How I Made it in Marketing

Let me confess something to you right now — I have my share of weaknesses. I’m sure you’re not shocked to hear that. We all do, right? But I don’t go ‘all in’ on improving them. Instead, I focus on my strengths. I learned this lesson from John Maxwell long ago. He said, “We’re taught to be well-rounded and to improve our weaknesses. However, in many arenas of life, we naturally perform poorly. Eve...

Here’s one thing I love about a career in marketing. I’ve gotten the opportunity to learn the inner workings of so many other industries I would have never been exposed to if I didn’t have to tell their story. So I learned that my skill isn’t necessarily to know everything about every industry. But it’s to be able to learn quickly, work with subject matter experts to get the knowledge out of their...

Running a marketing department or agency can feel a bit like being in that Jay-Z song. And I gotta admit, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by 99 problems that come my way. So I appreciate the ray of sunshine who is my next guest, who reminds us that ‘Solving problems for people is a privilege, not a burden.’ To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to...

In every survey we conducted for benchmark reports, one challenge consistently topped the list among marketers – the size of the marketing budget. I mean, who could argue. We would all want a bigger budget, right? And while a hefty budget is a dream for many, this episode’s guest is a testament to the idea that constraints can actually be a catalyst for innovation and creativity. I spoke with Jess...

You’re reading this podcast description right now. But are you really paying attention? I mean, really tuned in? Or are you half reading and half thinking of your upcoming deadlines, a campaign that underperformed, and a plethora of other tasks, goals, and concerns? Actually being in the moment – and wringing the most we can get out of it – is so difficult during these modern times.  Which is why...

How many times have you read a company’s marketing and thought – they’re not talking to a customer; they’re talking to themselves. This is especially prevalent in B2B. I’ve seen this on homepages, landing pages, print ads, in press releases, and on and on. I started my career as a copywriter and then worked in sales enablement. So I – it is tempting to write for the person signing your check. But...

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa). Good marketing isn't just about catchy slogans or flashy ads; it's about understanding the human psyche. The psyche of our customers, yes, but our own as well. So in this episode we’ll delve into a psychological concept called ‘action bias’ – this...

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa). “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” This is from Viktor Frankl, in the book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning.’ He learned...

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa). “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” That quote is from George Bernard Shaw, and hopefully is inspiration for anyone...

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments working for you. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa). It is hard to make this episode of How I Made It In Marketing and share it with you. Because you are professional marketers and entrepreneurs, many of you know marketing, business, and content creation better than I ever will. So I could wor...

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa). I wish I could just tell people what they should do. Whether it was people on my team who reported to me, potential customers, or even my own kids. But that approach has a major flaw – they will resist. Heck, I would resist, too. It reminds me of a lyric fr...

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa). Perhaps you’re a key business leader and just acquired a company. Or maybe you’re starting your first job right out of college. Either way, you had to find a way to be effective with your new team. How do you do that? I love our latest guest’s description o...

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Join us in the AI Guild. Chat with MECLABS AI to learn more – MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa) _____________________________________________________________________________________ We all know that if we run a marketing experiment, we can get a loss. But here’s a topic that i...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. Join us for an AI Guild session Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Learn more at MECLABS.com/AI-Briefing I use one word all smooshed together to describe the time I spend on the job – worklife. I’m not talking about balance. I’m simply saying, ‘Yes we have a homelife. But we hav...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. Join us for an AI Guild session Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Learn more at MECLABS.com/AI-Briefing We often talk about product-market fit. But what about marketer-role fit? You could be an amazing marketer in many ways, but in the wrong role, you will be constantly swimmin...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. Join us for an AI Guild session Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Learn more at MECLABS.com/AI-Briefing When you listen to How I Made It In Marketing, you often hear me challenge a guest. Not because I necessarily disagree with them or think they are wrong, but because you must...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. Join us for an AI Guild session Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Learn more at MECLABS.com/AI-Briefing Growth. You see this word everywhere. Growth marketing. But do you know what uncontrolled growth in our bodies is called? It’s called cancer. Sorry to be negative, but I thin...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results . When I was in school, I wanted to be a writer. And then when I started job interviews with ad agencies I thought, ‘Wow! It would be so amazing t...

How I Made It In Marketing is underwritten by MECLABS, the parent org of MarketingSherpa. Learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding at MECLABS.com/results In this week's episode of How I Made It In Marketing, we’re going to listen to some of the top insights I’ve heard on the podcast. And let me tell you why. In marketing, we can be...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results . I love a really good turn of phrase. Hey, as a writer, I’m a real sucker for words. So when I saw this phrase on a podcast guest application it...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results . Given your role in the organization – maybe you’re a director, C-level, or even just a manager – you have certain positional authority. By virtu...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results . If you think of what we do as marketers – we take value, real value that can help a person meet a goal or overcome a challenge, and then we pack...

How I Made It In Marketing is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results . Marketing is such a tricky endeavor. On the one hand, success is predicated on creativity. Think of some of the most memorable and effective marketing campaigns...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results . Hold a newspaper or magazine or other reading material right up to your face. I mean touching your nose close. Way too close. What do you read?...

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results . I have this dream that I can go into other peoples’ heads, kind of like the movie Being John Malkovich. Friends. Family. Customers. Work colleag...