Podcast Summary: "Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson" Presented by Marigold | Episode: SPECIAL SERIES == Top Free Marketing Tools! 🧠 Spy Like a Marketer 🕵️♀️ | Release Date: May 26, 2025
Introduction to the Episode
In this special episode of "Do This, NOT That," hosted by Jay Schwedelson in collaboration with Daniel Murray from Marketing Millennials, the focus is on unveiling top free marketing tools that empower marketers to spy like industry leaders. The episode is part of the "Bathroom Break" series, designed to deliver quick and actionable marketing insights in a relaxed format.
Main Discussion: Reverse Engineering Competitors' Marketing Strategies
Identifying Competitors
Daniel Murray initiates the conversation by emphasizing the importance of correctly identifying competitors. He distinguishes between direct competitors, category competitors, and attention stealers:
Daniel Murray [01:53]: "People think that competitors are like the exact product you're competing with, but there are other versions of competitors that you need to analyze too."
- Direct Competitors: Companies offering similar products or services.
- Category Competitors: Businesses within the same broader category vying for the same budget.
- Attention Stealers: Entities across different industries capturing the attention of your target audience.
Essential Tools for Reverse Engineering
The hosts delve into various free tools that marketers can leverage to dissect and understand competitors' strategies:
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SparkToro
- Functionality: Identifies hidden influences and where your audience's attention lies, including podcasts and news sources.
- Use Case: Helps in targeting marketing efforts effectively by understanding audience preferences.
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Exploding Topics
- Functionality: Tracks trending topics to gauge audience interests.
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SimilarWeb
- Functionality: Analyzes referral traffic to understand where competitors are gaining their audience.
Daniel Murray [03:31]: "SparkToro will tell you like, who are the hidden influences, like who your audience actually paying attention to, like what podcast they're listening to, what news sources so you can, you could see where their attention's going."
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Email Platform Identification
- Method: Forward any email to espendview IO to determine the email platform used by competitors.
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ChatGPT for Marketing Analysis
- Functionality: Utilize prompts to analyze marketing strategies from multiple websites, summarizing key tactics like content marketing, social proof, SEO strategies, and CTAs.
Jay Schwedelson [04:33]: "You could put in two, three websites and summarize the key tactics, what is their content marketing, social proof they're using, SEO strategies, CTAs, and what should I consider from my site?"
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BuiltWith
- Functionality: A browser plugin that reveals the tech stack of any website, including tools for forms and pop-ups.
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Meta Ad Library (Facebook)
- Functionality: Allows marketers to view and analyze the ads competitors are running on Facebook and other Meta platforms.
- Insight: Focus on ads running for extended periods (e.g., 2-3 months) as they indicate successful conversion rates.
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SpyFu
- Functionality: Identifies competitors based on keywords and organic traffic, showcasing their active ads.
Jay Schwedelson [05:46]: "It's a great way to look at other people's ads too. Like go beyond your competitors, go out in other industries because this can help you see what people are targeting."
Practical Steps for Reverse Engineering
Daniel Murray shares a hands-on approach to reverse engineering competitors' funnels:
Daniel Murray [06:28]: "Go through their funnel. Click the ad, fill out the form, see if an email is sent to you, see how long it takes someone to reach out to you, see what follow-ups you get, see the retargeting of that ad on other channels."
- Objective: Understand each stage of the competitor's marketing funnel to identify strengths and areas for improvement in your own strategy.
- Analogy: Comparing it to sports—"You got to know their plays to compete effectively."
Additional Insights: Leveraging Behavioral Science in Marketing
While the primary focus is on reverse engineering, the hosts touch upon integrating behavioral science principles such as decision-making, loss aversion, anchoring, and positive psychology to enhance marketing campaigns. Understanding audience psychology is pivotal in crafting strategies that resonate and drive conversions.
Off-Topic Discussion: Living in Miami
In a brief interlude, Jay engages Daniel in a personal conversation about living in Miami, providing a light-hearted break from the technical discussion.
Jay Schwedelson [07:39]: "What are like, your tips? I mean, you've been surviving many summers, many hurricanes."
Daniel Murray [07:52]: "I love Miami... I don't know if I can give a fair review yet because I haven't been through a summer yet of Miami."
They discuss the challenges and misconceptions about Miami's climate and hurricane preparedness, sharing personal experiences and tips for newcomers.
Conclusion
The episode wraps up with encouragement to follow both the "Marketing Millennials" and "Do This, NOT That" podcasts for more insightful marketing strategies and tips. The hosts emphasize the value of understanding and adapting successful tactics from leading competitors while maintaining originality to stand out in the market.
Jay Schwedelson [09:30]: "Check out my podcast, do this, not that, for Marketers. Each week we share really quick tips on stuff that can improve your marketing and hope you give it a try."
Daniel Murray [10:02]: "We talk about marketing tips that we just spew out. And it could be anything from email subject line to any marketing tips in the world."
Key Takeaways
- Understanding Competitors: Go beyond direct competitors to include category competitors and attention stealers.
- Utilize Free Tools: Leverage tools like SparkToro, SimilarWeb, SpyFu, and others to gain insights into competitors' strategies.
- Analyze Competitors' Funnels: Engage with competitors' marketing funnels to identify effective tactics and areas for improvement.
- Integrate Behavioral Science: Apply principles like loss aversion and positive psychology to enhance marketing campaigns.
- Stay Original: While learning from competitors, ensure your strategies maintain originality to differentiate your brand.
This episode serves as a valuable resource for marketers aiming to deepen their understanding of competitive strategies and harness free tools to enhance their marketing efforts effectively.