It’s time to breathe a sigh of relief.
Grow is a 4-month hybrid marketing programme that helps small business owners, freelancers and creatives like you market with ease — in a way that fits your energy, time and life.
Because marketing can be gentle, easeful, effective–and all you.
Ready to market your business with more ease and less pressure?
When marketing feels like a lot
If you’re tired of trying to do all the things, or feel pressure to be everywhere at once — you’re not alone.
Maybe you’re craving more calm, more clarity, and marketing that supports your business in the background.
Who I made Grow for
Grow is for small business owners, freelancers and creatives who are ready to do marketing differently — gently, sustainably and in a way that fits their life and energy.
If marketing often feels like too much — too many platforms, too much pressure to show up — Grow will help you change that.
You’ll create a marketing rhythm that gently and effectively supports your business, so you can focus on the work you actually love.
“I’ve always felt so pressured by all those marketing gurus online who say you have to do this, you have to do that—posting every single day, doing a hundred thousand different things. It made me so anxious that I just… didn’t do it. I thought I hated marketing. But when I heard you talking, I was so relieved I literally felt my shoulders drop. Oh okay—so it can be done differently.”
— Kirstin, artist and webshop owner
“Grow provides the tools and frameworks needed to dive into your marketing and find both your authentic voice and your sustainable style. Astrid consistently directs your focus to your progress. Working with her is a joy.” — Maren R.
Want to experience what Grow is like?
Join me for a free workshop on March 3rd where we’ll explore what your marketing actually needs right now. You’ll get clarity on your next gentle steps, a peek into how Grow works + the chance to ask questions in a Q&A.
As a workshop participant, you’ll also receive 10% off if you join during the first 72 hours after launch.
“I felt at home right from the first video. Never before have I been able to think about my business in such a calm and warm way. Astrid guides you step by step in discovering the marketing that suits you best.”—Ine Muys, artist and reading coach
This programme is for you.
If marketing often feels like too much work — like one more thing on your list — you’re not alone.
It took me nearly three years of experiments to figure out how to market my business with confidence and intention (and gently and effectively).
I left social media and began to focus more on my newsletter and evergreen marketing. I started to lean into my strengths and joy. And my marketing began to flow.
I’ve been running my business with this form of gentle and intentional marketing for nearly four years. I’m fully booked with 1:1 mentoring clients, sell online courses and programmes and have a successful small business newsletter.
Grow is the result of this journey, and hours of conversations with small business owners, freelancers and creatives just like you.
Marketing no longer feels like a necessary evil in my business. It feels aligned and organic–and allows me to show up in the world confidently and with intention, as all me. And I’d love the same for you.
My business is thriving and, more importantly, so am I.
Grow your business at a human pace–your pace.
Grow is a radically different marketing programme, teaching you small business marketing that is intentional, gentle, effective–and wholly you.
How Grow supports you to create your gentle, effective marketing strategy
Grow is a 4-month hybrid, lifetime access programme, giving you the perfect blend of structure + accountability and the chance to work through the modules at your own pace.
6 modules
monthly office hours
self-paced
lifetime access
monthly live planning calls
bi-weekly accountability check-ins
Grow consists of 6 modules:
- Introduction to the programme
- BUSINESS FOUNDATIONS: business vision + defining growth in and for your business
- MARKETING FOUNDATIONS: establishing or tweaking your marketing foundations, making marketing an organic part of your business
- CHANNELS: your marketing channels and marketing without social media
- STRATEGY: devising your intentional marketing strategy
- THE DAY-TO-DAY: launches, evergreen content and making a sustainable plan for the future
Each module includes:
- a video of 35-50 minutes in which I offer practical strategies and tips, prompts to make the materials your own and examples from my own business and that of my clients;
- a workbook for each month with checklists, templates, prompts to go deeper and help you to make the material your own.
And you’ll also receive
Mini-bonuses related to marketing and small business, incl. a values deep-dive; newsletter checklist; website review; my content creation process and more to come in the spring of 2025.
Monthly pre-recorded office hours for which you can submit your questions.
A monthly live (and recorded) planning call to help you decide what to work on that month.
Bi-weekly accountability check-ins via email.
Access to my library of small business workshops, worth over €200.
“I’ve learned so much in Grow. Just learning how marketing can work and that marketing can work without social media and being everywhere.Grow wasn’t overwhelming. I got a clear idea and a clear roadmap about marketing and how I want to market.” — Hannah Plews, book coach and private tutor
“Grow has made me think about my ‘why’ from different angles, and every time they become more specific. I’m getting closer to the core of how I actually want to work and what my core values are—not just what I want to express, but what I want to run my business on.”
— Kirstin, artist and webshop owner
📽️ Take a look at Grow
At the end of this programme
- you’ll feel confident and intentional about your marketing;
- you will have created solid and sustainable marketing foundations for your business;
- you will have stopped relying (solely) on social media for your marketing;
- you will have developed a sustainable and effective marketing strategy that builds on your strengths and joys;
- you’ll have developed a marketing strategy that is slow, gentle and effective–and that works even if you have to take a step back because of your health or other demands;
- you’ll be marketing your business in a way that is all you, and that brings in new clients and customers.
“I’m devouring your Small business newsletter magic course and excited to begin implementing all that I’ve learned and discovered.”
Oriana LaVilla, coach, facilitator and writer
What makes Grow so great?
- Its blend of structure and flexibility allowing you to create your own marketing strategy, unique to your business and your life;
- Its hybrid design and gentle pace that allows you to honour your own rhythm and energy, while still getting the support and accountability you need to overhaul your business marketing;
- My 4+-years of experience marketing my own business without social media–without having a big audience when I left social media. I’ve since build a growing business without spending a single second on social media and it feels amazing;
- Lifetime access to the programme and materials, including any new materials that will be added in future iterations of the programme.
“The drumbeat of social media can be relentless. It’s hard to shift to what actually works when you don’t get that immediate dopamine hit. Astrid will show you how with her calm, anti-overwhelm marketing”
—Celia Cain, mindset coach, healer + mentor
Why take this programme with me?
I’m a natural teacher
I’m really good at making complex topics simple + accessible and create clear and easy-to-use materials.
My signature blend
My approach combines practical strategies with mindset shifts in a gentle and effective way.
Anti-overwhelm + anti-FOMO
Throughout the programme I’m guided by your needs and desires, helping you create the gentle and effective marketing your small business needs.
Discover more about my approach to marketing
Listen to a podcast episode
Read my marketing blogposts
Browse my newsletter
Grow is marketing for people who dislike the word ‘marketing’.
Practicalities
When | The programme will run from March 23rd until July 23rd, with lifetime access to all resources.
How much | €990, payable in 4, 6 or 8 instalments at no further cost.
Who | Small business owners, freelancers and creatives like you who are eager to grow their small business with gentle and intentional marketing. Each cohort is limited to 10 spaces.
Want to get a feel for Grow first? Join my free workshop on March 3rd –> sign up here.
Wondering if Grow is right for you?
Only you can decide whether Grow is right for you, but I’d be very happy to help.
Scroll down to read Frequently asked questions, send me a message with your question.
Have you taken my free marketing struggles quiz yet?
You’ll receive a workbook with my 3 favourite, easeful marketing strategies tailored to your business.
What people just like you love about my work
I have LOVED YOUR COURSE. I will be recommending it to everyone who asks me a Substack question.
Katie Sadler (marketer) on Substack for small business owners
Thank you so much for putting the course together. I’m still watching the final video, but found it hugely inspiring and helpful!! The checklist from the second video was exactly what I needed, too.
I love how you invite the possibility of everything being light, slow and playful, but still manage to drill down into the practicalities. It was just what I needed!
Lottie Randomly on Substack for small business owners
You, Astrid, and your beautiful approach to all this have been like a North Star for me on this journey. Your course was pivotal for me early on and I am really grateful for the work you are putting out into the world. So, so important! Thank you.”
Nina Veteto (forager, plant explorer and artist) on Substack for small business owners
“Thank you so much for this – and for making it so affordable! I have just binge watched the whole thing and I am going to implement forthwith! I was most excited to see that there are Substacks that are artist based and focus on the images, not on the words. I love writing but it terrifies me so being able to share my art without having to write is so freeing! Thank you…”
Nathalie Todd (photographer) on Substack for small business owners
“I am so delighted to meet Astrid and for her to mentor me. I really feel like I am investing in myself when I am working with Astrid. She is incredibly encouraging, gentle and on your side, which is exactly what I needed. What’s more she has an incredible eye for detail, she picks up on nuances and any hesitations for exploration. I also want to say that I have appreciated the flexibility she has given me, as I have a chronic illness, I am not always able to stick to a plan if I am feeling unwell. Her understanding of this made me take the leap to commit to mentoring with Astrid. I really cannot recommend her enough – she goes above and beyond, in the most natural way, that does not feel like pressure.”
Bonnie Chung (author, mentor and entrepreneur) on 1:1 mentoring with me
“To say that Astrid is supportive is an understatement. She helped me work through many things in my mindset and my business, and I could tell that she genuinely wanted to help me. My meetings with Astrid felt like meetings with a friend, and I appreciate her valuable insight. I 10/10 recommend her as a business mentor!”
Bri Dunavan (Christian business mentor and marketing strategist) on 1:1 marketing with me
“Astrid is great at looking at the big picture. She helped me see where I could set more boundaries to protect my energy, as well as places I could monetize the work I’m already doing.”
Dacy Gillespie (personal stylist) on 1:1 mentoring with me
“Just now I started working on the first 2 videos of your Small business newsletter magic course. I already feel so at home. :)”
Ine Muys (artist and reading coach) on my course Small business newsletter magic
Frequently asked questions
What will I learn during this programme?
You’ll learn that marketing can feel easeful and can even be fun. The programme is structured in such a way to help you get clear on your current marketing first, and then explore the options for marketing. In the second half of the programme you’ll put together a plan that works for you and will start experimenting with ways of marketing that are all you (including without social media!). Throughout the focus is on you: on what feels good to you, on your strengths and needs. While I’ll be offering lots of strategies and examples, my aim is to support you to create a unique marketing strategy that serves your business and your life.
What is the relation between this programme and Marketing without social media, the programme that ran in 2024?
Grow is a relaunch of Marketing without social media. Much of the programme is the same: I still teach marketing without social media, but have made some very small accent changes to focus on intentional, gentle and effective marketing in general. I still don’t use social media in my business and in Grow focus on non-social media forms of marketing since they best fit the gentle and intentional marketing I practice.
What is the financial investment of the programme? How and when do I pay?
The cost of the programme is €990 (around £850/$1160). You can pay this in full when you buy the programme, or in monthly instalments at no additional cost (find your currency here).
When will the live planning calls take place? Do I have to attend them?
You do not have to attend the live planning calls. They are optional and meant to help you if you enjoy a group element and want to create a plan for the month ahead together. If you can’t make it or don’t want to attend, you can catch up with the recording of the call.
The calls will take place through Zoom. You can leave your camera off and don’t have to speak during these calls 🙂
For the spring 2026 cohort, the live planning calls will take place on:
- Thursday April 2nd, at 17:00 CET
- Thursday May 7th, at 17:00 CET
- Thursday June 4th, at 17:00 CET
- Thursday July 2nd, at 17:00 CET
I need accountability to stick with courses and programmes. Will you hold me accountable and how?
There’s a couple of ways in which I’ve built accountability in to this programme. Before we start I’ll ask you to fill in a brief questionnaire about your business and your marketing challenges. Once every two weeks I’ll send you a gentle accountability check-in, asking you how you’re getting on. The monthly office hours also add accountability as I’ll be encouraging you to ask questions, and the monthly live planning calls encourage you to create a plan, with my help.
What if I’m just starting out with my business, or about to start a new business–is the programme still suitable for me?
Yes! If you’re just getting started or about to get started the programme still works for you. With the exception of a bit of reflection at the beginning of the first workshop, all of the workshops and materials are focused on creating your new/future marketing blueprint and putting it into practice. You don’t need to already be marketing or running a business. Previous participants have been both new and experienced business owners.
How long will I have access to the programme?
While my support ends after 4 months, you have lifetime access to all the workbooks, workbooks, pre-recorded materials and other bonuses so you can also go back to them.
What is the time investment for this programme?
Even in busier months, 1–2 hours per week is sufficient—and you have lifetime access to take it slower if needed.
I’ve designed the programme to be done next to your business (and your life), but of course it really depends on how much time you want to put into it. As a rough estimate, one to two hours a week of actually working on your marketing (and doing it) should be enough. However, since you have lifetime access you can also choose a slower pace. There is no falling behind.
What if I don’t run my business full-time? Is Grow still suitable?
Absolutely! When I started my business I worked 4 days a week in higher education, and I slowly decreased my hours. I now work in my business 3 days a week, and 2 days in higher education. Grow is suitable no matter how much time you have available for your business.
Have a question that I didn’t answer here? Send me a message–I’d be happy to help you out.
work with me
I’d love to know more about you! If you’d like more bespoke help with your newsletter, setting up gentle and effective marketing or growing your slow, gentle and profitable business, I’d love to support you. Do get in touch about working together through 1:1 mentoring.