Zach Gray - Your Fractional CMO

07/04/2025

🎉 Exciting Family News!

Our daughter London Rain is just 9 years old—and she’s officially a published author!

She’s always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt, hidden tombs, and epic adventures. Over the last year, she’s been working on her very first book, Zara Thorne – The Whispering Tomb, with a little help from Dad.

It’s an Egypt-inspired mystery for curious kids ages 8–13—full of secrets, puzzles, and brave discoveries. We’re offering the first two chapters completely free so anyone can try it out. The full digital book is just $9.

If you have kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, or friends who love reading—or you just want to support a young author’s dream—we’d love for you to check it out and help spread the word!

📚 Get the free chapters here:
👉 https://www.getclearframe.com/whisperingtomb-free



And follow London’s new Instagram to see her art, writing, and book updates:
👉 https://instagram.com/londonraingray

Thanks so much for supporting her big dreams and helping us share this adventure.

❤️ Zach

06/12/2025

My kids almost lost their dad.

In 2023, I had a random ache in my shoulder after the climbing gym.�
I figured it was nothing—old surgery pain flaring up.
But within 24 hours, I couldn’t sleep. Not because I wasn’t tired—�but because the pain was so intense, I thought about jumping out a window just to make it stop.

Over 9 days, I was sent home from three different ERs.�
Each one told me to “just see your sports doc.”�
Each one unknowingly sent me closer to death.

When my doctor finally ran bloodwork, he told me my white blood cell count was 50,000 (normal is 5,000).�
He looked me in the eye and said:
“If you don’t go to Vanderbilt Hospital right now, you’re not going to survive this.”

I had Sepsis. And I was dying.

I spent 7 days in the hospital.�
3 things happened that changed my life forever:
1️⃣ I called my mom—after 2 years of silence. She flew in the next day.�2️⃣ I feared I’d never see my kids again. The guilt of not doing enough as a divorced dad crushed me.�3️⃣ Thirty days later—still recovering—my new wife left.

And in that chaos, I had a moment of clarity:
👉 My life has to be simple.�👉 My priorities must be non-negotiable.�👉 My work has to support the life I want to build—not compete with it.

Mine are clear now:�God. My kids. My health. Then my work—which funds and protects the rest.

That’s why I left full-time roles and started clearFRAME.�
I serve as a Fractional CMO so I can do great work, live with purpose, and never miss the moments that truly matter.

If you’re feeling the nudge to reset or realign—listen to it.�
You don’t need a hospital bed to wake up.�But I did.

06/12/2025

This is excellent business growth advice. Leadership, hiring the right team members, knowing what their role is, and onboarding them properly is the key to legit growth.

06/10/2025

Two habits changed my career.
Not a secret formula. Not a stroke of genius.

Just this:
1. I became a relentless reader of business books.
2. I spent time learning directly from people who were already succeeding.

That foundation gave me everything I needed to grow—first as an entrepreneur, then as a marketing strategist.

Now, as a Fractional CMO, I do the same thing for my clients:
🔹 I don’t chase flashy tactics.
🔹 I study what works—from the smartest people in marketing.
🔹 Then I build predictable, proven marketing systems around their main offer.

Think Donald Miller, Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, Michael Gerber… I’ve taken their best thinking and built it into a guide you can actually use.

Grab my leak finder marketing guide to learn more.

https://www.getclearframe.com/leak-blueprint-free-guide

06/09/2025

🧠 Monday Marketing Minute - Clarity Beats Clever

Amy & Jordan didn’t grow their photo education business by being clever—they did it by being clear.

They didn’t say: “We help you become a better photographer.”

They said:
“Photographers struggle to pose couples comfortably. We teach you how to pose couples like a pro so you can capture beautiful, confident couples who love their photos.”

Clear problem. Clear transformation. Clear result. That’s how you win.

As Donald Miller says "Don't get cute. Be CLEAR"

It’s the first thing I fix in any marketing funnel. If your message is fuzzy, the rest doesn’t matter.

👉 Want to see how I do it? Grab the Leak Finder Blueprint eBook for free (link in comments)

06/06/2025

In 2016, my friend Cole took a live class I taught and turned it into an evergreen funnel.
Within 30 days, I was making six figures a month.

It blew my mind.

That single funnel was a complete system—a clear path that turned curiosity into conversion. And I realized: it was the exact same thing I’d built in my luxury wedding business. A well-built funnel isn’t just a marketing trick. It’s a map. A story. A bridge from chaos to clarity.

This insight has stuck with me ever since.

And it’s why I just launched clearFRAME—my Fractional CMO business.

Because here’s the deal:
Brands want to compete.
They believe in their product.
But marketing feels like a mess.

If you’re a business doing $500K to $5M, you probably can’t justify the cost of a full-time CMO. But you also can’t afford to keep guessing.

I’ve seen it over and over:

Wasted spend on random campaigns

Confusing messages that don’t connect

Teams stuck in silos, unsure what’s working

Owners buried in “ideas” instead of strategy

The cost of a chaotic marketing system isn’t just money.
It’s momentum. It’s energy. It’s missed growth.

That’s where clearFRAME comes in.
I help brands go from scattered to strategic.
From “what are we even doing?” to “this is working.”

Here’s what I believe (and build everything around):

Every Offer Needs a Funnel.
But not just any funnel. A clear system that moves people from Attraction → Engagement → Commitment.

I call this my Die-on-the-Hill Strategy—because I believe every business needs it to grow.

If you’re leaking leads and relying on a few disconnected tactics, this framework will help. And to make it easy, I wrote a short guide that shows how to spot the biggest leaks in your funnel.

It’s called the Leak Finder Blueprint.
It covers the 5 most common mistakes—and how to fix them like a pro.

No Sales pitch here. Just wanted to share what I’m working on and offer something useful in case it helps.

https://www.getclearframe.com/leak-blueprint-free-guide

Clarity is everything.
Marketing doesn’t have to feel like a gamble.

Let me know what you think of the framework. I’m always up for a good conversation about what’s working (and what’s not).

Discover the 5 biggest mistakes killing your marketing funnel—and how to fix them like a Fractional CMO would. Download the Leak Finder Blueprint now.

05/02/2025

🎥 Are you the go-to content person in your circle?

The one everyone calls when they need a killer reel, crispy talking head video, or scroll-stopping b-roll?

We’re looking for a hungry, talented creator (video + photo) to join our crew — someone who wants to shoot cool projects, work directly with a CMO, and grow with a fast-moving brand.

Think: high-end homes, behind-the-scenes access, creative freedom, and monthly paid work.

🔥 Potential to grow into a full-time role.
📍 Must be based near Nashville/Franklin, TN.

🎯 Know how to shoot for Instagram, YouTube, and short-form? Even better.

➡️ If you’re curious, click here for the full scoop: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VBlNpNpSom-dzStzMyC4teFqLfe7D7FBACubsUIOTXE/edit?usp=sharing

DM me or tag someone who needs to see this 👇

Freelance Content Creator / Videographer + Editor Southern View Development is looking for a social-first content creator who can shoot, edit, and deliver high-quality videos and stills that match the tone and polish of our brand: on Instagram. This is a paid, consist...

02/24/2025

Check out this podcast I was on talking about my love for telling stories of couples, and how to incorporate that into your business as the key product you offer your brides.

Zach Gray joins Jane in this episode of Focus on Business. Zach is a successful wedding photographer turned business coach. He shares his journey and insigh...

02/24/2025

Engagement Session in Boulder, CO with the Flat Iron mountains as our back drop!

This was a awesome session filmed for Westcott Lighting (check the video link to see me in action when we headed to location 2, shooting in this incredible canyon river. When I first posted it, it had over 700,000 views on FB)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLFvj6d0VEg

02/18/2025

If you are a and need an excellent resource to help you know when to do what in starting plan your wedding, grab my free guide (just click to download it without giving away your info)!

I have been shooting weddings for 17 years and this is going to help you know when to get things done to ensure you have a smooth day!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/157IyChFRxNE08PH2e74Pd8wOUWOUFF6g/view?usp=sharing

02/17/2025

I am excited to launch my new luxury wedding photography site for 2025!

Hey there friends!

I am Zach Gray, a luxury wedding wedding photographer who has been telling amazing stories since 2007.

Every single couple has something no one else has.... their unique story. How they met, why they fell in love, what their family means to them and why they chose to go ALL IN with one another and create and build a new life together.

Luxury wedding photography is not about price, but about finding the right person to tell that story in a way that let's the images speak directly to the heart of who you are as a couple.

I cannot wait to tell the next story and I am excited to connect with my next couple!

For Couples Who Believe in Love Documenting Luxury Weddings in Nashville, TN & worldwide. Featured and Worked With: I photograph luxury weddings, with a beautiful mix of real moments, romantic images, and incredible stylized portraits like few others can. ZG Couples Believe In..... Romance Zach Gray...