The Story Behind That Marketing Buddy
I'm RJ, a digital marketing professional from Finland with 28,000+ hours of hands-on experience in the industry.
Based in Finland. When I'm not researching marketing software, you'll find me skating or enjoying nature with my amazing wife and the world's best dog (objectively speaking).
Built on 28,000+ hours of real marketing experience, distilled into software recommendations you can trust.
Agency Co-Owner (Helsinki)→Developer→Marketing Software Analyst
After co-owning a digital marketing agency in Helsinki for over a decade, working with 100+ clients across SaaS, ecommerce, real estate, and professional services, I transitioned into development and AI. Now I combine deep marketing knowledge with a technical eye to evaluate the tools that matter.
How I Review Software
Transparency is the foundation of everything on this site.
Tools I've personally used on real projects. These reviews include my direct experience, workflow observations, and first-person insights from production use.
In-depth analysis using official documentation, verified pricing, aggregate ratings from G2 and Capterra, and real user feedback from multiple sources.
Reviews built primarily from aggregated user reviews and public data. These focus on community consensus rather than personal experience.
Where the Data Comes From
AI-Assisted Research
I use AI tools to help research and structure content, then verify facts and add my professional perspective. AI helps me cover more tools at a higher quality, but every review is checked for accuracy and reflects real data.
Read more in my privacy policyKeeping Content Fresh
Software changes fast. I regularly re-verify pricing, update feature lists when products release major updates, and flag reviews that may be outdated. Each review and pricing guide shows when it was last updated.
My Journey
My career started in 2015 at a digital marketing agency in Helsinki. I spent the first years deep in Google Ads account management, landing page optimization, and conversion tracking, working hands-on with clients in SaaS, ecommerce, real estate, and professional services. That's where I learned the difference between campaigns that convert and campaigns that just spend budget.
Data became the foundation of everything I did. Google Analytics, Tag Manager, Looker Studio, and later GA4 were daily tools. I built dashboards, set up attribution models, and helped clients understand which channels were driving revenue, not just traffic.
Over the years, the work expanded: SEO and content strategy, email marketing automation, webinar funnels, and paid social across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest. The agency grew to nearly 30 marketers serving over 100 clients across Finland and the Nordics.
Then I stepped aside from the agency to pursue what had been pulling my attention for a while: building things with code and AI. I transitioned into development, building production applications with modern tools. The same explosion happening in software development was happening across marketing tools: new platforms launching weekly, existing tools adding AI features, and the landscape becoming harder to navigate than ever.
That's when I decided to build what I wished existed: a curated, transparent resource for evaluating marketing software.
Skills & Experience
Working in digital marketing for over a decade means you end up learning a lot. Here's a snapshot of what I bring to the table when evaluating marketing software.
Advertising & Paid Media
Analytics & Data
SEO & Content Strategy
Technical & Development
Business & Operations
Industries I've Worked With
Why This Site Exists
Throughout my career, I've evaluated dozens of marketing platforms for real client projects. Some were transformative. Most were not. And with AI reshaping how content is created and customers are reached, the number of tools is growing faster than ever. It's becoming increasingly difficult to separate what's genuinely useful from what's just noise.
I've learned a great deal from other marketers who openly shared their knowledge through blogs, newsletters, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Now it's my turn to contribute back.
Think of That Marketing Buddy as your filter in a sea of endless software options. I combine real marketing experience with a technical eye to surface the tools that genuinely deserve your attention.
My other projects:
European MarTech: Independent European marketing tools verified for GDPR compliance and EU data hosting. Find alternatives to popular non-European software.
Freestack.tools: A curated directory of software tools with verified free plans. No trials, no credit card traps. Just real free tiers with documented limits so you know exactly what you get before upgrading. Start with zero budget, validate your idea, and upgrade when the time is right.
How I Make Money
Some links on this site are affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission if you sign up through them (at no extra cost to you). This is how I fund the research and keep the site running. Affiliate relationships never influence my ratings, recommendations, or comparisons. Tools I wouldn't genuinely recommend are clearly marked as such.
Every review page includes a disclosure notice, and my affiliate program guides are fully transparent about commission structures.
Start Exploring
Whether you're choosing your first email platform or comparing enterprise-level tools, I've built this site to help you make informed decisions.