Questions We Get Asked. Answered Honestly.

Straight answers. No jargon. No sales pitch. If your question isn’t here, book a free call and ask us directly.

About SparkStory

Who is SparkStory?

SparkStory Marketing was founded by Jennifer Christensen and Sara Jokela in Anchorage, Alaska. Jennifer co-founded Beacon Media + Marketing and scaled it to Inc 500 recognition three consecutive years before exiting in 2025. SparkStory brings that same enterprise-level strategic leadership directly to Alaska small businesses — powered by AI tools, at a fraction of traditional agency costs.

What makes you different from other marketing agencies?

Three things: (1) You work directly with senior leadership — Jennifer is your Fractional CMO, not a junior account manager. (2) We use AI tools to execute faster and more efficiently, which means lower costs without sacrificing quality. (3) We price for small businesses, not enterprise clients. A $10,000 website elsewhere is $2,000–$5,000 at SparkStory — and performs better.

Are you only for Alaska businesses?

Alaska is our home market and priority, but no — we serve national clients as well. Our strategies work regardless of geography.

Do you work with nonprofits and faith-based organizations?

Yes. We serve nonprofits and faith-based organizations with the same strategic rigor we bring to any business. We believe marketing can be both powerful and purposeful.

Pricing & Contracts

How much does a website cost?

$2,000–$5,000 depending on size and complexity. That’s significantly less than the industry average of $8,000–$25,000 because we use AI tools to work faster without sacrificing quality.

Do you require long-term contracts?

No. We earn your business every month. Our marketing partnerships are month-to-month.

What does the Complete Marketing Partner include?

Custom scope built around your goals. Typically includes Fractional CMO strategic leadership, website, SEO/GEO, paid ads, content, reporting, and ongoing optimization. Starts with a strategy session to define your specific plan.

Do you mark up ad spend?

Never. Ad spend (Google, Meta) is billed separately and goes directly to the platform. Our management fee covers strategy, setup, optimization, and reporting.

Can I start with just one service?

Yes. Many clients start with a website or a SparkSession and expand from there. There’s no minimum commitment beyond the project scope.

Process & Timeline

How quickly can you launch a website?

Most websites are completed in 7–30 days depending on scope and complexity. We’ll give you a clear timeline before we start.

How quickly can you launch a marketing campaign?

Full campaigns can be launched in as few as 21 days. Paid ads can be live within a week of strategy approval.

What does the onboarding process look like?

Step 1: Book a Spark Session or Strategy Call. Step 2: We build your custom growth plan. Step 3: We execute. You’ll have a clear scope, timeline, and deliverables before any work begins.

How do you measure and report results?

We tie everything back to business outcomes: leads, revenue, bookings, conversions — not vanity metrics. You’ll get monthly reports that show exactly what we did, what it cost, and what it produced.

Services

What is GEO optimization?

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your business to appear in AI-generated answers — from tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. As more customers use AI to find businesses, GEO is becoming as important as traditional SEO.

What's the difference between GEO and SEO?

SEO optimizes your website to rank on traditional search engine results pages (Google, Bing). GEO optimizes your business to be recommended by AI tools when customers ask questions. Both matter — GEO is the new frontier.

Do you manage Google Ads and Meta Ads?

Yes. We build, manage, and optimize both Google Ads and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) campaigns. Strategy-led, not set-it-and-forget-it. Every campaign is tied to clear business outcomes.

What is a Fractional CMO and why do I need one?

What is a SparkSession?

A Fractional CMO is a part-time Chief Marketing Officer — senior strategic leadership without the full-time executive salary. You need one because tactics without strategy waste money. Jennifer brings 20+ years of executive marketing experience directly to your business.

Still Have Questions?

Book a free strategy call. No obligation, no pressure — just a real conversation about your business.