Louder Than Words | Creative Talks With John Bonini

This week, John sits down with content legend Ross Simmonds. Ross is the founder and CEO of Foundational Marketing, an agency focused on distribution, as well as the (new!) author of "Create Once, Distribute Forever."Discussed in this episode:Leading with value is crucial in content marketing to avoid being banned or blocked from platforms.Content creators should prioritize distribution to reach a larger audience and maximize the impact of their work.Content has the potential to live beyond the creator and inspire future generations.Repurposing and updating existing content can be an effective strategy for book writing and content creation.Distribution channels like Facebook groups and Twitter chats have evolved over time and require continuous adaptation.Understanding the power of distribution can lead to life-changing opportunities and the ability to make a global impact. Provide value on native platforms and view content distribution as a long-term game of touch points and connection.Test ideas and concept

This week, I sit down with a friend and and someone whose work I've long admired––Emily Triplett Lentz. Emily has one of the most prolific and legendary resumes in content marketing, working for brands like Basecamp, Help Scout, Loom, and currently, Calendly. Things discussed in this episode: Community plays a crucial role in content marketing as it helps build trust and loyalty among target audiences.Basecamp's non-traditional approach to content, driven by strong opinions and clarity in messaging, contributed to its success and loyal following.Synthesizing information from various sources and incorporating different perspectives can lead to more impactful and insightful content.Embrace cultural conversations surrounding your brand and educate your audience to shape the narrative.Leverage your audience's voice to amplify your brand message.Content is the fuel for important campaigns and initiatives.Consider the unique characteristics and needs of your company when developing content strategies.Timestamps(00:

This week, John sits down with Chris Savage, co-founder and CEO at Wistia. The team at Wistia has always approached content differently than most other companies. They host, and film, parades. They buy and refurbish old station wagons. They record original music. All for the content. In this episode, John geeks out with Chris to learn all about the how and why behind Wistia's unique flavor of content over the last 17 years. Discussed in this episode: Creativity and quality are essential in content creation to capture audience attention and build trust.Human connection and trust are crucial in content marketing and brands should focus on building relationships with their audience.Treating content like a product and investing in its quality and research can lead to audience trust and loyalty.Providing a good experience for non-ready customers can help grow the audience and build trust for future conversions.(00:00) - Introduction (02:59) - The Power of Details and Originality (03:55) - The Role of Music in Br

In this episode, John hangs out with recovering in-house marketer, now founder of Growth Sprints, Brendan Hufford. In the past, Hufford worked in both growth and SEO for companies like ActiveCampaign. Now, he works with SaaS companies to help take them grow through short, focused sprints using his SaaS Growth Sprint framework. Discussed in this episode: Navigating bureaucracy requires understanding the value of stair stepping and starting with a V1, V2, V3 approach.Transitioning from one career to another often involves taking a step back to gain momentum and escape toxic work environments.Creating a personal brand and consistently producing content can lead to opportunities and growth.Bigger companies often undervalue creative work and prioritize numbers and politicking.The role of individual contributors who have an audience that aligns with the company's audience is highly valuable.Why companies should embrace creators who can not only create content but also contribute to the company's growth.Being intere

This week, John is joined by Rand Fishkin––one of the true OGs when it comes to B2B content marketing. Rand is the founder and former CEO of Moz and the current founder and CEO of SparkToro. He's also the author of Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World. Discussed in this episode: SparkToro's three-year retrospective The evolution of Rand's marketing approach involved a shift from less strategic and more experimental tactics to a focus on scalability.Balancing scalability and personalization is a key consideration in marketing, with scalable tactics often prioritized for growth.The flywheel mentality in marketing involves investing in tactics that improve over time and deliver better results with each iteration.Working through the challenges of anonymity is crucial for content creators, and success often comes from persistence and stomach for low initial engagement.Standing out in crowded platforms requires finding channels where competition is low and investing in tactics that

 This week, John sits down with Amanda Goetz. Amanda is a 2x founder, 3x CMO, and now a full-time brand builder and creator on personal and professional growth inspiring 150k people each week through social and her weekly newsletter, Life’s a Game.Amanda shares insights and experiences on:Her experience transitioning to full-time content creation (and she’s worked through the anxiety that induces).How/why finding validation and proof points, such as audience growth, engagement, and revenue, are important in building a successful content creation business (and how she founder hers).How she’s balancing content creation with consulting to provide financial stability while pursuing creative endeavors.The operational side of going independent, i.e., purchasing health insurance, setting up your LLC, etc. Timestamps(00:00) - Transitioning to Full-Time Content Creation (03:52) - Navigating the Fear and Anxiety of Going Independent (06:52) - Balancing Content Creation with Consulting (10:58) - The Motivation Behind

You know Dave Gerhardt. Maybe it's from his days running marketing at Drift. Or from his time hosting the Seeking Wisdom podcast with David Cancel. Or, maybe you've heard of (or are a member of) his B2B community, Exit Five. Point is, if you've been working in B2B marketing at any point in the last decade, you know Dave. In this rare podcast interview, Dave goes into detail on everything that's led him to this point––the solo founder of a $1M business. You'll hear what he learned during his days at Drift, how his community first launched as a side gig, when he knew he could go all in on his own, and all of the details for how he currently runs his business (i.e. how his revenue streams have changed, how he prices sponsorships, where he goes from here, etc.)Enjoy! Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode, the promotional clips, and handling the overall production of Louder Than Words.

We’re back! The first new episode of Louder Than Words in more than 6(!) years. Today, John welcomes marketing and creative extraordinaire Amanda Natividad to talk about her own journey as a creator filled with uncertainty and self-doubt to a full-blown influencer, how she approaches creating content that’s unique and more defensible, and how the freedom to create on her/their own terms at SparkToro works to their benefit. Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode, the promotional clips, and handling the overall production of Louder Than Words. 

Airbnb runs about 700 experiments in a given week. Here, I chat with data scientist Linsday Pettingill on the culture and principles that allow their team to move so quickly and efficiently, and how others people can transpose these ideas to their own work.

What do companies like Facebook, Dropbox, Airbnb, Pinterest (and others!) all have in common? Not just a great product, but a methodical, measured approach to driving extraordinary growth. In this episode, Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown (founders of GrowthHackers.com) unpack the principles behind these methods.

Scott Monty, former head of social media at Ford Motor Company, talks about his decision to join Ford in 2008 and the specifics of what went into the social and branding strategies that helped turn the company’s image around.

Jason Fried, Founder and CEO of Basecamp, talks about the (rare) art of making more money than you spend instead of aiming for growth at all costs.

Christian Rudder, cofounder of OkCupid and bestselling author of “Dataclysm: Who We Are When We Think No One is Looking”, talks about OkCupid’s algorithmic approach to growing past its competition.

Tucker Max, bestselling author of "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell", talks about the inspiration behind founding his new company, Book in a Box, and how they’re helping people turn ideas into books.

Jay Acunzo, former marketer at Google and HubSpot, talks about the inspiration behind his current passion project Unthinkable.fm, and how he’s helping connect marketers everywhere that are bothered by “suck.”

Meghan Keaney Anderson, HubSpot's VP of Marketing, has been with the company for five years. Here she talks about the levers that have inspired growth and why content and SEO will be radically different over the next five years.

Jess Iandiorio, VP of Marketing at Drift, details prescriptive tips on how brands can start building a more effective customer growth strategy and retain more customers.

Keith Frankel talks in detail about the career that has taken him from the competitive board rooms at MTV to the rose-tinted offices of the tech world and the experiences therein that led to his mission to never lie again.

Neil Pasricha, best known for his blog–1000 Awesome Things–and subsequent "Book of Awesome" series talks about his new book, "The Happiness Equation", and how he discovered the simplest formula to a happy life.

Jason Zook, best known for making over $1,000,000 wearing t-shirts and selling his last name (twice), talks about creativity, hustle porn, and preparing for success.