John Espirian
John at heart is a technical copywriter working for himself having previously held roles at Sky and Fujistu, although we hope he won’t mind us saying that we also consider him one of the most useful sources for Linkedin knowledge on the web. Specifically, John focuses on organic Linkedin, which is where our focus is in this session. John is also the recent author of ‘Content DNA’ which is available on Amazon right now.
Work aside, John is an interesting chap despite an unfortunate affection for Liverpool FC – we’ve still got my fingers crossed the season will be cancelled before they can be crowned champions. John is a Lord (technically), his first music purchase was ‘’Informer’ by Snow’ and John also voted 162 for Leona Lewis to win the X factor back in 2006, which we’re not sure is something to be proud of.
John Espirian’s talks with The Marketing Meetup:
Derek Sivers: The Power of Enthusiasm and the Journey of Derek Sivers in Growing CD Baby
https://www.youtube.com/embed/u5cRw3Ffvqc Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby, shares his experience of growing the company with Joe Glover. In this blog post, we will explore key points from their conversation, focusing on the importance of enthusiasm, finding one's...
The Power of a Small Branded House for Small Businesses
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdEUarg9dr8 As a small business owner, you might be tempted to create multiple brands in an effort to cater to different customer segments or address various needs. However, according to Mark Ritson, a professor at the Mini MBA, small...
Balancing Marketing Budgets for Small Businesses: Embracing ‘The Long and the Short of It’
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdEUarg9dr8 As a small business owner or marketer, you may face challenges in setting quant objectives and creating a well-balanced marketing budget. According to Mark Ritson, a professor at the Mini MBA, the key to overcoming these...
The Power of Strategy for Marketing Small Businesses: Making Choices for Success
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdEUarg9dr8 In the fast-paced world of small businesses, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day challenges, fighting tactical fires, and focusing on short-term goals. However, Mark Ritson, a professor at the Mini MBA, emphasizes the...
The Art of Pricing for Small Businesses: How to Maximize Profitability and Avoid Common Pitfalls
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdEUarg9dr8 Pricing is a critical aspect of any business, but for small businesses, getting it right can be a challenge. Mark Ritson, a professor at the Mini MBA, offers valuable insights into the importance of pricing and the strategies...
The Power of Picking on the Big Guy: How Small Brands Can Leverage Positioning Against Market Leaders
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdEUarg9dr8 When breaking into a market as a small brand, resources are often limited, making it challenging to create a strong share of voice. Mark Ritson, a professor at the Mini MBA, suggests a strategic approach for small businesses...
The Power of Ethnography for Small Businesses: Why Quantitative Numbers Aren’t The Only Answer
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdEUarg9dr8 In today's data-driven world, quantitative research is often seen as a critical component of the marketing process. However, Mark Ritson, a professor at the Mini MBA, believes that small businesses shouldn't stress about these...
The case for reversing the marketing process for small businesses: Strategy then research
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdEUarg9dr8 The traditional marketing process of market research, strategy, and finally, tactics, may not always be feasible for small businesses with limited resources. Mark Ritson, a professor at the Mini MBA, suggests an alternative...
Why Market Orientation is Important, Particularly for Small Businesses
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdEUarg9dr8 The myth of the "lone genius" founder, locked away in their garage and single-handedly inventing a game-changing product, has captured the imagination of many aspiring entrepreneurs. However, as Mark Ritson, professor at the...
Top Ten Tips for Marketing Small Businesses
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdEUarg9dr8 A few weeks ago we interviewed the incredibly popular Mark Ritson on his tips for marketing small businesses. Small businesses often face unique challenges when it comes to marketing. Professor Mark Ritson offers ten...
| Date | Time | Speaker | Name | Location | Get yo' space |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Apr | 17:30 - 20:00 EDT | Julia Grandoni, Co Founder, & Nicole Alexakis, Creative Director, at Creative Junii | TMM IRL: Ask Me Anything “AMA” on User-Generated Content | Montreal | Sign up here |
| 21 Apr | 19:00 - 20:30 CEST | Speakers from the TMM Geneva community! | TMM IRL: Wins, Wobbles and What we Learned | Geneva | Sign up here |
| 22 Apr | 16:00 - 17:00 BST | Wistia legends Sam Balter, Senior Content Manager, and Taylor Corrado, Senior Director of Brand Marketing | Wistia: The State of Video Live Show | Online | Sign up here |
| 22 Apr | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Max Denning, Web Growth Specialist: SEO, GEO & CRO at Pluxee | TMM IRL: Is SEO Dead? Future-Proofing Digital Marketing for the Age of AI Search | Reading | Sign up here |
| 23 Apr | 09:00 - 17:00 BST | Nick Silverstone, Fractional MD & Senior Leaders ADHD Business Coach | Ask Me Anything: Prioritisation & Overwhelm | Online | Sign up here |
| 23 Apr | 15:00 - 16:00 BST | Dan Nelken, Creative Director, Speaker + Author | How to Unsuck the Internet | Online | Sign up here |
| 23 Apr | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Laura Rangeley, Marketing & Communications Manager at Abbeydale Brewery with James Marriott, Founder at Sound Media | TMM IRL: Brewing a Beer Brand – a Q&A with Abbeydale Brewery’s marketing team | Sheffield | Sign up here |
| 23 Apr | 18:00 - 20:00 CEST | Clement Thibault, Growth Marketing Lead at Cargoplot | TMM IRL: How to actually use AI in your GTM operations | Amsterdam | Sign up here |
| 24 Apr | 09:00 - 16:30 BST | Coworking, Cake & James Sandbrook | Cowork Crew: The Human Advantage – How to Build a Business People Actually Feel | Birmingham | Sign up here |
| 28 Apr | 14:00 - 15:00 BST | Seb Royce, Creative & Communications Partner at Eden Labs | How to use AI in your workflows without costing the Earth | Online | Sign up here |
| 28 Apr | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | James Addlestone, Head of Data Arts at Saatchi & Saatchi | TMM IRL: You’re (Probably) Using the Wrong Customer Data | Leeds | Sign up here |
| 28 Apr | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Leamington Spa | Leamington Spa | Sign up here |
| 29 Apr | 18:15 - 19:45 BST | Diana Byrne, Founder and CMO at Clarity | TMM IRL: Productivity for Marketers Masterclass – How to Reclaim 10 Hours a Week | Dublin | Sign up here |
| 30 Apr | 18:00 - 21:00 BST | Nick Lafferty, Growth Marketing at Profound; Aleyda Solis, International SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti; and Tom Capper, Senior Search Scientist at Moz. Hosted by Chima Mmeje, Senior Content Marketing Manager at Moz | Sip & Search Meetup @ Brighton SEO UK: Top Strategies for AI Brand Visibility in 2026 | Brighton | Sign up here |
| 1 May | 09:00 - 16:30 BST | Coworking, Cake & Hayley Bell | Cowork Crew: Positive Nutrition for Entrepreneurs | Cambridge | Sign up here |
| 5 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Giles Etherington, Founder and Brand Creator at Brand Satellite | TMM IRL: Think brand, not business | Fife | Sign up here |
| 6 May | 10:00 - 10:45 BST | Definition legends Neil Taylor, Director of Training and Luke Budka, AI Director | Stop the slop: How creative teams can work beautifully with AI | Online | Sign up here |
| 7 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | James Sandbrook, Cofounder at The Marketing Meetup | TMM IRL: The Human Advantage – How to Build a Business People Actually Feel | Northampton | Sign up here |
| 12 May | 14:00 - 15:00 BST | Chris Lavigne, Head of Production at Wistia | Short form video for busy marketers: a 2 hour weekly workflow | Online | Sign up here |
| 12 May | 17:30 - 20:00 BST | Laurie Stirling, Business Growth Strategist | TMM IRL: How to Scale When You’re the Talent | Newcastle | Sign up here |
| 12 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Tonina Takova, Head of Strategy at Social for Good | TMM IRL: Marketing in the age of the (social) lurker | Manchester | Sign up here |
| 12 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Mike Essex, Founder of Devise Marketing | TMM IRL: Optimise Everything! From AIO to SEO and beyond | Southampton | Sign up here |
| 13 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Kate Sikora, Co-founder at Noble Performance; and Dominic Baliszewski, Co-founder of Yours Sincerely | TMM IRL: SEO is dead, and GEO isn’t the answer, welcome to the age of Earned Visibility | London | Sign up here |
| 13 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Wrexham | Wrexham | Sign up here |
| 14 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Edinburgh | Edinburgh | Sign up here |
| 14 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Ben Jayston, Head of SMB SEO at GAIN Performance Accelerate | TMM IRL: From Google searches to real customers – SEO that works for small business | Bournemouth | Sign up here |
| 14 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Lincoln | Lincoln | Sign up here |
| 14 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Jason Suttie, Founder at Charlie Xray | TMM IRL: The Slow Death of a Good Brand | Cheltenham | Sign up here |
| 15 May | 09:00 - 16:30 BST | Coworking, Cake & Jean Atkinson | Cowork Crew: Work Smarter, Earn More – AI Tools & Workflow Automation | Leeds | Sign up here |
| 19 May | 17:30 - 20:00 BST | Rupen Shah, Head of Client Services at Thinkbox | TMM IRL: Why Brands Still Matter & How TV Remains The Ultimate Brand Builder | Bristol and Bath | Sign up here |
| 19 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Cambridge | Cambridge | Sign up here |
| 19 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Alex Wright, Chair of The Marketing Meetup and The Keynote Club | TMM IRL: Norwich | Norwich | Sign up here |
| 20 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Exeter | Exeter | Sign up here |
| 20 May | 18:00 - 20:30 BST | Kate Bunyan, Founder and CEO of Sea Magik | TMM IRL: How to grow a beauty brand, without pretending you’ve got it all figured out | Ashford | Sign up here |
| 20 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Rachael Bryant, Company Director at Your Video Team | TMM IRL: 1 heroic day, 3 months of content. Here’s how! | Lancashire | Sign up here |
| 20 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Philip Gaudoin, Director at MetaMetrics | TMM IRL: Fleet | Fleet | Sign up here |
| 21 May | 09:00 - 16:30 BST | Coworking, Cake & Nick Crawford | Cowork Crew: From AI frustration to AI confidence – how to get reliable results from GenAI | Northampton | Sign up here |
| 21 May | 09:00 - 17:00 BST | Max Hopkinson, Founder of The Keynote Club | Ask Me Anything – Find your speaking territory and build a talk people remember | Online | Sign up here |
| 21 May | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Birmingham | Birmingham | Sign up here |
| 28 May | 09:00 - 17:00 BST | Luan Wise FCIM, Social Media Consultant, Trainer & Author | Ask Me Anything – How to nail B2B marketing in 2026 | Online | Sign up here |
| 4 Jun | 17:30 - 20:00 BST | Natalie Vasylkiv, Photographer & Content Creator, and Rachel Cogan, Chief of Staff Marketing & Brand Strategist | TMM IRL: Branding and how it shapes perception – a fireside chat | Ottawa | Sign up here |