Growing a Franchise
Mainland’s five-step process replaces outdated blanket marketing with a targeted, data-driven system that attracts, educates and converts the right franchise candidates.
At Mainland*, everything starts with real people. The team focuses on who a brand is trying to reach and builds content around what matters to them. That carries into The Buzz Factory, which is designed to turn interest into real conversations with potential franchisees.
Instead of pushing out generic messaging, brands are able to connect with the right audience from the start. The result is stronger engagement and more relevant conversations with prospective franchisees.
Traditional franchise marketing often begins without a clear picture of who the brand is trying to reach. Campaigns are designed to appeal to everyone, which usually means they don’t connect with anyone in a meaningful way. Without a strong SEO or GEO strategy, brands also miss key moments when potential franchisees are actively searching.
National campaigns aren’t always effective for individual locations. Franchisees still need a way to connect with customers in their own markets. Without focusing on the people behind the brand, marketing doesn’t resonate enough.
Mainland takes a different path by building its strategy around people first, not just brand messaging. Instead of generic campaigns, the focus is on real stories, highlighting the operators, career changers and entrepreneurs behind each brand. That mindset is backed by a “nothing is impossible” approach, where creativity and persistence drive how opportunities are uncovered and amplified.
“A lot of times, the franchisees we’re working with will come on the call and say, ‘I don't know why you want to talk to me. My story is not that interesting.’ There's a level of fulfillment and satisfaction in being able to see them see themselves in someone else's eyes and realizing what their story can mean and can do. It’s really fun,” said Morgan Wood, content manager at Mainland. “Everyone has a story. We just have to get to it.”
That storytelling is combined with a strong digital and media engine that makes sure the content reaches the right people at the right time. Every effort is tied to measurable results, from readership and engagement to lead quality and conversion.
The repeatable process is designed to move prospects into action. Here are the five pillars that Mainland uses to reach people:
At the top of the funnel, Mainland operates as a true media engine, using industry-wide editorial to consistently attract qualified readers who are already interested in franchising. Mainland co-founder Nick Powills saw that modern growth requires more than PR and ads. Brands need a media engine that works constantly to educate and attract the right audience. That thinking led to the creation of 1851 Franchise and its sister platforms Estatenvy, StacheCow and Room 1903, built as ecosystems designed to drive franchise growth.
“These platforms are what we call growth media engines,” Powills said. “They’re not traditional publications and they’re not marketing channels. They sit in the middle. Each platform is designed to help an industry control its narrative, educate its market and create a consistent drumbeat of credibility around the brands that are growing within it.”
Traffic is consistent, with more than 34,000 visits each week and about 125 readers every 30 minutes. Instead of chasing leads, the focus is on creating content that draws in the right audience over time.
Mainland brings prospects into franchising through story-driven content that feels relatable and real. Instead of leading with a sales pitch, the focus is on narratives like career changes, life transitions and personal motivations that reflect where potential franchisees are in their own journey.
“Being able to see the kind of person that's doing it, and, no matter who you are, there's someone who has a similar background or that you can relate to in some way, that has done it,” Wood said. “I think putting that out there makes people curious. And then you click in, and it's their life story and their experiences. The reader likely doesn’t know this person, specifically, but it’s possible they have very similar experiences.”
This approach builds an emotional connection first, making the idea of franchising feel both accessible and attainable before any direct selling begins.
Once interest in franchising is established, Mainland introduces prospects to specific brands through lists, awards and rankings that position them within the broader industry. From there, dedicated brand pages give readers a deeper look, offering the context and information they need to stay engaged. This step moves prospects from general curiosity into active consideration.
“When brands partner with Mainland and our platforms, they’re essentially building a living archive of their growth story, leadership insights, franchisee success stories, expansion announcements and industry expertise,” Powills said. “When a candidate starts researching the opportunity, they don’t find one article. They find a narrative. And in franchising, the brands with the strongest narrative usually win.”
Mainland expands a brand’s reach through paid media and its proprietary digital ad service, AMPD, targeting the audiences most likely to be a fit. AMPD blends social and pay-per-click advertising to place content in front of the right people, supported by placements across key platforms and media coverage ranging from TV segments to local publications. Retargeting also helps keep the brand visible to people who have already shown interest as they continue evaluating their options.
One example is Mainland’s long-running work with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK*®. Since 2013, the partnership has grown into a steady stream of national and local coverage, including 176 media placements in 2025.
Mainland has helped share franchisee stories with a wider audience, with coverage on outlets like FOX Business and CNBC. It has also supported local efforts to build awareness in each market.
Layne’s Chicken Fingers* is another great example. Through a combination of earned media and targeted visibility, Mainland helped position the brand in both national outlets like QSR Magazine and local TV markets ahead of new openings.
"I’m not an expert in getting leads or PR. But I know how to sell and I believe in our brand," said Samir Wattar, Layne’s chief operating officer. "I rely on Mainland to come up with the ideas. ‘How am I going to achieve my goal?’"
Layne’s saw steady development as awareness grew, including a 110% increase in its footprint in 2025 and several multi-unit deals.
Each step is guided by data, using tools like Google Analytics and campaign results to see what is and isn’t working. Those insights are reviewed in monthly calls with account managers.
For example, Julie Maw, vice president of account management for Mainland, has used performance data from webinar registrations to help identify the best time of year to host a campaign, improving return on investment. Instead of relying on assumptions, each next step is guided by real-time insights and proven results.
Here is how the Buzz Factory Process comes to life, step by step, turning strategy into execution.
On the front end of the magazine, we focus on bringing qualified, focused readers into the funnel. We do this through unpaid editorial that covers the complete industry. Then, we guide them to your brand.
We then start to build your “why you/why now” through content, video, research and aggregated media coverage. An active newsroom will give your brand's audience news and information designed to motivate them as they become comfortable with the idea of working with your brand.
A branded newsroom would not be complete without other stories created by journalists. That’s why Mainland aggregates important news from other media sources. This is valuable for a few reasons. First, we can link directly to your site, so when we amplify the story, we can guide the user directly to the next step: inquiry. Second, this extends your credibility. Third, we can add to existing press coverage by including a quote, video or update. We can also take articles you wish you had been included in, and add you to the story.
AMPD is how Mainland puts content in front of the right audience. Once the target personas and markets are defined, campaigns are built across platforms like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and retargeting channels to reach people who are most likely to be a fit.
Instead of pushing broad ads, the focus is on placing the right content in front of the right people and staying in front of them as they continue to explore the opportunity.
Then, Mainland integrates into your sales process. This could be drip campaigns, counter content, marketing collateral or something as simple as your own internal magazine.
Now, Mainland taps into your brand’s distribution sources to increase the readership of your content. This could be shared on your Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or even on your website through our news widget tool.
This step includes arguably the most important feature, which is data. Through measurement and data, Mainland can get a sense of which content has the highest engagement, which demographics are engaging with it, where they are, which days they read your content and more.
We also give you AMPD data through our API integration with Google, LinkedIn and Facebook for real-time data on your ad campaigns, in addition to the monthly reporting feature.
Most tech platforms stop there. We didn’t. We integrated humans back into the process. Why? Business development is tough, and we want to make sure you have someone to help you identify your goals and create action plans to solve them. From here, we build momentum by sharing your story across the web so the right people can find your “why you/why now,” learn about your brand and take action.
The Buzz Factory Process isn’t a one-time campaign. It’s a system designed to consistently attract, engage and convert the right audience over time. By combining content, amplification and data, Mainland creates a repeatable way to grow. Brands that follow this approach generate more than just leads; they build momentum.
To learn more about working with Mainland, visit https://hellomainland.com/.
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