The Growth Machine Marketing Podcast is back! And we're excited to jump back in with a topic that has been all the buzz lately.

Our VP of Content, Heather, and CEO, Nora, are here to discuss both sides of the AI coin. Does it have a place in content marketing, what are its limitations, and what is Google's algorithm favoring?

We chat about:

• The accuracy of AI checkers
• Why human-generated content remains the best investment
• Which types of tasks AI can be useful in

And much more!

(0:55) After a long hiatus, we’re back! We remain cautiously optimistic about AI, and Nora explains why.

(05:05) How AI takes away the mental strain of having to start from zero.

(08:29) What are some things that AI is not particularly good at?

(12:39) AI and humans continue to differ in the way that they process and classify information. 

(16:33) Heather shares her experiences working with our freelance writers amidst the emergence of ChatGPT.

(21:30) The over-promise of AI tools and why investing in human writers and editors is the best decision you can make for your content.

(26:29) Google continues to favor articles that share unique perspectives. Is Google making movements towards penalizing AI content?

(31:21) It all comes down to quality vs quantity, where quality always wins.

(34:54) Despite the many changes and updates throughout the years, Google has not changed their stance on rewarding high-quality, authoritative content.

(36:55) Keyword research and strategy: Can AI assist in planning your SEO content?

(40:54) We’ve got the much-awaited tea you've been asking for. We've tested numerous AI content checkers. And the results are in...

(46:01) Our final take: Work with writers and teams that you can fully trust with your content.

(53:01) Thanks for listening! We have more episodes coming your way, so make sure to stay tuned.

Are AI Detectors Accurate?

Should You Use AI to Write Blog Posts?

Grammarly (42:40)

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In the season finale of the Growth Machine Marketing podcast, CEO Nora Schlesinger and Head of Marketing Amanda Natividad debrief on SEO and content.

They discuss:

• How SEO knowledge can make you a better writer
• Why SEOs and writers also need empathy to be effective
• What we wish clients and marketers knew about SEO
• When it’s time for you to focus on SEO
• When it’s not time for you to focus on SEO

And so much more. 

Show Notes

1:16 - Nora shares what she wishes more website owners knew about SEO.

3:14 - The content you invest in early on can set you up for SEO success in the long-run. 

7:44 - SEO knowledge can improve the quality of your written content.

11:38 - Managing client expectations.

15:29 - Different issues that may impact a site’s ability to rank.

21:10 - If your site speed isn’t up to par, there are a few factors that could be causing it. 

23:43 - How Growth Machine has been impactful for a variety of clients, including Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. 

29:20 - When is it time for a company to focus on their content and SEO? (And when is a company not ready yet?)

34:29 - Unpopular opinion: You can’t do it all. Hire as much help that you can afford to. 

40:04 - Amanda shares a special announcement as we wrap up this season of the Growth Machine Marketing Podcast.

How We Hire Great Writers at Growth Machine (9:52)

The Critical Authority Threshold: Why Patience Pays in SEO (13:30)

PageSpeed Insights (20:12)

How a Gig Economy Website Hit 100,000 Monthly Visitors in 6 Months (23:52)

How a D2C Beverage Company Grew 4x in Search Traffic in 3 Months (23:56)

How a Recruiting Website Tripled Organic Traffic in 6 Months (24:01)

Gong (32:18)

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Here’s a milestone for the Growth Machine team: our first unblinded case study!

Ben Siegel, CEO and co-founder of Scholars, joined us in a webinar where he talks about Scholars’s content and marketing strategy.

We edited this webinar into this week’s 25-minute episode.

Enjoy!

1:21 - Ben Siegel, CEO and Co-Founder of Scholars, talks about their decision to include content from the very start of their marketing strategy. 

4:01 - How Scholars first began working with Growth Machine. 

5:08 - The original content plan pivoted to support the direction Scholars was heading in, and from there, traffic saw an increase. 

9:11 - The increase in traffic helped Scholars grow an email list of over 20,000 subscribers. 

12:00 - Why Scholars decided to start their podcast The Internship Show, and how their podcast ties in with their overall marketing strategy.

15:44 - Ben discusses a few of Scholars’ customers and how they initially entered the sales funnel.

19:00 - What’s next for Scholars? 

20:02 - Audience Q&A

How a Recruiting Website Tripled Organic Traffic in 6 Months

Scholars (1:18)

Demand Curve (4:18)

The Writer Finder (4:48)

The Internship Show (12:00)

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Impulse purchases are just a story we tell ourselves.

Stewart Hillhouse, Head of Growth at Customer Camp, joins the show to tell us why. He explains: it’s actually a series of experiences that ultimately trigger customers to purchase. And in the end, “impulse purchase” is the excuse given in the event a purchase doesn’t work out.

Stew and I also discuss:

• Measuring success of his podcast
• What to know about Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) customer interviews
• How content fits into Customer Camps’ marketing strategy
• And some little-known facts about trees. Yes, trees.

Show Notes

0:54 - Stew shares how he made his switch from a career in forestry to a career in marketing. 

4:17 - Podcasting as a form of networking. 

5:01 - How Stew came to the decision to study forestry in college (and some bonus fun facts!). 

9:20 - Stew talks about his role as Head of Audience Growth at Customer Camp, and the way that job title came to be.

14:33 - Customer Camp gives their clients concrete and actionable steps to improve their marketing campaigns. 

18:29 - Conducting customer interviews. Why the buyer’s full journey is important in learning new insights on your product or service. 

24:41 - Is there such a thing as an impulse buy? (See Stew’s Twitter thread)

29:42 - Stew takes us through his thought process behind his last major purchase. 

33:04 - What Stew has learned from his last major purchase and whether his original need for the purchase was met.

35:03 - How content fits into the overall marketing strategy at Customer Camp.

39:41 - Measuring podcast success - why it’s essentially different depending on the type of podcast you’re creating.

43:38 - The future of marketing; with everything today being so screen-focused, what evolutions will we see in the upcoming years?

Customer Camp (0:30)

OLIPOP (0:42)

Venture for Canada Program (2:39)

Charboys (16:31)

Stewart’s Twitter thread (24:41)

Peloton (25:53)

Stew’s takeaways from interview with Amanda (26:47)

WHOOP (32:19)

Imperfect Foods (38:34)

Top of Mind with Stewart Hillhouse (39:44)

Customer Show (39:46)

https://stewarthillhouse.com/

https://customercamp.co/

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If you work in content marketing, you know John Bonini. He’s the Director of Marketing at Databox, and he also owns the widely popular Some Good Content Patreon, where he distills expert yet tactical advice for content marketers at ever level.

He joined us on the show to discuss:

• How journalism informs good marketing
• Brand content that has a point of view (and why it matters)
• How content fuels marketing at Databox
• John’s strategy for the Metrics and Chill podcast

And more!

0:57 - John talks about how his learned lessons in journalism have carried over to his work in content marketing. 

4:59 - Why point of view matters in the content you produce.

8:18 - How Google’s Penguin update (~2012) played a role in the evolution of content marketing. 

12:36 - Growing your career in content marketing and the importance of finding a company that sees the value in your marketing efforts. 

19:55 - Databox has been strategic in how they have scaled their outputs while ensuring they are all cohesive.

25:23 -  John shares the strategy behind the Metrics and Chill podcast, and how they structure their episodes to align with the value of their product. 

30:20 - A lot of the general content advice is overplayed. John ensures he delivers more usable information to his Patreon community.

34:17 - What excites John the most about content?

Databox (1:19)

Litmus (13:30)

Metrics and Chill (20:10)

John’s Patreon (30:24)

Clubhouse (35:40)

https://www.patreon.com/somegoodcontent

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbonini/

https://twitter.com/Bonini84

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One of the questions we hear most is: How do you hire and manage content services when you yourself are not a content marketer or an editor?

Our very own VP of Content, Heather Leith, joins us today to answer that question. Heather manages our team of editors who publish over 100 articles per month for Growth Machine’s clients.

We chat about:

• A scalable way to properly learn brands’ various styles and voices
• Managing client expectations
• Advice for freelance writers

And much more!

0:54 -  VP of Content, Heather Leith, describes how the editorial team and processes at Growth Machine have evolved.

7:12 - SEO-informed writing and editing: What makes it different?

9:03 - How Growth Machine finds great writers for client projects. 

11:27 - The process of discovering each client’s style and brand voice. 

19:00 - How do our in-house editors work with our freelance writers to ensure each piece of content captures the style of the client?

20:54 - Client management and the importance of working through initial concerns from the client. 

25:45 - Heather describes a common concern from new clients and how we typically address it.

28:39 - Price per word vs. price per article. 

30:54 - Setting your prices as a freelance writer starts with being mindful of both your ideal rate and what the market is paying. 

34:16 - In speed round style, Heather talks about red flags in a writer, how to prepare for hiring a content marketing agency, and what content managers need to be mindful of. 

46:25 - Heather leaves her advice for business owners who are looking to outsource their SEO and content marketing efforts. 

The Writer Finder (9:23)

How We Hire Great Writers at Growth Machine (9:28)

How to Make a Content Style Guide (20:45)

https://twitter.com/heatherleithal

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As soon as I began following SEO expert Kameron Jenkins’ work, it was clear to me how friendly and accessible she makes SEO to everyone at all levels.

So I was super excited to have her on the show. Kameron is now a content lead at Shopify and we got to talk about:

• Communicating the value of SEO to the c-suite
• Balancing a content strategy across short and long tail keywords
• Knowing when it’s time to refresh content

And lots more!

0:53 - Kameron talks about how she got into SEO and what Google’s changes in algorithm have taught her along the way. 

4:51 - How Kameron’s experiences working on the agency side of things helped develop her expertise in SEO.

6:46 - Why invest in SEO, and how do you communicate that to your C-level officers?

9:19 - SEO can be just as attributable as paid ads.

10:30 - Kameron shares more about her current role as a Content Lead at Shopify.

13:15 - Short and long tail keywords. Investing in content that supports your brand.

17:49 - Setting traffic goals: It’s not always about more eyeballs to your offer, it’s about getting the right eyeballs to your offer.

20:28 - Should you date your content, and when is it time to refresh an existing post?

26:19 - Using link building to build your site’s authority and trust with Google.

29:56 - Kameron gives her recommendation on where you can host and manage your new site when starting out.

33:38 - The future of SEO.

Marketo (9:07)

Shopify (12:57)

Conde Nast (22:21)

Aleyda Solis’ Template (24:38)

HARO (27:33)

Wordpress (30:32)

Squarespace (30:55)

Wix (30:56)

Podia (31:50)

Substack (31:51)

https://twitter.com/Kammie_Jenkins

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There’s a three-step framework to user onboarding. And you can apply to your marketing efforts as well — to ensure that your brand is top of mind to your audience.

Adapted from psychologist BJ Fogg’s habit-forming framework, Ramli John, Managing Director and ProductLed and author of the new book, “Eureka,” explains how it applies to user onboarding journeys:

1. Make it easy. (Create helpful content that can grow your organic traffic.)
2. Increase motivation. (Explain the outcomes you give your customers.)
3. Add prompts. (Remind customers of your value.)

Listen to the episode to learn how to apply it to your content and user onboarding strategy.

You’ll also learn:

• User onboarding done right
• The importance of saying “no”
• How Ramli secured his first podcast sponsorship for Growth Marketing Today.

You can read the first chapter of Ramli’s new book, “Eureka,” on ProductLed.com/Eureka.

1:08 - Saying “no” to opportunities that don’t fit the direction you’re heading in. 

5:40 - Ramli talks about the intersection of teaching and marketing and what his experience as a college professor has taught him.

8:58 - Human connection: Why successful podcasts are far more than just the numbers and stats behind it. 

14:06 - Ramli talks about Growth Marketing Today’s LinkedIn sponsorship.

15:55 - Ramli talks about his upcoming book, Eureka, which is geared towards those looking to improve their user onboarding. 

18:10 - What are the 3 key stages in user onboarding?

21:06 - How product marketers can help consumers reach their "Aha!" moments early on in the process.

24:50 - The critical role content plays in communicating value to customers. 

30:50 - Ramli shares an example of a company who continues to provide value through the onboarding process.

32:45 - How does onboarding play into retention rates?

36:16 - It should be clear from the start the role each department plays in the onboarding process.

Andrew Capland on LinkedIn - Work Horse vs. Show Horse (3:53)

Growth Marketing Today Podcast (9:00)

Positive Human - Marketing Lessons (10:10)

How I Built This Podcast (15:12)

ProductLed (16:44)

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick (17:08)

Product-Led Growth by Wes Bush (17:48)

Wave Accounting (22:36)

BJ Fogg's Behavior Model (25:50)

1st Chapter of Eureka (40:06)

https://twitter.com/RamliJohn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramlijohn/

https://productled.com/

https://growthtoday.fm/listen/

https://growthmachine.com/

https://twitter.com/growthmachine__

https://twitter.com/amandanat

Having grown dozens of brand new websites, we’ve never seen a smooth up-and-to-the-right chart of organic traffic growth.

Our theory is that this has to do with the Critical Authority Threshold, a threshold you cross after some combination of publishing regularly, link building, and patience. It usually takes six months.

Learn more about this theory in our 8-minute audio version of our blog post, “The Critical Authority Threshold: Why Patience Pays in SEO,” read by Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine.

1:09 - The Critical Authority Threshold

2:10 - How to Cross the Critical Authority Threshold

4:39 - Why "No Results" Isn't "No Results"

5:29 - Quitting Early and the Critical Authority Threshold

6:46 - Analyzing Your Strategy: Is the CAT Holding You Back?

The Critical Authority Threshold: Why Patience Pays in SEO 

Link Building (2:16)

Tracking Metrics (4:59)

Publishing Cadence (5:05)

SEO Strategy (7:53)

Contact Growth Machine (8:25)

Amanda Natividad: @amandanat

Growth Machine: @growthmachine__

There are two ways a company can carve out its differentiation: by out-innovating the competition, or by competing on your messaging. As categories become more crowded, brands nailing their messaging is going to become more important.

Peep Laja, CEO of Wynter, joins the show today to dive deeper into his marketing philosophies, and how Wynter is helping companies validate the effectiveness of their website copy — and in turn, scale their businesses.

We discussed…

• How Peep’s SEO background informs his outlook on marketing
• Uncovering blind spots in your copywriting
• One piece of marketing advice he would give his younger, data-driven self

...and so much more. 

Show Notes:

1:16 - Differentiation can best be done in one of two ways...

4:39 - How Peep’s SEO knowledge informs his outlook on marketing.

8:38 - Having a strong point of view can lead to higher engagement and interest. 

12:05 - Peep talks about his company, Wynter, and the copywriting problems they’re solving.

17:22 - Qualitative vs. quantitative data.

19:06 - You can improve your copywriting by uncovering “blind spots,” and knowing what the right problem to address is. 

24:31 - Discovering what your selling point is and how to frame it.

27:27 - Why the delivery of your message is often more important than the channel.

28:35 - Peep shares his advice on the importance of brand. 

33:20 - Differentiation vs. distinction. In what ways can you give your brand a competitive edge?

Typeform (3:08)

Black Rifle Coffee (4:07)

CXL (5:05)

Wynter (6:14)

Wynter Games (8:07)

https://peeplaja.com/

https://twitter.com/peeplaja

https://wynter.com/

https://growthmachine.com/

https://twitter.com/growthmachine__

https://twitter.com/amandanat