The Diagnose, Design, Execute Email Course
A free 10-lesson email course for founders: diagnose what is stuck, design a one-page plan, and run it as experiments you can measure.
Email course · Free
What this resource helps you do
Ten short lessons over three weeks, from the one number that matters to a plan you can measure.
Start the course from AAJ's free marketing templates library.
Who the email course is for
I wrote this for founders and first marketing hires who are doing marketing with a small team and a small budget, and want a method rather than another list of tactics. It is the order I work in with every client: diagnose what is actually stuck, design the smallest plan that fixes it, then execute it in a way you can measure.
Most startup marketing goes wrong by starting with tactics. This course starts with the number marketing has to move, and every later lesson hangs off it.
The ten lessons
- Diagnose: Name the number
- Diagnose: Test the positioning before you fund it
- Diagnose: Know what a customer is worth
- Design: One buyer, written down
- Design: Choose channels you can afford to learn from
- Design: A plan that fits on one page
- Execute: Experiments, not activities
- Execute: Make the page do its job
- Execute: Reporting that leads to decisions
- Execute: Close the loop
Each lesson takes about five minutes to read, ends with one thing to do that day, and points to a free AAJ tool or template and an agent skill.
Start with the Marketing Maturity Scorecard, plan the quarter with the Startup Marketing Plan, and read the Foundations Playbook for the long version. Or Run it in your agent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the course cover?
The method I use with founders, in order: name the number marketing has to move, test the positioning, work out what a customer is worth, choose one buyer and two channels, write the plan on one page, run each bet as an experiment, fix the page before buying traffic, and report so someone can decide.
How often will the emails arrive?
One lesson every two or three days, ten in total over three weeks. Each takes about five minutes to read and ends with one thing to do that day.
Do I need to buy anything?
No. The course is free, and every tool it points to is free and runs in your browser. The templates it mentions are free in exchange for an email address.
Who is it for?
Founders and first marketing hires at Seed to Series B startups who are doing marketing without a full team, and want a method rather than another list of tactics.
More in Go-to-Market & Growth Planning
Part of the Go-to-Market & Growth Planning hub - see all 27 resources on this topic.
- Playbook: 90-Day Growth Playbook
- Free tool: Bottom-Up Market Sizer
- AI agent skill: Campaign Orchestrator
- Free tool: Launch Readiness Planner
Also useful in Strategy & Positioning, Analytics, Experiments & Budget.