That's Marketing, Baby

As the Associate Director of Content & Campaigns at Goldcast, Lindsay McGuire's days are spent overseeing and creating content about how marketers can use events as a top revenue-driving channel. And believe you me, she practices what she preaches. In this episode, Lindsay shares with Jess: * Her transition to Goldcast and marketing to marketers (00:02:26) * How she juggles and differentiates multiple event series for varied audiences (00:06:15) * Ways to engage live event audiences that spark stories, social proof, and future content ideas (00:12:50) * The importance of engaging with an event audience BEFORE an event (00:17:33) * Adopting a video-first mindset and the ease of converting video content into text assets (00:19:47) That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule [https://www.ercule.co/] and their free SEO tool, ottimo [https://app.ercule.co/]. Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves [https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up], the official newsletter of That's Marketing, Baby.

Low-hanging fruit is great. But sometimes, you need a high-effort, high-impact program to make a splash in the market. In this episode, Susan and Jess share their top big-whale marketing efforts that actually pay off — and WHY they're worth the investment. Referenced in the show: Descript explainer video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl9wqNe5J8U] That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co [https://www.ercule.co/]) and their free SEO tool, ottimo (ottimo.cool [https://app.ercule.co/]). Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves [https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up], the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter.

What would you do if ... - You see an uptick in organic traffic, but not conversions? - Someone asks, "Should we bid on our own branded keywords?" - You have multiple products and personas, but a small marketing team? - You want to try to replicate some of your LinkedIn ads success on Facebook? In this episode, Susan and Jess throw these hypothetical marketing situations at each other and talk through the best ways to handle them. That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com). Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up

Alexa Kilroy — the Director of Marketing at Stay AI, and former Head of Brand at Triple Whale — has a consistent, tenacious grip on what's new, what's working, and what's not in the world of DTC and e-comm marketing. She joined Jess on the pod to talk about: * Her non-linear path from high school teacher to tech marketer * The marketing tactics that are working for Stay AI right now * Why interactive content needs to be part of your marketing mix * How to quickly test if a big bet will pay off or not * What standout ad creative really means * And why relying on atypical results in case studies can actually backfire

We all want to be one of the rockstars in our marketing org. Someone who operates with confidence, and knows the next right step. The person who knows how best to work with everyone, who everyone wants to work with. In this episode, Jess and Susan share the 4 skills they feel: 1) make you stand out from the rest of the marketing team, and 2) signal that you're ready to level up in your role — no matter where you sit in marketing. That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com). Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up

Amrita Mathur is a badass. As the VP of Marketing at ClickUp and former VP of Marketing at Superside, she knows exactly what it takes to grow teams and revenue at high-growth, high-value startups. After Wayne-ing and Garth-ing out a bit (we're not worthy!) Jess and Susan chatted with Amrita about: * Her 30/60/90 plan at ClickUp [4:37] * Why every marketing team needs someone with an economist's brain [10:33] * Why Payback Period is her one metric to rule them all [12:44] * How she thinks about pipe and fuel instead of  organic and paid [22:30] * How her team at Superside balanced quality, creativity, and speed  [24:35] * Where to begin with content when you're starting from nothing [31:39] * What to do when a program fails [39:13] That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com). Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up

Susan and Jess have made a lot of mistakes in their day. In this episode, they share the email marketing no-nos they've learned the hard way, so you don't have to.  You'll hear: * How to find your brand's most performant frequency * Why you don't want as many people on your email list as possible * How the right sender can boost your open rates * The big difference between B2C and B2B email tactics That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com). Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up

Our first guest of season two is the inimitable Mike King. As one of the world's foremost authorities on all things SEO and generative AI, Mike came to school us on: * The disconnect between Google and SEO tools [00:04:10] * The importance of focusing on user needs and creating content that aligns with different stages of the customer journey, rather than solely targeting specific keywords [00:10:31]  * 3 powerful pieces of low-hanging SEO fruit marketers should pay attention to, but don't [00:16:39] * 2 simple ways to construct better prompts (plus the outsized impact of a MEGA PROMPT) [21:07] Mike King on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkingphilly/ AIPRM: https://www.aiprm.com/ iPullRank: https://ipullrank.com/ The Science of SEO on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Science-SEO-Decoding-Search-Algorithms/dp/1119844835 That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com). Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up

The paid influencer trend is steadily making its way into the B2B space — and that's a good thing! Spreading the word about your brand and product is much more powerful coming from a trusted human than it is a faceless company page. In this episode, Susan and Jess discuss: * How to Identify and work with the people inside your company who have credibility and expertise in your brand's space. * How to find and partner with those outside your company whose following and POV align with your brand's. * What influencers — internal and external — need from you in order to create the most persuasive content possible. That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com). Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up

Jess and Susan get real meta with their season 2 opener. This episode is all about launch day — what to do before, during, and after a product launch to make as impactful a splash as possible.  You'll hear: * How to make sure your launch message will resonate BEFORE you spend a single dollar on media * Why a creative centerpiece can help make it look like you're EVERYWHERE * How to use first-party research to support your product launch * Why your paid ads and your landing page should be a matching set That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com). Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up

They're baaaack!  After taking the summer off to feed their kids no less than 47 snacks a day, Susan and Jess are back on the mic — and ready to dish on all things B2B marketing — starting Monday, September 11.

Season One Finale: In this final installment of a 3-part series, Jess and Susan address the final thing: When do you admit content is NOT working? Often we see so many places give up on content too soon, but of course, not all marketing works. So if we have to wait so long to know if our content is doing anything...how do we know when it's definitely not? Make sure to check out the first 2 installments of this 3-part series, where Susan and Jess broke down arriving at an answer around content performance they feel confident in. Part 1: Short-term metrics to keep your eye on Part 2: Long-term feedback loops to build with sales

How do you know if your content is actually moving the needle? In this day and age of measuring ALL OF THE THINGS, attribution is still an educated guess at best. Which makes the answer to this question quite the enigma. In this 3-part series, Susan and Jess break down how they arrive at an answer around content performance they feel confident in. Part 1: Short-term metrics to keep your eye on Part 2: Long-term feedback loops to build with sales Part 3: When to make the call on doubling down or moving on

How do you know if your content is actually moving the needle? In this day and age of measuring ALL OF THE THINGS, attribution is still an educated guess at best. Which makes the answer to this question quite the enigma. In this 3-part series, Susan and Jess break down how they arrive at an answer around content performance they feel confident in. Part 1: Short-term metrics to keep your eye on Part 2: Long-term feedback loops to build with sales Part 3: When to make the call on doubling down or moving on

Ah, the home page. Your brand's single biggest opportunity to present itself to the world. And, as marketers, one of our biggest opportunities to affect growth. (Which is why we find updating it in any way daunting.) In this episode, Jess helps take some of the home page scaries away with: - The 4 sections every home page needs - Why you should test having 2 CTAs - 3 tips for crafting truly great home page copy BONUS — Get your copy of Jess's course, Home Pages for Humans: https://jesscookcontent.gumroad.com/l/home-pages-for-humans 🕵🏻‍♀️ Psssst ... Get 10% off with promo code: YEAHBABY

Our very first guest is here! It's Justin Dunham, Founder of content strategy and SEO agency Ércule. Justin is an SEO wizard who cares about the nitty gritty SEO details so his clients can pay attention to the big picture stuff. We chatted about: * Why SEO is absolutely a revenue lever and how to treat is as such * What marketers do that makes him want to rip is hair out * What marketers do that he wishes others would catch onto * Ottimo — Ércule's app that translates confusing GA data into usable insights for marketers (You can use it for free at ottimo.cool.) You can find Justing on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwdunham

Expected to do a lot with a little?  In this week's episode, Jess and Susan discuss how you can make your brand look bigger and operate efficiently, even if marketing budgets and resources are in short supply.

There are two types of people in your audience: those who know they have a problem and those who don't. Both can be great buyers. It's just a matter of how you approach them. In this episode of That's Marketing, Baby, Jess and Susan break down the difference between demand capture and demand gen, (with actual helpful examples!), why you need both, and how they work together to make you look like a marketing rockstar. Plus, weird fishing analogies!

Being realistic about your product's cost is crucial to being fair in your marketing investment.  In this week's episode, Jess and Susan break down the key factors that contribute to your marketing costs relative to your product price tag.

There are some organizations where marketing always faces an uphill battle. Getting buy-in from leadership is difficult and building trust is tough, no matter how much you strategize or plan ahead. Sometimes, with a bit of grit and education, marketers can overcome these obstacles. And sometimes, you're met with pushback at every turn. In this episode, Susan and Jess reveal: 🚩 The four red flags that can sabotage even the best marketing strategies 🤞 How to educate your team and (hopefully) eliminate these red flags 👋 When it's time to cut bait and hightail it outta there so your efforts can make an impact somewhere else