The Smart Marketer Podcast

Zach Dampier, a dynamic Content Coordinator at Smart Marketer, journeyed from intern to leader, sharing his insights on growth and grit. He emphasizes how starting in customer support builds crucial product knowledge and community trust. Zach discusses his transition to managing diverse content platforms, revealing the balance between hiring for potential versus experience. He also candidly explores the sometimes tricky dynamics of working with family, including teaming up with his wife. His experiences offer valuable lessons on career development and content strategy.

Episode 242: The Truth About Creative Volume, Meta's Shift, and What Still Works (Part 2 with Ben Bennett) Episode Description In this second part of their deep-dive conversation, Molly Pittman sits down with Smart Marketer's Creative Director Ben Bennett to map out the exact creative systems used to produce dozens of high-performing ads every single month. From team structure to tooling to hook variation strategies, Ben shares how Smart Marketer builds volume without sacrificing quality. You'll hear how they hire and test for the Creative Strategist role, why UGC needs a better incentive model, and how tools like ClickUp help make the whole system run. "We've figured out how to multiply creative without multiplying chaos and this is how we do it." – Molly Pittman You Will Learn: Why your team could need a Creative Operations Manager The 3 creative styles we use: Snack, Impact, Tailored How AI is supporting (but not replacing) production How to multiply a single hook into 24+ ad variations Why ClickUp is the backbone of our creative ops How we test and hire for Creative Strategist roles Why incentivizing UGC creators is the next big opportunity Links & Resources Smart Marketer – smartmarketer.com Smart Marketer Agency – smartmarketeragency.com Molly Pittman – mollypittman.com Omnisend – smartmarketer.com/omnisend Use code: SMART for 50% off your first 3 months Alexander's Talent Agency – gottlnt.com Past Episodes Featuring Ben Bennett: • The Truth About Creative Volume, Meta's Shift, and What Still Works • Winning Ad Creative: What Works Now & How to Measure It • How to Make High-Converting UGC Ads • How to Get the Best Possible Creative Help for Your Business • How Flexible Use Content Can Help You With Your Creatives ClickUp – clickup.com Instagram – @smartmarketer | @mollypittmandigital Timestamps 00:00 – Anthony intro + Omnisend offer 01:59 – Why creative volume is today's biggest question 03:36 – The underrated role: Creative Operations Manager 07:07 – Step 1: Research and why it still matters 10:29 – What we look for in Creative Strategists (and how we test them) 12:18 – Hiring success through Alexander's Talent Agency 14:02 – The "Creative Prism" framework explained 17:12 – Using AI to expand from 4 to 24 variations 21:07 – Snack, Impact, and Tailored: the 3 styles that work 25:48 – How we use ClickUp to manage high-volume production 31:21 – Reviewing performance data and planning the next round 40:11 – What's next: Creator incentives, agency collaboration, and scaling systems Your Engagement Matters If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love your support: Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts Share it on social and tag us with #SmartMarketerPodcast Have questions or feedback? Email us at: support@smartmarketer.com Serve the world unselfishly and profit.

Ben Bennett, Creative Director at Smart Marketer, shares insights from his diverse journey in creative production. He discusses the common misconceptions around creative volume, asserting that more doesn't necessarily lead to better performance. Dive into Meta's evolving AI landscape and why it craves meaningful, varied inputs. Bennett warns about the pitfalls of flawed testing and stresses that the fundamentals of persuasive creative still reign supreme. With a focus on adaptable creative strategies, this conversation is essential for modern marketers.

Episode 240: The Meta Andromeda Update - Why Your Facebook Ads Stopped Working (And What To Do Instead) Meta just launched its biggest algorithm update in years! If your ads started tanking in August, Andromeda could be the reason. In this game-changing episode, Smart Marketer's agency director, Pep Hufen, reveals how Andromeda is reshaping the ad platform from the ground up and what you must do to stay ahead. "Think of it as Meta completely rebuilding the engine of a car while you are still driving it." – Pep Hufen Episode Description Are your Meta ads underperforming lately? You're not alone. In this episode, Pep Hufen breaks down Meta's new Andromeda update; an overhaul of the Facebook Ads engine that's leaving many advertisers behind. From collapsing campaign structures to rethinking creative strategy, this episode gives you the exact playbook Smart Marketer is using to help clients thrive in the new landscape. With millions in monthly ad spend under management, Pep shares real case studies, what's actually working post-Andromeda, and the critical mistakes to avoid if you want to keep acquiring new customers in 2025. You Will Learn: What the Andromeda update is (in plain English) Why your old campaign structure no longer works How creative portfolios, not single ads, are now key The new rule for campaign consolidation (and why it works) Why broad targeting and data density matter more than ever How to prevent Meta from wasting budget on repeat customers Four action steps to future-proof your Meta ad strategy Links & Resources Smart Marketer – smartmarketer.com Smart Marketer Courses – smartmarketer.com/courses Omnisend Email & SMS platform we recommend -  (Use code SMART for 50% off first 3 months) Follow Pep on Instagram – @pep_hufen Want help implementing? Contact Smart Marketer Agency Timestamps (Chapters) 00:00 – Introduction: Meet Pep & The Meta Shake-Up 02:12 – What Is Andromeda? Meta's New Ads Retrieval System 03:58 – Advantage+ Is Now Default: Autopilot Mode Activated 04:46 – Creative Portfolios > Ad Variations 05:41 – Campaign Structure Overhaul: One Campaign Per Offer 06:39 – Why Consolidation Is King & ABOs Are Out 07:27 – Case Study: How Clean East Dropped CPAs by 35% 08:23 – Caution: Andromeda May Kill Your New Customer Acquisition 09:13 – The Fix: Add Exclusions for Site Visitors & Customers 10:03 – Four Things You Must Do Now (Creative, Structure, Backend) 11:00 – Final Thoughts: Volume, Variety, and Velocity Win in 2025 11:59 – Outro: Subscribe, Share, and Serve the World Unselfishly Your Engagement Matters Thank you for tuning in! This podcast thrives because of your support. If you got value from today's episode, please: Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts – Click Here Share this episode on social and tag us with #WeOutHere Got feedback? Email us at support@smartmarketer.com Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit!

Ep. 239: Protecting Your Brand in 2025 – SMS Compliance, Copycat Stores & Strategic Defense Episode Description What happens when a new law could cost you $10K… or worse, someone clones your website and starts stealing your customers? In this exclusive Mentor Table session, John Grimshaw and Molly Pittman tackle two major challenges facing DTC brands in 2025: new SMS compliance laws in Texas and a real-world case study of how Antler Rings shut down a full-blown copycat website. This episode gives you practical tools, mindset shifts, and proactive strategies to protect your brand—and your bottom line. "We're going to have to play more defense in general. It's just easier for people to shortcut this stuff." – John Grimshaw You Will Learn: What the Texas SMS law means for marketers How to register for compliance and avoid fines What to do when someone copies your website, product, or brand The legal and technical steps Antler Rings used to shut down a scammer Why branded keyword bidding is non-negotiable in 2025 How to use alerts and paid search to monitor your brand Links & Resources Mentioned: Omnisend SMS & Email Tool – Get 50% Off Smart Marketer Mentor Table Mastermind Antler Rings Molly Pittman – mollypittman.com Instagram – @smartmarketer Instagram – @mollypittmandigital Timestamps: 00:00 – Welcome: Mentor Table Exclusive + Omnisend SMS Promo 02:18 – Texas SMS Compliance: What's Changed & What To Do 04:39 – Bond Costs, Registration Forms, and Legal Risk 07:55 – Should You Exclude Texas Prospects? A Cost-Benefit Breakdown 10:17 – Case Study: Antler Rings Discovers a Fake Store 11:43 – Steps to Take: Domain Hosts, Payment Processors, Google & More 13:57 – Boom by Cindy Joseph Faced This Too—What They Learned 16:39 – Copycat Site Takedown Success: Fast Results 18:17 – Bid on Your Branded Keywords—Here's Why 20:31 – Set Up Alerts to Monitor Brand Mentions Automatically 21:22 – Playing Defense in 2025: AI, Fraud & Scam Prevention 21:52 – Final Thoughts & Wrap-Up Your Engagement Matters! Thanks for listening! If this episode helped you, we'd love your support: ⭐️ Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts 🔁 Share this episode with a friend or tag @smartmarketer on social 📥 Questions or feedback? Email us: support@smartmarketer.com Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit! 🚀

John Grimshaw and Ezra Firestone are joined by Greg Zakowitz, an email and automation expert from Omnisend. They dive into strategies for maximizing holiday sales, sharing insights on why Black Friday and Cyber Monday only account for 16% of Q4 revenue. Listeners learn about tiered discounts, evergreen landing pages, and the importance of phased campaigns. Greg highlights three essential email automations—welcome series, product browse, and cart abandonment—that can drive significant revenue during the holiday rush.

🎙 Episode 237: Haunted Houses, Taylor Swift & Trivia Nights: Paul Kalnitzky's Unexpected Journey to Smart Marketer Episode Description What do haunted houses, radio gigs, trivia nights, and Taylor Swift have in common? Paul Kalnitzky. In this raw and hilarious episode, Molly Pittman sits down with Smart Marketer's very own product and community manager to unpack his unexpected journey—from flipping golf carts at a haunted house to becoming the heart of Smart Marketer's mastermind. This is more than a career story, it's a masterclass in authenticity, creative problem-solving, and following your weird (even if it involves skeletons puking green slime). "If you just keep showing up as who you really are, eventually someone's going to notice." – Paul Kalnitzky You Will Learn: • Why showing up authentically is the ultimate career hack • How Paul's haunted house job sparked a career in creative media • What working in toxic vs. supportive work cultures really feels like • The leadership moment that made Paul a lifelong Taylor Swift fan • How trivia nights & community building led him to his dream role • Why embracing your quirks attracts the right opportunities 📌 Links & Resources: Smart Marketer Molly Pittman Fields of Freedom Dog Rescue Follow Smart Marketer on Instagram Follow Molly on Instagram Follow Paul Kalnitzky on Instagram ⏱ Timestamps (Chapters) 00:00 – Welcome: Haunted Houses, Taylor Swift & Trivia?! 03:13 – Meet Paul Kalnitzky: Jack of All Trades (and Halloween Lover) 07:54 – How a Haunted House Changed Everything 19:37 – From Theater Rejection to Radio Stardom 25:28 – Programming a College Radio Station Like a Pro 31:19 – The Night Paul Met Taylor Swift (and Everything Changed) 38:02 – From Laid Off to Trivia Entrepreneur 47:02 – Toxic Workplaces, Misfit Kids & The Power of Chosen Family 51:13 – Entering the World of Smart Marketer 58:03 – Culture Shock: From Burnout to Belonging 1:02:58 – Trivia Nights, Wu-Tang, & Becoming a Community Leader 1:07:36 – Paul's Advice: Show Up Authentically (What That Really Means) 1:12:11 – Final Thoughts: What's Next for Paul & Smart Marketer 💬 Call to Action If you laughed, cried, or nodded along with Paul's story, do us a favor: ⭐ Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts 📲 Share this episode and tag us on social @smartmarketerig using #WeOutHere 📩 Got feedback or want to connect? Email us at support@smartmarketer.com Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit!

Episode Title SafeSleeve's First 60 Days on Omnisend Episode Description What happens when you migrate to Omnisend? In this episode, John Grimshaw sits down with Ezra Firestone and Omnisend's CEO, Rytis Lauris, to share the behind-the-scenes story of SafeSleeve's first 60 days on the platform. Spoiler: Just by migrating to Omnisend, before adding any new automations or campaigns, SafeSleeve projected an additional $100,000 in annual revenue. "If you're doing under 25 to 30% of your revenue from email, you ain't working hard enough." – Ezra Firestone You Will Learn Why SafeSleeve was only getting 8% of revenue from email (and how they fixed it) The exact steps Smart Marketer used to migrate seamlessly to Omnisend How cleaning disengaged contacts and bots improved deliverability and engagement Why a "warming campaign" can skyrocket your click rates The power of automations and why 2% of traffic often drives 37% of orders How brands can realistically hit 25–30% of revenue from email and SMS What's next: AI-driven automations and real human storytelling Links & Resources Omnisend Special Offer – https://omnisend.com/smart Smart Marketer – https://smartmarketer.com/ Ezra Firestone – https://smartmarketer.com/about/ SafeSleeve – https://www.safesleevecases.com/ Timestamps (Main Beats) 00:07 – Intro by Anthony: Why this episode matters 01:11 – John Grimshaw welcomes Ezra Firestone & Rytis Lauris 04:13 – The $100K Hook: Projected lift from switching to Omnisend 05:20 – Ezra's backstory with SafeSleeve & the 8% email revenue problem 09:55 – Why Mailchimp held SafeSleeve back and why Omnisend made sense 12:06 – Key migration steps: template update & 4 core automations 15:07 – The warming campaign and engagement "snowball" 19:05 – July 4th promotion: 20% revenue lift post-migration 21:36 – Cleaning bots, disengaged contacts, and better deliverability 24:27 – Why migrations don't have to be painful 25:03 – $101K projected lift from automations alone 27:48 – Targets: hitting 25%+ email revenue by year's end 30:05 – Is SafeSleeve a unicorn or a typical case study? 33:16 – Omnisend's "customer-funded" approach & ROI promise 35:27 – Why automations drive the biggest long-term wins 39:55 – AI's role in scaling automations for the future 41:52 – Ezra & Rytis on AI vs authenticity: why real stories still win 44:48 – Closing thoughts & special Omnisend offer Call to Action Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, review, and share with fellow entrepreneurs and marketers. Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-smart-marketer-podcast/id1522629407 Share this episode on social media and tag us with #WeOutHere Have feedback? Email us at support@smartmarketer.com Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit

Episode 235: Email Deliverability Troubleshooting: A Real-World Case Study from Mentor Table Office Hours Episode Description Your emails might look great, but are they even landing in inboxes? In this Mentor Table Email Office Hours session, you'll sit in on a real-time troubleshooting call with Heather and Matt from the Smart Marketer email team as they help a founder navigate a frustrating deliverability issue. If you're sending emails and seeing sudden dips in opens, strange bounce patterns, or deliverability issues with major inbox providers then this is for you. "It's difficult to diagnose any one thing. A lot of it is just making sure you're tightening up sending practices." – Matt You'll hear common mistakes, how to fix them, and advanced tips to keep your list healthy and compliant so you can keep driving sales. You Will Learn: How to identify and troubleshoot bounce-related email issues The DNS records you must have configured (SPF, DKIM, DMARC—and how to check them) What a branded sending domain is and why it's now required by major email providers How to use tools like Litmus, MX Toolbox, and Sender Score to test and monitor Why exclusion segments and list hygiene matter more than ever When to consider switching to a dedicated IP address and how to know if you're ready Links & Resources: Smart Marketer Mentor Table Omnisend for Email & SMS (Use code SMART for 50% off 3 months) Litmus Email Testing Tool MX Toolbox – DNS & Blacklist Lookup EasyDMARC – Email Security Platform Sender Score – Email Reputation Check Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro: Mentor Table Email Office Hours 01:12 – Ezra's Omnisend Recommendation 02:16 – The Deliverability Problem: Rising Bounces and Email Errors 04:50 – Policy-Related Bounce Messages Explained 07:15 – Tools to Test Inbox Appearance & Placement (Litmus) 08:53 – How to Check DNS Setup (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) 13:01 – Using Zoho & Klaviyo Separately for Deliverability 15:01 – Exclusion Segments & List Hygiene Tactics 16:06 – Should You Move to a Dedicated IP? 18:35 – Diagnosing Blacklists & Using Lookup Tools 22:04 – Sender Score, EasyDMARC, and MX Toolbox 25:08 – Final Thoughts & Action Plan for Inbox Recovery Call to Action: Enjoyed this episode? We'd love your support. Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: Click Here Share the episode on social media, tag us, and use #WeOutHere Feedback or questions? Email us at support@smartmarketer.com Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit.  

Episode 234: How to Build High-Converting Product Pages (with Kurt Elster) Episode Description Are your product detail pages costing you conversions? In this episode, Shopify expert Kurt Elster breaks down exactly what makes a high-converting PDP in today's eCommerce landscape. Straight from a Mentor Table session, Kurt shares real examples from Amazon, Walmart, Tactical Baby Gear, and more—along with the essential elements every product page must have to convert browsers into buyers. "The product detail page... it's where the purchase decision happens." – Kurt Elster This is one of those episodes you'll want to take notes on. Let's level up your product pages. You Will Learn: The 6 elements Google requires on your PDP (and why they matter) Why stock status should never be hidden (and how Amazon nails it) The most overlooked layout improvement that boosts conversion instantly What Shopify's new AI + SEO tools mean for your product visibility Simple PDP enhancements that 10x perceived value (without new tech) Why review photos and breadcrumb trails are gold for usability How to apply big-brand best practices to your small store Links & Resources:  Mentor Table - Apply Today! Kurt Elster Google Merchant Center PDP Guidelines Shopify Knowledge Base App Omnisend Offer: https://smartmarketer.com/omnisend (Use code SMART for 50% off 3 months) Smart Marketer Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro: Why PDPs Are the Most Important Page in Your Store 01:04 – Ezra's Quick Tip: Why He Always Installs Omnisend First 02:08 – Meet Kurt Elster + Why PDPs Make or Break the Sale 04:47 – Google's Minimum Viable Product Page Checklist 07:04 – Big Box Store Examples: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy 12:44 – SEO for AI: Myth or Must-Do? 14:27 – Shopify's New AI Search Tool + Structured Data Insights 16:05 – Rich Results: What They Are & Why They Matter 17:37 – Real Example: Tactical Baby Gear PDP Breakdown 19:13 – UX Enhancements: Videos, Tabs, Comparison Charts & Reviews 20:44 – Bonus Example: Harney Tea's Complex Catalog Challenge 21:46 – Final Takeaway: What Truly Makes a PDP Convert 22:10 – Outro: Subscribe and Leave a Review! Your Engagement Matters Thanks for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a second to: Follow or subscribe to the Smart Marketer Podcast Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-smart-marketer-podcast/id1522629407 Share this episode on social and tag us using #WeOutHere Send feedback to support@smartmarketer.com Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit!