Market Proof Marketing: Home Builder Marketing Insights

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 




Julie Jarnagin joins Beth Russell and Jackie Lipinski to explore what today’s challenges can teach marketers about grit, growth, and grace. From marketing merit badges to limiting factors, they discuss the perspective and strategy builders need to finish the year strong.Special Announcements

• Market Proof Marketing Academy 2026 is open for registration! A high-energy, hands-on virtual event designed to fast-track marketing mastery for homebuilder marketers. Space is limited - save your spot before it’s gone.

Story Time

• Beth – Redefining wins beyond sales and measuring momentum that moves the business forward
• Jackie – Three quotes to keep every recovering perfectionist grounded and thriving
• Julie – Leadership means being the calm in Q4

In the News

• https://www.doyouconvert.com/blog/the-limiting-factor-to-sales-results/
• Zillow Pulls Matterport Tours from Listings (Blames CoStar)
• 10 Surprising Takeaways from the Minds of Today’s Homebuyer 
• Google Officially Shuts Down Privacy Sandbox 

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 




On this bonus episode, Qadra Evans, Director of Industry & Partner Engagement at Zillow, joins host Kevin Oakley for a look inside how one of the most-used housing platforms is adjusting to new demands in buyer behavior, builder engagement, and affordability. This conversation breaks down what’s evolving and how builders can interpret the signals.Tools That Reflect the Moment

• From dream browsing to financial fit: affordability filters get real
• Listings trends are shifting from static to cinematic (and the scroll times prove it)

Signals from the Buyer Side

• The new new construction buyer: Gen Z (and their parents)
• Which considerations are rising fast in buyer decision-making?

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 




Kevin Oakley joins Julie Jarnagin and Beth Russell for conversations on ChatGPT considerations, Sora’s impact, shutdown shockwaves, and Halloween costumes. 
Whether you love or hate the rapid pace of change lately, this episode dives into the major shifts shaping the market and more.Special announcementsInterest in the January Market Proof Marketing Academy is at an all-time high, with a record number of people on the list. Tickets go live this week, so make sure to grab your spot before it’s full! You can find out at the link above.
Key Topics

• OpenAI’s newest feature - Is the “app within the app” ahead of its time or an empty gimmick?
• A sea of content - Questioning the repercussions of AI’s explosive growth in video content creation
• Furloaned - How to prepare for the extended consequences of the current government shutdown

Listen in and send us your thoughts and questions. 

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 




Fresh from the Summit, Kevin Oakley sits down with Rachel Spaugh for Office Hours to debrief on what stood out most. From how AI is reshaping content to how marketers can hand off great ideas to sales without losing trust, this one’s all about clarity, compression, and exerting creative control without chaos.When More Isn’t Better

• Faster isn’t smarter when the message is empty
• Real examples from Kevin and Rachel reveal why less content often hits harder

Holding Tension and Building Trust

• Every email is a promise worth keeping
• The smartest marketers surface friction early, turning lessons into loyalty

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 




Host Kevin Oakley joins Julie Jarnagin and Jackie Lipinski to unpack the newest AI experiments, marketing shifts, and growth mindsets shaping 2026 and beyond. 
From Meta’s surreal new playground to the delicate relationship between builder breakthroughs and removing “limiting factors,” this episode looks at how curiosity and clarity drive progress, even when tech or timelines get in the way. 
Special AnnouncementsThe next Market Proof Marketing Academy is just around the corner, but the waitlist is already almost full! If you want in on this unique opportunity to learn from DYC’s best and brightest - regardless of whether your builder works with Do You Convert - this is your chance. Seize the moment before the last few spots are gone. 
Key Topics Discussed

• Does the future belong to fewer, bigger players?
• Love the growth leaps, but remember to value every step
• Fever dream frontiers - is Meta wooing creators or consumers?
• Weighing the privacy costs of the “customized everything” digital dream

In the News

• Compass to acquire Anywhere, creating world's largest brokerage
• Meta "Vibes" is released - will anyone care?
• Advertising in 2030

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 




In this solo episode, Kevin Oakley takes you inside the room at a recent ULI panel. Builders, sales leaders, and consultants gathered to debate the toughest questions facing the industry, and Kevin is pulling back the curtain to share exactly what he was asked and how he answered.
Here are the five big questions he tackled:

• Beyond discounts: what really drives buyer traffic?
• Online sales: speed or personalization?
• Resale vs. new: who wins when rates drop?
• The holy grail: is it possible to achieve volume and margin?
• 2026: what’s ahead for builders?

Listen in for unfiltered answers that challenge assumptions, spotlight bold strategies, and point to the realities shaping the immediate future of homebuilding.

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 




Kevin Oakley and Rachel Spaugh are back in the studio for another round of Office Hours. In this episode, their discussion on AI, uncertainty, and messaging uncovers how to approach everything from fear to facts. 
Together they break down what to do when you need credibility and what's more powerful than certainty in your messaging right now.
Tune in to learn

• How your leaders think you’re using AI vs how you should be using it
• Why objections aren’t the problem you think they are
• Hear Kevin build an end of year campaign theme on the spot

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 

In this episode, host Kevin Oakley is joined by guest Kim Sandoval, Director of Corporate Marketing for Classic Homes. Together they discuss Kim's nonlinear career path in homebuilder marketing, revealing salient reminders not to box in yourself, your career, or your company's growth with narrow thinking. As Kevin and Kim share the gift of retrospect clarity, both of their histories serve as needed reminders that every great success story has periods of expansion and contraction - on multiple levels. 

Reminder: You + Kim + Chicago = Even More Influential Leadership Lessons

Listeners attending the 2025 Online Sales and Marketing Summit in Chicago in just two short weeks will have the chance to hear from Kim and other leaders live in Beth Russell's panel session, Everything the Light Touches is Yours: Real World Influence from Marketing Leaders. You won't want to miss this chance to hear Kim and her powerhouse peers dive deeper into real wins and lessons learned.

Key Topics

• Growth is Not Linear - How Kim pivoted from agency-side builder experience, to consulting for builders, before finally going all-in on one culture that captured her heart
• Stay the Course - The crucial advice she has for everyone doubting this market right now, pulled straight from her time striking out on her own to serve builders during the 2008 recession
• Find Your Fit - Ideas and encouragement on where to find your perfect fit, even if it lands you in an unexpected seat or an entirely different part of the business

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 




In this episode, Julie Jarnagin joins Beth Russell and Jackie Lipinski to discuss diagnosing hidden community issues, aligning the whole team around intent, and how to nail messaging and positioning in a shifting market. From long-form articles around behavior data to hot takes on who actually uses Bing, this one is sure to have you thinking about familiar topics in new ways. Story Time

• Jackie - The problems that are hidden, but obvious once you see them
• Julie - Sometimes the most inspiring thing you can do is ten minutes of nothing
• Beth - Ground your playbook in intent, then coordinate the plays from there

In the News

• New Homes are Now Nearly 20k Cheaper Than Existing Homes
• The Behavioral Data You Need to Improve Your User's Search Journey
• Angry and disappointed, if not surprised: The ad industry reacts to the Google search remedies ruling 

Listen, Like and Subscribe on Apple or Spotify Podcasts: 




In this episode, Kevin Oakley joins Jackie Lipinski and Beth Russell in the studio to reflect on the fine lines between lying and storytelling in marketing, the attribution lies you must know (so you can avoid them), and how creatives in our industry are inspiring the DYC marketing team.
Listen closely - this short episode packs in some big questions and even bigger topics in today's ai-driven digital marketing landscape.
Story Time

• Beth - finding secondhand joy in watching others do creative work
• Jackie - building your own breadcrumbs if you're doing something BIG
• Kevin - the inherent conflict between truth and storytelling at the heart of being a marketer

In the News

• GEO x local SEO: What it means for the future of discovery