Claim OwnershipHuman-First AI Marketing Podcast by Avenue9
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Description
Discover how to harness the power of AI without losing the human touch. Hosted by Mike Montague, Founder of Avenue9, this podcast delivers actionable insights to help small and mid-sized businesses market like big brands. With expert interviews, relatable success stories, and practical tips, we show you how to amplify your marketing efforts with AI tools that enhance—not replace—human creativity and connection. Whether you're a business owner, marketer, or curious about the future of AI, this is your go-to guide for building smarter, more authentic marketing strategies.
Want to be a guest? Send Mike Montague a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1738519089289300a62eab036
83 Episodes
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Send us Fan Mail Most businesses are sprinting into AI, cranking out more content, launching more automations, and moving faster than ever. The problem is, speed doesn’t fix a broken foundation. In this episode, Mike Montague sits down with Carmela Fortin to unpack the “pre-AI layers” most teams skip; the human factors like clarity, alignment, buyer psychology, and real conversations that actually determine whether your marketing works. You’ll learn why more AI content often leads to fewer re...
Send us Fan Mail Most businesses are producing more content than ever… and getting less response. Why? Because somewhere between automation and scale, they lost the one thing that actually converts; their voice. In this episode, Mike Montague sits down with Rachel Minion to unpack the real challenge of marketing in the age of AI: how to grow without sounding like everyone else. From the “AI slider” between human and machine to the rise of robotic outreach and creepy personalization, this conv...
Send us Fan Mail Artificial intelligence is moving fast; faster than most business leaders realize. In this episode of the Human-First AI Marketing Podcast, Mike Montague sits down with AI researcher Dr. Craig Kaplan to explore what may be the next major shift in technology: the transition from AI as a simple tool to something closer to an intelligent entity. The conversation tackles the big questions people are asking right now: Will AI become smarter than humans? How quickly could that happ...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Raj Singh, VP of New Products at Mozilla, breaks down the “ownership economy”; a world where starting a business is getting simpler, faster, and cheaper because the builder toolkit keeps losing friction. You can spin up a real brand presence quickly, look professional early, and test ideas without burning months on dev or a big stack of services. Raj also gets blunt about what actually wins once “anyone can build anything”: trust and distribution. He ex...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Human-First AI Marketing® Podcast, Mike Montague sits down with Brett Farmiloe, CEO of Featured.com and Help a Reporter Out (HARO), to talk about the real PR opportunity most small and mid-market companies are missing in 2026. You’ll learn how getting featured in credible media outlets isn’t just great for brand awareness, but it’s also how you get cited in AI models, improve your SEO, and build the trust that drives high-value sales conversations. From...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Human-First AI Marketing® podcast, Mike Montague talks with Bryan Harris, founder of Growth Tools, about the fine line between automation and authenticity. Together, they explore how AI is transforming client acquisition, coaching, small business marketing, and why human connection is still the most valuable asset in your business. If you've ever wondered when to use AI and when to pick up the phone, this one’s for you. Bryan shares how Growth Tools us...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Human-First AI Marketing® Podcast, Mike Montague sits down with Mia Umanos, CEO of Clickvoyant and host of the AI Kid You Not podcast, to explore what AI means for both modern shopping and modern parenting. We cover everything from the surprising lack of optimization in e-commerce experiences, to how AI is rewiring our brains, and why that matters. You’ll hear practical insights for SMBs trying to compete in an AI-powered world, what frontier AI le...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Human-First AI Marketing® podcast, Mike Montague sits down with content marketing strategist and fractional CMO Charlie Van Derven to explore a simple but powerful truth: AI can help you scale—but it can’t build trust for you. Together, they dig into: Why high-trust services like financial advising (and any B2B sale that isn’t a click-to-buy) still demand real human connectionThe telltale signs of “AI Slop” and how to avoid sounding robotic onlineHow fi...
Send us Fan Mail What if you could plug your business into AI and instantly see where your next 10X opportunity is hiding? That’s exactly what Solomon Thimothy, serial entrepreneur and founder of ClickX, is doing for growing companies right now. In this episode, Solomon joins Mike Montague to unpack the new growth formula for modern marketers: data + focus + automation. They dig into why most small businesses are sitting on mountains of unused data, how to connect tools like HubSpot, Google A...
Send us Fan Mail What if your next big AI idea isn’t a product, but a responsibility? That’s the challenge Noelle Russell brings to this conversation. She’s an AI innovator who’s helped launch Amazon Alexa, led teams at IBM and Microsoft, and trained more than 3 million people in AI literacy. She's also the author of the hit book "Scaling Responsible AI: From Enthusiasm to Execution". Her message isn’t just about bigger, faster, or smarter technology; it’s about building AI systems that still...
Send us Fan Mail What happens when a technologist, artist, and optimist walks into an AI podcast? You get Christian Hammer, CEO of Ngentix, a longtime tech leader, and a humanist dropping wisdom on the balance between automation and authenticity. In this episode, Christian and Mike Montague talk about how businesses can actually trust automation, what makes AI systems reliable, and why most marketing automation tools still fall short. Spoiler: it’s not about more tools; it’s about smarter con...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Human-First AI Marketing Podcast, host Mike Montague sits down with Michael “Buzz” Buzinski, author of The Rule of 26 and host of the Buzzworthy Marketing Show. Together, they unpack what it really takes for small and midsize businesses to thrive in today’s AI-driven marketing world. From avoiding “random acts of marketing” to building scalable strategies, Buzz shares how SMBs can cut through the noise, optimize their websites, and focus on the metrics ...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Human First AI Marketing Podcast, host Mike Monague sits down with Jonathan Kvarfordt, Head of Growth at Momentum.io, to explore how AI is transforming the way SMBs approach sales, marketing, and customer success. From eliminating tedious CRM updates to capturing the authentic voice of your customers, Jonathan shares how AI tools can give go-to-market teams back their most valuable resource, time. You’ll hear how forward-thinking leaders are using AI no...
Send us Fan Mail What happens when small business owners and marketing leaders stop trying to do it all themselves? In this episode of the Human First AI Marketing Podcast, host Mike Montague sits down with Jaime Jay, founder of Bottleneck Distant Assistants, to explore the power of delegation in a world transformed by AI. Together, they explore the critical distinction between task delegation and establishing a true “delegation department,” the significant impact of turnover on business cost...
Send us Fan Mail What if AI wasn’t just another shiny object but a way to get back to what actually works in marketing? In this episode, Mike Montague sits down with David Berkowitz, founder of the AI Marketers Guild and author of The Non-Obvious Guide to Using AI in Marketing, to talk about how small and mid-sized businesses can avoid the trap of AI slop and instead use smart tools to create real connections, trust, and creativity at scale. Together, they unpack the risks of lazy automation...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Human First AI Marketing podcast, host Mike Montague sits down with Alexander Schlager, founder of Alceberg.ai, to unpack the hidden cybersecurity challenges lurking beneath the surface of AI adoption. From the rise of agentic AI to the evolving threat landscape of autonomous tools and prompt injections, this conversation goes deep into why observability, memory, and human-in-the-loop design are critical for keeping your brand and your customers safe. W...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Let the Robots Do the Work: Finding the Human Edge in AI Marketing, Mike Montague sits down with Chris Singel, AI Optimist, Delta Digital Agency owner, and TEDx speaker, to explore how small and midsize businesses can embrace AI without losing what makes them unique. From automating the “work that sucks” to unlocking new levels of creativity and strategy, Chris shares why the future isn’t humans or robots, but a powerful collaboration of both. Listener...
Send us Fan Mail What if you could automate 90% of your business without losing the human touch? In this episode, Mike Montague sits down with @BradfordSCarlton , founder of Automate Business AI, to explore what’s actually possible when small business owners and creators stop doing everything themselves and start building intelligent systems. From AI-generated content and task automation to building bots for invoicing and marketing, Bradford shares how he has designed a busines...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Human-First AI Marketing Podcast, Mike Montague sits down with AI strategist and founder of AIaSystem.com, @dustinjensen0351 , to explore how small and mid-sized businesses can harness AI to drive real business outcomes. From workflow discovery to the rise of AI agents that ‘close the loop’ on automation, Dustin shares frameworks, use cases, and practical advice for moving from curiosity to pilot implementation. You’ll also learn why cont...
Send us Fan Mail In this special episode celebrating #internationalpodcastday 2025, Mike Montague gathers top voices from the world of marketing, sales, tech, and strategy to answer one big question: What will sales and marketing look like 10 years from now? The answers might surprise you. From personal AI agents and decentralized trust systems to the rise of AI burnout among executives, this conversation explores the very real shifts happening now and how to prepare for what’s coming n...
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