“what they actually want is a fractional marketing director... somebody who has domain expertise or job function expertise while also being enough of a generalist to be effective in other parts of marketing... they need somebody to roll up their sleeves and like just create that social media content”

Hire fractional marketing directors, not CMOs

Bootstrappers keep hiring fractional CMOs and getting strategy decks when they need execution. Hire a fractional marketing director instead: a senior IC with deep expertise in one channel (SEO, content, paid) who can also run the rest competently and ship work. Find them on LinkedIn at the 5-7 year senior-manager/director level — they'll do the work, not just the deck.