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Job Title: Holmgard Marketing & Community Manager (Kai Mentora)

Location: Work from anywhere

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Employment Type: Part-Time Freelance Contract

3 days per week minimum, increasing with publishing, product and campaign spikes. Potential for growth into a full-time position.

Applications close Sunday 11 October 2026. Ideal start Monday 2 November 2026.

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Compensation

This is a paid freelance position at a rate of $40USD per hour, with a minimum commitment of 24 hours per week (equivalent to 3 days). We are particularly keen to work with someone who is already a fan of Holmgard Press and genuinely excited about our books and mission. There is clear scope to grow the role and increase the rate over time. A performance and compensation review will take place after the first 3 & 6 months, with the possibility of increasing hours, rate, and responsibilities based on impact.

Your time is split between two parts of our business – Holmgard Press & Holmgard Games – and the split will move week to week with the publishing and product calendar. The cost of this role is shared between the two companies, so we ask you to keep a simple record of hours by company and submit it alongside your invoice. A spreadsheet is fine. It takes a few minutes a week.

To be clear about what this is: it is an accounting requirement, not a surveillance exercise. Nobody is counting your minutes or auditing your afternoons. The split simply has to be roughly accurate, because two sets of books depend on it.

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About the Role

Holmgard Press and Holmgard Games are seeking a creative, data-minded marketing and community manager to build and lead our marketing engine, grow our community, and turn a deeply loyal fanbase into a thriving, engaged movement.

Holmgard Press publishes the Lone Wolf series, a beloved 42-year-old fantasy gamebook property with an extraordinary fanbase. Holmgard Games is our tabletop division, carrying that same world into board games, skirmish games and miniatures. Two companies, one universe, one marketing function. This role covers both, and you should read every responsibility below as applying to books and games alike.

We have grown revenue eightfold between 2019 and 2024 with essentially zero marketing spend. Everything has been organic and community-driven. Now we need someone to professionalise that effort and unlock the next phase of growth.

This is a rare opportunity to take ownership of marketing for a brand with remarkable fundamentals: a 49% repeat-purchase rate, over 14,800 newsletter subscribers and nearly 9,000 Facebook followers. The foundation is extraordinary and we have ambitious plans to activate the fanbase in ways that go far beyond conventional marketing. We are building an innovative grassroots ambassador and loyalty ecosystem that aims to turn our most passionate fans into a distributed sales and marketing force. You will play a central role in designing and leading that vision.

You will collaborate directly with Ben Devere, the Director of Holmgard Press and Holmgard Games, and work alongside our press and games teams to coordinate campaigns around the publishing and product calendar. Many of the roles and responsibilities listed below are shared, with freelancer and community volunteer support.

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A Word About Timing

The next twelve months are the most significant in this company's history. We have multiple book releases, three major games products moving out of development and into launch, a full website rebuild and relaunch, and crowdfunding campaigns to run. The specifics are shared under confidentiality at second interview. What matters now is that you understand the shape of the job.

This is not a steady-state marketing role and it is not a quiet quarter to settle into. It is the busiest year we have ever had, and we are hiring precisely because we cannot do it without someone whose whole job is this.

It may appear formidable – but you will be part of a Kai army.

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Your First 90 Days

The responsibilities below describe this role at maturity. They do not all begin at once, and we do not expect them to. Two things run from day one and simply keep running:

The channels stay fed. Regular social content across Facebook, Instagram and Discord, community questions answered, comments and mentions responded to. Nothing elaborate. Consistent.

The newsletter goes out fortnightly, without exception, from week three.

Alongside that, we want four things built in your first ninety days, roughly in this order:

1. Rework the post-purchase email sequence aimed at first-time buyers, and get it live.
2. Design, run and report on one lapsed-buyer reactivation campaign.
3. Get to grips with our advertising accounts. Audit what is already there, connect Shopify and Moosend properly, and build segmented and lookalike audiences from our existing customer list.
4. Run small, measured paid tests. Meta first, and brand-term search on Google. Modest budgets, clear reporting, the goal being to learn what a first-time buyer actually costs us rather than to scale spend.

Everything else in this document is deliberately parked until month four unless a launch date forces it forward. Launching us on TikTok or YouTube, building the ambassador leaderboard, the loyalty portal, the education strand: all of it matters, none of it is a month-two job. If you find yourself there early, something has gone wrong, and we will say so early and without drama.

We would rather you did a few things properly than everything adequately. Please do not read the length of this document as a list of things due in your first month.

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How We Will Judge This

Two things run from day one and simply keep running:

We review performance, rate and hours at three and six months. So that the review is an assessment rather than a negotiation, here is what we are measuring and where the numbers stand today.

Repeat-purchase rate. 49% of our customers have ordered two or more times. Target: 52% within twelve months.
Lapsed first-time buyers. 723 customers bought Book 1 on its own and never returned. Those who did return went on to spend an average of £187. Target: 15% of that group making a second purchase within six months.
Newsletter. Fortnightly cadence held from month two. Open rate above 35%, click-through above 3%.
Customer acquisition cost. Our working assumption is £10 to £15 to acquire a first-time buyer through paid channels. This is a hypothesis drawn from historical lifetime value rather than a proven figure, and establishing whether it holds is part of your first quarter. We will revise it together on the evidence.
Advertising. Accounts audited, audiences built, and a tested view of what a first-time buyer costs us. We are looking for evidence and a recommendation at three months, not scaled spend.

We will share the underlying analysis with you on day one. You will not be asked to hit numbers you cannot see.

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Key Responsibilities

Responsibilities that are shared are italicized and marked with an asterisk (*).

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1. Email Newsletter Strategy & Execution

Our newsletter is the single most important marketing channel. 67% of fans cite it as their primary source of Lone Wolf news (based on our 1,343-response fan survey). It currently goes out irregularly. Your job is to transform it into a strategic, scheduled, high-performing asset.

Develop and maintain a regular newsletter cadence (minimum fortnightly)
* Plan content calendars aligned to the publishing schedule, product launches, and community milestones
Build and optimise post-purchase email sequences to convert one-time buyers into repeat customers (our single biggest growth lever)
Segment and grow the subscriber list with lead magnets, PDF extras, and sign-up incentives around launches
Track and report on open rates, click-through rates, and conversion to purchase

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2. Social Media Content & Presence

This is not a maintenance role. Facebook is our second-largest channel (8.8k followers), Instagram sits at 3,600, and Discord is lively but in its early stages. We have no presence at all on TikTok, YouTube, or other platforms where the next generation of gamebook and tabletop fans are discovering new products. Your job is to grow and expand our social footprint, not just keep the lights on.

Create and schedule day-to-day social content across Facebook, Instagram, and Discord
Commission freelancers for larger creative assets (artwork reveals, video trailers, photography)
Maintain a distinct voice and visual identity for each platform while maintaining brand consistency
* Monitor and respond to community engagement; surface fan-generated content
Grow social followings as strategic priorities
Identify and establish Holmgard's presence on new platforms, particularly TikTok (BoardGameTok/BookTok) and YouTube, where fantasy, gamebook, and tabletop audiences are actively growing
Develop a short-form video strategy (TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts) to reach audiences beyond our core 35–55 demographic

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3. Launch Campaign Planning

Each product launch needs a coordinated campaign. You will own the full cycle:

Pre-launch: Build anticipation through teaser content, countdown sequences, cover reveals, and early-access offers
Launch: Coordinate newsletter, social, and paid ads to maximise first-week sales
Post-launch: Drive reviews, testimonials, and word-of-mouth; re-engage lapsed customers
Coordinate timing with the Press Manager and Games team to align campaigns with production milestones
* Co-plan & execute crowdfunding campaign marketing for games and miniatures lines. This is a big task for which we work with specialist agencies. It is very likely that you will be our main point of contact with the agency, rather than run the entire campaign yourself! That said, the opportunity to manage the campaign may be there if you are available on a full-time basis over the period of the campaign/s.

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4. PR, Outreach & Influencer Relations

We would rather you did a few things properly than everything adequately. Please do not read the length of this document as a list of things due in your first month.

Lone Wolf has a rich story and a passionate community, but almost nobody outside our existing fanbase knows we exist. A key part of this role is proactive outreach - getting Holmgard Press talked about, reviewed, and featured in the places our potential customers already spend their time.

Build and maintain a media and influencer contact list: YouTubers, TikTok creators, bloggers, podcasters, and journalists covering tabletop gaming, gamebooks, RPGs, fantasy fiction, and nostalgia/retro culture
Proactively pitch and build relationships with influencers and content creators for product reviews, unboxings, playthroughs, and features - not waiting for them to come to us
Secure coverage in relevant print and online publications: tabletop and gaming magazines, fantasy fiction outlets, hobbyist press, and mainstream media where appropriate (e.g. nostalgia/80s culture features)
Coordinate review copy distribution, press kits, and exclusive early-access opportunities for influencers and media contacts
Develop and manage an affiliate or referral programme for content creators, giving them a reason to talk about us consistently, not just once
Identify and pursue partnership opportunities with complementary brands, conventions, game cafés, hobby shops, and educational institutions
Monitor and respond to organic mentions of Lone Wolf across social platforms, forums (Project Aon, Reddit, BoardGameGeek), and media - turning existing conversations into relationships

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5. Community, Ambassador Network & Loyalty Ecosystem

This is where the role gets truly exciting.

Our recent fan survey drew 1,343 responses. 536 people volunteered for ambassador or affiliate roles and 413 said they would sign up for an official fan portal. That is stated intent rather than proven commitment, and finding out how much of it converts into real effort is part of the work. We believe a gamified loyalty ecosystem and an ambassador network could become one of the most powerful marketing channels in our business: a distributed force of passionate fans acting as Kai envoys in hobby shops, game stores, conventions and online communities worldwide. We do not know that for certain yet. You will help us find out, and we would rather hire someone who finds that exciting than someone who needs it to be already proven.

Your job is to help design it, build the first version, and launch it with a first cohort. You will own the programme's structure, incentives and recruitment.

One thing we want to be straight about: if the network reaches the scale we are hoping for, we expect to appoint a dedicated project manager to run it day to day, and to promote a senior coordinator from within the ambassador ranks. You would retain strategic ownership: the rules, the commission structure, the rank design, and keeping the programme aligned with launches. In other words: you build the machine and set its rules. You do not spend your days answering every ambassador's DMs.

* Design and launch the Wolfpack Ambassador Programme (Heralds of Magnamund): the structure, the onboarding process, the sales kit, and the recruitment of the first cohort from the 536 fans who have already volunteered
* Support the trade sales pack: tier structures, copy and creative direction for the materials envoys take into shops, and the communications that go around them
Build the envoy recruitment funnel from the 536 fans who have already volunteered: application, vetting, onboarding and first-mission briefing
* Work with the operations team on how stock reaches envoys and what trade terms apply, so that what marketing promises matches what logistics can actually deliver
Build the commission and incentive structures that reward ambassadors for real-world results: getting Lone Wolf stocked in hobby shops, running demos, promoting at conventions, and generating sales
Develop the gamified engagement mechanics: leaderboards, missions, achievement badges, ranks, and competitive elements that keep ambassadors motivated and create healthy rivalry
Co-develop the fan loyalty portal alongside our technical team: a digital hub where fans earn rewards, unlock exclusive content, participate in polls and contests, and progress through ranks tied to their engagement and purchases
Identify and develop the programme's first coordinator from within the ambassador ranks, and design the handover so that day-to-day management transitions smoothly once the network reaches scale
Retain strategic ownership after handover: review commission rates, mission design and rank progression quarterly, and keep the programme aligned with launches and campaigns
* Manage and grow the official Discord server and Facebook community groups
* Plan interactive fan engagement activities: contests, polls, trivia, community-driven story development, and art showcases

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6. Paid Advertising

Manage a small but focused paid ads budget to support launches and drive acquisition.

Run targeted ads around product launches and key campaigns
Build and test lookalike audiences based on the existing customer email list
Target demographics: 35–55, fantasy/TTRPG/gamebook/80s nostalgia interests
Track and optimise ad spend against customer acquisition cost (working assumption: £10–15, to be tested)
Report monthly on ad performance and ROAS

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7. Data, Reporting & Optimisation

Provide a concise monthly marketing report covering channel performance, subscriber growth, campaign results, and community metrics
Analyse Shopify customer data to identify opportunities (e.g. lapsed buyer reactivation, bundle optimisation, free shipping thresholds)
Participate in biweekly video calls to report on progress and discuss strategy

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8. Commercial Experiments & Customer Value

We know where our money leaks. Roughly half our customers order once and never return. 723 people bought Book 1 on its own and never came back, and the ones who did return became fans. Closing that gap is worth more to us than any new-customer campaign we could run.

Own the lapsed-buyer problem: design and run reactivation campaigns against our one-time buyers, and report on what actually converts
Propose and test free-shipping thresholds by territory, and measure the effect on average order value
Build and test bundles: starter sets, catch-up bundles for the backlist, and cross-sells between the books and the games
Test low-cost add-ons at checkout as basket-builders
Work with us on whether a continuity or membership model makes sense for our most committed collectors, who already behave like subscribers

To be clear on the boundary: you will not own pricing, shipping rates or fulfilment. You will own the proposals, the tests and the evidence, and we will make the calls together.

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9. Education, Libraries and Access

Alongside the commercial work, we are building a strand of the business around schools, libraries and access to reading. It matters to us personally. It is not a public relations exercise and we would rather not hire someone who treats it as one.

The thinking so far includes donating full sets to school libraries that ask for one, funded by an optional contribution at checkout; a teacher's guide built around Book 1 so schools have a reason to buy class sets; ambassador missions that get Lone Wolf requested at local libraries; a more accessible edition of Book 1; and a small ring-fenced fund that buys sets for schools and youth groups who cannot afford them.

Gamebooks suit plenty of readers who find conventional novels heavy going. You set your own pace, you choose what happens next, you re-read as much as you like, and the structure carries you through. We want to make that easier to reach. We also want to talk about it carefully: claims about who benefits and how are made by teachers, librarians and partner organisations, not by us in a marketing campaign. Any partnership with a charity or educational body is led by Ben and agreed in writing before anything is published.

Your part is the campaign craft: the checkout mechanic, the teacher-facing materials, the ambassador missions, the storytelling around all of it, and looking after the schools and libraries who get in touch. If this is the part of the job that makes you sit up, tell us so in your application.

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10. Innovative Promotions & Event Planning

Some of our best marketing will not look like marketing. This is the part of the role where we want ideas we have not thought of, and it grows as the rest of the engine steadies. It is not first-quarter work.

Develop promotional formats that suit a collector audience: subscription boxes, limited and numbered drops, catch-up bundles, and mechanics that reward the fans who buy everything
Plan our presence at conventions and trade shows, both consumer-facing and trade, and work out which ones are worth the cost before we commit to any of them
Design pop-up events and retail activations, including demo days in hobby shops and game cafés, coordinated with the envoy network so the two do not collide
Build campaigns around anniversaries and publishing milestones. Lone Wolf is forty-two years old and the series has a calendar of dates worth using
Run online events that need no travel budget: live playthroughs, author and artist sessions, community question-and-answer calls, and contests tied to launches
Identify and pursue collaborations with complementary brands, game cafés, hobby shops and conventions
Submit our books and games to relevant industry awards, and manage the entries. Earned credibility is cheap and we do not currently chase it

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Required Skills and Qualifications

Tabletop Gaming or Fantasy Community Experience: Previous work in tabletop gaming, RPGs, board games, or fantasy fandom communities is essential. You must understand this audience intuitively, not just market to them.
Email Marketing Expertise: Demonstrated experience building and managing email campaigns, segmentation, and automated sequences. Experience with platforms such as Mailchimp, Moosend, or similar.
Social Media Management: Proven ability to grow and manage social channels, particularly Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok
Short-form video content creation (Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts) is increasingly important: BoardGameTok and BookTok are thriving discovery channels for our audience.
Creative, Outside-the-Box Thinking: We are not looking for someone who runs the same playbook as everyone else. We want a creative thinker who can devise unconventional, attention-grabbing campaigns: guerrilla marketing, viral moments, unexpected partnerships, and bold ideas that punch above their weight. A small brand with a passionate niche audience can outperform much larger competitors with the right creative approach.
PR and Outreach: Experience pitching to media, building influencer relationships, and securing earned coverage. You should be comfortable cold-emailing a YouTuber with 100k subscribers and making them excited about Lone Wolf.
Modern Channel Fluency: You should be comfortable across the current marketing landscape, including TikTok (BoardGameTok and BookTok are major discovery channels for our audience), YouTube Shorts, Reels, influencer and creator partnerships, UGC strategies, and emerging platforms. Our core audience skews 35–55, but the next generation of fans is being discovered through short-form video and creator content.
Content Creation Skills: Strong copywriting ability and basic graphic design skills (Canva, Adobe Suite, Leonardo.ai, or equivalent). You’ll create day-to-day content yourself and commission freelancers for larger assets.
Paid Ads Experience: Hands-on experience running Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ad campaigns. Experience with TikTok Ads Manager, Reddit Ads, or Google Ads is a strong plus (particularly Reddit, given how well subreddit-level targeting suits a niche hobby audience).
Data-Driven Mindset: Comfortable working with Shopify analytics, email platform reporting, and ad dashboards. You should be able to tell a story with numbers and make decisions based on data.
Community Building Experience: Experience building or managing ambassador, loyalty, or fan programmes. Understanding of gamification mechanics (points, ranks, leaderboards, achievements), affiliate/commission structures, and community-driven marketing.
Proficiency in Google Drive: Comfortable using Google Drive, Docs, and Sheets for file management, reporting, and collaboration.
Passion for the Lone Wolf Universe: A genuine interest in the world of Lone Wolf, fantasy gamebooks, or tabletop gaming is a significant plus. Familiarity with comparable brands (Free League, Games Workshop, Chaosium) is valued.

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AI Proficiency (Essential)

We are a small team that punches well above its weight, and AI is a force multiplier we take seriously. We expect this person to be proficient, not just familiar, with the current generation of AI tools and to actively integrate them into their daily workflow. Specifically:

Content & Copy: Proficient use of LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude) for brainstorming campaign ideas, repurposing content across formats, and accelerating research. You should know how to prompt effectively and edit AI output to maintain brand voice.
Visual & Video: Experience with AI image generation tools (Midjourney, DALL-E, Adobe Firefly) for concept art, and mood boards. Familiarity with AI video tools (HeyGen, Lumen5, Runway) for creating short-form video content at speed.
Automation & Workflow: Comfortable using AI-powered automation tools (Zapier, Gumloop, or similar) to connect marketing workflows – email triggers, social scheduling, data sync between Shopify and email platforms. You don’t need to code, but you do need to think in systems.
Ads & Analytics: Awareness of AI-driven ad optimisation (Meta Advantage+, Google Performance Max) and AI analytics tools for customer segmentation, send-time optimisation, and campaign performance analysis.

Mindset: Above all, we want someone who actively seeks out new AI tools, experiments with them, and finds ways to make a two-person marketing operation perform like a team of twenty. If you’re the kind of person who reads about a new tool and immediately thinks ‘how can I use this?’ – you’re our person!

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One Boundary, Stated Clearly

Our visual identity is our artwork held under licensing agreements, and our audience is a tabletop and gamebook community that cares a great deal about who made the art, as do we!

We support real artists.

AI is welcome in this role for drafting, ideation, research, workflow automation, analysis, moodboarding and internal working material. AI-generated artwork does not go into our visual identity or in front of a customer without written sign-off from Ben.

This is a brand and licensing judgement rather than any squeamishness about the technology.

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Nice to Have

Experience marketing crowdfunding campaigns (Kickstarter, Gamefound, BackerKit)
Experience in publishing (books, print, editorial calendars)
Shopify marketing tools, loyalty/rewards platform experience (e.g. GamiPress, Smile.io, LoyaltyLion), or app ecosystem knowledge

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Perks and Highlights

Early Access to Products: Receive complimentary advanced copies of all Holmgard Press releases, including limited editions and special merchandise.
Insider Knowledge and Influence: Access exclusive information on our publishing schedule, growth strategy, and game development plans. Contribute your input to commissioning decisions and product direction.
Growth Potential: This role has clear potential to expand as the business grows. A performance-based variable compensation component will be reviewed after the initial 3-6 month period.
Shape the Brand: You will be the first dedicated marketing hire for a 42 yr-old brand that’s grown 8x in five years with no marketing spend. You won’t just be running campaigns, you’ll be co-designing a grassroots ambassador and loyalty ecosystem from the ground up. If you are the kind of person who gets excited about building something new, blending community-driven marketing with gamification and real-world fan activation, this role offers a rare creative canvas.

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Canon, Brand and Sign-Off

Lone Wolf has forty-two years of published continuity and a readership. Getting the lore wrong in public is the quickest way to spend the goodwill this brand runs on, and it is an easy mistake to make in your first months.

So: every factual claim about Magnamund that goes out publicly is checked before it is published. Our editorial and community lead is your first stop on lore and community questions. Final approval on brand, tone and canon sits with Ben.

Within those lines you have a great deal of freedom, and we would much rather you moved fast and asked than moved slowly and guessed.

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Contract Terms

Engagement: self-employed freelance contract. We are planning around an initial six-month engagement, with a four-week notice period on either side once the trial month is complete.
Trial month: the first month is a paid trial at the full rate, reviewed at the end of it by both sides. If it is not right for either of us, we part cleanly and everything worked is paid for. We would rather find out in four weeks than four months.
Hours: minimum 24 hours per week, increasing around launches and campaigns. Work the hours that suit you. We ask for at least two hours of overlap with UK working time on at least two days each week, and availability for a biweekly video call. Exactly when those hours fall is flexible and depends on where you are based.
Rate: $40USD per hour, invoiced monthly with an hours-by-company breakdown. Reviewed at three and six months, with the possibility of increasing hours, rate and responsibilities based on impact. If you are based outside the United Kingdom we will agree a fixed rate in your local currency at the outset, so that you are not exposed to exchange rate movement.
Status: you are responsible for your own tax and social contributions in your country of residence, and you must be able to work on a self-employed basis where you live.
Intellectual property: work created for Holmgard Press and Holmgard Games during this contract belongs to the companies. Standard for a role like this. It means Lone Wolf creative is not re-used elsewhere, though you are very welcome to show the work in your portfolio.
Confidentiality: you will see unannounced books, unannounced games, production schedules and commercial data. A confidentiality agreement is signed before your first day.
Dates: applications close Sunday 11 October 2026. Ideal start Monday 2 November 2026.

If you’re a passionate marketer with a knack for community building, a love for fantasy worlds, and a desire to shape the future of Holmgard Press, we’d love to hear from you!

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How to Apply

Send your application to info@magnamund.com with the subject line "Kai Mentora Submission".

Please include:

Your CV or resume
A short cover letter: why this role, and why this brand
One example of a marketing campaign you have run, what you did, and what it achieved
Your LinkedIn profile or any other relevant professional profiles

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And two short tasks

Marketing for us is not one skill, so instead of one generic task we would rather see two shorter ones. Pick any two of the four below. Each should take you no more than thirty minutes. We read these before we read your CV.

A. Diagnose, do not pitch. Roughly half our customers buy once and never come back. Before spending a penny trying to fix that, what would you investigate first? Give us no more than five bullet points.

B. Show us your AI work. Give us one prompt you are proud of, the output it produced, and the one thing you changed before you would actually use it. We are less interested in which tool you used and more interested in how you think while using it.

C. Spend five hundred pounds. If you had five hundred pounds to spend across the channels described in this advert, how would you split it? One line per channel, one sentence of reasoning each.

D. Tell us what you would cut. Read the "Your First 90 Days" section above. If a launch forced your hand and you could only do two of the three things listed, which one would you drop, and why?

We are not looking for polish. We are looking at how you think. If the tasks are strong and the CV is thin, we will still want to talk to you.

We look forward to reviewing your application and learning more about how you can contribute to our team!

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