The Exit Five Podcast

By Exit FiveBusiness Entrepreneurship Marketing

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Typical duration
47 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

The Exit Five Podcast episodes

May 26, 2025Cold Email: Lessons from Real Outbound Campaigns in 2025
#249 Cold Email | In this episode, Danielle is joined by four experts in B2B outbound: Zoe Hartsfield (Apollo), Will Allred, (Lavender), Maximus Greenwald (Warmly), and Alex Fine (Understory). Together, they dive into the good, bad, and “please don’t ever send this” of cold email strategy. Each guest brings firsthand insight from scaling outbound at fast-growing B2B companies and helping clients do the same.
Danielle and the crew cover:
The biggest reasons cold emails flop and what great ones do differently
How to use personalization, targeting, and timing to get replies (not unsubscribes)
The right way to blend automation and human touch in your outbound strategy
It’s an inside look at how marketers and founders approach outbound messaging, across strategy, execution, and scale.

Timestamps
(00:00) - — Intro and guest lineup
(02:30) - — Why most cold emails fall flat
(04:30) - — Common copy mistakes: too much “I,” not enough “you”
(06:00) - — The automation vs. personalization debate
(08:15) - — When *not* to send a cold email
(10:30) - — What targeting gets wrong (and how to fix it)
(12:30) - — Teardown #1: Robotics email with 0% replies
(14:45) - — Subject line issues, tone, and CTA feedback
(17:00) - — Teardown #2: CRM campaign with profanity
(18:45) - — Why this email screams “marketing,” not “outbound”
(21:00) - — Teardown #3: Direct debit email repurposed from a nurture
(23:30) - — Why HTML-heavy emails kill deliverability
(25:15) - — Teardown #4: Founder-led cold email from Breakout
(27:30) - — What worked: relevance, format, and intent
(30:00) - — Teardown #5: Cybersecurity email to bank execs
(32:00) - — Final takeaways on relevance, timing, and strategy
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
47 min
May 22, 2025The Future of B2B Buying Experiences and the Role of AI in GTM with Jaleh Rezaei
#248 Marketing Strategy | Dave sits down with Jaleh Rezaei, founder and CEO of Mutiny, the personalization platform for B2B websites. Jaleh brings a unique blend of founder perspective and deep marketing expertise from her time building go-to-market teams at VMware, Gusto, and now Mutiny. She’s on a mission to help marketers ditch the spammy, scaled playbooks of the past and refocus on what really drives pipeline today: buyer experience.
Dave and Jaleh cover:
Why the current use of AI is making marketing worse and how to use it to build better buying experiences instead
What marketers get wrong about speed (hint: it’s not about doing more, it’s about doing what matters)
The principles of simplifying your go-to-market strategy to cut through noise and align your team around real revenue results
Marketing is changing fast, but the teams who win will be the ones who prioritize real buyer experiences, move with speed, and stay aligned on what actually drives revenue. Jaleh breaks down how to make that shift before your strategy gets left behind.

Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro
(01:10) - – Why AI Is Backfiring in B2B
(03:45) - – Outbound Is Broken (Here’s the Data)
(06:05) - – What Buyers Actually Want
(08:30) - – Gimmicks Don’t Scale
(10:00) - – How to Build Marketing That Lasts
(11:25) - – Why Marketing Is Harder Today
(13:00) - – AI Efficiency vs. Buyer Experience
(14:30) - – The Right Way to Prioritize Speed
(16:15) - – Strategy First, Then Speed
(18:05) - – How to Test Big Ideas Fast
(20:20) - – Borrowing the YC Mindset
(22:00) - – What Good Brand Marketing Looks Like
(24:15) - – Best Brand Play: A Children’s Book?
(26:00) - – What CEOs Really Want From Marketing
(27:40) - – Simplifying Your Marketing Strategy
(30:10) - – The Truth About Sales-Marketing Alignment
(32:00) - – Common Execution Gaps That Hurt Revenue
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
35 min
May 19, 2025The Lead Nurture Email Playbook: What Works and What Doesn’t
#247 Lead Nurturing | In this episode, Danielle is joined by Samar Owais, founder of Emails Done Right; Sheri Otto, CEO of Growth Lane Strategies; and Sofia Silva, Marketing Manager at Reachdesk.

These three email experts came together for a live roast of real B2B lead nurture emails, submitted by marketers from the Exit Five community. You’ll hear the good, the bad, and the fixable, with practical insights on how to improve your own nurture sequences.

Danielle, Samar, Sheri, and Sofia cover:
The most common lead nurture mistakes B2B marketers make (and how to fix them)
Why every email should be treated as a conversation, not just a campaign
How to write nurture emails that create connection, not clicks for clicks’ sake

If you're building (or rebuilding) your nurture strategy, this one’s packed with real examples and expert feedback to guide your next send.
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro: Welcome to the Lead Nurture Roast
(01:28) - – Meet the Experts: Samar, Sheri, and Sofia
(05:25) - – What Is **Lead Nurturing, Really?
(08:18) - – The Problem with “We” Language in Emails
(10:40) - – The Biggest Mistakes B2B Marketers Make
(13:05) - – Why AI Isn’t Your Copywriter
(15:00) - – Teardown #1: Subject Line Gone Wrong
(19:30) - – How to Build a Nurture Sequence Around a Whitepaper
(22:10) - – CTA Overload and Why It Kills Clicks
(26:04) - – Teardown #2: Great Open Rate, Low Engagement
(29:58) - – The One-CTA Rule (And Why It Matters)
(32:40) - – Structuring Long Emails for Skimmability
(35:12) - – Teardown #3: Cold Lead, Wrong Email
(37:45) - – Re-Engagement Emails That Actually Work
(40:35) - – Use Social Proof Instead of Product Pitches
(42:15) - – Teardown #4: The Overloaded Onboarding Email
(45:10) - – What’s a “Micro Conversion” in SaaS Email?
(49:45) - – Time-to-Value and the First Action That Matters
(52:00) - – This Email Is... a Whole Sequence in One
(54:20) - – Teardown #5: Trust Email or Generic Spam?
(57:15) - – Why Specificity Beats Industry Buzzwords
(59:30) - – Final Scores and Wrap-Up
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
56 min
May 15, 2025Fixing the Disconnect Between Marketing and Sales with Talya Heller
#246 Sales Alignment | Danielle welcomes Talya Heller, founder of Down to a T, a B2B consultancy helping marketers turn competitive positioning into high-impact sales assets. With experience in engineering, product management, and product marketing, Talya knows how to bridge the gap between what marketing builds and what sales actually uses.
Together they unpack:
Why most sales decks and battle cards go unused and what to build instead
How to enable your champion to sell internally with confidence
Simple frameworks for mapping competitive positioning that teams will actually use
Talya also breaks down how she researches, builds, and delivers assets that align sales, marketing, and product, all rooted in buyer empathy.
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro & Talya’s background
(01:00) - – From engineering to B2B marketing
(07:45) - – What is buyer enablement?
(10:00) - – Why deals stall after vendor selection
(12:15) - – The problem with sales decks
(14:45) - – Why battle cards don’t work
(17:00) - – Talya’s competitive positioning map
(22:00) - – Grouping competitors by approach
(24:30) - – Market maps for sales
(26:30) - – Where to get the best insights
(29:00) - – New formats for enablement
(31:15) - – Why context matters
(33:00) - – Empathy for your sales team
(34:45) - – Closing thoughts on empathy
(35:50) - – Where to find Talya online
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
38 min
May 12, 2025B2B Outbound Best Practices: What’s Working Now with Cold Email and Paid Ads (with Alex Fine)
#245: Cold Email | Danielle Messler sits down with Alex Fine, co-founder of Understory, the agency behind some of the most effective outbound and paid strategies in B2B right now. Alex is leading the charge on a smarter approach to outbound called “Allbound”, a tightly integrated blend of outbound, paid media, and LinkedIn tactics that actually convert.

If you’re tired of cold emails that go nowhere or ad campaigns that burn cash without ROI, this one’s for you.

Danielle and Alex cover:
Why most B2B outbound strategies fail and how Allbound fixes the disconnect between ads, email, and LinkedIn
The cold email deliverability tactics that actually work in 2025 (including tools like Instantly, Smartlead, and Clay)
Real-world examples of hyper-personalized, AI-powered outreach that book meetings with high-ACV prospects
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro
(02:00) - – What Is “Allbound”?
(04:00) - – Cold Email Isn’t Dead (But It’s Evolved)
(06:30) - – Tools to Improve Deliverability
(08:45) - – Personalization That Actually Works
(10:15) - – Real Example: Fraud Detection SaaS Cold Email Strategy
(12:00) - – How to Keep Messaging Consistent Across Channels
(14:00) - – Treating Each Channel Differently
(16:00) - – Ads as a “Cheat Code” in B2B
(18:30) - – Building Genuinely Personalized Emails at Scale
(21:30) - – From Swiffer to SaaS
(25:00) - – What Sales Teaches Marketers
(33:45) - – Where to Find Alex + Upcoming Exit Five Event Plug
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
36 min
May 08, 2025High-Pressure CMO Roles, Avoiding Burnout, and Growing your Personal Brand with Amanda Goetz
#244: Professional Growth | Dave is joined by Amanda Goetz, a 2x founder, 3x CMO, and the author behind the popular weekly newsletter, Life's A Game. Amanda shares her expertise in personal and professional growth, brand building, and content creation.

Amanda and Dave cover:
How Amanda transformed her LinkedIn strategy to grow her following and engagement
The impact of personal branding on social media and its role in business growth
Creating a feedback loop to refine and improve content strategy
Timestamps
(00:00) - - Intro
(07:10) - - How to Use LinkedIn Video
(10:38) - - Shifting from Twitter to LinkedIn
(14:24) - - Developing a Clearer Target Market and Products
(15:07) - - Building Sustainable Momentum Amid Burnout: A CMO's Perspective
(19:28) - - Why Your Content Strategy Must Be Focused
(24:58) - - The Brand Pyramid
(25:53) - - The Emotion Behind Branding
(29:23) - - People Are What Matter In Branding Success
(35:01) - - The Growing Creator Economy vs. Traditional Corporations
(36:19) - - Creating Emotional Brand Connections for Growth Marketing
(40:51) - - How Amanda Became a Fractional CMO
(43:25) - - Why Amanda Looks to Alex Lieberman for Inspiration
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
42 min
May 05, 2025B2B LinkedIn Ads Playbook: What Works (and What Doesn’t) in 2025
#243 Linkedin Ads | In this episode, Danielle Messler sits down with Anthony Blatner (LinkedIn ads expert and certified instructor) and Tagg Bozied (Head of Brand Awareness at Docebo and award-winning B2B campaign strategist) to dig into what actually works with B2B LinkedIn ads in 2025. These two have spent years in the trenches, building campaigns for some of the most niche, high-intent B2B audiences, and they’ve got the data and real stories to back up what works (and what definitely doesn’t).

Danielle, Anthony, and Tagg cover:
The biggest mistakes B2B marketers make on LinkedIn and how to fix them fast
Why “thought leader ads” are crushing right now and how to set them up the right way (even if you’re not Dave Gerhardt)
How to measure success in brand awareness campaigns (including smart ways to use dwell time, frequency, and Google Analytics)
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro from Dave
(00:48) - – Why This Isn’t Just a “Webinar”
(02:16) - – Meet the Experts: Tagg Bozied and Anthony Blatner
(04:27) - – Biggest Mistakes in LinkedIn Ads
(06:58) - – How to Make LinkedIn Ads Stand Out
(09:10) - – What to Know About Thought Leader Ads
(13:31) - – What Does Success Look Like? Metrics That Matter
(16:28) - – What’s a CTV Ad and Should You Try It?
(19:32) - – Budgeting Tips for Niche Audiences
(24:35) - – LinkedIn Lead Forms vs. Landing Pages
(30:33) - – Proving ROI on Brand Awareness Campaigns
(36:34) - – Reporting Tools and Stack Recommendations
(39:16) - – Targeting Secrets and Retargeting Best Practices
(42:38) - – How to Think About A/B Testing on LinkedIn
(46:36) - – Wrap-Up + Where to Connect
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
49 min
May 01, 2025The Quiet Shift: How B2B Teams are Winning Post-SEO
#242: Content Strategy | In this episode, Danielle sits down with Brendan Hufford, founder of Growth Sprints, to talk about what actually works in content and SEO today and why most B2B strategies are broken. Brendan went from high school teacher to leading content at top SaaS companies, and now helps brands move faster and build content strategies that drive real impact.
They cover:
Why most SEO strategies are broken - and why retainers make it worse
The content checklist that took ActiveCampaign from 200K to 240K visitors in 30 days
Why the most lucrative SEO opportunities are hiding in plain sight
Brendan’s "immortal newsletter" framework that cuts production time in half while doubling engagement
Plus, check out the checklist Brendan mentioned in this episode here!
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Brendan
(03:45) - – Lessons from teaching that apply directly to marketing
(06:45) - – Why Brendan left education and entered the B2B world
(08:15) - – Early agency and in-house marketing experience
(10:00) - – Building a defensible career: audience, trust, and network
(12:20) - – The Growth Sprints model: why retainers don’t make sense
(13:30) - – Content strategy in bets, not buckets
(14:45) - – Why SEO still works and where it actually drives results
(16:15) - – Getting deep on audience, product, and internal dynamics
(18:30) - – What marketers get wrong about internal buy-in
(20:30) - – Real example: what a content sprint looks like in practice
(22:00) - – The power of internal linking and content refreshes
(24:00) - – How Google views internal linking and user signals
(27:00) - – Why technical SEO is often overrated
(30:00) - – Brendan’s hot take: most SEOs aren’t marketers
(31:30) - – Why the “SEO takes 6 months” narrative is flawed
(33:30) - – The problem with traditional retainers and content brief models
(35:00) - – The immortal newsletter: how to mix evergreen + ephemeral content
(38:00) - – Naming the problem, not just the category
(39:30) - – Content should do 3–5 jobs at once: how to prioritize impact
(42:00) - – The real value of competitor and alternatives pages
(44:30) - – How to make content more useful for sales and buyer enablement
(46:00) - – Brendan’s final mindset shift: create content that earns its keep
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
50 min
April 28, 2025Email Marketing Breakdown: How to Cut Through the Noise in 2025
#241: Email Strategy | Email isn’t dead – it’s just changing fast.
It’s still one of the few B2B marketing channels where you can actually own your audience and reach your ideal customers with the push of a button.
In this session from the Ultimate Roast of B2B Emails, Danielle hosts Beth O’Malley (Founder, astral.), Jay Schwedelson (Founder, Subjectline.com & GURU Media Hub), and Jaina Mistry (Director, Brand and Content Marketing at Litmus) for a tactical session on what’s actually working in email marketing in 2025.
They cover:
What an effective email marketing strategy looks like today
Key elements of great emails
How to write irresistible subject lines
All the ins and outs of deliverability and landing in the inbox
Plus, they tackle a live Q&A, hot takes on open rates, resends, clickbait, personalization, and how to fix your email marketing strategy.
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Beth, Jay, and Jaina
(03:14) - – Why bad emails are killing results
(05:46) - – How to think about email beyond lead gen
(07:58) - – The real problem with how B2B measures email success
(09:14) - – Open rates: Are they dead or still useful?
(13:38) - – Should you resend to non-openers? The great debate
(18:34) - – Deliverability basics: What B2B marketers miss
(21:52) - – Personalization: What actually works (and what doesn’t)
(26:53) - – Why exclusion (not just segmentation) matters in email
(29:08) - – AI summaries and how they’re reshaping the inbox
(31:53) - – Clicks vs engagement: What you should really track
(34:18) - – Why structured clicks matter more than just "more clicks"
(38:03) - – How to think about email length and structure in 2025
(41:14) - – Technical tips: Avoiding clipping, formatting for mobile
(43:12) - – Clickbait subject lines: Where to draw the line
(45:13) - – Final advice for marketers
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
50 min
April 24, 2025Video in B2B: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Where to Start
#240: Video Strategy | In this episode, Danielle sits down with Connor Lewis, founder of Studio Lewis, to talk all things B2B video - what works, what doesn’t, and how to actually get started. Connor spent years building in-house video from the ground up before going solo. Now, he works with B2B brands on high-performing video ads and he’s here to break down what he’s learned.
Danielle and Connor cover:
Why production value doesn’t matter as much as you think
How to turn existing blog posts and webinars into watchable video
What’s working on LinkedIn video in 2025
How to get started with video without hiring an agency or a full-time team
Simple formats that make video approachable
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Connor
(03:00) - – Learning video by doing: from intern to strategist
(05:00) - – What’s working in B2B video on LinkedIn in 2025
(06:27) - – Three types of videos that perform best
(07:48) - – Why video ads aren’t the best place to start
(08:41) - – How to turn top blog posts into YouTube videos that rank
(10:34) - – Using video to refresh blog content and boost SEO
(11:14) - – How to use video effectively for virtual and in-person events
(12:08) - – Repurposing Q&A sections from webinars into high-performing short clips
(14:03) - – Creating shorts from top audience questions
(15:16) - – The only parts of video that really matter
(16:03) - – Why “how I” beats “how to” every time
(16:47) - – The “reverse Rambo” hook format and how to use it
(18:46) - – How setting and authenticity improve engagement
(20:15) - – Why stiff, overproduced videos are killing your reach
(22:53) - – How to get started with video if you don’t have a team or budget
(24:59) - – Why marketers need to get comfortable on camera
(25:21) - – Podcasts as a powerful entry point into video
(26:18) - – How to test video with a simple 4-part limited series
(27:54) - – Low-budget options that still convert
(28:22) - – Why product marketers often make the best video collaborators
(29:06) - – Final advice: don’t wait until it’s perfect, just start!
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:
Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.
Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive.
Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
32 min

About The Exit Five Podcast

From the publisher's feed

The #1 resource for B2B marketing professionals. Each week, hosts Dave Gerhardt and Dasha Shakov sit down with B2B marketers to break down everything from strategy and leadership to the channels and tactics that drive growth, plus what it takes to build a career in marketing. You'll find real ideas you can put to work right away, and the gut check and inspiration to keep getting better at your job.