How I Made it in Marketing

We’ve been exploring AI in the MECLABS SuperFunnel Research Cohort LiveClasses (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/website-and-landing-page-design/marketer/). But I’ve mostly been thinking of artificial intelligence in a very practical sense.So when our latest guest shared the lesson, “use artificial intelligence and your marketing budget to make your customers’ lives more fun and interesting” I was all ears to learn a new perspective on using AI…and really, a unique perspective on how to approach marketing in general.You can hear the story behind that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, from Stacie Grissom, Director of Content & Communications, BARK (https://bark.co/), the maker of BarkBox.BARK has grown from 2,000 subscribers to over 2 million during Grissom’s tenure, where she was employee number three (now there are over 600). Over the last decade, she has hired 40 writers, comedians, and content creators.BARK is a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In its most recent full-year results, the company earned $507.4 million in revenue, a 34% increase year-over-year.Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingA viral moment can tie into a PR sprint.You don't need a Super Bowl ad to make a huge impact on social media around the Super Bowl.Contests can hit it big with an audience (even if, or especially if, they are weird and off-putting)React to something that happens online and use it to explode a momentIf you aren't hitting huge moments of growth, rethink the metrics you're targeting so that you can make an impact.Use artificial intelligence and your marketing budget to make your customers’ lives more fun and interestingMove forward and get sh*t doneRelated content mentioned in this episodeNot Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (podcast episode #11) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)SaaS Marketing: Always bring the customer story forward (podcast episode #42) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/SaaS-marketing)About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

We had a recent SuperFunnel LiveClass (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/website-and-landing-page-design/lpo/), and I was giving conversion optimization advice to a participant – it’s live optimization, we see the landing page for a few moments, and then give advice. And the page seemed off to me, so I had specific thoughts on the design and wording and such.And then Flint McGlaughlin went next, and he took a very different approach then I did. He didn’t talk about the page, he talked about the entrepreneur behind this page. Why this offer? Why this product? How many books have you read about this topic in the past 24 months?He hit the underlying problem with the landing page. Not what was on it, per se. It’s what wasn’t beneath it. It didn’t tie into the entrepreneur’s personal value proposition. This person was not tapping into his passion, he was trying to get an offer out into the world and just make money.Who can blame him, you might say. Isn’t that our job?Pushing pixels on a page is not enough – when you don’t truly believe in what you’re selling, it will hurt your marketing effectiveness. Our latest guest tapped into that caution as well. She said, “If you don’t believe in the company or the product, your job as a marketer is going to suck.”So true. And I would add – your marketing is going to suck as well.You can here the story behind that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, from Melissa-Ann Chan, Head of Marketing, Arta Finance (https://artafinance.com/).Chan helped take a product from 0 to 100 million users, has worked on many lean teams at Google, and currently works on a team of three, along with a “bunch of contractors,” at the Series A startup.While in stealth mode, Arta Finance raised more than $90 million from Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, Coatue, and more than 140 tech and finance luminaries.Some lessons from Chan that emerged in our discussion:If you don’t believe in the company or the product, your job as a marketer is going to suck. Put the most effort into figuring out what’s the magic ‘a-ha!’ moment of your customer, and relentlessly drive all your marketing efforts towards that.     Putting the user first doesn’t always mean doing whatever users want.High-performing teams don’t happen serendipitously Creativity and technology is a killer combo Cross-functional Power: Bring together product, engineering, UX, and marketing – and watch the sparks fly – in a good way!   Related content mentioned in this episodeContent Marketing: Harvard Business School’s Michael Norton discusses surprising consumer behavior research (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/content-marketing-consumer-behavior-research/)Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/)Above-the-Fold Psychology: How to optimize the top 4 inches of your webpage (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-psychology/)Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

“Position the customer’s ‘gain’ as the direct object of the sentence,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Headline Examples: 3 ways to load your predicate with value (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/headline-examples/).I thought of this lesson when I heard a lesson from this episode’s guest – “charge what it is worth, not what it costs.”You can only charge what it is worth if the customer perceives that value. To help them perceive the value, your messaging must emphasize the customer’s gain.So I asked our guest about this, specifically in regards to his story about using a celebrity endorser for a B2B event.You can hear the answer to that question, along with many more lesson-filled stories, from Jeff Bradford, President, Dalton Nashville (https://daltonagency.com/), on this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.Dalton is a $12 million agency that was founded in 1989 and has 100 employees.Bradford is the only seven-time winner of the Nashville Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO Award. He manages a team of 12 on five accounts at Dalton. He is author of the book The Joy of Propaganda: The How and Why of Public Relations and Marketing (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-joy-of-propaganda-jeff-bradford/1142922872).Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketingHarness word-of-mouth marketing by making influential people feel special.Handling a media crisis begins long before the crisis.Charge what is it worth, not what it costs.The most important thing when merging companies is the two owners should understand and trust each other.Think big.Well-crafted video can shape perceptions by connecting emotionally with your audience.The manner in which you present your message, and the environment in which it is presented, is just as important (if not more so) than the content of your message.Related content mentioned in this episodeThe Prospect’s Perception Gap: How to bridge the gap between the results we want and the results we have (https://meclabs.com/education/Flint-prospects-perception-gap)About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

Differentiation is key in marketing. And now with the rise of AI, I can’t help but think – how can I differentiate from generative artificial intelligence?One way – our unique backgrounds.An example. Our CEO’s book – The Marketer as Philosopher: 40 Brief Reflections on the Power of Your Value Proposition (https://meclabs.com/course/the-marketer-as-philosopher/). This book is wildly different than what an AI would write. And just as different from most business books you’ll see – which sometimes seem as formulaic as an AI writer. There are reflections, not directions. There are da Vinci-style illustrations illuminating the core concepts. The book is bound in leather. I think Flint McGlaughlin was able to create it because of his unique background – theology and philosophy combined with marketing bound all together in one human being.I thought of the importance of our unique backgrounds while talking to our latest guest on How I Made It In Marketing. His background was no less unique – West Texas, childhood illness, art school, world travel, Hollywood, and now – marketing.One of the lessons he shared was “make the work you would like to see.” So, I asked him about how one’s unique background affects and informs that ethos. While we can all learn the same marketing skills, they are powered by this fingerprint that no one else has – our lived experienced.You can hear his answer to my question, along with many more lesson-filled stories from a colorful career, in the latest episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast. Our guest is Justin Herber, CMO and Chief Brand Officer, Tractor Beverage Company (https://drinktractor.com/).Tractor is the first and only Certified Organic, Non-GMO, full-line beverage solution in food service. It is #216 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies, having grown 2,520% in the past year.Herber manages a team of 11, along with three agency partners.Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketingSome lessons from Herber that emerged in our discussion:Create your own wayDon't pay for experiences, let experiences pay for youMake the work you would like to seePursue the best version of what an idea could beEmbrace healthy frictionOwn your role in the relationshipCarefully cultivate and curateDon't be a dickRelated content mentioned in this episodeHard To Stay In Business Against Us: Raising the barrier to entry in the escape room industry (Podcast Episode #12) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/escape-room)Copywriting: 8 examples of successful marketing copy (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/other/8-examples-of-successful-marketing-copy)Team Building: Loyalty, relationships, pre-selling, and other keys to marketing management success (Podcast Episode #16) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/team-building)Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

“Refine your value prop until it becomes a reason…the summation of a rational/emotional argument,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Value Proposition Power: 3 ways to intensify the force of your value proposition (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/value-proposition-power/) (McGlaughlin is CEO of MarketingSherpa and MECLABS Institute).I thought of this lesson while reading through the podcast guest application for the latest guest on the How I Made It In Marketing podcast. She markets to physicians, a perfect example of an ideal customer that needs to hear a rational (there is scientific evidence that this works) and emotional (the human beings in your care will be helped by this) argument.You can hear how she responded to that question, along with lesson-filled stories from her career, in this episode with Laura Ayala, Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience, Karius (https://kariusdx.com/).Karius has most recently raised $165 million from a Series B funding round led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2 and $255 million funding in total. Its liquid biopsy for infections diseases got the company named to the Forbes AI 50, a list of the most promising artificial intelligence companies. Ayala manages a team of 12 marketing and customer success professionals, along with five agencies.Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingSome lessons from Ayala that emerged in our discussion:No room for error in healthcare marketing (exciting terms like “new product” and “novel” actually scare doctors)Strike a balance between thoroughness and effectiveness.There is value in persistence, grit, and sticking to your convictions.The power of the story and the importance of repetition.Grit and resilience.Understand your customer and how to deliver your message effectively.Related content mentioned in this episodeE-commerce: Testing value proposition leads to 220% increase in total conversions (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/video/testing-value-proposition-conversion-increase)How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/podcast)Healthcare Marketing Leadership: Build communities…not a customer list, walk your own path, take care of yourself (podcast episode #30) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/healthcare-marketing-leadership)5 mini case studies about understanding and serving the customer (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/understanding-what-customers-want-5-mini-case-studies)About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

“Remember that the customer is the subject and your offer is the object,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Effective Headlines: How to write the first 4 words for maximum conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/effective-headlines/) (McGlaughlin is the CEO of MECLABS and MarketingSherpa).I thought of this quote when our latest guest talked about essentialism. One place I see scope creep and bloat is in messaging – we get so focused on our own product and company we forget that our customer doesn’t know (or care) about our product…they care about themselves. Our guest said his job is simplification, and keeps his message about complex health care products simple by using this litmus test – “if I explained this to my mother or father, how could I message it so they could clearly understand it?”Learn more about the mental model our guest uses to keep his brand’s marketing communication as simple and easy-to-digest as possible in this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast. I sat down with Jake Watts, Vice President of Marketing, PDI (https://wearepdi.com/en-us/).PDI is a privately held, third-generation, family-owned company. It currently has 1,000 employees. Over 75% of US hospitals trust PDI for surface disinfection. As head of Healthcare Marketing for PDI, Watts oversees a team of eight marketing professionals.Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketingSome lessons from Watts that emerged in our discussion:You never have the right answers, to begin with.You should almost always do less than you think.You don’t need to go looking for good ideas, they’re already in your org.Boldness, and clarity, of vision are what motivates teams to sign up for the previously unthinkable.Radical simplicity plus alignment is key to leading large and challenging organizations towards new business models.Leadership Happens Outside the Boardroom – Why empathy is the greatest, hidden competitive advantage in organizations.Related content mentioned in this episodeThe Behind-the-scenes Story of How We Optimized Outdoor Advertising That Was Featured in a USA Today Article (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/optimized-outdoor-advertising-bairfind)The Compounding ROI of Sequential Conversion Increases: How one company took a small gain and multiplied it tenfold (https://marketingexperiments.com/journals/3rd%20Quarter%20(2010)%20-%20MEx%20Research%20Journal.pdf#page=6) (instant PDF download)Don’t Give Clients What They Want: “That’s also the name of a convention for adults who dress as toddlers” – Podcast Episode #6 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/client-management)About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

“The Marketer needs meaningful work and meaningful relationships,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Above-the-Fold Energy: How to engage the prospect’s mind with a carefully crafted opening (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-energy/) (McGlaughlin is the CEO of MECLABS and MarketingSherpa).I thought of that lesson when our latest podcast guest shared a lesson of her own, “Teams that are steeped in data and conversion numbers are the strongest at the craft.” Which means, we marketers must have meaningful relationships with data scientists and analytics managers. So, I asked her how we do that – after all, creatives aren’t exactly dataheads and sometimes speak very different languages from their more analytical brethren.Hear that advice, along with lesson-filled stories earned during an impressive career, from Tami Cannizzaro, Chief Marketing Officer, Thryv (https://www.thryv.com/), on this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.Thryv is publicly traded on Nasdaq and recorded $1.113 billion in revenue in 2021. As CMO, Cannizzaro manages a team of 50 marketers.Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingSome lessons from Cannizzaro that emerged in our discussion:There is a dramatic difference between marketing for a company with a large, established brand versus a company building a market presence and entering a category.Stay consistent.Teams that are steeped in data and conversion numbers are the strongest at the craft.It is critical for it all to work seamlessly together.Weekly growth is a high bar and a strong motivator.Constantly push to be innovative and on the forefront of a new trend.Related content mentioned in this episodeUsability and Landing Page Design: 3 quick case studies about improving results by guiding the customer’s perception process (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/usability-landing-page-design-case-studies-improving-results-customer-perception)About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

“Encapsulate the essence of the offer in the top four inches of the page,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Above-the-Fold Strategy: 4 ways to write powerful sub-headlines (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-strategy/). And this essence should inform your entire funnel, from initial ad to final conversion.I was reminded of this quote when our guest shared the lesson “PR and storytelling come first” – essentially, the story should be the essence of your campaign, and kickoff the campaign as well as inform its downstream messaging – so I asked him about it. You can hear how he responded, along with many more lesson-filled stories (and even the first-ever How I Made It In Marketing rap), when you listen to this episode with Lucas Welch, Vice President Corporate Marketing, Highspot (https://www.highspot.com/).Welch manages a team of 14 people and four agencies and oversees a $3 million budget.Highspot has raised $650 million in venture capital funding since launching in 2012. Most recently, the company closed a Series F round that valued the company at $3.5 billion. It has millions of users around the world.Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketingThe power of integrated storytelling and communityFeedback is respectBring your whole personality into workPR and storytelling come firstBuild genuine connections that uplift all involvedLearn it allRelated content mentioned in this episodeAbove-the-Fold Strategy: 4 ways to write powerful sub-headlines (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-strategy/)About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.Get more episodesTo receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

Our latest guest told the story of how she learned to find the ‘why’ – why a potential customer should act on her conversion objective.One of the things I really liked about her story – she didn’t only focus on the final ‘why’ the customer should buy the product or work with the company. Much like the sequences of eight Micro-Yes(es) taught in our free marketing course Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/), she considered the ‘why’ for key steps of the customer journey.That’s just one of the lessons you can learn from Tate Gibson, Head of Growth, Peak (https://peak.ai/), on this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.Gibson manages a transatlantic team of seven marketers located in the US and the UK and a marketing budget of $2 million.Peak has $119 million in investment funding raised to date, with SoftBank leading its Series C round.Some lessons from Gibson that emerged in our discussion:Understand where to find growth Attribution is a myth, but you need it Find like-minded people you can learn fromYou don’t have to know your end-destination to progress your pathFind the ‘why’ Know your numbers Related content mentioned in this episodeMarketing Career: What you need to understand at each step of the job seeker’s journey (even if you’re not looking) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/job-seekers-10-step-journey)Creating a Culture of Testing: How to defeat the tyranny of best practices (https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/tyranny-of-best-practices-html)Product Management & Marketing: Surround yourself with the right people (podcast episode #38) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product)Data Poetry in Marketing, PR & Corporate Communications (Podcast Episode #17) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/data-poetry)Online Marketing Tests: How do you know you’re really learning anything? (https://marketingexperiments.com/digital-analytics/testing-marketing-validity)About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.Get more episodesTo receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

“The aim of a headline is not to impress the prospect,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Headline Writing: 4 principles that could drive down your website bounce rate (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/headline-writing/).I realized that lesson could apply equally well to internal communications, during my latest podcast discussion. Do we spend too much time trying to impress our managers and team internally? Should we just give them the most accurate information and let them come to their own conclusions? As our guest taught – “bad news doesn’t get better with age” and sometimes you just need to “eat the frog.” In other words, stop trying to impress your leaders and your team and just give it to them straight, and quickly. You can hear that conversation, along with many more lesson-filled stories, from my discussion with Sherry Lowe, Chief Marketing Officer, Exabeam (https://www.exabeam.com/).Lowe manages a team of 50 marketing and sales professionals at Exabeam.Exabeam is the ninth-fastest growing company in the Bay Area, according to the San Francisco Business Times. The cybersecurity company has reached unicorn status, with a valuation of $2.4 billion based on its most recent round of funding.Some lessons from Lowe that emerged in our discussion:Always bring the customer story forward.Contributed articles can be used to help ease burdens on editorial staffs.Honor your brand.Marketing and sales can’t succeed without the otherBad news doesn’t get better with age.Always care about your people.Related content mentioned in this episodeCustomer Experience: Take risks, fail early, and learn fast (podcast episode #32) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-experience)The Indefensible Blog Post: Forget Charlie Sheen, here are 5 marketing lessons from marketers (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/marketing-lessons-peers/)Kellblog (https://kellblog.com/)Product Management & Marketing: Surround yourself with the right people (podcast episode #38) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product)About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.Get more episodesTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application