Podcast Summary: "Half Birthdays, Full Screen Popups"

Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson | Bathroom Break #70 (with The Marketing Millennials)
Date: August 25, 2025

Episode Overview

This special “Bathroom Break” episode, a collaboration with The Marketing Millennials, dives into actionable marketing tactics for landing pages, specifically focusing on mobile-first design, full-screen popups, and creative use of customer data (like birthdays and half-birthdays) to personalize engagement. Joining hosts Jay Schwedelson and Daniel Murray is Ari Murray—Chief Growth Officer at Char Brands and creator of “Go to Millions”—sharing her expertise on optimizing landing pages and user forms to boost conversions and maintain compliance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meet the Cast & Their Expertise (00:13)

• Guests: Daniel Murray (The Marketing Millennials), Jay Schwedelson (Do This, NOT That), and Ari Murray (Char Brands, Go to Millions).
• Ari’s background: Worked with top celebrity brands; praised for deep insights into effective branding and growth marketing.

2. Landing Page Must-Dos: Design for Mobile (01:34)

• Ari Murray:
  "I think the best thing to do is just to design for mobile... It's the first screen. And I think that it's really important to design in situ, even when you're making a skeleton...I, like, wince when a CTA is below the fold. It makes me sick." (01:34)
• Key takeaway:
  • Always prioritize mobile formats—most users will be interacting via phone.
  • Make sure calls-to-action (CTAs) appear above the fold.
  • Even initial sketches/mock-ups should account for character limits and line breaks on small screens.

3. Optimizing Forms & Popups on Landing Pages (02:23)

• Full-Screen Popups Preferred:
  Ari notes full-screen popups are currently more effective than small forms, especially on mobile—opacity overlays help focus the user’s attention.
• Shorter Forms = Higher Conversions:
  If many fields are needed, use a two-step form process:
  • Step 1: Basic info (e.g., email)
  • Step 2: Additional details (e.g., phone)
• Quote:
  "A pop up or a form that works best is full screen right now...the shorter the form the best. And if you do need to ask a lot of questions, a two-step form…works well but very case by case." – Ari (02:23)

4. When to Use Two-Step Forms (03:02)

• Jay’s Advice:
  Use two steps to segment users or collect sensitive info—e.g., capturing birth date for birthday/half birthday offers, or for compliance (collect email first, then phone) (03:05).
• Compliance note:
  For direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, phone numbers should be collected on a second step for compliance purposes.

5. Personalization with Birthdays & Half Birthdays (04:13 – 05:53)

• Fun personal interlude: Ari and Daniel quiz each other’s half birthdays (May 12th, September 30th)—demonstrating how memorable such details can be.
• Marketing Application:
  • "Do you think that if you're a brand, you should be sending out birthday emails and half birthday emails?" – Jay (05:30)
  • Ari: "Yes, Chipotle does, and I really like it. And I always use the credit. They give you a free drink on your half birthday...It's a nice touch. I don't think it's going to save your business. But we have to send so many emails all the time that say nothing, so might as well capture." (05:43)
• Jay expands:
  "It just adds an extra layer of personalization in your email market and your paid marketing..." (06:18)
• Actionable idea: Ask for birthdays on sign-up forms, and use that info for personalized campaigns (discounts, gifts, zodiac-related offers, etc.).

6. Let’s Talk Widgets: Avoiding Overload on Landing Pages (08:03)

• Ari’s Final Advice:
  Focus is key: only add required widgets (cookie banners, email capture) and beware of cluttering landing pages with too many widgets (e.g., refer-a-friend pop-ups that block cart or checkout).
  • Quote: "Your landing page is supposed to drive a purchase or supposed to drive some high intent action that is expensive to capture...The required widgets are there and needed...but then they block your buttons...So watch your widgets." (08:03)

Notable Quotes & Fun Moments

• Ari (on mobile-first design): "I, like, wince when a CTA is below the fold. It makes me sick." (01:34)
• Jay (on marketing with birthdays): "It just adds an extra layer of personalization in your email market..." (06:18)
• Ari (on half-birthday emails): "Yes, Chipotle does, and I really like it. And I always use the credit." (05:43)
• Ari (on widget overload): "We always forget we have to add those [widgets] on, and then they block your buttons and it freaks me out. So watch your widget." (08:03)

Memorable Personal Moments

• The hosts and Ari reveal their favorite cakes and celebrity birthday twins (06:31 – 07:46), making for a light-hearted, personable segment.
• The running joke about who celebrates birthdays “the best”—a relatable, humanizing touch to the marketing discussion.

Timeline of Important Segments

| Time | Segment | |----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:13 | Introduction of guests and episode premise | | 01:34 | Ari’s #1 tip: Mobile-first landing page design | | 02:23 | Forms & popups: best practices | | 03:02 | When & how to use two-step forms | | 04:13 | Birthday/half-birthday as marketing data | | 05:30 | Should brands do birthday/half-birthday emails? | | 06:18 | Extra personalization ideas; importance of birthdays | | 08:03 | Final actionable advice: “Watch your widgets” | | 08:48 | Where to find Ari (Go to Millions newsletter) |

Takeaways & Action Steps

• Always design for mobile first—content, forms, CTAs should be easily viewable and accessible.
• Opt for full-screen popups (especially on mobile) to maximize engagement.
• Keep forms as short as possible; use two-step forms for extra info or compliance.
• Capture birthdays for loyalty and trigger special campaigns (birthday, half birthday, zodiac, etc.)—these small touches build brand affinity.
• Be mindful of widget overload—too many pop-ups or banners can block key actions and frustrate users.

About Ari Murray

• For more actionable advice, subscribe to her “Go to Millions” newsletter at gotomillions.co
  • “Easily the best newsletter on the planet. Way better than Daniel’s.” – Jay (08:48)

This episode provides fast, practical strategies for boosting landing page effectiveness and customer engagement, while keeping things light, fun, and relatable.