Podcast Summary: The MICRO Changes That Move MACRO Numbers 🧠 Jay’s SCOOP | Ep. 453

Podcast: Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson
Host: GURU Media Hub
Episode Date: January 29, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jay Schwedelson dives into the power of micro-changes—small, tactical adjustments marketers can make that yield significant results in campaigns. Drawing from massive-scale data through his research group, Jay shares actionable, evidence-backed tips to optimize email, forms, landing pages, and more. The episode focuses on dispelling the myth that only large-scale overhauls drive performance, advocating instead for trying the "literal simplest tactics" with substantial impact.

Key Discussion Points & Actionable Insights

1. The Myth of Big Changes vs. The Power of Micro-Optimizations

• Main Thesis:
  • Marketers often default to "big change" thinking (new platforms, full redesigns) but overlook small, high-impact tweaks.
  • Jay emphasizes testing small adjustments that are often ignored or unknown.

2. Email Formatting: Left vs. Center Justification

• Insight:
  • Left-justified email text outperforms center-justified text by a significant margin.
  • Stat: Center-justified emails have a 12% lower average click-through rate compared to left-justified emails.
  • Quote:
    • “Having it left justified will significantly increase performance... center justified [click-throughs] will be lower by 12% on average.” (02:05)

3. Forms: The Reassurance Text Effect

• Tactic:
  • Add a single reassurance line below any form (e.g., “Takes under 30 seconds,” “We won’t sell your info,” “Unsubscribe anytime”).
  • Result:
    • Increases form submissions by 18%.
  • Quote:
    • “That trust signal right there… helps get that person over the edge.” (03:01)

4. Email Links: The Logo Click

• Observation:
  • The email logo is more than just a branding element—1 in 5 clicks in marketing emails are on the logo.
  • Recommendation: Direct the logo link to your offer or conversion page instead of the homepage.
  • Quote:
    • “Where is the traffic going when someone clicks on that logo?... Why would you send them to your homepage?” (04:07)

5. Forms: The Cost of Every Required Field

• Stat:
  • For every mandatory ("must fill") field on a form, you lose approximately 9% of submissions.
  • Recommendation: Audit forms to minimize required fields; only ask for essentials.
  • Quote:
    • “Every additional must fill field… you lose on average about 9% of submissions.” (05:00)

6. Leveraging Fridays for Webinars & Content

• Challenging Conventional Wisdom:
  • Marketers wrongly dismiss Fridays as a poor day for webinars and content delivery.
  • Recent data shows Friday webinar attendance is up 75% YoY, attributed to a “self-improvement” mindset heading into the weekend.
  • Quote:
    • “Ever since COVID, Fridays have become this day to better yourself… Think about Fridays for a lot of the stuff out there.” (06:05)

7. The Power of a P.S. in Emails

• Tactic:
  • Add a “P.S.” at the bottom of marketing emails, reiterating the offer with a direct link.
  • This simple addition increases overall click-through rates by about 14%.
  • Quote:
    • “Adding a P.S. with that offer… increase[s] overall click-throughs by about 14%.” (07:01)

8. Removing Social Sharing Buttons from Landing Pages

• Rationale:
  • Don’t distract visitors on your conversion (“destination”) page with social sharing options.
  • Removing these links increases conversion rates by over 8%.
  • Quote:
    • “You got the person to the page… here you are saying, hey, go check out our Pinterest… No. If you give people the option to leave, they will.” (08:04)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Big vs. Small Changes:
  • “So many micro little things… will actually have a really big impact on performance that usually you’re not thinking of.” (01:12)
• On Data-Backed Advice:
  • “All of the statistic data comes from my research group at World Data Research, where… we are doing over 6 billion emails a year.” (01:23)
• Humorous Self-Awareness:
  • “I know this is the most annoying episode… maybe you’re like, Jay’s a clown, I need to ignore him. That’s probably even more true. But it’s a good one to go back to…” (04:54)

Bonus Segment: Jay’s Rant on Store Scents (“Since You Didn’t Ask”)

Starting at 10:10, Jay delivers an off-topic, comedic rant about excessive fragrances in mall stores:

• Observes that nearly every store has an overwhelming smell; questions the need for scented products and remarks humorously on “lavender everything.”
• Relates his experience dodging perfume sprayers in department stores.
• Winds down the segment with:
  • “We need less smells. Everybody just—whatever your store smells like is fine. I am not going to your store because… that store smells so good. We should go there. Anybody that says that is a clown, okay?” (11:04)

Key Takeaways

• Small optimizations hugely impact marketing performance; test before resorting to complete overhauls.
• Left-justify emails, add reassurance to forms, minimize required form fields, and direct logo clicks with intentionality.
• Reconsider “bad” days for content, leverage the P.S. in emails, and remove social links from landing pages to stay focused on conversions.

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:12: Introduction to the myth of big changes vs. micro-tactics
• 02:05: Left vs. center justification in email formatting
• 03:01: Reassurance text below forms
• 04:07: Logo click behavior in emails
• 05:00: Loss per must-fill form field
• 06:05: The untapped potential of Fridays for webinars
• 07:01: Adding a P.S. in emails
• 08:04: Why not to put social sharing buttons on landing pages
• 10:10–12:00: Jay’s humorous rant on retail store scents

Final Notes

Jay ends the episode by announcing the upcoming release of his book, Stupider People Have Done It (all net proceeds to cancer research), and encourages listeners to check it out or partner with him via his website.

This episode is a goldmine for marketers seeking practical, fast-to-implement ways to move the needle—no expensive overhaul required, just smart, data-tested tweaks.