Everything Is Marketing

Adam DuVander — Developer Marketing & The DEV Content Framework

Corey Haines — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 10:06:58 -0800

On the show today is Adam DuVander. Adam is the founder of Every Developer and author of Developer Marketing Does Not Exist.

I wanted to bring him on because developers are perhaps one of the most difficult segments to market to. How dev tools get discovered, trialed, and implemented are very unique to other software.

You'll hear about why content is at the heart of developer marketing, common mistakes made when marketing a developer-first product, and the parallels of developer marketing to no-code and web3.

Amanda Natividad — Permissionless Co-marketing, Product-Led Content, & Cold Email Outreach

Corey Haines — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 19:29:57 -0800

On the show today is Amanda Natividad. Amanda is the Marketing Architect at SparkToro and previously the Head of Marketing at Growth Machine.

I wanted to bring her on because Amanda is a prolific marketer with experience in content marketing across B2C brands like FitBit and Liftopia as well as B2B with Growth Machine and their client base. She's amassed a Twitter following of over 36k. And she's an expert in all things digital PR and content strategy.

You'll hear about the idea of permissionless co-marketing, product-led content, and how SparkToro is leveraging live Office Hours to move the needle on product adoption and retention.

Guillaume Moubeche — Bootstrapping to $10M+ ARR, Marketing Like a Media Company, & Positioning in a Crowded Market

Corey Haines — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 11:15:41 -0800

On the show today is Guillaume Moubeche. Guillaume is the founder of Lemlist, an email automation tool for sales.

I wanted to bring him on because Lemlist has managed to scale past $10M ARR in just a few years in a very competitive category. How? Exceptional marketing. Guillaume and the Lemlist team have built an impressive marketing engine by thinking like a media company. LinkedIn, YouTube, masterclasses, social media... they've found winning formulas for multiple channels.

You'll hear about how they've evolved their content with the LinkedIn algorithm, how they use paid masterclasses to acquire customers, and why they're investing in a video docuseries.

Bryan Wish — The Book Marketing Playbook, Partnering with Allen Gannett and Nir Eyal, & Marketing for Creators

Corey Haines — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 14:10:35 -0800

On the show today is Bryan Wish. Bryan is the founder of BW Missions, which works with creators and authors to scale their content and products.

I wanted to bring him on because Bryan has worked with high-profile authors like Nir Eyal and Allen Gannett. Successful book launches are great case studies for what successful marketing looks like. Bryan also has a lot of thoughts on the future of creators, content, and personal brands.

You'll hear about modern PR tactics, community building as a part of your marketing strategy, and how to make a book a best-seller.

Ran Segall — Building a $2M/yr Course Business, YouTube as Marketing, & Teaching Webflow

Corey Haines — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 13:36:56 -0800

On the show today is Ran Segall. Ran is the founder of Flux Academy, which offers courses on web design, freelancing, and Webflow.

I wanted to bring him on because Ran is one of the most successful course creators I know. Flux Academy does over $2M/yr in sales with a very small, lean team. And it all started with Ran's YouTube channel and running workshops at local tech meetups.

You'll hear about how Ran creates so much video content, how they've diversified channels across search, video, and social media, and his approach to course production.

Juliette Kopecky — Life of a CMO, Marketing in "Boring" Industries, & Interning with Guy Kawasaki

Corey Haines — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 15:46:45 -0800

On the show today is Juliette Kopecky. Juliette is the CMO at LinkSquares and previously the VP of Marketing at Talla.

I wanted to bring her on because LinkSquares is growing rapidly in the legal tech space and making a name for itself. They've been investing heavily into video content and taking a drastically different approach than their competitors and incumbents.

You'll hear about Juliette's career path and rise to CMO, how they pivoted and adjusted their marketing through the pandemic, and how to have fun with marketing in a boring industry.

Laura Lopuch — Cold Email Outreach for Marketers

Corey Haines — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 15:06:41 -0800

On the show today is Laura Lopuch. Laura is a sales email consultant, AKA the “Queen of Cold Emails.”

I wanted to bring her on because she’s one of the few cold email experts who actually show their work and provide tangible examples of what works. She’s written for Copyhackers and Unbounce as well as spoken at conferences like MicroConf and Shine Bootcamp.

You'll hear about email outreach common mistakes and how to fix them, tangible examples of how to use cold email for marketing, and Laura’s frameworks so you can craft your own high converting emails.

Conor Lewis — Raising $3.1M on Kickstarter & Community-Driven Product Development

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 15:25:34 -0800

On the show today is Conor Lewis. Conor is the founder of FORT, which creates magnetic pillow forts for kids.

I wanted to bring him on because Conor launched one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns out there. Not only was the campaign a massive success, but it was also a ground-breaking case study on community-driven product development. Conor has also been sharing everything he's learning about getting FORT off the ground on Twitter.

You'll hear about how he built an audience before Kickstarter, how he leveraged niche online communities during the pandemic, and what key factors made the campaign so successful.

Jake Thomas — $5k/mo Golden Retriever Blog, Studying YouTubers, & Learning SEO From Scratch

Corey Haines — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 16:04:46 -0700

On the show today is Jake Thomas. Jake is the creator of Golden Hearts and Creator Hooks.

I wanted to bring him on because he went from having absolutely no experience in SEO to generating $5k per month in affiliate revenue from hundreds of thousands of visitors. He also studies YouTubers to dissect their thumbnails, titles, content, and what makes their videos great.

You'll hear about how to quickly get up to speed with SEO in 2021, how to pick profitable niches, and what YouTubers do better than anyone else.

Jeff Sheldon — Creating Remarkable Products, Building Physical Products in Public, & Kickstarter Virality

Corey Haines — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 12:54:17 -0700

On the show today is Jeff Sheldon. Jeff is the founder of Ugmonk, which creates products that combine form and function.

I wanted to bring him on because Jeff is a fantastic designer that has an eye for detail, he's one of the original founders to build in public, and he's managed to build a successful brand without any paid advertising, which is a huge feat in the e-commerce/DTC industry.

You'll hear about how and why they launch every product on Kickstarter first, how he uses storytelling to create immersive landing pages, and how to create remarkable products.

Kieran Flanagan — M&A Marketing, The Shift to Media, & Launching a Podcast Network

Corey Haines — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 11:19:48 -0700

On the show today is Kieran Flanagan. Kieran is the SVP of Marketing at HubSpot where he's building out a new media initiative within the company.

I wanted to bring him on because Kieran was at the forefront of putting together the acquisition of The Hustle by HubSpot. They also just launched a podcast network and are heavily investing into YouTube. Kieran is one of the smartest marketing leaders I know and it's fun to watch them innovate at HubSpot.

You'll hear about how and why they spent tens of millions of dollars acquiring a media company, his go-to playbook for expanding internationally, and how their marketing has evolved as the product evolved from just a marketing automation tool to a full suite CRM for marketing, sales, support, and operations.

Nick Wignall — The Psychology of Marketing, Being Prolific, & Building an Audience on Medium

Corey Haines — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 10:14:17 -0700

On the show today is Nick Wignall. Nick is a psychologist, writer, teacher, and podcaster.

I wanted to bring him on because Nick is one of the top publishers on Medium and one of the more successful creators I know. Over the years through consistent writing, he now gets hundreds of thousands of visitors to his blog every month and has tens of thousands of email subscribers.

You'll hear about how he built his audience from scratch, how he's able to write and produce content so prolifically day after day, and the challenges with marketing a psychology practice.

Paige Doherty — From a Tweet to a Book, How To Get in Touch With Anyone, & Value-Add Investing

Corey Haines — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 17:54:12 -0700

On the show today is Paige Doherty. Paige is the founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and the author of Seed to Harvest. Behind Genius Ventures is a "Gen Z Fund" that invests in early-stage startups. Seed to Harvest is an illustrated book that explains venture capital in a way that even kids can understand.

I wanted to bring her on because she raised an entire fund primarily through Twitter, which really showcases the power of an audience.

You'll hear about how she helped kickstart the viral EyeMouthEye 👁👄👁 movement, her cold email outreach that's led to getting in contact with influential and famous people around the nation, and what she's seeing in her portfolio of early-stage SaaS companies.

Kevin Smith — CPG Packaging, Whitebox Testing, & 4 Steps to $2M+/yr

Corey Haines — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 15:00:00 -0700

On the show today is Kevin Smith. Kevin is the founder and managing partner at SmashBrand where he works with CPG brands on packaging, branding, and launching.

I wanted to bring them on because after launching and growing several of his own globally distributed CPG brands with combined revenue over $40M, Kevin discovered his true passion for brand strategy and creative direction. He's worked with high-level clients like Kraft Heinz, Duracell, 7-Eleven, and PayPal.

You'll hear about his 4 step process to get every CPG brand to $2M+/yr, how to establish differentiation in a crowded market, and how they test colors, copy, and design to craft high-converting packaging.

Dave Schools — Creating a Top Medium Publication & Behind The Scenes of Hopin's Rapid Growth

Corey Haines — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 19:40:03 -0700

On the show today is Dave Schools. Dave is the first employee and Head of Marketing at Hopin. This is a bit of a different episode because Dave and I actually recorded this on a Twitter Space so the audio quality isn't ideal, but sometimes it's fun to have the raw audio. In fact, you might even hear some lightning!

I wanted to bring him on because Hopin is one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies of all time. It's rare to hear the story of that growth from someone who is not the founder but was also in marketing. Dave is also just a fascinating guy with a huge breadth of experience.

You'll hear about the companies Dave started before joining Hopin, why he's bullish on Medium and how he created one of the top publications called Entrepreneur's Handbook, and our banter on relevant topics today.

Cathryn Lavery — Going From 0 to $10M+, Playing Monopoly with Daymond John, & The Kickstarter Formula

Corey Haines — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 10:47:42 -0700

On the show today is Cathryn Lavery. Cathryn is the co-founder and CEO of BestSelf, which went from zero to 8-figures in less than two years.

I wanted to bring her on because she's successfully crowdfunded four products and they won Shopify’s Build a Business Competition in 2016 and the Build a BIGGER Business competition in 2017 — making BestSelf the only company to win both awards consecutively.

You'll hear about how she played Monopoly with Shark Tank investor Daymond John, forged partnerships with TikTok creators, and the campaigns that have worked surprisingly well and the ones that have flopped.

Jordan O'Connor — $40k/mo Solo, SEO For Indie Hackers, & Charging More

Corey Haines — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 13:36:40 -0700

On the show today is Jordan O'Connor. Jordan is the founder of Closet Tools, a web app that helps Poshmark sellers.

I wanted to bring him on because Jordan has an inspirational story going from hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt to making over $40k per month as the solo founder of a software company.

You'll hear about how just 5 blog posts drive the majority of the traffic and revenue for Closet Tools, the strategies he used to get his first users, and how he thinks about platform risk.

Melanie Deziel — Unlimited Content Ideas, Content Multipliers, & Repurposing Hacks

Corey Haines — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 16:33:51 -0700

On the show today is Melanie Deziel. Melanie is the Director of Content at Foundation and author of The Content Fuel Framework. She is an international keynote speaker and is recognized as one of the world's leading experts in native advertising and branded content.

I wanted to bring her on because Melanie worked on content creation for The New York Times’s T Brand Studio, helped found the HuffPost Partner Studio, and served as the Director of Creative Strategy for Time Inc’s portfolio of 35+ media properties. She also served as an Expert in Residence at Gary Vaynerchuk’s BRaVe Ventures. Melanie knows content.

You'll hear about the 10 different focuses of content that resonate and how to tailor them across 10 different formats, how to generate unlimited content ideas, and unique ways to repurpose your content.

Benjamin Shapiro — eBay Growth Hacks, Podcast Monetization, & Joining A Podcast Network

Corey Haines — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 16:59:58 -0700

On the show today is Benjamin Shapiro. Benjamin is the host of The Martech Podcast and the Voices of Search podcast.

I wanted to bring him on because he just joined the HubSpot Podcast Network with his podcast and has one of the top marketing podcasts in the space.

You'll hear about the surprising growth hacks he used at eBay to get distribution into millions of computers, how marketing differs at bootstrapped businesses vs VC-backed startups, and how his podcast gets hundreds of thousands of downloads per month.

Daniel Mitchell & Andrew Gazdecki — Behind The Scenes of Buying & Growing a Shopify SaaS App

Corey Haines — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 13:49:01 -0700

On the show today are Daniel Mitchell & Andrew Gazdecki. Daniel runs Sold Stock, a Shopify app that he bought on MicroAcquire with the funding and help of Andrew Gazdecki, the founder of MicroAcquire.

I wanted to bring them on because it's really a once-in-a-lifetime story. Andrew Gazdecki, Shaan Puri, and a group of investors gave Daniel $100k to buy a startup. It all started with a half-joking tweet and after interviewing a slew of potential operators, Andrew and Shaan chose Daniel.

You'll hear about how they came to the decision to buy Sold Stock among the other SaaS apps for sale, how they plan on growing it, and what they're doing week by week to make progress on the app.

Matt Johnson — Marketing for Introverts, Becoming MicroFamous, & Audience Monetization

Corey Haines — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 09:20:23 -0700

On the show today is Matt Johnson. Matt is the author of MicroFamous and founder of Pursuing Results, a podcasting agency.

I wanted to bring him on because Matt is all about building expertise and authority in order to build an audience that you can monetize. He's started multiple successful podcasts and has a unique view about what it takes to build a business on the audience you've built.

You'll hear about how to do marketing as an introvert, staying true to who you are, and how to be influential without a huge audience.

Greg Digneo — SEO In 30 Minutes Per Day, Marketing a Conference, & Being a Marketing Team-Of-One

Corey Haines — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 18:18:26 -0700

On the show today is Greg Digneo. Greg is the founder of Content Guppy and previous content marketer at Time Doctor where he focused on their annual conference, Running Remote.

I wanted to bring him on because he took traffic to Running Remote from 0 to 10,000+ visitors per month as a one-person marketing team.

You'll hear about how to use welcome emails to seed content ideas, an SEO strategy that takes just 30 minutes each day, and the 7 step content development strategy he follows for every client.

Jeroen Corthout — Growing in Competitive Markets, Becoming a Top AppSumo Campaign, & Partnering With Samsung

Corey Haines — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 11:31:58 -0700

On the show today is Jeroen Corthout. Jeroen is the co-founder of Salesflare, a sales CRM focused on data automation.

I wanted to bring him on because Salesflare is in one of the most competitive software categories (CRM) and has managed to carve out a substantial part of the market to build a large, profitable business.

You'll hear about how they became one of the most successful campaigns on AppSumo of all time, the new reseller channel they're pioneering with Samsung AppStack, and what it takes to grow in ultra-competitive markets.

Danielle Diamond — B2B Video Content, Narrative Production, & SNL

Corey Haines — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 17:57:00 -0700

On the show today is Danielle Diamond. Danielle is the founder of Epiq Media and former video creator at Drift and User Interviews.

I wanted to bring her on because Danielle blends growth marketing with Hollywood creativity. She's directed content for companies like Drift, Privy, DGMG, User Interviews, Boundless, Loom, Snapchat, Rosetta Stone, Vicks, King, Zenni Optical, Calm, Adidas, Native, Tampax, and more. She even worked on the production of Weird Little Flute for Saturday Night Live (SNL).

You'll hear about storytelling frameworks for producing content people actually want to consume, personal brands vs company brands, and creating content that's both inherently valuable and revenue-generating for a business.

Drew Beechler — The Enterprise SaaS Playbook, Developing Brands From Scratch, and Launching 12+ Companies Per Year

Corey Haines — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 15:06:49 -0700

On the show today is Drew Beechler. Drew is the Head of Marketing at High Alpha, a venture capital firm where he works with all the incubator and venture portfolio companies.

I wanted to bring him on because Drew has a hand in launching 10+ B2B SaaS companies a year. He's got an amazing look at the inner workings of developing a SaaS brand from scratch.

You'll hear about the step-by-step process for developing new SaaS brands from scratch, how to appeal to enterprise companies even as a freshly minted startup, and how they leveraged original research for marketing at ExactTarget and Salesforce.

Nicholas Scalice — Lead Gen For Local Businesses, High-Converting Landing Pages, and The Secret To Growing A Marketing Agency

Corey Haines — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 13:11:05 -0700

On the show today is Nicholas Scalice. Nicholas is the founder of Earnworthy and GrowthMarketer.

I wanted to bring Nicholas on because he's been working with small businesses for several years specializing in lead generation, landing pages, and conversation rate optimization.

You'll hear about the secret marketing hack to grow a marketing agency, his framework for crafting high-converting landing pages and cracking the code to generating leads for law firms.

Andy Didorosi — Marketing Stunts, Unconventional Campaigns, and Fighting Complexity

Corey Haines — Mon, 31 May 2021 19:34:53 -0700

On the show today is Andy Didorosi. Andy was the Head of Marketing at Basecamp and the founder of The Detroit Bus Company.

I wanted to bring him on because Andy is behind the Hey Email Research Lab which produced the famous Email Dumpster Fire marketing stunt, he has a long history of entrepreneurship and creative projects, and has strong opinions about what it takes to stand out today.

You'll hear about how they drove millions of impressions by literally setting emails on fire in a dumpster, how to think outside the box and do unconventional marketing campaigns, and how to fight complexity when it's so easy to keep tacking on more and more projects.

Will Laurensen — Customer Value Optimization and Conversion Optimization for DTC E-commerce

Corey Haines — Mon, 24 May 2021 18:02:20 -0700

On the show, today is Will Laurenson. Will is an expert in DTC e-commerce conversion optimization and the host of the Customers Who Click podcast.

I wanted to bring Will on because he has some great insights on what he calls customer value optimization that takes into account conversion, experience, and lifetime value.

You'll hear about how he started a sports betting company like Fanduel and DraftKings, actionable examples and tips to increase conversions, and the keys to driving up lifetime value.

Blake Emal — 0 to 28k on Twitter, Becoming a CMO, and Building In Public

Corey Haines — Tue, 18 May 2021 08:01:34 -0700

On the show today is Blake Emal. Blake is the CMO at Copy.ai and a prolific creator on Twitter.

I wanted to bring him on because Blake went from 0 to over 28k followers in under a year. He’s created a number of side projects including his latest called Float that allows you to create courses right in Notion.

You'll hear about the unconventional way he became the CMO at Copy.ai, how to build an audience on Twitter, and why he builds in public.

Madhav Bhandari — Affiliate Marketing for B2B SaaS, Hiring vs Outsourcing, and Budget Allocation

Corey Haines — Mon, 10 May 2021 09:47:23 -0700

On the show today is Madhav Bhandari. Madhav leads marketing at Bonsai and previously worked for Hubstaff and Close. He’s also the host of the Remote Marketing Podcast.

I wanted to bring him on because he’s worked at three great SaaS companies that have experienced amazing growth.

You'll hear about his philosophy around hiring and outsourcing, how they approach affiliate marketing for B2B SaaS, and what it takes to scale and grow into a large, profitable SaaS business.

Kevan Lee — Transparency, Integrations as Marketing, and Scaling From $5M to $20M+ ARR

Corey Haines — Mon, 03 May 2021 13:09:57 -0700

On the show today is Kevan Lee. Kevan is the VP of Marketing at Polly and was previously the VP of Marketing at Buffer.

I wanted to bring Kevan on because Kevan helped Buffer scale from $5 million in revenue all the way past $20 million in revenue. Buffer is a pioneer for transparency and the Open Startups movement. They're also an amazing case study on content marketing with three different publications and two podcast series.

You'll hear about how they leveraged engineering as marketing with projects like Stories Creator, Remix, and Pablo, leadership lessons from growing and managing a team with radical transparency, and his process for finding and evaluating new jobs.

Sean Cannell — YouTube Secrets, Storytelling Hooks, and Personal Media Empires

Corey Haines — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 09:45:19 -0700

On the show today is Sean Cannell. Sean is a YouTuber, international speaker, founder of Think Media, and host of the Video Influencers podcast.

I wanted to bring Sean on because no one knows YouTube like Sean. Sean's YouTube channels have over 1,000,000 subscribers, his videos have been viewed over 100 million times.

You'll hear about YouTube SEO and what it takes to rank for competitive keywords, the patterns of viral videos, the metrics you need to know and how to turn analytics into action, and advanced strategies for growing your YouTube channel from scratch.

Jay Clouse — Creating a Top 1% Podcast, Community as Culture, and Unfair Advantages in Distribution

Corey Haines — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 09:02:34 -0700

On the show today is Jay Clouse. Jay is the host of Creative Elements and co-host of Upside. He's also the founder of Freelancing School and Unreal Collective, which was acquired by SPI Media where he now serves as the Community Experience Director. He's also created premium courses for LinkedIn Learning (Lynda) and his own called Podcast Like The Pros.

I wanted to bring Jay on because of the breadth of experience he's had between founding startups, to communities, to podcasts. Jay is a true creative. He's a builder. Jay is one of my go-to resources for both podcasting and communities.

You'll hear about how he got Creative Elements to over 500,000 downloads in just over 50 episodes, the formula for starting and building successful communities, and the exact email template he uses to get big-name guests on his podcasts.

Ramli John — User Onboarding, Product-Led Growth, and Prolific Podcasting

Corey Haines — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 09:42:32 -0700

On the show today is Ramli John. Ramli is the Managing Director of ProductLed, author of the book EUREKA, and the host of the Growth Marketing Today podcast.

I wanted to bring Ramli on because he's an expert on product-led growth and user onboarding. He's also writing a book on user onboarding called EUREKA that I've been fortunate enough to get an early version of and am super impressed by. And he's a fellow podcaster, podcasting for over 3 and a half years now.

You'll hear about the step-by-step frameworks and models for user onboarding, the different onboarding models and how to know if you should go for a product-led approach vs a sales-led approach, and how he's managed to get big-name guests on his podcast.

SaraNoSocks — Earning Trust, Streamlining Podcasting, and No-Code Education

Corey Haines — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 10:57:25 -0700

On the show today is Sara, also known as SaraNoSocks. Sara is a creator, designer, and community-builder.

I wanted to bring her on because she's actually a very reluctant marketer and I wanted to get the perspective of someone who doesn't really like traditional marketing. Despite that, she's the host of two podcasts, she's created two great no-code products, and is one of Makerpad's Creators in Residence.

You'll hear about Sara's own struggles and failures with marketing, how she uses Twitter for social listening and customer development, and why she chooses to be so transparent sharing her financials and updates on everything she works on.

Arvid Kahl — Audience-Driven Entrepreneurship, Book Marketing, and Personal Brands

Corey Haines — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 04:00:00 -0700

On the show today is Arvid Kahl. Arvid previously founded and sold FeedbackPanda, a SaaS that helps online school teachers handle student feedback, wrote the book Zero to Sold, and is now working on another book called The Embedded Entrepreneur.

The thing I love about Arvid is that he always speaks from experience. Whatever he says or advises, he's done. He's a great source of wisdom on bootstrapping, SaaS, and building an audience.

You'll hear about why an audience-driven approach to building a business is a much better way to establish trust and build a validated product or service, the marketing strategies for FeedbackPanda, the launch strategy for Zero to Sold and The Embedded Entrepreneur, and I even play devil's advocate a bit and debate some criticisms of this kind of approach.

Peep Laja — Conversion Optimization, Data vs Intuition, and Why Brand Is The Ultimate Moat

Corey Haines — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 15:45:06 -0700

On the show today is Peep Laja. Peep is a conversion rate optimization expert and the founder of CXL, Speero, and Wynter.

I wanted to bring him on because he's the go-to expert for conversion rate optimization, having been in the trenches as well as building the top marketing blog on conversion rate optimization with CXL. He's also a founder and entrepreneur, having set the vision and driven marketing for each of his companies and then handing it over the operations to others.

You'll hear about what makes great copywriting and the fundamentals needed in order to create great copywriting in the first place, when to test and use data versus when to use conviction and intuition, and how they leverage no-code tools to test hypotheses and validate business pivots.

Benji Hyam — Customer Research, Content Marketing, and Buyer Psychology

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 04:00:00 -0800

On the show today is Benji Hyam. Benji is the co-founder of the content marketing agency Grow & Convert which works with B2B SaaS companies.

I wanted to bring him on because I took Benji's course Customers From Content (now called Become a Top Content Marketer) when I was first starting out in marketing and it was a paradigm shift for me. Benji is one of the first people to really instill the practice of customer research into me and show how it applies very practically.

You'll hear about Benji's end-to-end content marketing playbook that's proven to get customers, the relationship between marketing and psychology, and the surprising truth about product-market fit.

Pedro Cortes — SaaS Marketing Mistakes, CRO, and The Landing Page Formula

Corey Haines — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 04:00:00 -0800

On the show today is Pedro Cortes. Pedro is a messaging and positioning consultant who works with SaaS companies to revamp their site using conversion copywriting and design best practices.

I wanted to bring him on because Pedro developed a fantastic SaaS landing page template that I've referenced many times and is my go-to guy for SaaS landing pages. He's worked with many companies and seen real, tangible results from his work.

You'll hear about the big mistakes SaaS companies are making with their landing pages and website in general, how he uncovers website visitors biggest pain points, obstacles, and hesitations and then weave those into the copywriting he produces, and his four-question process to develop positioning that makes your product resonate with customers.

Chase Dimond — DTC Email Marketing Playbooks, Email List Growth, and Black Friday / Cyber Monday

Corey Haines — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 04:00:00 -0800

On the show today is Chase Dimond. Chase is the co-founder of the email marketing agency Boundless Labs.

I wanted to bring him on because since launching Boundless Labs in June of 2018, they've helped clients do $50 million in email attributable revenue. This guy lives and breathes email marketing for e-commerce.

You'll hear about how he started and grew an email travel series from 0 to 500K subscribers in just 10 months, all the mandatory email campaigns and flows you need to have set up for your store, and the Black Friday / Cyber Monday playbook he uses for all his clients to cut through the noise and get results.

Steph Smith — Doing Content Right, Building In Public, and The 7-Figure ARR Email

Corey Haines — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 04:00:00 -0800

On the show today is Steph Smith. Steph is the head of product for Trends, which is a membership site for entrepreneurs under The Hustle. Previously she did content marketing for TopTal and is also the author of Doing Content Right, which did $40,000 in sales in the first month of launching.

I wanted to bring her on because Steph really knows her stuff when it comes to content marketing. She's done it for SaaS companies, marketplaces, newsletters, communities, and even herself. She's also a fantastic example of how to build in public the right way.

You'll hear about how she applies lessons learned playing chess and being a chemical engineer as a marketer and leader today, what the keys to her successful book launch were, and a Black Friday / Cyber Monday email that generated over 7 figures in annual recurring revenue literally overnight.

Taylor Lagace — Whitelisting Influencer Marketing, DTC, and Scaling Campaigns

Corey Haines — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 04:00:00 -0800

On the show today is Taylor Lagace who is the co-founder of Kynship, an influencer marketing agency.

I wanted to bring him on because unlike a lot of others in the influencer marketing space, Taylor actually knows his stuff. He's actually been there and done that. In fact, he's basically helped pioneer many of the cutting-edge strategies that brands are using successfully today.

You'll hear about Taylor's thoughts on micro-influencers vs larger influencers, how they approach sourcing influencers and structuring deals, and their unique influencer whitelisting strategy that will blow your mind.

Mojca Žove — The Science of Facebook Ads, Channel Experimentation, and Tiger King

Corey Haines — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 04:00:00 -0800

On the show today is Mojca Zove — the founder of Super Spicy Media (a boutique Facebook ads agency) and the creator of The Science of Facebook Ads, which speaks for itself.

I wanted to bring her on because she's one of the go-to practitioners on Facebook ads. She's worked with a lot of brands and really knows her stuff on Facebook ads. She's also got an interesting perspective across marketing for her clients, marketing herself, and her own digital products.

You'll hear about how she ran ads for Carole Baskin of "Tiger King" fame, her end-to-end facebook ads playbook and how it was developed, and her experiments with other ad channels and how they compare to Facebook.

Ashley Levesque — Challenger Brands, Channel Sales, and The Myth of "Boring Industries"

Corey Haines — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 15:07:43 -0800

On the show today is Ashley Levesque. She's the Director of Marketing for Demio, a leading webinar platform. She was also previously a marketer at Soft Robotics, a robotics manufacturer.

I wanted to bring Ashley on because it's not every day you talk to someone who's done marketing in the robotics industry, let alone someone who's done it really well.

She also doesn't come from a traditional marketing background. She was a theater kid, a waitress, and an executive assistant and then found her way into marketing — though as you'll hear, there's actually a very consistent theme throughout her career.

You'll hear about how you can bring life and humor to boring industries like robotics (and why there's no such thing as a boring industry), how they leveraged channel sales to extend their marketing far beyond themselves, and what it means to be a challenger brand in an old, established industry.

Taylor Lindsay-Noel — Branding, Resourcefulness, and Oprah's Favorite Things

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:16:34 -0800

On the show today is Taylor Lindsay-Noel. Taylor is the owner of Cup of Te, host of the Tea Time with Tay podcast, and, believe it or not after listening to our conversation, is just getting started with her entrepreneurial journey.

I wanted to bring her on because, in the summer of 2008, I was a tall and gumpy 13-year-old who liked playing video games. Taylor was a 14-year-old elite gymnast on track to represent Canada at the 2012 Olympic Games. But on July 15th of 2008, she had a tragic accident on the gym floor that broke her neck and would leave her with full to partial paralysis in all four limbs. Despite this, she's now a successful owner and operator of an e-commerce business that was just featured in Oprah's "Favorite Things" — a listing and stamp of approval only awarded to a few select brands every year.

You'll hear about how Taylor used writing and poetry to sort through her thoughts and communicate better, how her podcast led to starting an e-commerce company, and of course how she managed to get featured in Oprah's Favorite Things.

Val Geisler — Email Marketing, Customer Empathy, and The Dinner Party Strategy

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:16:19 -0800

On the show today is Val Geisler. Val is now the Customer Evangelist for Klaviyo and was previously the Chief Email Officer of Fix My Churn. She's worked with many SaaS and e-commerce companies to improve their email marketing and retention.

I wanted to bring Val on because she is one of the go-to's for all things email marketing. She eats, breaths, and lives email.

You'll hear about how her background as a stage and event manager helped her build out her consulting practice and collaborate on email marketing, how you can level up your transactional emails to build your brand, upsell, and drive loyalty, and her flagship Dinner Party Strategy for setting up onboarding emails.

Jay Acunzo — Podcasts, Storytelling, and How To Make Your Audience's Favorite Show

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:16:04 -0800

On the show today is Jay Acunzo. Jay is the founder of Marketing Showrunners — which helps marketers create their audience's favorite show. He's also a keynote speaker and consultant who's worked with brands like Drift and Wistia to create some of my favorite shows.

I wanted to bring Jay on because he's "the guy" when it comes to creating a podcast or video series for your business. I first came across Jay when he created a podcast series for Drift and since then he's created many more amazing series like I Made It for Podia and Against The Grain for Help Scout. He also has great thoughts on how to define a show premise, which also translates really well to positioning, designing value propositions, and creating a pitch that resonates.

You'll hear about why he loves podcasting and the unique opportunity it presents to connect with your audience, how to develop a strong premise for your show so that you don't blend in with every other generic show out there, and his approach to prepping for interviews, interviewing, and crafting a compelling story.

Dan Murphy — Product Marketing, Launch Playbooks, and Unconventional Marketing Ideas

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:15:50 -0800

On the show today is Dan Murphy. Dan is the Director of Marketing at Privy — one of the leading Shopify apps. Previously, he was the Director of Product Marketing at Drift — the conversational marketing platform.

I wanted to bring him on because Dan is a student of product marketing — a discipline in marketing that isn't talked about enough. He's fantastic at product launches, positioning, education, and driving product adoption.

You'll hear about the key to successful product launches and how to keep them up without overhyping yourself, what he learned running marketing for a local politician, and why writing a book was one of the first things on the to-do list when he started at Privy.

Alex Hillman — Earning Trust At Scale, Audience Building, and Community Leadership

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:15:27 -0800

On the show today is Alex Hillman. Alex is a partner of Stacking The Bricks (which produces the popular 30x500 course), founder of the OG co-working space IndyHall, and the author of The Tiny MBA.

I wanted to bring him on because Alex doesn't consider himself a marketer, but he's a fantastic marketer. He and Amy Hoy are always top of mind for me when I think of marketing digital products like courses and books.

You'll hear about the similarities between teaching and marketing, "flintstoning" marketing and avoiding the temptation to automate, scale, and delegate everything, how he's marketing his new book, The Tiny MBA, and how to build an audience in way that's truly helpful and not spammy or self-promotional.

Taylor Holiday — Celebrity Influencers, DTC Marketing, and Earned Media

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:13:51 -0800

On the show today is Taylor Holiday. Taylor went from professional baseball player to accidental e-commerce marketer to agency owner and now to being a part of a whole host of businesses all related to direct to consumer e-commerce.

I wanted to bring him on because Taylor has a fascinating background in sports that very tangibly affected his career as a marketer. He's established himself and his agency Common Thread Collective as one of the top resources for DTC marketing. He's got some amazing experience and insights on Facebook advertising that we can all learn from.

You'll hear about how they got a Power Balance bracelet onto the wrists of millions and millions of athletes, how he worked with athletes like Kobe Bryant, Drew Brees, and Derrick Rose, and how a trip to Vegas for a high-stakes poker tournament ended up getting them a crazy amount of free advertising and exposure.

Hiten Shah — Go-To-Market Models, Landing Page Minimalism, and Why Marketing Is Everyone's Job

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:13:23 -0800

On the show today is Hiten Shah. Where do I start with Hiten... most notably he's the founder of the software companies FYI, Crazy Egg, and KISSmetrics. He's also been involved in starting a number of other companies. He writes a newsletter called Product Habits. He does a podcast called The Startup Chat. He angel invests. He has a grand career in tech.

I wanted to bring him on because Hiten has been in the world of tech and startups for a long time. And with time and experience comes wisdom. I'm always impressed by the way that Hiten sees the world and how he thinks about marketing. He also has a unique ability to be very objective and honest about himself. We get into this with his companies but he's not afraid to talk about where things have fallen short. And given his experience with Crazy Egg and KISSmetrics, Hiten knows what works and doesn't work — he's seen it all and has been on the forefront of marketing for a long time.

You'll hear about what go-to-market model Hiten would start with if he was founding a new startup today, why marketing is everyone's job, why all of his landing pages are just a headline, subheadline, call to action, and some sort of illustration, and why there's no such thing as having done zero marketing.

April Dunford — Positioning, Product-Market Fit, and Creating a Category

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:12:56 -0800

On the show today is April Dunford. April is the author of one of my all-time favorite marketing books, Obviously Awesome: How to nail product positioning so customers get it, buy it, love it.

I wanted to bring April on because she's THE person to go to regarding positioning. Positioning is probably the most essential part of marketing and yet the least understood. April is a very unconventional thinker. She's not afraid to disagree, tell people they're wrong, or offer up her opinion. She's also consulted with hundreds of companies, spoken at conferences around the world, and written some amazing material on all things positioning.

You'll hear about how she doesn't think Product-Market Fit is a useful concept, the pros and cons of creating a category, the tried and true method for working out your own positioning, and many more unique insights, examples, and case studies that she hasn't shared elsewhere.

Eric Bandholz — YouTube, Shark Tank, and Vertical Content Production

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:12:06 -0800

On the show today is Eric Bandholz — the founder and CEO of BeardBrand, which produces beard, hair, and skin products for men. He also hosts the Practice Ecommerce podcast.

I wanted to bring Eric on because several years ago I wanted to start a line of beard balms and oils and then discovered BeardBrand and knew that they had just nailed it. So I left that to them — and they've established an amazing brand.

Eric and BeardBrand really embody the premise of the show that everything is marketing since they started a Barbershop, their 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube know them for their education and documentary-style videos, and they prioritize customer service so much so that they offer free consultations over text.

You’ll hear about how they develop products, Eric's experience on Shark Tank, and building a brand through content marketing.

Rand Fishkin — Channel Diversification, SparkToro Growth, and The Future of Content

Corey Haines — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:11:25 -0800

On the show today is Rand Fishkin. Rand is the founder and CEO of SparkToro, an audience intelligence and market research tool to discover what your audience reads, watches, listens to, and follows. He previously founded Moz, one of the market-leading SEO tools, and also authored a fantastic book about his journey through the startup world called Lost and Founder.

I wanted to bring him on because he's a truly original thinker. Rand really gets to the core of an issue and uses first principles thinking to understand the dynamics, incentives, and ingredients, which has allowed him to produce some outstanding work.

You'll hear about how you can leverage niche channels to diversify away from the traditional platforms like Facebook and Google, the future of content and SEO, get an inside look into his own marketing and growth strategy for SparkToro, and lots more.

I ran out of time to ask him about a few marketing examples in his swipe file, but he was kind enough to send over some links to outstanding 10x content and marketing examples via Twitter on topics like politics, corporate PR, selling onions, and butter marketing.

Announcing: Everything Is Marketing

Corey Haines — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 12:49:01 -0800

Join us in the Swipe Files community. You can chat with guests of the podcast as well as a bunch of other top-notch marketers. Join a community that will help you do your best work and be prolific. Check it out at swipefiles.com/membership

I write an occasional newsletter about cutting-edge, comprehensive, and sometimes even crazy marketing ideas. Subscribe to become a better marketer, one idea at a time at swipefiles.com

You can also get my free newsletter Marketing Weekly. It's a curated digest of the best marketing content in your inbox every Sunday morning.

Looking for marketing jobs? Check out Hey Marketers, a free job board I created just for marketing jobs.

Links:

Marketing Is Everything (HBR article)
Everything Is Marketing website

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