https://www.marketingupgrade.pro Interim CMO practice of Joris van Huet. Marketing systems, MarTech and AI native go to market. en-NL Sat, 24 Oct 2026 05:23:26 GMT https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-saleshandy https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-saleshandy Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Saleshandy set up in eight steps from its own docs: mailboxes, DNS records, warm-up and sending limits, then a sequence with follow-ups, prospects and launch. Tool how-to https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/saleshandy-vs-smartlead https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/saleshandy-vs-smartlead Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Saleshandy bundles lead credits and seats into flat plans; Smartlead leans towards agency workspaces and dedicated servers. Prices, trials and API access compared. Tool comparisons https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-smartlead https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-smartlead Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Smartlead from secondary domains to launch: mailbox connection, DNS and tracking, warm-up settings, lead import filters, sequence, accounts and safeguards. Tool how-to https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/smartlead-vs-woodpecker https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/smartlead-vs-woodpecker Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Smartlead meters contacts and sends; Woodpecker meters emails sent and adds LinkedIn. What each model costs at low and high volume, and for agencies. Tool comparisons https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-woodpecker https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-woodpecker Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Woodpecker set up from its help centre: connect and warm a mailbox, add a tracking domain, build steps and YES/NO conditions, set daily enroll and run. Tool how-to https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/woodpecker-vs-instantly https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/woodpecker-vs-instantly Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Woodpecker stores unlimited contacts and adds LinkedIn steps; Instantly caps contacts per tier and sells lead data separately. Where each one is cheaper. Tool comparisons https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-instantly https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-instantly Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Instantly from connection to launch: test DNS, warm up until the account is ready, build leads and a short sequence, and set limits of about 30 a day per account. Tool how-to https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/instantly-vs-lemlist https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/instantly-vs-lemlist Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Instantly is an email engine with data and AI on the side; lemlist runs LinkedIn, calls and SMS in one sequence. Volume prices, contact caps and seats compared. Tool comparisons https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-lemlist https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-lemlist Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT lemlist set up the way its help centre describes: connect, finish DNS, warm with lemwarm for about two months, set low limits, then sequence, leads and launch. Tool how-to https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/lemlist-vs-mailshake https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/lemlist-vs-mailshake Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT lemlist adds LinkedIn and a trial; Mailshake keeps to email and a dialer, with payment upfront. Channels, sending addresses, billing and data compared. Tool comparisons https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-mailshake https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-mailshake Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Mailshake set up from its docs: mail account, sending calendar, DNS and free warm-up, a five-week ramp to about 100 a day, the campaign wizard and Lead Catcher. Tool how-to https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/mailshake-vs-reply-io https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/mailshake-vs-reply-io Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Mailshake bills per user for a plan; Reply.io bills per user for monthly active contacts and adds LinkedIn, a trial and an AI SDR. Which meter fits your team. Tool comparisons https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-reply-io https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-use-reply-io Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Reply.io set up from its support centre: connect and authenticate mailboxes, warm up and ramp, import a UTF-8 CSV, build a multichannel sequence and the opt-out. Tool how-to https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/reply-io-vs-saleshandy https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/reply-io-vs-saleshandy Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Reply.io charges per user until 10,000 active contacts; Saleshandy includes seats and lead credits in flat plans. What each meter counts and what five users pay. Tool comparisons https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-set-up-marketing-intelligence-agent https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-set-up-marketing-intelligence-agent Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to set up an AI agent that reads your marketing data, flags what changed against normal, explains why with the numbers and proposes one action, in seven steps. Agentic Marketing https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-build-brand-agent-marketing-team https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-build-brand-agent-marketing-team Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to build an AI agent that holds your brand rules, drafts on-brand copy and reviews everything before it ships, citing only approved facts. Six steps and a worked example. Agentic Marketing https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/what-is-an-interim-cmo https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/what-is-an-interim-cmo Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT What is an interim CMO? A senior marketing leader who takes the seat for a fixed term, usually three to twelve months. The post covers the role, when to hire one and when not to. Interim CMO Leadership https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/marketing-team-coaching https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/marketing-team-coaching Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT How an interim leader can coach a marketing team to run without them: six phases, the document each one produces, and a dependency test for when to step back. Enterprise Strategy https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/maternity-cover-marketing-leader https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/maternity-cover-marketing-leader Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to cover a marketing leader's maternity leave: statutory basics in four countries, a handover plan, and the trade-offs between step-up, interim, fractional and shared cover. Interim CMO Leadership https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/marketing-kpis-that-matter https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/marketing-kpis-that-matter Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to calculate pipeline velocity, CAC payback and LTV, with worked mid-market and enterprise examples, sourced benchmarks and the limits of each formula. Enterprise Strategy https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/smoke-testing-product-ideas https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/smoke-testing-product-ideas Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A method for smoke-testing many product variants: a variant matrix, equal small budgets, waitlist pages that say the product is not on sale, and a staged read that does not mistake noise for winners. Innovation https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/interim-vs-fractional-cmo https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/interim-vs-fractional-cmo Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Should you hire an interim or a fractional CMO? The deciding factor is whether the engagement has an end date. The post gives the rule, a brief checklist and the cost arithmetic. Interim CMO Leadership https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/building-first-marketing-ai-agent https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/building-first-marketing-ai-agent Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A five-step method for a first marketing AI agent: pick a task, define good output, build an n8n workflow, approve every output for two weeks, decide what runs alone. Agentic Marketing https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/marketing-attribution-enterprise https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/marketing-attribution-enterprise Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Which attribution models GA4 still offers, what the main tools do, and a six-step routine to validate attribution against CRM revenue and geo tests. MarTech https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/interim-cmo-vs-agency https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/interim-cmo-vs-agency Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Should you hire an interim CMO or a marketing agency? The post compares them on five dimensions, says who owns the work, and ends with a rule for choosing. Interim CMO Leadership https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-evaluate-interim-cmo https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/how-to-evaluate-interim-cmo Fri, 19 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT How should a CEO choose an interim CMO? Five checks, from verifying claimed results to a paid planning exercise, and one scorecard to compare candidates. Interim CMO Leadership https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/what-is-agentic-marketing https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/what-is-agentic-marketing Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT What agentic marketing means, how it differs from rule-based automation, what vendors ship today, where it fails, and a seven-question test for trying it. Agentic Marketing https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/30-60-90-day-plan-interim-cmo https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/30-60-90-day-plan-interim-cmo Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT What an interim CMO should deliver at day 30, 60 and 90, who signs off each gate, which KPIs to agree first and what the handover document contains. Interim CMO Leadership https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/agentic-marketing-vs-automation https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/agentic-marketing-vs-automation Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT How rule-based automation and agentic marketing differ, a decision rule for choosing per step, and a worked example where a person approves every budget change. Agentic Marketing https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/venture-building-corporate https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/venture-building-corporate Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT How to run a corporate venture from blank page to first release in three 30-day phases, with a go or kill decision at days 30, 60 and 90 and the criteria for each. Innovation https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/martech-stack-audit-checklist https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/martech-stack-audit-checklist Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT A four-phase martech audit with the cost inputs to collect, a weighted scoring template, a keep, consolidate or cut table and the privacy and AI rules to check. MarTech https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/cmo-dashboard-kpi-framework https://www.marketingupgrade.pro/blog/cmo-dashboard-kpi-framework Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT A one-page CMO dashboard with 14 defined metrics in four pillars, measurement methods for share of voice and ROI, consumer equivalents and status rules. Interim CMO Leadership