I lead marketing at smava, where I drive efficient growth while simultaneously developing new business areas, from research and testing to scaling. Over the years, I’ve also explored these questions through digital projects of my own, which has given me first-hand experience of how visibility, data, and trust actually work online.
Through my work in both areas, I’ve come to the same conclusion time and again: a sustainable competitive advantage comes from your own aggregated data, not from purchased reach. Reach can be bought. Trust must be built.
Latest Thinking
- What I took away from the Peec.ai fireside chatVisibility in LLMs works differently. And most people measure it wrong. In classic marketing, the click was the currency. In… Read more: What I took away from the Peec.ai fireside chat
- OMFINCON 2026: The Most Interesting Conversations Were About Growth
I spent a few hours at OMFINCON this week. The speaker lineup was genuinely strong. Topics like AI, GEO and… Read more: OMFINCON 2026: The Most Interesting Conversations Were About Growth - Why OMR Still Matters to Me
OMR has become a fixed annual event in my calendar. For me, the value of the event is less about… Read more: Why OMR Still Matters to Me - Why one conversation can outperform an entire industry event
Sales has never been just a channel for me. It has always been part of how I work, whether through… Read more: Why one conversation can outperform an entire industry event - How data storytelling drives reach and long term brand trustData rarely creates impact in a single moment. Instead, its relevance develops over time as patterns begin to emerge and… Read more: How data storytelling drives reach and long term brand trust
- From Price Optimization to Expectation Management in Credit Funnels
Credit products are often perceived as simple and easy to compare because price appears to be the dominant variable. Interest… Read more: From Price Optimization to Expectation Management in Credit Funnels
Background and Experience
I have spent my career on the same problem from different angles: how digital demand is actually built, measured and turned into revenue.
I started hands-on. In Spain, I built websites for a language school and ran the full chain myself, from content and SEO to commercialization and partner acquisition. That is where I learned how online visibility really works, by doing every part of it, not by managing it from a distance.
In Berlin, I moved deeper into affiliate and performance marketing. At finanzen.de, now part of the Clark Group, I led affiliate marketing and built new partner and sales channels for financial and insurance products, my first real immersion in how finance is sold online.
Today I lead marketing at smava, where I drive efficient growth and build new business lines from research and testing to scale. Working across acquisition, brand and new products in a regulated, data-rich market is what shaped the conviction behind this site: durable advantage comes from proprietary, aggregated data, not from bought reach.
Education
I studied Business and Economics at the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR Berlin) and graduated as Diplom-Kaufmann with a focus on marketing. Negotiation has run through my work ever since, in partnerships, commercial deals and building new channels, and it is one of the things I do best. I sharpened it formally as a certified Negotiation Practitioner with the Nasher Negotiation Institute.
Projects and Focus
Alongside my role at smava, I build and publish digital projects of my own, where the conviction behind this site is tested in practice rather than in theory. FintechBerlin.de is an independent platform I founded for the Berlin fintech ecosystem, with interviews, a curated event calendar and market insights.
Beyond that, I run publishing projects across content, SEO and YouTube, which give me a first-party view of how reach is earned and lost online.
Publications & Contributions
A selection of things I’ve written and contributed to over the years, from academic work to practitioner pieces on marketing, affiliate and digital visibility.
- MarketerTalk Podcast with Torsten Schwarz (Marketing-BÖRSE, 2026): a conversation on how AI interfaces are reshaping search, discovery and digital visibility, why many established marketing principles still hold, and where the field is heading.
- Affiliate Marketing Insights Part 2: guest contribution in Markus Kellermann’s industry book (2015), with practical insights for affiliate managers and advertisers.
- Affiliate Marketing, the Underestimated Channel: expert interview in Internet World Business (2011) on trends and social media integration.
- Private Loans as an Alternative for the Self-Employed: interview in Selbständig.net (2011) on financing options for freelancers.
- Fintech-Standort Berlin: article on FintechBerlin.de (2021) on the city’s role as a leading hub for financial technology.
- Soziale Verantwortung in der Bekleidungsindustrie: book, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2006. ISBN 978-3865506955. A research-based analysis of corporate responsibility, brand reputation and social standards in the textile industry, with case studies of Adidas-Salomon and KarstadtQuelle. [View on Amazon] · [View on Goodreads]
I write regularly about marketing, data and digital visibility in financial services, here and on LinkedIn. If any of this resonates, I’m always open to a good conversation.
For professional inquiries: kontakt@joshuaheid.de