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Sarah Weise is a bestselling author, founder of the award-winning Bixa research studio, and has worked with some of the world's biggest brands. She recently turned her attention to the largest living generation, Generation Z, and her book, InstaBrain, is all about what makes them different and how to market to them. We covered: The definition of Generation Z Who are Generation Z and how are they different to Millennials Why it’s important not to generalize How parenting styles had an impact on Millenials and Gen Zers Why Gen Zers make good entrepreneurs Why marketers need to consider how Gen Z’s brains work in order to market to them properly Where companies go wrong when selling to Gen Z Which platforms Gen Z use and how they use them Resources: dscout InstaBrain book InstaBrain Free chapter  Zoom‍ Bixa Research   ‍

Hybrency founder, John James, believes that humans are the most important single reason businesses fail to thrive. But how do you weed out internal biases in your business?  As host of the podcast, Champagne Strategy, John specializes in deconstructing world-class strategies and growth marketing.  In this episode, he explains how to crush bias to enable your business to flourish. We covered: Looking at human biases from inside business Look at the areas where there’s no growth and that’s where you’ll find the biases Consider your business as a system Reductionism and what that means to your business Disproportionality bias. Where small little things can make a huge difference. What is the biggest mistake you're making right now that prevents you from growing further? How Steve Jobs and Apple gave marketing a bad name How to fight bias. Deconstructing a products layers to find its real value ‍Resources: Hybrency Champagne Strategy Gong.io Byron Sharp - How Brands Grow Byron Sharp - How Brands Grow 2 Maria Konnikova - The Biggest Bluff Brianbalfour.com  Reforge Brian Balfour - Growth Loops: The End of Traditional Funnels ‍

What is a go-to-market strategy, exactly? In today’s episode, we’ll define the term in details and dive into the real, actionable steps to design an effective go-to-market strategy. My guest today is Asia Matos, an early-stage startup marketing expert, and the founder and CEO of Demand Maven. We’re going to dive into what exactly is a go-to-market strategy, when you need one, and how to create one from scratch. We covered: What exactly is a go-to-market strategy? The difference between go-to-market strategy” and “marketing strategy” Signs that a company needs a go-to-market strategy The frameworks to start creating a go-to-market strategy Why is it important to have a “model-market fit” and “channel-market fit” A real-life example of model and channel market fit Why follow up questions is vital in customer interviews Using Objective & Key Results (OKRs) to translate customer interview into actionable steps Why targeting customers’ mindset is much more important than just aiming at demographics Biggest mistake companies made when creating a go-to-market strategy What marketers should learn in the next 5,10, 20 years Resources: Hull Flip My Funnel Hotjar Brian Balfour Growth Loops: The End of Traditional Funnels? Sean Ellis Motivo Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why it Matters Objective Key Results (OKRs) This is Marketing Buyer Persona: Your Guide to Create 100% Accurate & Detailed Ones Buyer Persona Institute Forget The Funnel Asia’s Twitter DemandMaven    

Khalid Saleh has a wealth of experience in conversion optimization, and it’s not as complicated as you might think. In fact, strip out the jargon and talk to customers like real people and you’re halfway there. But what is it that makes people convert from showing interest to finally buying?  We covered: When it’s ok to say no to business  What actually motivates people to do something The decision behind whether or not conversion optimization is right for your business Focusing on the psychological aspect of marketing and buying The number one method to use with your clients. Understanding the story behind a buyers purchase Interviewing buyers to get them back their mental state when they purchased the item If you think you know everything about your customers, you shouldn’t be in marketing Why you should avoid the jargon and learn to sell to humans Resources: Invesp Joanna Wiebe - 3 Steps to Write Copy That Converts The Road Less Stupid Invesp blog ‍  

You should be very familiar with my guest today.  As a serial entrepreneur, he’s founded and co-founded multiple companies over the past 20 years including, KISSmetrics and Crazy Egg. He’s now CEO of FYI, a solution for having all of your documents in one place. In this episode, Hiten talks about value proposition and why keeping it simple is the key to making it successful. We covered: The definition of a value proposition Thinking about people first and understanding what they want Examples of value propositions The three mistakes businesses make with their value proposition Understanding how people see your business in order to understand your value proposition Why the value proposition is in the eye of the beholder The first step to defining your value proposition Ensuring you able to deliver on your value proposition The importance of keeping what you do simple to understand Why you should consider the most unique thing that your business does Resources: Use FYI Crazy Egg Kissmetrics 

This is the second time Hillary Weiss has been on the podcast, and now she's newly retired from copywriting. Instead, she spends her time focusing on coaching for creatives.  In this episode, she takes us through the mistakes that people make when launching a product and shares steps for a successful launch, from pre-sale and beyond. We covered: The wrong ways to launch stuff. Common mistakes that people make when launching. Creating value with every email you send How to help people see things differently Seeing the launch as a fun creative challenge Why integrity and tech are the biggest issues when launching Hillary’s use of social media during a launch Why a small following that engages is better than a huge list What is the messy brain problem and how to deal with it Don’t do tons of stuff. Focus on one thing and do it well The importance of the pre-sale Strategy after the pre-sale Picking the right kind of fights Resources: Andre Chaperon: Sphere of Influence Tyler J McCall Tarzan Kay Convert Kit Hamyaw Theagensh

I recorded this episode at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, and like many of us, you may be struggling with the best way to approach the subject and other social issues in your campaigns. I’m not the best person to talk about this subject, so I invited the multi-award winning businesswoman Flavilla Fongang onto the podcast. Flavilla is an expert on the subject and she discusses how you can tackle issues while still coming across as authentic. We covered: The biggest mistake you can make is thinking of social issues as trends Great brands are ones that can make a difference and not just sell their products Align your brand with a social issue and focus on impact KPIs not marketing KPIs If you are a small brand, start with your local community The top two mistakes that brands make when dealing with social issues You don’t have to comment on every social issue. Choose your focus and stick to it. How to ensure that every employee is on board with the focus and implements it Why management should be a two way system What do impact KPIs look like for each department in a large company Collaborating with a brand that is focused on the same social issues Create one campaign that is about impact and not directly about money. Resources: Tech Brains Talk  Start with the Why - Simon Sinek Blinkist State of Mind Series MakeLoveNotPorn Cindy Gallop Podcast Episode 2Bobs David Baker podcast episode 3coloursrule.com

Is your organization too afraid of trying new things? Do you have an idea for an experiment but are not sure how to pitch it to your boss? Let’s change that. My guest today is David Arnoux, Co-founder, and Head of Growth at GrowthTribe. In this episode, we talk about developing an experimental mindset, why visual storytelling is vital to get buy-ins, and how to run marketing and growth experiments to find huge wins. We covered: The symptoms of companies that are not experimenting enough What companies need to have in place before starting experimenting The danger of “growth for the sake of growth” The type of companies that David won’t train or work with Why experiment culture should begin with the mindset How to change the mindset in an organization Why visual storytelling is essential in presenting your experiments The single data source to help you pick the right ideas to run with A few examples of crazy experiments David ran David’s advice to aspiring marketers What David thinks marketers should learn for the next 5,10, and 50 years Resources: GrowthTribe CXL Booking.com Oracle Claire Suellentrop - Hot to Use Jobs To Be Done to Read Your Customers’ Minds Asia Matos - 5 Steps to Create a Go-to-market Strategy Stealing Fire by Stephen Kotler Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis Jeff Bezos’ 2018 Letters to Shareholders Smartcuts by Shane Snow Takeru Kobayashi (The Hot Dog Eating Contest Champion) Lean Analytics by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz Dave McClure Pirate Metrics The GROWS Process by GrowthTribe Hotjar The Brass Framework Occam’s Razor Wait But Why by Tim Urban OCEAN model / Big Five Personality Traits Sandra Matz Deep Work by Cal Newport Edward Bernays a16z podcast Lectures subreddit Growth Tribe Youtube channel David’s LinkedIn GrowthTribe Instagram

I've left my full-time job at Hotjar to fight marketing bullshit full-time with Everyone Hates Marketers.   In this episode, I explain my reasons behind this choice, why radically standing out is the antidote to bullshit, and what's next for you... and me!   As always, email me louis@everyonehatesmarketers.com if you want to chat.

So, you’ve spent time researching and writing your content, and now here comes the hard part - the pitch.  How do you get journalists and publishers to open your email, let alone read what you’ve written? My guest today is Amanda Milligan, and as an experienced growth and content marketing specialist, she knows her way around words. In this episode, Amanda shares insights on how to get your pitch noticed. She says that it comes down to just two things that, if done well, should get you noticed. We covered: What exactly is digital PR and why do it? Why no amount of promotion is going to salvage a bad piece of content How to be something remarkable, that people will care about Creating an element of surprise  How emotions play an important role in this field How Amanda comes up with her ideas Why you should be involved with a project from the beginning Answering questions to tell a new story How to spot worthy trends What you can do to ensure you have the highest chance of getting a reply from a journalist Resources: Fractl Travelmath Porch BuzzSumo Answer the Public HARO Exploding Topics Buzzstream Keyword Surfer Women in Tech SEO group

When Wes Bush left a job that he hated, he knew he had to pursue something that would give him the energy and drive to work at it consistently every day. Within three years of making that decision, he’d written a book, built a coaching program, and launched the Product-Lead Institute.  In this episode, Wes tells me how he got to that point in his career and the influences behind his decisions.  He also reveals his 16-step guide to building credibility. We covered: Why Wes treats his LinkedIn profile like a landing page What led him to launch his own business If you can build demand you can build any business How to discover what it is that you truly love to do The benefits of specialising in an area Doubling down on what gives you the most energy How Wes created and ran a course for the CXL Institute Why you need to pick a villain in marketing Mistakes he made when building his personal brand Resources: Product-Lead Institute Vidyard Eat Your Greens - Wiemer Snijders Key Person of Influence - Daniel Priestly  The Unique Ability - Julia Waller & Catherine Nomura Dilbert CXL Institute Gainsight PX Drift HubSpot

Benji Hyam is the co-founder of Grow and Convert, a content marketing agency that does things a little differently to other agencies. They identify pain points to drive content, conversation, and sales, which is something of a novelty in the world of marketing agencies. In this episode, I wanted to understand why lead generation was not a priority for marketing agencies, where Benji gets his ideas from, and how he creates high-quality content that converts. We covered: How most agencies are focussed on output of content not leads Why many agencies choose not to measure ROI Is content here to stay? Figuring out which channel is best to convey what you want to say How all content starts with the written word Why engagement begins with customer research  The impotence of doubling down on your strengths Tips for getting articles seen by the right people Short and long term tactics Resources: Grow and Convert Pain Point SEO: How to Produce SEO Content That Drives Conversions SaaS Content Strategy: How We Scaled Leadfeeder's Signups to Over 200/month B2C Content Marketing: How We Grew a B2C Blog to 70,000 Pageviews in 14 Months Become a Top Content Marketer Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill The Lean Startup - Eric Ries Contagious - Jonah Berger Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

It's been approximately four months since Justine Jordan took on the role of Head of Marketing for Wildbit. In this week's episode, I challenged her to describe those formative weeks. I wanted to know how she worked, questions she asked, and did she have to compromise her beliefs? The result is an insight into how she immersed herself in the role and how she rejects short-term tactics in favor of long-term, brand-building activities. We covered: The benefits of building relationships to get the job you want Why and how you should build a trust bank Learn to shut up and listen more How marketers really can be customer first How patience can be a real strength in marketing Justine’s number one tip for uncovering pain points Why you have got to talk to people Read psychology books to better understand how humans work The definition of design thinking Resources: Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dunbar Drive by Daniel Pink MozCon Indie Hackers The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier Zag by Marty Neumeier Brand flip by Marty Neumeier Litmus Wildbit Postmark Seth Godin’s Marketing Secrets to Launching a New Business Edward Neuraumont - How to Stop Marketing With Your Ego Guillame Caban - How to Find the Right Growth Channels

In this episode, you will learn how to set up a one-year strategic marketing plan and lead your team to success. My guest today is Kevan Lee, the Director of Marketing at Buffer. Tune in to hear us discuss your big picture gameplan, how to lead a team effectively, and Kevan's personal career path. He reveals insight into the transition from content writing to strategy and what happened when he tried to take marketing shortcuts in the past. We covered: The difference between your company vision vs. strategy How Kevan created Buffer’s one-year strategic marketing plan Why step one of a marketing strategy starts with your purpose The powerful vision framework exercise for creating goals Which marketing channel is the number one driver for new signups How to determine which projects are your first priority Why marketers today should become multiskilled generalists Resources: Buffer Simplified One Page Strategic Plan for Every Team by David Cummings Vision Framework by Jim Collins The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman Reforge: Growth Programs for Experienced Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers Forget the Funnel by Georgiana Laudi and Claire Suellentrop KevanLee.com @KevanLee on Twitter Kevan on LinkedIn Mark Ritson: 4 Steps to Creating a Rock-Solid Marketing Strategy

There is no magic formula to helping your brand stand out amongst the crowd. But if there is one takeaway from today’s episode on how to get your brand noticed it is to take some fucking risks. Today’s guest, Paul Mellor, founder, and design director at Mellor & Smith, shares with us why their brand and ad agency is successful by keeping it simple, breaking the rules, and you guessed it, taking fucking risks. We covered: Why companies struggle to get noticed and the research that backs it up Creativity should inform the tactics not the other way around How Innocent Smoothies set themselves apart with a simple marketing idea The first step Paul and team when working with a new client Why actual consumer observation is more valuable than any other consumer information Why it is easier to get noticed in the B2B world rather than the B2C world The marketing world needs more troublemakers Why Mellor & Smith only presents one idea to their clients Talented team members outproduce proprietary systems The “Yes, and...” Technique Why the best ads all have one common theme The reason Mellor & Smith got rid of 70% of their clients after 5 years Resources: Mellor & Smith Take Fucking Risks Events Ryan Wallman Twitter Innocent Smoothies David Abbott Mark Ritson: 4 Steps to Creating a Rock-Solid Marketing Strategy Dave Trott Dave Dye Vikki Ross Paul on LinkedIn

Growing your audience faster, storytelling that informs your prospects, and moving your customers down the sales funnel -- these are just a few benefits of video marketing. In this episode, Chris Savage from Wistia joins us to chat about building an audience with video (starting from zero). We covered: The truth behind the rise of video and its true power in marketing What happens when you find the spot where customers get stuck in your funnel How to create a compelling storyline that makes your audience problem-aware Why you should turn to your best customers for help identifying your mission The difference between what your product does and what your mission entails Getting clear with your metrics up front when you’re building an audience with video How to use metrics to help leadership understand the risks that you're taking Why you should pay attention to how media companies market their content Resources: Wistia One, Ten, One Hundred Series by Wistia ProfitWell Masters of Doom by David Kushner Good to Great by Jim Collins The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy @csavage on Twitter Savagethoughts.com Why Marketing Storytelling Matters Now More Than Ever

Is keyword research still relevant to SEO? Do backlinks matter anymore? Find out the answer in today's episode. My guest is Tim Soulo, the CMO and the Head of Product Strategy at Ahrefs. Listen in as we deep dive into the technical side of ranking higher on Google -- and exactly how to approach keyword research right now. We covered:  Why keyword research is still important for SEO campaigns The major disadvantage of using free tools for keyword research What “seed keywords” are and how to find them for your niche Why Google ranks nearly identical pages for multiple relevant queries The absolute best thing you can do during the keyword research phase When the keyword difficulty metric won’t help you rank #1 in Google Why unique linking websites add more value than the volume linking pages The truth about building backlinks in an ethical and nonaggressive manner Resources: Ahrefs - SEO Tools & Resources To Grow Your Search Traffic Ahrefs.com/Tim Ahrefs Academy: Blogging for Business @TimSoulo @LouisSlices How to Increase Organic Traffic: 7 No-Fluff, Practical Methods

Does your sales process line up with your buyer's journey? In this episode, you'll learn why addressing your customer's concerns during the buying experience can reduce friction and boost conversions. Tune in as I chat with Barron Caster, the Director of Growth at Rev. He reveals the methods his team used to triple Rev's conversion rates over the last three years—and how you can become a better marketer by applying these principles to your business. We covered: Why inexperienced marketers focus on selling the product features Where to get started with identifying your customers’ concerns Barron’s favorite place to find out how to improve conversion rates What happens when you only focus on the leads who don’t convert The surprising reason why you can’t rely on accurate tracking data Exactly what type of questions you should ask customers over the phone How to sort through your research data (and create a hypothesis) The pros and cons of running A/B tests individually vs. group testing Resources: Rev.com Hotjar Mixpanel Hiten Shah Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder Scientific Advertising Influence by Robert Cialdini How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie barron@rev.com How to Convince People to Buy (Without Being Pushy)

It can be intimidating when it’s time to launch a new product for your business. Tom Morkes joins the show to explain why a simple and straightforward approach will lead to a high converting marketing campaign. Tom has helped over 100 companies grow their traffic, leads, and sales using his own launch methodology and in this episode, shares the four steps you must execute before launching your product. We covered: The biggest mistake Tom sees businesses make during product launches How to set realistic expectations for your product launch Tom’s thoughts on email marketing and why it is key to a successful product launch Why you shouldn’t try to convince your audience they need your product Keeping your message straightforward and simple A simple process Tom uses to identify his audience’s problems How to identify, develop, and utilize strategic partnerships during your launch Tom’s “slide-in” approach to developing relationships Why effective story-telling is important when developing relationships Resources: Tom’s Website Insurgent Publishing Teachable Right Message Ash Maurya John Lee Dumas Seth Godin on Everyone Hates Marketers 80/20 Principle with Perry Marshall Infostack Humble Bundle AppSumo Contactually Andre Chaperon on Everyone Hates Marketers

It’s time to get customer-obsessed. Katelyn Bourgoin, the three-times founder, turned growth geek joins the podcast to explain the importance of using customer research to figure out what triggers customers to buy. We discuss the processes Katelyn uses to help companies understand what their customers are trying to achieve, and what barriers are stopping them from achieving it, so they can design better products market them more effectively. We covered: Why it’s important to understand what triggers your customers The reasons why some marketers may be feeling overwhelmed Social Media’s draining effect on Katelyn The first question Katelyn asks her new clients when starting customer research How the startup world taught Katelyn the importance of customer discovery The steps it takes to develop your customer’s persona Why understanding your customer is more than gathering demographic and firmographic information How to disrupt the Super Mario power upmarket Don’t forget about the importance of the functional side of your product Identify your customer’s challenges with their current solution Katelyn’s thoughts on one-on-one customer interviews One of Katelyn’s favorite sayings when conducting interviews How to make sense of the customer information you’ve gathered Resources: Katelyn’s Website Katelyn on Twitter What is a martech stack? Strategyzer Cerner Basecamp Wrike Hotjar Katelyn’s Forget the Funnel Webinar Dovetail App Airtable Katelyn’s Research Template Atomic Habits - James Clear CXL Blog