About Ashton Brown
Most owners I talk to are great at their work and worn out by their marketing. Too many vendors, too many opinions, and no clear way to tell what’s working.
If that sounds familiar, you’re who I built this business for.
I’m Ashton Brown. AB Digital is me: a part-time marketing director for small businesses that need direction more than they need another vendor.
How I got here
Where this started
I grew up in a family of graphic designers. We had one of the first Macintosh computers in the early ’80s, and I’ve been making things on screens ever since. Design became web design. Web design became marketing. That was more than 20 years ago, and I still like the work.
What big companies taught me
I spent years inside corporate marketing departments, including Xerox, Dun & Bradstreet, and WP Engine.
At Dun & Bradstreet, I ran campaigns that reached hundreds of thousands of visitors and produced hundreds of thousands of dollars in tracked sales. I learned persuasive marketing the disciplined way: study what makes people buy, test it, measure everything, and let the numbers say whether it worked.
At WP Engine, I designed pages for one of the biggest names in WordPress hosting, on a team that applied conversion best practices to every page and could trace every result back to a decision.
Here’s what stuck with me: big companies grow because they plan, they measure, and they stick to fundamentals. Small businesses almost never get access to that discipline. There’s no reason they shouldn’t.
The small business years
Around those corporate chapters, I founded and ran two web design agencies of my own. More than a hundred small businesses hired me to build websites that show up on Google and turn visitors into customers.
That taught me the other half of the job: what it’s like when every marketing dollar has to count, and how confusing this industry looks from the owner’s side of the table.
Why AB Digital exists
A few years ago, friends who own businesses started asking me for marketing advice. Every conversation ended in the same place. The website wasn’t the real problem. They were missing the basics: a clear strategy, a realistic budget, the right channels, and someone to check the work of the people they were paying.
That’s a marketing director’s job. Most small businesses can’t afford one full time, and honestly, most don’t need one full time.
So that became the business. Today I act as the part-time marketing director for a small group of companies. I set the direction, choose and manage vendors, do the work I’m best at myself, and report results in plain English.
It’s the most satisfying work I’ve done, and here’s why: most small businesses aren’t failing at anything complicated. They’re missing fundamentals and spending money in the wrong places. Fixing that doesn’t take magic. It takes experience and attention.
How I use AI (and why I’ll tell you about it)
I use AI heavily, and I’d rather tell you that up front than have you wonder.
I’ve spent the past couple of years studying AI tools and practicing with them every day. They handle first drafts, research, and the production work that used to take a whole team. I handle the thinking: the strategy, the judgment calls, and the final pass on everything that reaches you or your customers.
That’s how one person can deliver the work of a marketing department, in less time and on a smaller budget than an agency needs. Not by cutting corners. By cutting overhead.
How I work
Five clients, maximum. I keep the roster small so every client gets real attention. When I’m full, I’m full.
The person you hire does the work. No account managers, no handoffs to a junior, no rotating point of contact.
Plain English, always. You’ll know what was done, why it was done, and whether it worked.
Honest vendor advice. When a specialist is the right call, I’ll find one, vet them, and check their work. When they’re not worth your money, I’ll say so.
No guarantees. Anyone promising you rankings or results is telling you what you want to hear. I promise a clear plan, careful spending, and straight answers.
An end date is the goal. Once things run smoothly, you won’t need me anymore. A good plan and the right people will carry it.
Where I am
AB Digital is a US-based business. I split my year between Austin, Texas and Tamarindo, Costa Rica, and I keep US business hours wherever I am. My clients are all over the country; we work by video call, shared documents, and email, the same way you’d work with a marketing director down the street.
When the laptop closes, I’m outside: hiking, photography, and traveling as much as work allows.
Let’s start with a call
Thirty minutes, no pitch. I’ll tell you what I’d do first, and you can decide whether you want help doing it.