The Empty Week Fix

By Ryan Shaw, 15 years running a marketing agency and 100+ agency clients. Updated October 29, 2026.

An empty week happens. Maybe a client just left. Maybe you have not landed one yet. Your calendar is empty and your phone is quiet.

Everyone who builds an agency meets an empty week sooner or later. I have spent 15 years in this business and worked with 100+ agency clients. The fix is not a trick. It is five small moves. Do them in order.

1. 1. Say it in one line
2. 2. Make a list of 25 owners
3. 3. Find one true problem on each site
4. 4. Send a short, plain note
5. 5. Follow up
6. Your first 7 days
7. Sheets A and B to print
8. Before your call with me

Move 1. Say what you fix, in one line

Owners do not buy “web design and marketing.” They buy one fix for one problem. Fill in this line.

I help [kind of business] in [town] get [one thing they want].

Examples. They are made up, to show the shape.

• I help dentists in Tampa get a website that works on a phone.
• I help roofers in Boise get a site that shows their phone number.
• I help salons in Austin get a site where people can book online.

Could an 8-year-old repeat your line? If not, make it shorter. You can change the business type and the town later.

Move 2. Make a list of 25 owners, today

A list of 25 beats a plan for 500. Stop at 25.

1. Open Google Maps. Search your kind of business and your town.
2. Open each business’s website on your phone.
3. Pick the ones that look old, load slowly or are hard to use.
4. Write each one on Sheet A. Save four things now: name, website, phone, and the email shown on their site. Leave the problem box blank until Move 3.
5. No email shown on their site? Use their contact form, or skip that business.
6. Stop at 25. Do not hunt for the perfect owner.

Move 3. Find one true problem on each site

Not five. One. Look for something the owner can check in ten seconds. Use the 10-second phone test:

• The phone number can’t be tapped to call.
• The words are too small to read.
• The page is slow to open.
• The opening hours are missing.
• There is no easy way to book.

1. Open the page on your phone, with the problem on screen.
2. Take a screenshot of it.
3. Write the problem on Sheet A, in the last column.

That picture is your proof. It is what makes your note about them, not about you.

Move 4. Send a short, plain note

Four lines: who you are, the one problem, what you can show, one question. Here is an example for a made-up business.

Subject: Your phone number on mobile

Hi, I’m Sam. I build websites for dentists in Tampa.

I opened your site on my phone. The phone number can’t be tapped, so people have to copy it.

I took a picture of it. Want me to send it?

Sam
Sample Web Co., 123 Main Street, Sampletown. If you would rather not hear from me, tell me and I will stop.

• Say plainly that you build websites. Do not hide it.
• Name the one problem. Skip the fake compliments.
• Send it from your own email, with your real name, a mailing address you are happy to share (a P.O. box works) and an easy way to say stop.
• Ask for one thing. Not three.
• Never promise results. You cannot control what an owner does next.

Move 5. Follow up, then do it again tomorrow

Owners are busy. A quiet note is not a no. Follow up at most three times, and add something new each time. Wait about three days between follow-ups.

1. Follow-up 1: a second problem you found.
2. Follow-up 2: the picture of the problem again, with the fix in one line.
3. Follow-up 3: a short, kind last note: “I’ll stop here. Good luck.”

Then move on. No guilt. No pushing. If anyone says stop or no, write it on Sheet B and never write to them again.

• Pick one time each day to send notes.
• Keep one simple sheet. Sheet B has four columns: who, date sent, what you said, what they said. Add every follow-up as a new row.
• When an owner says yes, answer the same day. Send the picture. Offer a short call.

Sending a little every day is the habit to build.

Your first 7 days

Sheets to print

Print only these two sheets, or copy the columns into a spreadsheet.

Sheet A. Your list of 25

Sheet B. Your send sheet (notes and follow-ups)

Before your call with me

Do Moves 1 to 3 before we talk. Rough is fine. We will use it to pick your next step. Bring three things:

• Your one line, from Move 1.
• Your list of 25, from Move 2.
• One problem you found on at least three of those sites, from Move 3.

Not done yet? Come anyway. Bring what you have. A rough start is a start.

Questions before the call? Write to improveddigital@gmail.com.

Ryan