Marz (Marcelo Smith) — Founder of Fun Systems

About the author

Ten years of design, sharpened on contractor work.

I spent a decade designing brands and websites for businesses across a lot of industries. What kept catching my attention was the gap I saw in the trades: some of the best contractors I met had the weakest online presence. Their websites looked outdated. Their reviews were missing. New leads went unanswered for hours. Meanwhile, companies doing worse work were landing more jobs because they looked more credible online.

That gap is why Fun Systems exists — and it's the lens I write through. Every article on this site is grounded in the same systems I build for paying clients: contractor websites, missed-call text-back, database reactivation, review automation, lead-to-job pipelines. If something I write hasn't worked in the field, I don't publish it.

I'm based in the US, work directly with every Fun Systems client, and most contractor systems are live in under two weeks. You can reach me directly at marcelo@thisisfun.studio.

10+ years Designing for businesses

8 trades Specialized contractor expertise

13+ articles Published on contractor marketing

< 2 weeks Average system go-live

LinkedIn Instagram Facebook thisisfun.studio Email

What I write about

Five areas I'm in the weeds on, every day.

The list below isn't theoretical. Each one represents a system I build, debug, and run for contractor clients — which is why I can write about it with specifics, not platitudes.

Contractor websites that convert

What an after-hours homeowner needs to see in the first 5 seconds to pick up the phone. Layout, copy, proof, speed, and the design choices that separate "looks like an agency built it" from "looks like a brother-in-law built it."

Marketing automation for trades

Missed-call text-back, lead intake flows, appointment reminders, follow-up sequences. The plumbing behind the front-end — what to automate, what to leave human, and what most contractors are still doing manually that's costing them jobs.

Online reviews & reputation

Google, Facebook, BBB. How to ask, when to ask, what to say back. The two-step system that takes contractors from 12 reviews to 200 without anyone feeling awkward about it.

Local SEO & Google Business Profile

What actually moves the map pack for a residential service contractor in 2026. Reviews, recency, NAP consistency, GBP categories, service-area pages. Less guru, more execution.

Lead generation systems

The full stack from cold visitor to signed contract — paid + organic + reactivation + referral. How the pieces hand off to each other so leads don't fall through the cracks between marketing and sales.

Database reactivation

The single highest-ROI play most contractors aren't running: pulling money out of old customer lists with one well-timed campaign. Worked examples, copy templates, and the math on why this beats most paid ads.

How I write

Editorial standards.

Written from real work, not summarized from blog posts. Every article is grounded in systems Fun Systems builds for paying contractor clients. If I haven't shipped it, I don't write about it.
Stats and claims are sourced. When you see a percentage or industry statistic, it traces back to a named study, platform report, or first-party data from our client base. No vague "studies show."
No AI-written content. Articles are written and edited by a human (me). Tools may assist with grammar or research, but the thinking, the voice, and the recommendations are mine.
Updated when the platforms change. Google, Meta, and the tools we write about change frequently. Posts get reviewed and updated as the landscape moves — particularly anything covering ad platforms, schema, or local search.
Reachable for corrections. If you spot something wrong or out of date, email marcelo@thisisfun.studio. I read and respond personally.