How I Made it in Marketing

“There is a difference between doing things right and doing the right thing.” Flint McGlaughlin shared that strategy maxim in Customer-First Objectives Application Session: See real webpages optimized for marketing conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/customer-first-objectives-application-session/) and it got me thinking about the marketer’s role in the organization while reading over t...

Our latest podcast guest discusses balancing the art and science of marketing. But I asked her a deeper question as well – what about philosophy in marketing? After all, our free digital marketing course is called Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/). You can hear the answer to that question, along with plenty of lesson-filled st...

“Structure an engagement continuum that attracts people with varying degrees of motivation,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Above-the-Fold Psychology: How to optimize the top 4 inches of your webpage [https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-psychology/]. In our latest episode, our guest shared the engagement continuum she has crafted for her company’s very complex product – a full-stack ma...

“Details matter.” That is a key lesson from our latest guest on How I Made It In Marketing. In fairness, it’s probably not a breakthrough new idea to you, right? But what she said next is the beauty (in my biased opinion) of what we do on the podcast – she told the story of how she lived that lesson with a fascinating example involving Stevie Wonder. Everybody knows “details matter,” but as Stephe...

We recently launched a free digital marketing course – Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/). And here’s one thing I’ve noticed…even the most experienced executive makes a mental shift when taking a course – from decision maker to student. From the one dishing out the advice to someone malleable and open to expanding their knowled...

“You need to commit yourself to mastering you art,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in High-Converting Landing Page: If you don’t ask this question you will never maximize conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/high-converting-landing-page/).  So true. Here’s one way to do that. In my most recent podcast discussion, my guest shared a simple methodology she uses (I’m not one for hyperbole, but f...

“Don’t ask before you have communicated enough perceived value,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Customer-First Objectives: Discover a three-part formula for focusing your webpage message (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/customer-first-objectives/). This is true in our marketing, but it is also true in how we handle ourselves in our careers, as this episode’s podcast guest summed up well with the l...

“If the marketer does not know where to focus; then the prospect will not know where to focus,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Customer-First Objectives Application Session: See real webpages optimized for marketing conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/customer-first-objectives-application-session/). To help drive home this lesson for you, we found a great story of relentless focus from our...

“A value proposition focuses on a specific customer segment,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Value Proposition Definition: Optimize your conversion rate with this powerful question (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/value-proposition-definition/).   I thought of this lesson while our latest guest talked about how he learned to ruthlessly prioritize. When I asked what role customer segmentation plays...

 “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Landing Page Creation and Optimization: 6 key questions to prepare the marketer (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/landing-page-creation-and-optimization/).  My latest guest made a hugely transformative change, rebranding her company from General Electric. Imagine having to rebrand from one of the most l...

“Beware of going wide with your marketing before going deep with your thinking,” Flint McGlauglin taught  in What is the most important question to ask before creating a high-converting landing page? (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/high-converting-landing-page/) This episode's guest told our host a story about launching an ecommerce store that was the perfect illustration of Flint’s teach...

“People don't buy from websites; people buy from people.” That quote is from Flint McGlaughlin in Website Wireframes: 8 psychological elements that impact marketing conversion rates (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/website-wireframes/). And it’s true of your advertising and marketing as well. Which is what stuck out to me in the podcast guest application from our latest guest. He said, “if...

“Remember the prospect is a person. Do not talk AT them; talk TO them.” This quote comes from Flint McGlaughlin in Above-the-Fold Psychology: How to optimize the top 4 inches of your webpage (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/above-the-fold-psychology/).  And it exemplified the conversation with our latest guest, who literally went into people’s homes and looked in their closets to better underst...

“Trust yourself.” That is a key lesson shared by our latest guest, an academic leader. And really, that is the goal of education, right? To build your capacity, so you can trust yourself to effectively execute.  We also believe in the importance of capacity building for entrepreneurs and marketing professionals. For example, we provide free marketing thought tools (https://meclabs.com/course/tools...

When managing a marketing team, success is not necessarily a straight line. No instant inputs and outputs. After all, your team isn’t just filled with employees, it’s filled with human beings. Complex, fallible, emotional, confusing, questioning human beings. All of us, together, experiencing the human condition while trying to be productive, together, working in an organization. I say this becaus...

“ Replace the claim with the reason” – that lesson comes courtesy of Website Wireframes: See real webpages optimized for marketing conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/website-wireframes-application-session/).   It’s far easier to make empty claims than provide true reasons for customers to buy. Especially if you’re a copywriter, designer, or junior-level brand marketer who doesn’t know...

When our latest guest told me the story of how she learned, “exclamation points are for lazy people,” it reminded me of “foster conclusions with specific, quantifiable facts” ...a lesson from Above-the-Fold Energy: How to engage the prospect’s mind with a carefully crafted opening (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/above-the-fold-energy/).  Take a look at your headlines, sub-headlines, opening pa...

Before you optimize your marketing, you must optimize yourself. Which is why we have offered free digital marketing course sessions like The Marketer’s Self Image: Three distorted concepts that are robbing your conversion results (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/the-marketers-self-image/). This approach to self-optimization was top-of-mind as we heard lessons from our latest guest. Lessons like...

You don’t just start with an amazing website. Or product. Or marketing campaign. As discussed in Session #9 of MECABS free digital marketing course – Website Strategies: 4 ways to prepare your marketing team to increase conversion rates (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/website-strategies/)– you start by preparing your team. Listen now to hear Jonathan Murrell, Co-Founder & CMO, The Escape G...

“We run the scientific method. Hypothesis. Experimentation. Observation. Analysis. Optimization,” Aron North told Daniel Burstein in our latest podcast episode. Great minds think alike. North’s approach is almost identical to Step #6 of the Landing Page Blueprint (https://meclabs.com/course/blueprint/). Listen now to hear Aron North, Chief Marketing Officer and Commercial Owner, Mint Mobile (https...

Customer-first objectives (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/customer-first-objectives/). You may think of these three words when you hear our latest guest describe his role in the creation of the first internet banner ad (which had a clickthrough rate of … wait for it… 44%!).  He described the objective behind the ad this way – create a form of advertising that is at once a gift to the consumer,...

The marketer is central to the success of any organization. Which is why the very first section of the Landing Page Blueprint (https://meclabs.com/course/blueprint/), before there is any mention of anything on the landing page, is about The Marketer. Our latest guest described it this way – the five most important things in a startup or any creative process are people, people, people, market, and...

Empathy is not just the human choice, it’s the right choice for business. The power that your own stories have to connect more effectively with others. These are a few of the lessons from the stories Nasya Kamrat, CEO and co-founder, FACULTY (https://www.wearefaculty.com/), shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #8 of the How I Made It in Marketing podcast. Stories (with lessons) about what she ma...

Keep it simple. You are nothing without the people around you. These are a few of the lessons from the stories Maja Frølunde Sand-Grimnitz, Director of Global Marketing for Consumer Gaming, EPOS (formerly Sennheiser Communications)(https://www.eposaudio.com/) shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #7. Some lessons from Sand-Grimnitz that emerged in their discussion: – Keep it simple…both in defini...

Don’t give clients whatever they ask for. The most fatal blind spot lies in audience knowledge. These are a few of the lessons from the stories Liz Harr, Partner, Hinge (https://hingemarketing.com/), shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #6 of the How I Made It in Marketing podcast. Some lessons from Harr that emerged in our discussion: Don’t give clients whatever they ask for: When a tech client...