different approaches until I finally landed on what I call the Balanced Marketing Strategy, a three-pronged approach designed to keep your business visible even when your personal energy and creative capacity fluctuate. The idea behind this strategy is deceptively simple: stop chasing consistency through sheer willpower and white-knuckling, and instead engineer it through structure and system. It's not about becoming someone you're not, or imposing a system intended for a neurotypical brain onto yourself. It's about building a system that continues working even when you can't—because, let's be honest, the up and down nature of our capacity is not going away. It's not something that a better morning routine or a new planner will resolve, either. It's just how our brains allocate energy, attention, and executive function over time.
To structure the Balanced Marketing Strategy, I divide marketing efforts into three categories: algorithm-based marketing, content-based marketing, and relationship-based marketing. Each plays a different role and, crucially, each draws on different aspects of our capacity. Algorithm-based marketing, like search engine optimization (SEO) and AI-optimized content, works in the background. A blog post written years ago can still bring new clients today if it's optimized well. This category compounds like savings in an account, quietly bringing value long after you've done the initial work. The downside, of course, is that it takes time to work and is heavily dependent on things you don't control.
Content-based marketing is where my primary ADHD marketing strategy lives and breathes. This is the engine that demonstrates expertise, builds trust, and helps clients not only find me but also decide to work with me. It's where my voice and my point of view come through, unfiltered by an algorithm or third party. But content creation is the category most directly tied to capacity and creativity; if a rough week hits, staying consistent here can be a struggle. That's why batching content or re-releasing older episodes on tough weeks can be a lifesaver, as is giving yourself permission to produce in flexible rhythms rather than on a rigid schedule. For example, guest interviews are both more energizing and more depleting, so I take that into consideration in planning my content.
Relationship-based marketing is often underestimated, but it's as old as business itself—referrals, partnerships, being introduced to new audiences through someone else. This kind of marketing carries your visibility through the momentum of other people: a podcast interview recorded months ago, a referral from a trusted colleague, or recommendations in online networks. For those of us who may not thrive in traditional, in-person networking environments or live far from major cities, this can look like joining virtual communities, building connections with complementary businesses, and developing authentic referral partnerships.
What ties all this together and makes it "balanced"—or more accurately, redundant rather than truly balanced—is that when my capacity drops in one area, the other two keep my business afloat. It's like having a backup generator: I don't need it every week, but when the power goes out, I'm grateful I invested in it ahead of time. My own approach is intentionally lopsided; content-based marketing is my main category, but I make sure that algorithm-based and relationship-based efforts are solid enough so that when I need to lean on them, they're there. This is the core of any smart ADHD marketing consistency plan - not putting all your eggs in one basket, or even in one aisle of the grocery store.
Your strongest marketing category should line up with your natural strengths and real-life capacity, not some external ideal or someone else's example, including mine. Your system might weigh more heavily toward building search assets or referral networks, or maybe you'll thrive by batching content during creative highs and letting it ride out through the quieter spells. The point is not to master all three but to build enough redundancy that any single bad week doesn't derail your entire marketing presence.
So here's your assignment, one that's been game-changing for my own clients: review the actual marketing actions you've taken in the past 90 days and slot them into these three categories. If you see that nearly everything belongs to just one category, that's your vulnerability—and your opportunity. You don't need to abandon your strong suit, but you do need to shore up the other areas to a functional minimum. Sometimes, that's just a handful of evergreen assets, a few solid referral relationships, or a quarterly guest appearance on someone's podcast. It doesn't have to be impressive; it just has to work so your business remains visible, even when you can't be.
Ultimately, the ADHD-ish™ Method—like everything I share on this blog and on the podcast—is about designing a business that's actually livable for people like us. We may not have the luxury of endless good weeks, but with the right ADHD marketing strategy, we don't need them. We only need to be strategic, realistic, and, yes, a little bit redundant. If you're ready to see how this can transform your approach to marketing, you've already taken the first step just by being here. And if you want support that really gets how your brain works, I'm always just a click away.
Because the only kind of ADHD marketing consistency that matters is the one that works for you. That's what ADHD-ish™ is all about.
