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Every few years, someone in the marketing world tries to declare that email is dead. After knowing each other for over a decade and working through the trenches of digital marketing, my friend John W. Hayes and I are still here, we are both a little grayer, and email is stronger than ever. John is the Product Marketing Manager at Upland Adestra, a content strategist, and the author of Becoming the Expert. On this episode of the HMBT Podcast, we dive into the realities of the modern inbox: moving away from spammy cold outreach, navigating tighter spam filters, and building media channels you actually own.

Why Cold Email Fails and Warm Outreach Wins

Buying a list of 100,000 names and hitting send is a fast track to getting your domain burned. Mailbox providers are increasingly aggressive with content fingerprinting and reputation tracking. As John points out, cold email has always been an uphill battle because business runs on human relationships. Instead of blasting strangers, your focus should be on building familiarity. By the time an email lands in someone’s inbox, they should already recognize your name, know your face from social platforms, or know your content from an industry community.

The Discipline of Consistency: Keep Pedaling

Visibility does not happen by accident. John uses a cycling analogy: you do not get anywhere unless you keep pedaling. Whether you are posting practical lessons on LinkedIn, participating in communities on Reddit, or publishing on Substack, you have to establish a steady cadence. John highlights a realistic truth: 80% of what you put out might fall flat, but the 20% that connects will build the relationships and pipeline you need.

Rented Channels vs. Owned Media

Publishers and brands are learning a hard lesson: search algorithms and social platforms can wipe out your traffic overnight. Relying purely on rented reach leaves your business vulnerable. That is why media companies and independent creators are turning toward owned platforms like Substack, Beehiiv, and dedicated email newsletters. Readers and customers are willing to support high-value, original content.

Key Takeaways

Conclusion

Building a real brand is a marathon, not a sprint. Stop chasing quick automation shortcuts that treat prospects like numbers, and focus on delivering genuine value across platforms.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective transactional and broadcast email platform, check out Anypost.

For ongoing business growth discussions, join our community at SMB Marketing and Business Tips on Skool.

Connect with John on Linkedin
Check out Upland Adestra
Check out John’s Book, Becoming the Expert

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Leaving corporate America after 16 years taught me a big lesson: having an existing network and diverse income streams is essential. With so many professionals navigating career changes, layoffs, or launching their own consulting gigs, finding proven ways to grow without blowing a massive ad budget is critical.

To help break this down, I sat down with Stephen Somers, founder of Marketplace Superheroes. Stephen has spent 16 years in e-commerce, building companies that have generated over $50 million in sales and helping more than 10,000 students get started. In this conversation, we talk about the massive shift happening in online selling, how to tap into audiences that already exist, and why real business success comes down to simple consistency.

The Explosion of Live Stream Commerce on Whatnot

While Amazon and eBay remain foundational platforms, live stream commerce is rapidly changing how consumers interact with sellers. Stephen shared how his business jumped onto Whatnot, a platform that hit $11 billion in gross merchandise volume in 2025. By hosting live streams and auctioning items directly to viewers, his team produced over $247,000 in sales within their first 100 days.

The key to Whatnot is not being a slick salesperson. It comes down to presenting products people already want, bringing high energy, and creating an engaging, fun atmosphere. While static marketplaces like eBay still serve a purpose for vintage or searchable inventory, live streaming allows sellers to build immediate relationships and community with buyers.

Tapping into Other People’s Audiences (OPAs)

When you are starting out or launching a new service, you rarely have a massive email list or audience. Stephen explained how he generated his first sales by hanging out in communities where his ideal clients already gathered. By sharing his actual journey, offering free value, and building relationships, clients started approaching him directly.

This model applies to both product sellers and service providers. Instead of relying entirely on paid ads, which carry high acquisition costs, identify the events, groups, and platforms where your audience spends time. When you build real goodwill and solve problems without immediate expectations, you position yourself as the authority.

The True ROI of Networks and Strategic Partnerships

A personal brand and a trusted network will always outperform short-term tactics. Stephen noted that out of his career revenue, tens of millions of dollars originated directly from attending events and building a strong network. When I transitioned out of full-time employment, almost every consulting client I picked up came directly from referrals and connections I spent years building on LinkedIn.

Stephen also broke down the economics of strategic partnerships and the Dream 100 framework. Paying to acquire individual customers through ads is expensive and slow. In contrast, building a relationship with one key partner can place your offer in front of an entire established audience, creating a win-win scenario that yields long-term dividends.

Embracing Routine, Focus, and the Daily Grind

Real success in business is often surprisingly repetitive. It requires doing the foundational tasks day in and day out, even when the excitement fades. Stephen discussed how embracing business meditations, such as booking a hotel room with just a notebook and pen to think strategically, helps you step back from the day-to-day rush.

We also touched on navigating neurodiversity, including harnessing ADHD as a superpower to channel creativity, find leverage, and structure daily work for sustained progress. Consistency wins the race every single time.

Key Takeaways:

Conclusion

Building a sustainable business takes grit, patience, and a willingness to stay the course when things get tough. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, and share this conversation with a friend who is looking to start or scale their business!

If you’re looking for a cost-effective transactional and broadcast email platform, check out Anypost.

For ongoing business growth discussions, join our community at SMB Marketing and Business Tips on Skool.

Connect with Stephen:

Website: marketplacesuperheroes.com/start
Free Go Live Get Paid Training: which teaches people how to build a side income through live-stream selling on Whatnot: https://vimeo.com/1182911149?fl=ls&fe=ec
Free Guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JdaKCq3m1Jx9JNalhUZUys1_pnxF9AAb/view?usp=drive_link

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On episode 311, I sat down for round two with Rion Haber, CSO of Catalyst Marketing Agency. We originally recorded this conversation earlier, but a tech hiccup meant the video did not capture. Rion was kind enough to return for a mulligan, and honestly, this conversation turned out even better. We walked away from rigid scripts and talked through the raw reality of AI, changing search engines, brand trust, and how modern companies actually get noticed online today.

Finding Attention When Search Flips Upside Down The old playbook of stuffing keywords and chasing backlinks does not cut it anymore. Rion pointed out that discovery has largely shifted away from traditional search engines toward social platforms and earned media. Search itself is becoming more brand-focused and lower in the funnel. With generative AI tools summarizing answers across the web, your online reputation, customer reviews, and actual public relations matter more than trying to outsmart an algorithm.

Authenticity Beats the Content Machine One of the biggest mistakes business owners make today is treating AI like an endless, generic content generator. The lower the cost of creating content becomes, the higher the value of genuine authenticity gets. Consumers and prospects can spot empty, automated copy immediately. Whether you are running a scrappy startup or scaling a mature brand, real relationships are built by showing up on camera, talking to people like adults, and consistently offering upfront value without expecting an immediate sale next week.

The Reality of Vibe Coding and In-House Tools From building custom screen resizers to connecting internal models to platforms like HubSpot, building your own lightweight tools has never been easier. However, there is a catch. Spending 40 hours wrestling with code or yelling at Claude takes you away from your actual job: talking to human beings and shaking hands. AI can handle the repetitive background tasks, but relying entirely on it to replace proven platforms or write your core strategy will quickly leave you frustrated.

Key Takeaways

Conclusion Success in marketing still comes down to the basics: understanding your audience, delivering massive value upfront, and treating people like human beings. Don’t let new tech distract you from the work that actually moves the needle. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to subscribe to the podcast, share this episode with a friend, and leave a review. Check out Catalyst Marketing Agency to see how Rion and his team help brands scale.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective transactional and broadcast email platform, check out Anypost.

For ongoing business growth discussions, join our community at SMB Marketing and Business Tips on Skool.

Connect with Rion and Catalyst Marketing:

Website: https://catalystmarketingagency.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rionhaber/

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In this episode, I sat down with Al Safati, CEO of Clarity Digital to talk about how SEO is changing and evolving.

With over 26 years of experience in digital marketing, Al knows the ins and outs of SEO better than most. We first met at Digital Summit in Dallas, and this conversation felt like a continuation of that great exchange about search, content, and email marketing.

Al’s answer was clear—yes. Traditional SEO still drives a significant amount of traffic, especially for transactional searches and local business queries. But AI is reshaping how content gets discovered and consumed. Marketers who ignore SEO risk disappearing from both search engines and AI-driven platforms.

Even as AI summaries and overviews become more common, the core elements of SEO haven’t gone away:

Al shared three key areas marketers should focus on as AI search grows:

One of the biggest takeaways from our conversation was how KPIs are changing. SEO success won’t just be about rankings and traffic anymore. Instead, marketers need to think about multi-touch attribution and how different channels—SEO, AI search, email, and social—work together to drive results.

SEO is not dead, but it is evolving. Marketers must balance the foundations of traditional SEO with the new realities of AI-driven search. That means embracing technical best practices, creating original content, expanding brand presence, and monitoring reputation across the web.

As Al put it, “If you abandon SEO, you’re going to disappear from the AI map.”

Connect with Al on LinkedIn

Visit the Clarity Digital website here

Get 5,000 free Kickbox credits with the code HMBT

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In this episode, Hank and Bolaji discuss effective demand generation strategies where they emphasize the importance of understanding audience needs, creating engaging content, and fostering brand affinity before guiding potential customers into the marketing funnel.

Highlights:

Engaging Content: Craft content that resonates with the audience, placing them at the center of the narrative.

Solve Pain Points: Businesses should focus on providing immediate solutions to urgent problems (painkillers) rather than just general benefits (vitamins).

Brand Recognition: Build a memorable brand through slogans and consistent messaging can enhance customer recall. Nurture Leads: Effective demand generation involves guiding potential customers with targeted information that addresses their specific needs.

Memorable Messaging: Using humor and catchy phrases can enhance brand recall, as shown with examples like Crazy Kevin Powell.

Understanding the Market: It’s crucial to identify when potential customers are ready to engage, rather than pushing them prematurely into the funnel.

Watch Demand Wars – https://www.TACKnetwork.com/demand-wars

Connect with Bolaji: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/bolaji

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Josh Dodson is my guest today. He is the Director of Research and integrated Marketing at VisionPoint Marketing.

We discussed marketing strategy vs. tactics. Strategy is a guiding principle for the tactics you use in marketing. Tactics are the specific thing you are doing with marketing. It could be Facebook ads or maybe Google Adwords. It is when you get into the weeds. Strategy helps guide you toward your goal.

First, start with a goal, then develop a plan to reach that goal. Next, use the tools at your exposal to execute the plan. If you follow a plan, it will be more effective and reduce mistakes.

There are times when you can do something out of scope, like an Instagram Story post or tweet. An example from Josh’s article is targeting alumni; you need to define parameters to help you target your audience better. Then once you are in the moment, you can decide if you should execute an unplanned post. One thing is that your message needs to tie into what you are saying, how you are saying it, and who you are saying it to.

Targeting is important. Making sure to send the content to the right person, at the right time. It will help with effectiveness.

Josh talks about statistical significance. It is crucial to be able to identify what element of your marketing is working and what is not. Use tracking parameters (Google Analytics, UTM), to help learn about what is happening on your website. When you add that on the front end, you can see what is happening on the backend. In other words, you will be able to analyze the customer journey.

By learning what your website visitors are doing, you can tweak your plan and adjust your goals.

Josh concluded, by saying there is a temptation to do the exciting things without planning, but you need to establish your guiding principles to make your job and results easier in the long run. Plan for success and execute for conversions.

Visit VisionPoint Marketing’s website: www.visionpointmarketing.com

Josh on Twitter: @joshuaDDodson

[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXUJ8QBK0nk[/youtube]

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The power of referrals. Most people rely on word-of-mouth referrals. That means that they are being reactive and waiting for those referrals to roll in. Even though word of mouth referrals can be enough, you can always have more and more money. Referrals are the most powerful form of obtaining customers, because it is free.

My friends at New Velocity told me that 88% of people are willing to provide a referral, but only 8% of people ask for them. Make sure that you are on LinkedIn and have a well rounded, professional profile. You also want to share valuable content.

On LinkedIn, start looking at customers you have and who they are connected with. If they are a good client and they are happy, you can reach out to them and ask them to connect or introduce you to someone that may potentially be a customer. A good tip is offering to write up an intro letter for your connection to save them time. They will be more willing to help you out. You can even offer a bounty for any referrals.

Referrals are very powerful. Do not underestimate them.

[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fomp_bOnHj0[/youtube]

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Diana M. Needham, The Book Shepherd, joins me today. I met Diana at a LinkedIn Live networking event and really enjoyed speaking with her and learning how she helps people get books published. Diana works with her clients to not only write a book, but market it, and obtain the result that they really want.She is the owner of Needham Business Consulting.

Diana works with business leaders, small business owners, and service professionals that have a big message to share and want to use that message to grow their business. A book can be a very powerful marketing strategy and lead generation tool that helps you stand out from your competition and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Most of your competitors may not have written an article, not to mention a book! Consider your book as your $4 business card that can be leveraged not only as a product to sell but a tool for attracting ideal clients, referral partners, and new opportunities.

I mention my book writing process.. There were challenges, but I received help along the way. It really is a team effort!

I asked Diana about how someone could write a book without it being so daunting. Her answer? Start by identifying the biggest challenge your ideal customers have. Your solution (which can be steps to follow or key concepts you teach) become the chapter content.

Your last chapter should not be a conclusion. It should be “next success steps”. What do you want the reader to do now? Is it to call you, set up an appointment, or visit your website for your newsletter or free gift? If you do not move your readers to your email list, you can’t follow up, deepen the relationship, and move them to the next step to do business with you.

There is no better time to be an author. You can use a book to promote your products, services, and website. Especially with digital books, you can add hyperlinks to direct readers where you want.

How is a book more powerful than social media, email, or press releases? A book shows people what you know, not just what you do. Use your book to share your personal story and examples or case studies of how you’ve helped clients.

Make sure that your book looks professional. It needs to have a professional cover and professional editing. I share about how my first book was self-published and the quality is not that great, but that I worked with professional editors, layout artists, and a graphic designer on my second book.

As you begin the book process, there are key questions to ask (and answer) to build the right foundation for success with your book. Some of those questions are: Who is your ideal client? What is the biggest problem they have? What is the end result you want?.

I admit that I am good at “vomiting on paper”, then going back and clean it up. You just need to get the content out of your head and heart and on paper. Your first draft will be crappy (let’s be honest, everyone’s are!), but you can get help to polish it. Editors are trained to do just that. My editor really helped me a lot! The right editor has your best interests at heart and while some feedback may sting, it is all intended to help you create a better product that will get the results you want.

“The person that changes the most through this process is the author,” DIana shared. When we write a book, we become more clear about our message, approach, and process. We gain confidence in our abilities and skills. Recognition and opportunities follow.

Get started. Find someone like Diana to help you build the right foundation and get the book written, published, and out there. You will be glad you did.

Gold tip: share your powerful personal story. The main things that make you different are your experiences, training, education, view of your topic, and learnings (that many times come the hard way!). Leverage your powerful story as your introduction to stand out and get your readers’ attention.

Visit www.dianamneedham.com for great content tied to this topic and get your special report with those 5 questions every author should ask and answer (ideally before they start writing).

Try iContact for your email marketing needs and use code HMBT for a $30 credit.

[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCzhEVlSMB0[/youtube]

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John Hayes Joins me from Portugal but lives in Lincolnshire England. He is a marketing strategist and author of the Becoming the Expert series of books. He discusses the holy trinity of marketing: blogging, email marketing, and social media.

Your marketing starts with branding your company on your blog, then use email marketing and social media, in that order. His three items compliment the three topics of my book, which are automation, branding and customer service.

John’s first tip is to have a company blog. It is the pulse of your company. Marketing is about solving problems and you can use your blog to help publish information about solving the problems people have and gain their interest.

By publishing on your blog, you can have a sign-up form to collect contact information for your email marketing campaigns. You can then post valuable information on your social media channels to engage and nurture sales. I mention the importance of providing valued content. We also talk about sending the right message at the right time to the right person and then the power of referrals

I then ask John about creating valuable and quality content when you do not have a lot of time or money. He says that you should never guess what your client’s problems are. If you know what your client’s problems are, you can create the right solution and content. Before you start creating content, start speaking with your clients and find out what their problems are. This will help you save time and money.

I talk about having a focused value statement that will help you focus on your customer needs. We then moved on to encourage the listeners to “Just Do It”. John mentioned Gary Vaynerchuk and how he started with video creation. Everyone starts somewhere.

you can find John on:

Twitter: John_W_Hayes

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96M3VlJ-nX8[/embedyt]

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Transcription:

This is Hank Hoffmeier with your Marketing and Business Tip for you today.

One thing you want to make sure you are doing is providing value for your customers and clients. And this may be providing information or maybe product for free. It does have to be expensive or does not have to be lengthy.

If you’re providing value as far as information, Let’s say you are a plumber. Maybe you want to be creative and share a video about how to unclog a toilet. People will appreciate that and then when they have a clogged toilet, the will view your video and what they will do is unclog the toilet. But when their basement leaks they are going to think of you to come and clean their basement and repair a faulty pipe, possibly.

Make sure what you are putting out there is relevant and it is useful to your audience. If you can provide a free product or something, make sure that is useful and maybe has your branding, so they can remember who you are.

So once again, make sure you are providing value to your audience as well as helping them to buy something when they are ready to, but do not push them. If you would like to hear previous Alexa tips, head over to Hank Hoffmeier.com/alexa. You can also sign up for my email newsletter, and I will deliver my tips right to your inbox every morning, in case you missed one.

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