That's Marketing, Baby: Recent Episodes
Susan Wenograd & Jess Cook
Engineers build killer products. Marketers get what makes people tick. But product marketers? They’re the secret sauce — blending the brains of product with the finesse of marketing.
In this episode, Jess and Susan break down the role of product marketers in the B2B world and why they’re essential for nailing spot-on messaging because they bring the perfect mix of creativity and technical know-how.
In this episode:
- Collaboration between content teams and product marketers for compelling content.
- How to navigate the gray areas of empowerment in product marketing across different company cultures.
- Best practices for aligning product messaging with broader marketing strategies.
That's Marketing, Baby is produced by Sweet Fish Media.
Ready to get your podcast production and promotion off your plate and under control? Book a call at sweetfishmedia.com.
Let's play a game ...
Who's ready to kiss, marry, or kill some marketing strategies? 😈
In this episode, Jess and Susan each share a thing they love right now, feel strongly about long-term, and loathe entirely in the world of marketing.
Their lists include:
- The hot, new algo-preferred post format on LinkedIn
- The highs and lows of automation in paid media
- How to build a strategic content calendar with AI tools
- Why balancing performance marketing and brand building is crucial for long-term success
That's Marketing, Baby is produced by Sweet Fish Media.
Ready to get your podcast production and promotion off your plate and under control? Book a call at sweetfishmedia.com.
We've all had that project that made us both excited and terrified.
Maybe it was the first time your manager asked you to tackle something you'd never tackled before.
Maybe it was a stretch goal to prove you were ready for that promotion.
In any case, when you're named the lead on a high-effort, high-impact, high-visibility project, what can you do to give yourself the highest odds of success without totally burning yourself out?
In this episode, Jess walks you through what she does to pull off big projects with confidence.
- Controlling what you can control so you can deal with what you can't
- The power of documentation and socialization
- Getting comfortable moving forward without permission and 100% of the necessary information
- How to seek support when you're stuck, and why you shouldn't be afraid to “raise the red flag.”
What would you do if …
- Your content is suffering from too much input from too many people?
- You’re conflicted on how to delegate between an agency and your in-house team?
- You need more customer feedback to do your job better?
- Your paid campaign has so many offers and CTAs and there’s no way to test them all?
Back by popular demand, Jess and Susan dive into another round of hypothetical marketing scenarios and challenges—and put their heads together on how to navigate them.
(And be sure to check out Hypothetical Questions, Round 1!)
That's Marketing, Baby is produced by Sweet Fish Media.
Ready to get your podcast production and promotion off your plate and under control? Book a call at sweetfishmedia.com.
Organic and paid — how do we optimize and synchronize these two vital parts of our marketing strategy? We know it's about crafting content that converts and leaves a lasting impression. But where do we even start? And how do we stand out?
In this episode, Jess and Susan are joined by Lashay Lewis and Tas Bober who lay out their collaborative approach to building a rock-solid marketing foundation, using customer research to create targeted content, and optimizing landing pages for maximum impact. They share their secrets to navigating the complexities of B2B marketing through the constant checks and balances of content and paid.
In this episode:
- The importance of upfront research before executing marketing campaigns
- How to bridge the gap between internal and external perceptions to create effective, customer-centric content
- Strategies for leveraging landing pages, testing messaging, and measuring marketing performance holistically
That's Marketing, Baby is produced by Sweet Fish Media. Book a call at sweetfishmedia.com.
Do your palms start to sweat at the thought of planning your next event? Overwhelmed by the challenge of getting as many of the right attendees as possible to show up?
In this episode, Susan and Jess reveal their favorite secrets to getting “butts in seats” and turning your event into a FOMO-inducing success story. We’re exploring the intricacies of event marketing — specifically the lead up to the event — from setting goals and themes to creating FOMO and using paid strategies.
In this Episode:
- Setting clear goals and a theme for your event
- Tips for attracting sign ups and attendees
- How to best use paid ads in your event promotion
The struggle to keep up with content creation is real. How often in our effort to create the next thing do we fail to properly distribute the last thing?
In this episode, the legendary, Ross Simmonds stops by to give away the secrets to effectively share and repurpose your best work:
- The importance of resharing old content and why it still gets engagement today.
- Optimizing content through repurposing and updating existing assets.
- Content strategies, including testing headlines and leveraging paid vs. organic distribution.
If you like this episode, do yourself a HUGE favor and follow Ross on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds/
That's Marketing, Baby is produced by Sweet Fish Media. Book a call at sweetfishmedia.com.
Social media and the 24/7 news cycle has completely reshaped PR, brand reputation, and company credibility.
In this episode, Jess and Susan discuss the complexities of modern brand management, specifically the importance of documenting what you will NOT say or do.
In this Episode:
- Brand messaging and navigating competition
- Reputation management with social media at the center
- Tips for building and maintaining trust with your audience
That's Marketing, Baby is produced by Sweet Fish Media. Book a call at sweetfishmedia.com.
Deciding what your brand won't say, do, or touch with a 39-1/2-foot pole is just as strategic as what it will. It’s the fastest path to avoid wasting marketing dollars on irrelevant leads and unfocused projects and ensuring your content and media are optimized for your buyer's journey.
In this episode, Jess and Susan discuss the importance of knowing what your marketing team won’t be doing, what you’ll say no to, and how that will positively impact the results.
Takeaways:
- Putting guardrails around your content and media at the strategy level and beyond
- How to decide where to spend on media
- Learning to say no, so you can perform at your best
That's Marketing, Baby is produced by Sweet Fish Media. Book a call at sweetfishmedia.com.
As the Associate Director of Content & Campaigns at Goldcast, Lindsay McGuire's days are spent overseeing and creating content about how marketers can use events as a top revenue-driving channel.
And believe you me, she practices what she preaches.
In this episode, Lindsay shares with Jess:
- Her transition to Goldcast and marketing to marketers (00:02:26)
- How she juggles and differentiates multiple event series for varied audiences (00:06:15)
- Ways to engage live event audiences that spark stories, social proof, and future content ideas (00:12:50)
- The importance of engaging with an event audience BEFORE an event (00:17:33)
- Adopting a video-first mindset and the ease of converting video content into text assets (00:19:47)
That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule and their free SEO tool, ottimo.
Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official newsletter of That's Marketing, Baby.
Low-hanging fruit is great. But sometimes, you need a high-effort, high-impact program to make a splash in the market.
In this episode, Susan and Jess share their top big-whale marketing efforts that actually pay off — and WHY they're worth the investment.
Referenced in the show:
Descript explainer video
That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and their free SEO tool, ottimo (ottimo.cool).
Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter.
What would you do if ...
- You see an uptick in organic traffic, but not conversions?
- Someone asks, "Should we bid on our own branded keywords?"
- You have multiple products and personas, but a small marketing team?
- You want to try to replicate some of your LinkedIn ads success on Facebook?
In this episode, Susan and Jess throw these hypothetical marketing situations at each other and talk through the best ways to handle them.
That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com).
Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up
Alexa Kilroy — the Director of Marketing at Stay AI, and former Head of Brand at Triple Whale — has a consistent, tenacious grip on what's new, what's working, and what's not in the world of DTC and e-comm marketing.
She joined Jess on the pod to talk about:
- Her non-linear path from high school teacher to tech marketer
- The marketing tactics that are working for Stay AI right now
- Why interactive content needs to be part of your marketing mix
- How to quickly test if a big bet will pay off or not
- What standout ad creative really means
- And why relying on atypical results in case studies can actually backfire
We all want to be one of the rockstars in our marketing org. Someone who operates with confidence, and knows the next right step. The person who knows how best to work with everyone, who everyone wants to work with.
In this episode, Jess and Susan share the 4 skills they feel:
1) make you stand out from the rest of the marketing team, and
2) signal that you're ready to level up in your role — no matter where you sit in marketing.
That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com).
Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up
Amrita Mathur is a badass. As the VP of Marketing at ClickUp and former VP of Marketing at Superside, she knows exactly what it takes to grow teams and revenue at high-growth, high-value startups.
After Wayne-ing and Garth-ing out a bit (we're not worthy!) Jess and Susan chatted with Amrita about:
- Her 30/60/90 plan at ClickUp [4:37]
- Why every marketing team needs someone with an economist's brain [10:33]
- Why Payback Period is her one metric to rule them all [12:44]
- How she thinks about pipe and fuel instead of organic and paid [22:30]
- How her team at Superside balanced quality, creativity, and speed [24:35]
- Where to begin with content when you're starting from nothing [31:39]
- What to do when a program fails [39:13]
That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com).
Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up
Susan and Jess have made a lot of mistakes in their day. In this episode, they share the email marketing no-nos they've learned the hard way, so you don't have to.
You'll hear:
- How to find your brand's most performant frequency
- Why you don't want as many people on your email list as possible
- How the right sender can boost your open rates
- The big difference between B2C and B2B email tactics
That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com).
Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up
Our first guest of season two is the inimitable Mike King. As one of the world's foremost authorities on all things SEO and generative AI, Mike came to school us on:
- The disconnect between Google and SEO tools [00:04:10]
- The importance of focusing on user needs and creating content that aligns with different stages of the customer journey, rather than solely targeting specific keywords [00:10:31]
- 3 powerful pieces of low-hanging SEO fruit marketers should pay attention to, but don't [00:16:39]
- 2 simple ways to construct better prompts (plus the outsized impact of a MEGA PROMPT) [21:07]
Mike King on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkingphilly/
AIPRM: https://www.aiprm.com/
iPullRank: https://ipullrank.com/
The Science of SEO on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Science-SEO-Decoding-Search-Algorithms/dp/1119844835
That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com).
Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up
The paid influencer trend is steadily making its way into the B2B space — and that's a good thing! Spreading the word about your brand and product is much more powerful coming from a trusted human than it is a faceless company page.
In this episode, Susan and Jess discuss:
- How to Identify and work with the people inside your company who have credibility and expertise in your brand's space.
- How to find and partner with those outside your company whose following and POV align with your brand's.
- What influencers — internal and external — need from you in order to create the most persuasive content possible.
That's Marketing, Baby is sponsored by the incredible people at ércule (ercule.co) and Teal (tealhq.com).
Can't get enough? Subscribe to Rants & Raves, the official That's Marketing, Baby newsletter: https://bit.ly/rants-and-raves-sign-up
Jess and Susan get real meta with their season 2 opener. This episode is all about launch day — what to do before, during, and after a product launch to make as impactful a splash as possible.
You'll hear:
- How to make sure your launch message will resonate BEFORE you spend a single dollar on media
- Why a creative centerpiece can help make it look like you're EVERYWHERE
- How to use first-party research to support your product launch
- Why your paid ads and your landing page should be a matching set
They're baaaack!
After taking the summer off to feed their kids no less than 47 snacks a day, Susan and Jess are back on the mic — and ready to dish on all things B2B marketing — starting Monday, September 11.
Season One Finale: In this final installment of a 3-part series, Jess and Susan address the final thing:
When do you admit content is NOT working?
Often we see so many places give up on content too soon, but of course, not all marketing works. So if we have to wait so long to know if our content is doing anything...how do we know when it's definitely not?
Make sure to check out the first 2 installments of this 3-part series, where Susan and Jess broke down arriving at an answer around content performance they feel confident in.
Part 1: Short-term metrics to keep your eye on
Part 2: Long-term feedback loops to build with sales
How do you know if your content is actually moving the needle?
In this day and age of measuring ALL OF THE THINGS, attribution is still an educated guess at best. Which makes the answer to this question quite the enigma.
In this 3-part series, Susan and Jess break down how they arrive at an answer around content performance they feel confident in.
Part 1: Short-term metrics to keep your eye on
Part 2: Long-term feedback loops to build with sales
Part 3: When to make the call on doubling down or moving on
How do you know if your content is actually moving the needle?
In this day and age of measuring ALL OF THE THINGS, attribution is still an educated guess at best. Which makes the answer to this question quite the enigma.
In this 3-part series, Susan and Jess break down how they arrive at an answer around content performance they feel confident in.
Part 1: Short-term metrics to keep your eye on
Part 2: Long-term feedback loops to build with sales
Part 3: When to make the call on doubling down or moving on
Ah, the home page.
Your brand's single biggest opportunity to present itself to the world. And, as marketers, one of our biggest opportunities to affect growth. (Which is why we find updating it in any way daunting.)
In this episode, Jess helps take some of the home page scaries away with:
- The 4 sections every home page needs
- Why you should test having 2 CTAs
- 3 tips for crafting truly great home page copy
BONUS — Get your copy of Jess's course, Home Pages for Humans: https://jesscookcontent.gumroad.com/l/home-pages-for-humans
🕵🏻♀️ Psssst ...
Get 10% off with promo code: YEAHBABY
Our very first guest is here! It's Justin Dunham, Founder of content strategy and SEO agency Ércule. Justin is an SEO wizard who cares about the nitty gritty SEO details so his clients can pay attention to the big picture stuff. We chatted about:
- Why SEO is absolutely a revenue lever and how to treat is as such
- What marketers do that makes him want to rip is hair out
- What marketers do that he wishes others would catch onto
- Ottimo — Ércule's app that translates confusing GA data into usable insights for marketers (You can use it for free at ottimo.cool.)
You can find Justing on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwdunham
Expected to do a lot with a little?
In this week's episode, Jess and Susan discuss how you can make your brand look bigger and operate efficiently, even if marketing budgets and resources are in short supply.
There are two types of people in your audience: those who know they have a problem and those who don't. Both can be great buyers. It's just a matter of how you approach them.
In this episode of That's Marketing, Baby, Jess and Susan break down the difference between demand capture and demand gen, (with actual helpful examples!), why you need both, and how they work together to make you look like a marketing rockstar.
Plus, weird fishing analogies!
Being realistic about your product's cost is crucial to being fair in your marketing investment.
In this week's episode, Jess and Susan break down the key factors that contribute to your marketing costs relative to your product price tag.
There are some organizations where marketing always faces an uphill battle. Getting buy-in from leadership is difficult and building trust is tough, no matter how much you strategize or plan ahead.
Sometimes, with a bit of grit and education, marketers can overcome these obstacles. And sometimes, you're met with pushback at every turn.
In this episode, Susan and Jess reveal:
🚩 The four red flags that can sabotage even the best marketing strategies
🤞 How to educate your team and (hopefully) eliminate these red flags
👋 When it's time to cut bait and hightail it outta there so your efforts can make an impact somewhere else
In this Susan-solo episode, she answers a multi-part question from LinkedIn covering:
- How to know what to work on next.
- Documenting previous efforts so you're always moving forward.
- Stepping away when marketing is never truly done.
"Safe." "Boring." "All the same." These are typical descriptors of B2B marketing.
You know what's not usually described that way? B2C marketing, often hailed as bold, breakthrough, and emotional
In this special solo episode, Jess — who spent 15 years as a copywriter and creative director for brands like McDonald's, Pop-Tarts, and Cottonelle — shares 4 ways to think more like a B2C creative so you can craft more inventive, exciting B2B campaigns.
Repurposing is more than just sharing a link on social. You have to reframe your content in a way that feels native to each social platform.
In this episode, Jess and Susan walk you through how to repurpose a blog post in each of the four major social channels, and the best way to put paid support behind that content.
(Plus, get Jess's prediction on the channel she thinks will surpass TikTok for B2B in the very near future.)
Original, first-party data stories and research reports are becoming more and more valuable. Because, you know, they require actual humans to create them as opposed to just AI and robots.
This means understanding how to collect, organize, and story tell around data is also increasingly important. So sit a spell and hear how Susan and Jess approach the process. There's a 99.9% chance you're gon' love it.
Of all the things Susan and Jess have built together, their most successful was a weekly newsletter. Over the course of one year, subscribers grew by 54%, and open rate and CTR shot up by by 33% and 77%, respectively. At one point, it became the leading source of ICP demos booked across the company.
In this episode, Jess and Susan walk you through their exact framework so you can turn your newsletter into a trust-building, affinity-boosting revenue machine.
Jess and Susan take turns revealing the marketing metrics they're keen on measuring this year. These are not your typical KPIs — Scout's honor.
Susan and Jess reveal three favorite places to dig up insights, data, and anecdotes to fuel your marketing efforts. Plus, they share the the must-ask questions to get the RIGHT info from those sources.
Jess and Susan freak out about podcasting together again (huzzah!) before sharing the six marketing trends they believe are quickly becoming best practices.