Field notes / Aaron Peden
The skills that changed my life.
From installing satellite dishes to building companies—and why I’m sharing the lessons with you.
I used to install satellite dishes for a living. Learning digital marketing changed the kind of business I could build—and the life I could give my family.
What the plaques don’t explain.
The photo captures a milestone. It doesn’t explain the years of learning that came before it, the money spent testing or the change of direction when a channel I relied on was restricted.
I’m sharing the story because I want the starting point to be visible too. I was doing a different kind of work. I learned digital marketing. Then I kept applying what I learned.
If you’re learning something that feels unfamiliar today, you don’t need to pretend you already understand it.
The starting point
I didn’t start with these skills.
Before Rocktomic and YourPeptideBrand, I was installing satellite dishes. Digital marketing was something I had to learn, test and put to work.
In 2016, I started Wave Marketing as a DIRECTV affiliate. Our door-to-door team generated approximately 10 sales a day. In my account of that period, SEO and paid advertising helped grow that to approximately 100 a day. Those are recollections, not a verified sustained average or defined reporting period.
The change was learning how customers could find us online. That gave me a different way to think about building a business.
Read the full Wave Marketing account →2016 / The turning point
I fell off a roof. I had to learn new skills.
I was working a blue-collar job that felt like a dead end. In 2016, I fell off a roof.
I learned marketing from my bed. The skills I learned there helped me grow Rocktomic and other companies.
That is why I want the starting point to be visible. The company results came later. First, I had to learn the work.
You can start with one skill and one practical exercise. There is no requirement to buy software, place an ad or have everything figured out.
Start the free learning path →The test
I had to change direction.
DIRECTV later restricted the SEO and paid advertising channels I was using. I left and started Rocktomic.
The channel had changed, but the skills could come with me. I could keep learning how to connect a customer, an offer, a page and a measurable outcome.
Write down the platforms and partners your customer acquisition relies on. Know what you would do if one changed its rules.
Work through channel risk →
The work
Learning became building.
As founder and CMO of Rocktomic, I worked with our team to scale the company to over 15,000 clients and $50M+ revenue. These are company-level figures I’ve supplied; the measurement period is unspecified. They are not my personal earnings.
I also helped grow YourPeptideBrand into a second 8-figure company. These outcomes reflect the work of co-founders, teams and partners. They do not prove that one channel or tool caused the result.
Across ten years of testing and millions spent on ads for my companies, I learned to look beyond the campaign: what does the customer want, does the offer make sense, can we measure the outcome and can the business deliver?
Follow one test enquiry from the website to the person responsible for responding. Look for the first unclear or broken handoff.
Test your customer journey →Rocktomic’s story and source context →
YourPeptideBrand’s story →
The reason it matters
A better life for my family.
When I talk about what changed my life, I’m thinking about my family. The work helped me give them an amazing life, and I’m grateful for that.
That is a personal reason for wanting to help. Someone reading this may be working toward a different future for the people they care about. I want there to be something here they can actually use.
Your goals and circumstances will be different from mine. Learning a skill does not guarantee an income. But a practical skill can give you something useful to build on.
Giving the lessons back
Here’s what I want this site to do for you.
Give you a clear place to start and help you understand the work well enough to do it yourself. That means explaining unfamiliar terms, showing the implementation and giving you a way to check whether it worked.
You can read every guide without paying or giving me your email. Start with one skill, use the examples and check your work. If a lesson takes longer than expected, come back to it. You’re allowed to be learning.
Choose your first free lessonThe next chapter
I’m still a student of the work.
I’m now building WellStaq, a new bloodwork-first, white-label telehealth startup in development. Rocktomic and YourPeptideBrand are established companies; WellStaq is a new beginning.
Read what I’m building next →Company and team recognition
Rocktomic ranked No. 443 on the 2023 Inc. 5000 and No. 19 in the 2023 Inc. Regionals Southeast. Its ClickFunnels milestones include the 2 Comma Club and 2CC-X awards. These recognize company or team achievements, not personal profit.
Inc. honoree profile → · Rocktomic’s published recognition →