What’s Working in Marketing (And What’s Not) | Bathroom Break #99

Summary

The Marketing Millennials: “What’s Working in Marketing (And What’s Not)” | Bathroom Break #99

Episode Overview
This “Bathroom Break” mini-episode features Daniel Murray (The Marketing Millennials) and guest Jay Schwedelson (Do This, Not That / Subjectline.com) candidly diagnosing the state of marketing in 2026. The duo shares rapid-fire takes on what's failing and what's working across channels, particularly YouTube, influencer marketing, seasonal tactics, AI-driven customer intelligence, and email strategies. True to their podcasts’ ethos, both hosts drop actionable tips, personal anecdotes, and a dash of banter.

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Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. Opener & Light Banter (00:07–01:55)

• The hosts riff on bad movies (“Greenland 2”), favorite films, and a generational mix-up over Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter characters.
• The playful tone sets up the episode’s real theme: marketing strategies that work (and those that don’t).

2. What’s NOT Working

a. YouTube Struggles (01:55–03:03)

• Jay shares his experience: after uploading 300+ YouTube videos, he’s seen views, particularly with Shorts, but “no meaningful conversions.”
  • “Maybe we get subscribers, whatever. Maybe get way top of funnel. But we are getting no meaningful outcomes from YouTube.”
    —Jay (02:28)
• Jay reassures marketers struggling with YouTube: “if you’re not crushing YouTube, I’m on your team.”

b. One-Off Influencer Deals in B2B (03:03–04:43)

• Daniel critiques the common B2B approach of paying for single influencer posts, calling it a “failing strategy.”
  • “It’s really hard to win if you want meaningful impact on one-off influencer deals… that isn’t influencer marketing.”
    —Daniel (03:04)
• He urges brands to distinguish between:
  • “network” creators (community/event/newsletter leaders)
  • “influence” builders (purely social followers)
• B2B marketers should move towards comprehensive, long-term partnerships, not transactional, single posts.

3. What’s Working

a. Integrated Influencer Partnerships (04:43–05:56)

• Jay no longer accepts one-off deals—prefers longer-term, multi-format collaborations.
  • “If you are going to put your toe in the water for some sort of influencer… you need to make it more of a strategy.”
    —Jay (04:46)
• Actionable tip: bundle several posts, newsletters, and integrations for real impact.

b. Leveraging Real-Time Events (March Madness!) (05:00–05:56)

• Tie campaigns to trending events, even if only tangentially relevant to your brand.
  • “Leaning into March Madness… actually will give you a boost.”
    —Jay (05:26)
• Works for B2B and B2C: using current themes increases email open rates, CTRs, and social engagement.

c. Building a Custom AI “Mind” of Customer Data (05:56–07:32)

• Daniel’s big bet: brands need their own AI models, trained on their customer reviews, feedback, and content.
  • “You building your own AI mind of customer data… you need to start doing that now in marketing because it is working.”
    —Daniel (06:01)
• Editing and human oversight is still crucial (“the human API”), but those who build internal, brand-specific LLMs will win.
  • Feed positive, negative, Reddit posts, reviews—“all into one place.”

d. Email Tactics: Testimonial Subject Lines (07:32–08:32)

• Jay: Using customer testimonials as the entire email subject line (in quotes) is driving outsized conversions on offer emails.
  • “We’re actually seeing it actually convert on the back end really, really well.”
    —Jay (08:15)
• Works for both B2B and B2C. Adds authenticity and curiosity.

e. Email Formatting: All-Caps Subject Lines (08:32–09:18)

• Daniel skeptical, but shares that ALL CAPS subject lines are currently popping—“it is boosting my subject line way harder than it is, if I do all lowercase.”
  • “People just want to be screamed at, I guess. But that is working.”
    —Daniel (08:44)
• Suggests marketers try different capitalizations as a test.

f. Lighthearted Closer: Pickleball, Harry Potter, and Brand Personality (09:18–11:28)

• Jay pokes fun at audience personas (“Your whole database may like a Dominatrix thing,” in response to all-caps subject lines).
• They close with more inside jokes about pickleball, Amazon purchases, and generational humor.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “What’s not working was the start of this podcast, that’s for damn sure.”
  —Jay, self-deprecating humor after a clunky intro (01:55)
• “I consider that like investing in Jay’s guru network versus investing in a one-off play with Jay… those are two different plays.”
  —Daniel, reframing influencer tiers (03:20)
• “If you’re going to do a one-off, you’re literally burning money. You’re throwing it in the toilet.”
  —Jay, on fleeting influencer deals (04:56)
• “Building your own AI mind… the human API is the new thing.”
  —Daniel, emphasizing the fusion of AI + human expertise (06:01)
• “Testimonial subject lines… we’re actually putting quotes in the subject line. There’s nothing else in the subject line but the testimonial.”
  —Jay (07:45)

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Key Takeaways (For Your Marketing Meeting)

• YouTube alone is tough for conversions: “Views ≠ impact.” Supplement with other channels or rethink expectations if you’re struggling.
• Stop one-off influencer buys: Value is in strategic, long-term integrations with true “network creators.”
• Ride relevant trends: Latch onto major events (like March Madness) for boosts in engagement, even for B2B.
• Build your brand’s AI brain: Aggregate all customer data; let AI + human editors drive scalable personalized content.
• Email wins with authenticity & novelty: Try testimonial-based subject lines and experiment with ALL CAPS formatting.
• Keep tone human and banter-y: Engagement can be boosted by levity and personality, even in business spaces.

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Recommended Segments

• 01:55 – Jay on failing at YouTube
• 03:03 – Daniel on influencer marketing’s evolution in B2B
• 04:43 – Jay’s rule: “Never do one-off influencer deals”
• 05:26 – Jay’s March Madness engagement hack
• 06:01 – Daniel’s AI-driven brand content manifesto
• 07:45 – Jay on testimonial email subject lines
• 08:44 – Daniel’s surprising results with all-caps subject lines

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Summary by The Marketing Millennials Summarizer
For more, connect on LinkedIn or join the next Bathroom Break!

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 Schwetelson 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 topics. 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 you understand it.

[B]

Yeah, it's just like 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. Dumb Dumbledore. Yeah, that's me. Well, today we're going to 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 going to go first. So for the last, I don't know, six months or so, I go, six months ago I go, I'm going to 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'm on your team. I need to do better. So Daniel, 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 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 in marketing. I think when you're buying, I still see this in B2B all the time. They, people come to a lot of, 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. 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 is 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, which 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]

Your whole database may 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 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 gotta congratulate Jay. He had a pickleball. He. First. First one. I'm trying to get him. I'm trying to go play with him sometime, but he. He said. He said, give me a month.

[A]

So 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 got it on Amazon. He's like, that's embarrassing. I go, I didn't know if. I go. I didn't know if I was going to like the sport. I didn't want to commit more than $10.

[B]

Oh, my God. So you decided to 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 marketing. Millennials, you are awesome. And keep it real, Daniel. Come on, man. I gotta 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 Mark and Millennials podcast, but also tune into this 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,