Revenue Marketing Show: In the Trenches B2B & Ecommerce Marketers Talking What's Working, and What's Not

Having trouble creating organic content that your target market will actually see? In this episode of Revenue Rockstars, Eric welcomes Andy Crestodina, content marketing expert and CMO/Co-Founder of Orbit Media, to talk about the digital transformation marketers are facing post-COVID and lessons you can learn from Orbit Media’s content marketing research. Andy also breaks down his framework for learning from customers in order to improve conversion rates and build a high-performing website.

Tune in to learn how he generates 900 leads and makes $6 million in revenue a year without spending ANY money on advertising! He shares the formats and distribution channels that are currently working best for organic content as well as the fundamental shifts required for marketing and sales teams to thrive in 2022 and beyond. 

You’ll also gain valuable insights on:
Is LinkedIn a good distribution channel for B2B companies?
What potential ROI can you get from LinkedIn content promotion?
How to create valuable, engaging marketing content 
Communicating marketing strategies to executives: Why you need to tie marketing to revenue to get a bigger budget
Andy’s current martech stack

“Content marketing is, in my mind, a giant, global contest of generosity and the brands that give away the most helpful, useful advice win. They win word of mouth, they win referrals, they win loyalty, they win top of mind… they’re more memorable.”- Andy Crestodina

Resources Mentioned:
Marketing Rebellion by Mark Schaefer: https://www.businessesgrow.com/rebellion 
Zoho CRM: https://www.zoho.com 
Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com 
Drift chat bots: https://www.drift.com/chatbot 
ActiveCampaign: https://www.activecampaign.com 
Hotjar: https://www.hotjar.com 
Ahrefs: https://www.ahrefs.com 
Moz SEO: https://www.moz.com 
Semrush: https://www.semrush.com 
Wordpress: https://www.wordpress.com 
Dooly: https://www.dooly.ai

What are the most successful types of content marketing? How do you create content at scale with minimal resources? In this episode of Revenue Marketing Show, Tara welcomes Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, to talk about what’s currently influencing content marketing, strategies that actually work, and the best ways to pitch content marketing internally to get your budget approved.

Ann speaks on why content and writing is important for revenue-driven organizations, how B2B content marketing budgets will change in 2022, and the most successful types of content marketing you should be using.

She also gives powerful advice (based on real examples) to writers and marketers on driving revenue and engaging with prospects, creating high-quality email newsletters, rebranding, and amplifying the value of content both internally and with your clients.

“The most successful content marketers are thinking about not just top of funnel, but throughout the entire ecosystem.”   - Ann Handley

“You don’t have to do all of this, you just have to find one thing that you can do consistently. Start there and do that super well, then build on it over time. Add a second one if you have the resources and the time, if your customers are there, and if it’s a valuable channel for you.”
- Ann Handley

Resources Mentioned:
Content Marketing Institute: https://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com 
Subscribe to Ann’s newsletter: https://www.annhandley.com/newsletter 

About Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs:
As the world's first Chief Content Officer, Ann Handley speaks and writes about how you can rethink the way your business markets. Cited in Forbes as the most influential woman in Social Media and recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the top 20 women bloggers, Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, a training company that empowers marketers internationally with the skills they need to drive success at their companies. Ann is a speaker, author, member of the LinkedIn Influencer program, and Wall Street Journal best-selling author. A pioneer in digital marketing, Ann is the co-founder of ClickZ.com, which was one of the first sources of digital marketing news and commentary.
Connect with Ann: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhandley 
Visit her website: https://www.annhandley.com 
Learn more about MarketingProfs: https://www.marketingprofs.com 

About Tara Benyousky, Director of Product Marketing at Constant Contact:
Tara is a Visionary Marketing leader offering 15+ years of driving go-to-market strategy and execution for SaaS/technology solutions, products and services that evolve customers' everyday lives. She has rich experience in B2B product marketing, content marketing, technology platforms, marketing operations, demand generation, customer experience (CX), partner marketing, sales and program management. 
Connect with Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarabenyousky

What is marketing attribution and how can it benefit your business? In this episode of Digital Marketing Swipe File, Eric welcomes Jack Porter Smith, Co-Founder and Managing Director of WSI Paid Search, to talk about how to stop wasting money on paid search advertising. Jack breaks down his approach to programmatic campaigns, display ads, retargeting, and more!

Jack also sheds light on what WSI Paid Search does as an agency, as well as the challenges and opportunities in search advertising in 2021 and beyond. He provides real world examples that show how to effectively target your audience, keep your messaging consistently visible, and get the most out of paid search as a B2B business.

You’ll learn Jack’s candid thoughts on recent changes in third party data policies, what drives decision makers to invest in paid search advertising, and even how SharpSpring Ads is finding patterns and best practices in advertising.

“You can’t just buy your way out of a hole. You can’t just buy your way into a market. You do have to earn it… and then the closing part is a little easier.”   - Jack

About Eric Stockton, VP of Demand Generation, Constant Contact:
A pioneer and innovator in the areas of internet marketing, eCommerce, lead generation, publishing, and online media. Eric has directly led $3MM+ ad budgets and $70M+ top-line sales organizations.
Connect with Eric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericstockton

About Jack Porter Smith, Co-Founder and Managing Director, WSI Paid Search:
I've operated in the digital marketing industry since early 2006, and since 2013 have been the proud co-founder of WSI Paid Search, a Top 1% Google Premier Partner based in Toronto. As of 2019 I am incredibly honored to join the Google Agency Executive Council as WSI Paid Search's representative amongst fellow industry leaders.
Connect with Jack:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-porter-smith-21318318/

How do you scale your agency faster while delivering better results to your clients In this episode of Revenue Marketing Show, Jason Swenk, Host of Smart Agency Master Class Podcast, interviews Constant Contact’s Head of Revenue, Greg Bond, about overcoming challenges in aligning marketing and sales, choosing the best martech stack, and getting more recognition for the value you deliver to your clients.

Greg and Jason share valuable insights on how to scale your agency faster while getting better results for your clients, highlighting the importance of tool/data consolidation and the benefits of using SharpSpring from Constant Contact.

You’ll also learn Greg’s top tips for communicating ROI to clients so you can achieve better client retention and charge more for your products and/or services!

“The #1 way that agencies get business is through word of mouth and word of mouth is about delivering results.”  - Greg Bond

“As your business scales… you better damn well start putting the people in place for this. You should have someone, like the Director of Happiness, making sure you’re delivering the results. That’s what we have, so I don’t have to.”  - Jason Swenk

Resources Mentioned:
Listen to Smart Agency Master Class: https://www.jasonswenk.com/smart-agency-master-class 

About Greg Bond, Head of Revenue at Constant Contact:
Greg’s purpose in life is to add value to other people’s lives. Businesses thrive when they create value for their customers. Greg helps businesses better understand their customers so they can maximize their value proposition. To accomplish this, he analyzes customer behavior and KPIs, creates strategies for optimization, then builds more efficient systems that mobilize teams to deliver value. 
Connect with Greg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbond007 

About Jason Swenk, Host of Smart Agency Master Class Podcast:
Jason Swenk is the agency advisor & coach that guides marketing agencies through a proven framework for growing their agency faster. Jason currently hosts the Smart Agency Master Class Podcast, the #1 Digital Marketing Agency Owner podcast for sharing the strategies and stories from real agency owners of what is working today in the agency world, and how they got to where they are now.
Connect with Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jason-swenk-llc 
Visit his website: https://www.jasonswenk.com

In our latest podcast, VP of Demand Gen at SharpSpring Eric Stockton sat down with Drew Owen of BigPxl to talk about why attribution isn’t everything, the complicated buyer journey, the importance of setting clear client expectations, and much more.

“You have to have a full-funnel view of what's happening. From ad impressions, ad clicks, all the way through, you know? Because there's no two buyer journeys that are the same.” – Drew Owen

Tune in as Eric and Drew take a deep dive into the topic of digital marketing – where it stands today, and the direction it’s heading in the near future.

About Eric Stockton, VP of Demand Gen at SharpSpring:

A pioneer and innovator in the areas of internet marketing, eCommerce, lead generation, publishing, and online media. Eric has directly led $3MM+ ad budgets and $70M+ top-line sales organizations.

Connect with Eric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericstockton 

About Drew Owen, General Manager at BigPxl:

An Olympic task master and multi-tasker, Drew keeps all the pxls up in the air, offering support to his team in every way possible. He is a behind the scenes Ninja, getting things done to keep BigPxl growing. He brings a diverse background to his talents, boasting such accolades as having been a certified financial planner and an agent for the MLB.

Connect with Drew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-owen-ba833b8/ 

For more information & To connect with us:

Visit our website: www.sharpspring.com

Have a question? Reach us at https://sharpspring.com/contact-us/

Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/sharpspring

Watch video versions of our podcast on YouTube or in the “Resources” section at https://www.sharpspring.com.

Subscribe for more: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXLqqe5zBMhDHO6WFzlSwfg

What are the best trust-building strategies for marketers? In this episode of Revenue Rockstars, Greg welcomes Seth Godin, best-selling author and entrepreneur, to talk about how to build trust with customers and how marketing, sales, and revenue growth tactics have fundamentally changed over the years.

Seth speaks on why customers have a lack of trust in brands these days and how to regain the trust of brands and consumers by making a better product/service. He explains what marketers can do to impact the product and integrate successful unique storytelling into your marketing strategy. Seth and Greg also highlight the importance of demonstrating empathy, trustworthiness, and deeply understanding your target market.

Plus, Seth shares his candid thoughts on the difference between being marketing-driven and being market-driven and why consistency is more important than authenticity.

“If you don’t have an experience, you don’t really have a customer.”- Seth Godin

Audience Questions Answered:

• How do you find your authentic marketing voice to build trust?
• How do you reach out to a cold contact?
• In organizing marketing for growth, what is the biggest change in how marketing organizations are built?
• What words should I use to brand myself? Quality? Unique? Luxury?
• What is the role of thought leadership in a B2B marketing mix?
• Why are CMOs’ tenures decreasing?
• How can marketers involve cross-functional teams in their marketing strategy?
• How can I get CEO buy-in on a marketing tactic?
• How do you use personas to describe your target customers?
• And more!

“Authenticity is nonsense.”- Seth Godin

In this episode, Eric Stockton is joined by Martin Bredl of takeoff inbound, a digital marketing agency in Austria. Martin really saw the writing on the wall with buyer behavior, started changing about 10 years ago, and then became the first agency in Austria to focus strictly on inbound. Now, as buyer behavior has really been shifting again in the last couple of years, Martin talks about where he sees the marketing landscape going the future of marketing agency's role in organizations today, and how to sell an inbound strategy to hesitant execs.

The time really flew by in this particular discussion. We covered a lot of different topics. You're really not going to want to miss it.

About Eric Stockton, VP of Demand Gen at Constant Contact:

A pioneer and innovator in the areas of internet marketing, eCommerce, lead generation, publishing, and online media. Eric has directly led $3MM+ ad budgets and $70M+ top-line sales organizations.

Connect with Eric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericstockton 

About Martin Bredl, CEO of Takeoff Inbound

As CEO of Takeoff Inbound, Martin and his team work with B2B companies who want to increase their sales, but are no longer able to make headway in the digital world with traditional marketing.

Pioneer in inbound marketing with a lot of experience in the field of marketing automation. Is also active as a lecturer at FH Joanneum. 

Connect with Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bredl/

In our latest podcast, Eric sat down with VIIM Founder, Owner, and Creative Director Steph Hilfer to chat about All Things Agency. They discuss what drew her to the agency world, what she enjoys most about running an agency, and what major changes she’s seeing in today’s marketing landscape. 

“I started thinking how I could help so many more people if I was an agency. I want to focus on this branding element that makes businesses stand apart, that makes me so passionate. It's not about what I just create and make up for you. It's about us integrating together and really getting deep into why you do business and how you do it and letting that be your brand and letting that come through.” -- Steph Hilfer

Listen in as Eric and Steph discuss lead gen, the importance of branding, tips for building client relationships, what “authenticity” really means, and much more.

About Eric Stockton, VP of Demand Gen at Constant Contact:

A pioneer and innovator in the areas of internet marketing, eCommerce, lead generation, publishing, and online media. Eric has directly led $3MM+ ad budgets and $70M+ top-line sales organizations.

Connect with Eric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericstockton 

About Steph Hilfer, Owner & Creative Director at VIIM:

As founder of VIIM, Steph is a master at understanding people’s relationships with brands and can visualize what doesn’t yet exist and bring it to life. So while Steph may sometimes live in the clouds surrounded by creative thoughts, she’s grounded in solid business strategy that creates a competitive edge to all brands lucky enough to experience her Midas touch.

Connect with Steph: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephhilfer/ 

For more information & To connect with us:

Visit our website: www.sharpspring.com

Have a question? Reach us at https://www.constantcontact.com/about/contact-us

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/constant-contact/

Watch video versions of our podcast on YouTube or in the “Resources” section at https://www.constantcontact.com/.

Having trouble integrating your sales and marketing teams? In this episode of Digital Marketing Swipe File, Eric Stockton welcomes David “Ledge” Ledgerwood to talk about how to align your sales and marketing teams so that you can optimize your efficiency and increase your impact and revenue. He shares his candid thoughts on challenges and opportunities marketers and sales teams experience, emphasizing a big problem in the organizational structure of marketing and sales, along with simple strategies for integrating sales and marketing in your company.

“Sales, for sure, is one of the single biggest sources of data for a marketing team but very few of them actually have conversations.”- Eric

Tune in to gain insight into how Ledge’s company, Add1Zero, went from $300K to $5M as a lead-to-close sales company for B2B tech companies. Plus, Ledge and Eric shed light on what you need to know about the key difference between sales and marketing interactions.

Are you a small business owner that wants to be profitable and scale effectively? This episode is for you! In this episode of Digital Marketing Swipe File, Eric welcomes John Jantsch, Founder & President of Duct Tape Marketing, to talk about his approach to overcoming challenges in small business marketing, along with what has changed in marketing trends, the customer journey, and martech over the past few years.

John speaks on the inspiration behind his first book, Duct Tape Marketing, as well as what you can expect from his new book, The Ultimate Marketing Engine: 5 Steps to Ridiculously Consistent Growth. He also shares expert insight into attribution, optimizing your “customer success track”, presenting yourself as a thought leader, and sustainably scaling your small business.

“A lot of agencies are discovering today that without a unique point of view, without a unique system, without a process for educating and onboarding and doing the work that they do to get results for clients, it’s kind of a race to the bottom.”   - John 

Tune in to hear the true story of how John helped a small waterproofing business attract new, ideal customers and scale successfully. Plus, you’ll learn why you need to start structuring your content around hub pages!

“An effective strategy will do two things: it will help you know what to do and it will help you know what not to do.”      - John