SPECIAL SERIES ==> YouTube is HARD! March Madness for B2B and Consumer? Harry Potter? <== | BATHROOM Break #99 COLLAB: The Marketing Millennials + Do This, Not That

Summary

Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson
Episode: SPECIAL SERIES ==> YouTube is HARD! March Madness for B2B and Consumer? Harry Potter? <== | BATHROOM Break #99 COLLAB: The Marketing Millennials + Do This, Not That
Date: March 16, 2026
Hosts:

• Jay Schwedelson (Do This, Not That & subjectline.com)
• Daniel Murray (The Marketing Millennials)

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Episode Overview

This special "Bathroom Break" collab episode features rapid-fire marketing insights and banter between Jay and Daniel. They candidly share what's working—and not working—in their campaigns. Discussion touches on the challenges of YouTube marketing, the evolving definition of "influencer", capitalizing on cultural moments like March Madness, leveraging AI for content, and email subject line hacks. Interspersed with playful banter about movies and Harry Potter, this episode offers both mindset shifts and quirky actionable tips.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. YouTube is HARD: Lessons from Trying (00:55–03:03)

• Jay confesses his YouTube struggles:
  • Produced around 300 videos in 6 months.
  • Getting more views, especially on Shorts, but “no meaningful conversions”—mostly top-of-funnel outcomes.
  • Encourages others struggling with YouTube not to feel alone.
  • Quote:

    "Maybe we get subscribers, whatever. Maybe get way top of funnel. But we are getting no meaningful outcomes from YouTube." —Jay (02:02)

2. The New Influencer Paradigm in B2B (03:03–04:43)

• Daniel redefines 'influencer':

  • The term is too broad—now includes not just traditional social media personalities but newsletter writers, event networkers, etc.
  • World-building (integrated, ongoing relationships) versus influence-building (single, transactional posts).
  • Opposes one-off deals; recommends long-term, multi-touch partnerships for B2B influencer marketing.
  • Quote:

    "When you're buying... They think that's what B2B influencer marketing is and that isn't influencer marketing." —Daniel (04:00)

• Jay echoes this sentiment:

  • Only takes year-long or 6-month integrated deals now.
  • One-off influencer posts are like “burning money.”
  • Quote:

    "If you're going to do a one off, you're literally burning money. You're throwing it in the toilet." —Jay (04:29)

3. Real-Time Relevance: Riding the March Madness Wave (04:43–05:56)

• Jay shares a high-impact tactic:

  • Leaning into current events (e.g., March Madness) boosts email open rates, CTRs, and social engagement—even in B2B contexts.
  • Use phrases like "March Madness," "Final Four," or "slam dunk" in content for improved performance.
  • Quote:

    “Leaning into March Madness, leaning into what's going on, actually will give you a boost in anything that you're doing.” —Jay (05:28)

• Daniel reinforces the point:

  • Relevance to what people care about increases engagement (“office brackets are a thing”).

4. Building Your Proprietary AI “Mind” (05:56–07:32)

• Daniel’s priority for marketers:

  • Build an internal, brand-specific AI model by feeding it all customer data, brand voice, content, reviews (positive/negative).
  • The “human API”: AI-generated content still requires human oversight.
  • Brands lacking this “mind” will get outpaced.
  • Quote:

    “Start building that customer mind in your AI now... people are going to beat you up and have a better AI mind than you do." —Daniel (07:14)

• Jay agrees:

  • Having an internal AI model already provided massive benefits.

5. Quick-Fire Email Marketing Tips (07:32–09:19)

• Jay’s winning test:

  • Testimonial-only subject lines (quotes from users or CEOs) for both B2B and consumer offer emails are outperforming traditional subject lines on actual conversions.
  • Quote:

    “There's nothing else in the subject line but the testimonial... we’re actually seeing it actually convert on the back end really, really well.” —Jay (08:09)

• Daniel’s subject line hack:

  • ALL CAPS subject lines (every letter capitalized) perform notably better than all-lowercase in current tests.
  • Suggests it's worth trying as an easy experiment.

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Memorable Moments & Banter

Movie & Personality Banter (00:30–01:55, 09:38–10:28)

• Jay laments watching bad movies (e.g., Greenland 2).
• Daniel’s favorite is Inception and Harry Potter.
• Jay confuses Gandalf with Dumbledore (“Double door. Yeah, that's me.” —Jay at 01:55)
• Light teasing about generational gaps and pop culture.

Pickleball Anecdotes & Harry Potter Trivia (09:44–10:28)

• Jay, a beginner at pickleball, says he bought a cheap racket for $9.99—the instructor was unimpressed.
• Jay tries to name Harry Potter characters and references Quidditch, calling it a “pickleball, but you fly on a broom.”

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Notable Quotes

• "I'm getting more views...But we're getting no meaningful conversions from anything we're doing on YouTube."
  —Jay Schwedelson (02:02)
• "The word 'influencer' is so stretched now...There are people who have like networks and events."
  —Daniel Murray (03:16)
• "If you're going to do a one-off, you're literally burning money. You're throwing it in the toilet."
  —Jay Schwedelson (04:29)
• "Relevancy is key to any marketing. When something's happening, lean into it."
  —Daniel Murray (05:58)
• "Start building that customer mind in your AI now...People are going to beat you up and have a better AI mind."
  —Daniel Murray (07:14)
• "Testimonial subject lines...There's nothing else in the subject line but the testimonial...It is doing incredibly well at a conversion level."
  —Jay Schwedelson (08:09)
• "All caps subject line...If I do an all caps subject line, it is boosting my subject line way harder."
  —Daniel Murray (08:39)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:55 — Jay’s YouTube challenges and conversion woes
• 03:03 — Redefining 'influencer' marketing, B2B strategies
• 04:43 — March Madness & event-driven relevance in content
• 05:56 — Building a brand AI model; importance of the human API
• 07:32 — Testimonial subject lines for email success
• 08:32 — Subject line experimentation: ALL CAPS vs lowercase
• 09:19 — Playful digression on dominance, personality, and pop culture

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Key Takeaways

• YouTube growth ≠ conversions: Going viral or racking up views may have limited impact without a sharper conversion strategy.
• Effective influencer marketing in B2B = long-term, integrated partnerships: One-off posts are largely ineffective.
• Cultural moments drive higher engagement: Use real-time events like March Madness even in B2B or less 'obvious' contexts.
• Invest now in brand-specific AI: Centralize and train your own AI “mind” for a competitive edge—but always keep human input in the loop.
• Test new email tricks: Try testimonial-only subject lines and experiment with ALL CAPS for improved results.

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Overall Tone:
Energetic, irreverent, practical, peppered with humor and lived experience. The hosts drop marketing truth bombs without pretense—embracing both their wins and failures.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Welcome to a new special series called the Bathroom break. That extra 10 minutes you either have to listen to marketing tips or use the bathroom. Or both. But I don't recommend both. But that's your choice.

[A]

This collab is going to be super fun. We have Daniel Murray from the Marketing Millennials and me, Jay Schwedelson from the do this not that podcast and subjectline.com each episode in the series we are going to go over quick tips about different marketing top and if you want to be in the bathroom, fine, just don't tell us about it. Thanks for checking it out. We are back for the Bathroom Break. This is Jay Schwedelson from Do this. Not that I'm here with the marking Millennial. Daniel Murray and Daniel. I've watched a series of horrendous movies lately. I watched Greenland 2. That was possibly the worst movie I ever saw. I'm on the hunt for new movies to watch. I feel like maybe what is your give me like some of your all time favorite movies. Doesn't have to be recent that you think I got to jump into that maybe I haven't seen because I'm really old and you're not old.

[B]

You would have seen every movie you watch. So much shit. All time favorite is like Inception.

[A]

Really? That's an all time favorite?

[B]

It's like top 10.

[A]

Just like thinking, yeah, it's just like

[B]

such a great movie for me. I don't know why I love what

[A]

else I thought you could say, Rudy, because you're like a football guy.

[B]

I love Harry Potter. I mean, that's out of your generation. Like when, when they were like kids. You were like in party in college, like so, right.

[A]

I'm Gandalf. Is that his name?

[B]

That's Lord of the Rings, but okay.

[A]

I have no idea what's going on.

[B]

You said you're Gandalf. That's one of the rings.

[A]

Dumbledore, Double door. Yeah, that's me. Well, today we're gonna talk about what's working, what's not working. What's not working was the start of this podcast, that's for damn sure. But let's get into what's working, what's not working. I'm gonna go first. So for the last, I don't know, six months or so, I go, six months ago I go, I'm gonna go all in on YouTube. YouTube's the future, all right? And I've pumped out, I don't know, 300 videos on YouTube and what I found is number one, I'm getting more views. Okay. Getting some good views now on my shorts, whatever. But because I'm probably a horrible marketer, we're getting like no meaningful conversions from anything we're doing on YouTube. Maybe we get subscribers, whatever. Maybe get way top of funnel. But we are getting no meaningful outcomes from YouTube. So I'm failing miserably at YouTube. I know YouTube is everything. It's the future of life, whatever. But anybody out there that's not crushing YouTube. I am on your team. I need to do better. So Daniel, what I'll get to what's working in a second. But what do you got that maybe is not working so great for you?

[B]

I just think it's really hard to win if you want meaningful impact on one off influencer deals. I think and I also think the word influencer is so stretched now. I think that the definition of influencer is so stretched because there are people who are just on LinkedIn who have followers. There are people who have like networks and events. Like you have a newsletter event social. So I consider that a bucket different than someone who's just on social. I, I consider that like investing in Jay's guru network versus investing in a one off play with Jay because you want people to. You're more world building and other people are more influence building and those are two different plays that people could do. Marketing. I think when you're buying I still see this in B2B all the time. They, people come to a lot. I see a lot of brands, they come to creators I know and say I just want to buy one post. Like I'm trying to do a launch, I'm just trying to do this, I'm trying to buy one post and they, they think that's what B2B like influencer marketing is and that is an influencer marketing. So I think separating the market into Jay, you're Jay's a more of a network type creator and then the other there are influencers that just live on like say LinkedIn or X. And how you're investing in a guru network versus a one off is way different. And I think you have to reframe what influencer Marketing is for B2B.

[A]

Yeah, I, I totally agree with you man. I'd actually not that I'm so cool that I'm like you know, flooding deals, whatever, but I won't do one off deals anymore. I do year long deals, I'll do six month deals, I'll do a whole integrated package. I think if you are going to put your toe in the water for some sort of influencer. And by the way, they crush influencer deals. Crush. You need to make it more of a strategy, you know. Three posts, two newsletter insertions if you're going to do a one off, you're literally burning money. You're throwing it in the toilet. I'll tell you something that's going to work for you right now. If you're a marketer out there and you're sleeping on it, which is March Madness, you may not care about basketball. You don't need to care about basketball at all. Whenever anything's going on on the planet, that's a big deal. If you lean into it, whether you are a business marketer, a nonprofit consumer marketer, it does well. So March Madness actually starting from basically now until the end of March in your content, if you actually say things like March Madness or Final Four or slam dunk and you bring that into your content, your boring B2B content, your consumer content, we see that lifting email open rates, click through rates, social media engagement, leaning into March Madness, leading into what's going on actually will give you a boost in anything that you're doing. I think.

[B]

I mean we talk about this on this podcast a lot and I think relevancy is key to any marketing. We talk about when something's happening that a lot of people and especially in office care about because office brackets are a thing, lean into it. I will also say, I know, I know we've harped on this a little bit, but I think I really do believe that you building your own AI mind of customer data, of your brand voice, of all the things you've written and put it in one place to start repurposing things and doing stuff with that. I think you need to start doing that now in marketing because it is working. I see people pumping out content that you could not tell is AI written, but they do obviously edit and have a human eye. I do think now the human API is the new thing is like AI has to be connected to humans instead of like you connected to. So I think if you don't have like the human API of like having that human eye on double checking everything. But start building that customer mind in your AI now. Feed reviews, feed Reddit posts, feed negative, positive, the good, the bad all into one place. The AI understands your business. I think if you don't start that now, people are going to beat you up and have a better AI mind than you do and they'll win. I'm truly double dawning on that right now.

[A]

I Totally agree. And we built that internally and that has helped us out massively. I'll tell you one other test that we've been doing recently that's been working in our email marketing. Super random. I know this episode's kind of little. We're just saying lots of different random things. But some things work, some things don't. So we want to kind of put it out there. So one of the things we've been testing actually in subject lines is actually testimonial subject lines, where literally we're just taking a testimonial, right. Whatever it is, doubled our ROI in weeks or transformed my business overnight, said the CEO. And we're taking just the testimonial. We're actually putting quotes in the subject line with the testimonial. There's nothing else in the subject line but the testimonial. We're doing that for offer emails, and it is doing incredibly well at a conversion level. Forget about open rates and click through rates. We're actually seeing it actually convert on the back end really, really well. So if you've never tested whether you're a business marketer or consumer marketer testimonial subject lines, I would think about doing that.

[B]

I would add one more. I think one thing that I thought was a little cheesy and I think you've. You've done it before and I. I've done it. I. But I thought everybody's done it before. But adding all caps as your subject line, like every letter is a cap. Yeah, I've tested it out between just lowercase for all caps and all caps really is working right now for me some. If I do an all cap subject line, it is boosting my subject line way harder than it is. If I do all lowercase. I don't know what it is. People just want to be screamed at, I guess. But that is working. So quotes or try. Try things like that. Add one word that's just capitalize or add the whole capitalize and see if that works for you.

[A]

Maybe it's like a Dominatrix thing. It's like your whole database is filled with people that just want to be, like, yelled at and told what to do and I don't know, put on like a leather outfit and we do weird stuff. I don't know.

[B]

That is not what the path I'm going down at. But Jay's mind is going in crazy places.

[A]

So wait a minute. I need to know if I can name another character in Harry Potter. You got Harry. You got.

[B]

Oh, wow. You're going strong with Harry.

[A]

I can't think of. Oh, what was the game they used to play? They played. It's like pickleball, but you fly in a broom.

[B]

Quidditch. Oh, wait. Hey, everybody, you got to congratulate Jay. He had a pickleball lesson. He first. First one, I'm trying to get him. I'm trying to go play with him sometime, but he said. He said, give me a month. So give me a month.

[A]

I bought a racket on Amazon for 9.99. I showed up, the dude who had the lesson. He's like, what is that? I go, I got it on Amazon. He's like, that's. That's embarrassing. I go, whatever, dude. I didn't know. I go, I didn't know if I was gonna like the sport. I didn't want to commit more than $10.

[B]

Oh, my God. So you decided to act. Do something that will make you horrible at the sport from day one.

[A]

So, yeah, that's me. Once again, another amazing episode of the Bathroom Rig. Listen, follow our show. Leave us reviews. Leave on. Do this, not that. Leave on the marking. Millennial awesome. And keep it real. Daniel. Come on, man. I got to get back to work. Get out of there. All right, while he's still in there. This is Jay. 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. Oh, here's Daniel. He's finally out.

[B]

Back from my bathroom break. This is Daniel. Go follow the Market Millennials podcast, but also tune into this a series. It's once a week, the Bathroom Break. 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. We'll talk about it. Just give us a shout on LinkedIn and tell us what you want to hear.

[A]

Peace out. Later.