Nice to Meet You.
We’re North Node, a small marketing agency built around real people, practical ideas, and a lot of experience. We help businesses make sense of their marketing.
Look like your business. Sound like your business. Be recognizable as your business.
Marketing isn’t confusing.
At North Node, we cut through the noise. We explain things plainly, build strategies that actually fit your business, and show up like the neighbor who always has your back. No buzzwords. no fluff. Just clear direction and real support.
That’s our jam, and we live for it.
Most small business owners aren’t marketing experts, and they shouldn’t have to be. You’re already juggling enough by keeping the lights on, taking care of customers, handling the paperwork, and maybe even dodging the occasional moose on the the way to work.
You don’t need more complicated advice or tactics that do more harm than good. You just need a partner who makes your online presence that works simply, clearly, and consistently for you.
That’s exactly what we do at North Node. We team up with businesses and entrepreneurs across the region so you can stop guessing and start getting seen and chosen by the right people.
How We Met Was Pretty Accidental
Rebecca was helping a client with his hotel. Anna was helping someone in the hotel with a restaurant.
The two projects happened to overlap, and Anna was told to call Rebecca because she was “the photographer.”
If you could have heard Rebecca’s cackle! Not because she wasn’t a photographer, but because that description barely scratched the surface of what she was actually doing for that client.
A conversation about websites, marketing, and what each of them did turned into a meeting. That meeting turned into working together. And somewhere along the way, two people who had met almost completely by accident became partners and best friends.
Sometimes the Best Things Aren’t Planned
Anna came from a larger agency environment, working with bigger clients and bringing more than 25 years of marketing, strategy, SEO, and user experience to the table.
Rebecca had taken a different path, building her own creative business and working hands-on across graphic design, websites, photography, video, social media, and visual content.
Their skill sets were different, but their approach to good work was surprisingly similar.
Listen first. Figure out what the business actually needs. Then find the best way to solve the problem.
At the time, Rebecca’s business card read: Solving Problems, Building Brands. When Anna saw that, she commented that that is exactly what we both do.
And that’s really where North Node started to take shape.
A little accidental. A lot of experience. And a partnership neither of us saw coming.
Different Strengths. Shared Approach.
We don’t bring the same skills to the table, although there is definitely some overlap. But that’s kind of the point. We complement each other’s skill sets.
Rebecca comes from the creative and production side. Anna comes from strategy, SEO, and user experience. One tends to think about how to make something work and look good. The other is likely to ask why we’re doing it, who it’s for, and whether it’s actually going to accomplish what we want.
Those differences make the work better.
Two Ways of Looking at the Same Problem
When we’re working on a project, we don’t all have to see things the same way.
Different perspectives can uncover problems, spark better ideas, and keep us from settling on the first solution that comes to mind.
That’s something we value at North Node. We’d rather ask another question, look at something from a different angle, or rethink an idea than move forward just because it’s the way something has always been done.
Strategy and Creativity Belong Together
A good idea is only useful if it works for the business.
And a good strategy doesn’t have to be boring.
We bring the two together so the creative work has a purpose and the strategy doesn’t lose sight of the people it’s supposed to reach.
We Know When to Bring in More Help
North Node isn’t just Rebecca and Anna trying to do everything ourselves.
When a project needs specialized skills, we have access to experienced people who can contribute where they’re strongest. This means we can stay small while still having the ability to tackle projects that require more than two people can reasonably do.
We’re not interested in building a giant agency for the sake of saying we are a giant agency.
We may not always agree on the first idea. That’s usually a good thing.
Small by Choice
We like being a small agency.
It means you aren’t getting passed from a salesperson to an account manager to a team you’ve never met. You get to work with the people actually doing the work.
It also means we’re able to bring in the right people when a project needs something beyond our individual skill sets. We have access to a talented group of specialists, but we don’t believe we need a giant agency structure to do great work.
We’ve both worked with larger teams and bigger projects. We know what that brings to the table. But there’s something pretty great about being small enough to know your clients, know their businesses, and actually care about what happens to them.
Small doesn’t mean limited. It means intentional.
Good Marketing Starts with Listening
Before we start recommending things, we want to understand the business.
What are you trying to accomplish? Who are you trying to reach? What’s working? What’s not? What have you already tried? And what actually makes sense for where your business is right?
There isn’t one marketing formula that works for everyone. What works for a restaurant may not work for a contractor. What works for a growing business may not make sense for a business that’s already booked out.
Listen First
The best ideas usually come after asking the right questions.
We take the time to understand the business, the people behind it, and the people you’re trying to reach before jumping into a list of recommendations.
Think Beyond the Individual Service
A website, a social media account, an ad campaign, or a logo can all be useful; however, none of them exist in a vacuum.
We look at how pieces fit together and where your time and money are likely to make the biggest difference.
Keep the Good Ideas. Lose the Fluff.
We’re not interested in doing something simply because it’s trendy or because every other marketing agency is offering it.
If there’s a good reason to do something, we’ll tell you. If there isn’t, we’ll tell you that too.
Make it Useful
A strategy isn’t very helpful if it never makes it out of a presentation.
We believe marketing should lead to decisions you can actually act on, whether that means improving your website, getting found locally, creating better content, or finally figuring out where your advertising dollars are going.
Good marketing isn’t about doing everything. It’s about figuring out what matters and doing that well.
We’ve Been Doing This for a While
North Node may be a newer name, but the experience behind it isn’t.
Rebecca has been building it since 2014, having worked in the print and digital realms since 2002. She brings graphic design, branding, websites, photography, video, social media, and production to the proverbial table.
Anna has more than 25 years of experience in marketing strategy, SEO, user experience, and digital campaigns.
Together, we also have access to a broader group of experienced creative, technical, and strategic people when a project calls for skills beyond our own…or if we simply need more manpower. That’s part of what lets us stay small without limiting the kind of work we can take on.
We’ve worked on everything from websites and branding to digital campaigns, content, photography, video, and interactive projects. Let’s also not forget the copywriting and blogs that have been written. We’ve worked with small businesses, organizations, nonprofits, and larger teams.
So while we like keeping things simple, we aren’t exactly new to this.
Small agency. lots of experience. no need to make things more complicated than they have to be.
Let’s Talk About Your Business
Maybe your website needs some work. Maybe you’re not getting found locally. Maybe your social media has been sitting untouched for six months. Or maybe you’re just not sure what your marketing actually needs.
That’s where we can help.
Tell us what’s going on, what you’re trying to accomplish, and where you’re stuck. We’ll take a look, talk it through with you, and help you figure out what makes sense from there.
No pressure. No giant marketing presentation. Just a conversation about your business.
Not sure where to start? That’s exactly what the conversation is for.
