Overthinking your content? Try this (Exit Five Newsletter #115)

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👎 The Worst Thing You Can Do After Someone Submits a Form

You know what annoys me way more than it should?

Getting this message after requesting information from Sales for something I’m in the market to buy:

“Thanks! Someone from our Sales team will be in touch soon!”

I mean, it’s horrible! I’m practically begging you to take my money, volunteering myself as red hot pipeline, and that’s what I get?

That’s when I usually research their competitors, because who knows what “soon” means.

But as a marketer, I’ve also done that on some of my own forms – and cost my sales teams leads because of it. I just didn’t know what else to do, and relied on them to reach out and set up a meeting.

Instead, we should be capitalizing on that moment and getting those leads booked on a calendar – as soon as they fill out the form.

I know you’ve heard of Calendly, and probably used it 100000x by now for your personal scheduling needs – but did you know you can also integrate it directly to your website to help your sales hand off?

Now you do 😉

So go audit your forms – and if there isn’t a Calendly link there, do your Sales team a favor and get that set up ASAP.

How to Write More Content Even if You’re Busy (Without Overthinking It)

Well, the honeymoon is over – literally. After an amazing two weeks off for my wedding and honeymoon, I’m back in your inbox :)

And not going to lie, I’m a little stressed.

I’m in Burlington, Vermont, right now for our live event this week, sitting at my little hotel desk. I don’t know what to write about. I’m way overthinking it. This ever happen to you?

Thankfully, I listened to a clip with Jason Lemkin where he shares how he gets over this particular hurdle.

He calls it “auto-writing,” and it’s his technique for getting ideas down quickly and turning them into usable content… without overthinking.

It’s pretty simple:

• Write from the hip: When an idea comes to mind, write it down immediately in a simple, conversational tone. Don’t worry about making it perfect. It’s better to capture the core of the message quickly while it’s fresh in your mind. You can also use voice notes for this – whatever is easiest for you.
  
  
• Use Personal Insights: Jason believes that the most impactful content comes from real insights and experiences. This is what makes his posts resonate with his audience—it’s authentic, experience-based, and actionable. He mentions that the writing process should feel natural, and the key is getting the ideas out of his brain and onto the page as quickly as possible.
  
  
• Limit writing time: Set a timer for 15-30 minutes when drafting a blog or LinkedIn post. Just write down everything that comes to mind during that time frame. The idea is to keep the momentum going, rather than getting bogged down by endless revisions.
  
  
• Publish now, perfect later: Often, marketers get stuck in perfectionism (it’s me, hi 🙋)Instead, just get it out there and edit later. Even Twitter has an edit button now (well, if you pay) and you can always refine as needed.

It’s pretty effective, and takes the pressure off of having the perfect thing to say – something I know we all struggle with as marketers.

LinkedIn is perfect for experimenting with this sort of thing. Give it a try and let me know how it goes – I’d love to see your posts in action.

P.S. As always, let me know if you want the link to the full interview with Jason and I’ll send it over.

And if you’re coming to Drive this week, please reply to let me know! Excited to hang out with 200 members of this amazing community.

Episode #173: Merging Funnels, Targeting Multiple Personas, and Restructuring Your Marketing Team with Shane Murphy, CMO of Webflow

Dave is joined by Shane Murphy, CMO of Webflow, where he is scaling one of the most innovative companies in web technology. Shane shares his insights on integrating growth strategies across self-serve and enterprise funnels, building a powerful brand, and targeting diverse personas.

Shane and Dave cover:

• How Webflow combined its self-serve and enterprise growth teams to streamline acquisition
• Targeting broad personas and aligning messaging to meet unique needs
• Brand building in B2B marketing and leveraging creative campaigns for long-term growth
  
  

Listen to the Episode Now on Spotify

Or find it everywhere you listen by searching "exitfive" podcast.

Episode #174: Leveraging Partnerships to Drive Influence and Revenue with Jared Fuller, COO of OpenEd.co

Dave is joined by Jared Fuller, Partner and COO of OpenEd.co. Jared talks his career journey in B2B and shares his expertise in partnerships and the critical role they play in B2B growth strategies.

Jared and Dave cover:

• • How to integrate partner voices into your marketing strategy to create lasting influence and trust
  • Shifting from traditional co-marketing to "Nearbound" marketing, leveraging relationships for omnichannel impact.
  • Using partnerships as a growth lever across departments, not just sales and marketing
    
    

Listen to the Episode Now on Spotify

Or find it everywhere you listen by searching "exitfive" podcast.

Upcoming Events

In today's challenging business landscape, marketers face the daunting task of not only crafting an efficient marketing plan, but implementing it quickly, proving its value, and continuously adapting the plan on the fly. The ever-changing macroeconomic environment adds an extra layer of complexity, making success even harder to achieve.

Join our webinar with Dave and Rowan Tonkin, CMO at Planful, where they’ll lead you through the essential steps to building your plan, getting it approved, and unlocking the full potential of your marketing efforts.

You’ll discover:

• Tips to build a powerful marketing plan that aligns with your business objectives.
• Strategies to gain plan approval from executives and board members.
• Best practices and practical approaches to flawlessly execute your marketing plan, turning ideas into measurable results.
• Insights into the advantages of scenario planning and how it can prepare your marketing team to adapt to the ever-changing economic landscape.

The webinar is on September 18th at 3PM ET, click the link below to reserve your spot. 

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HOT JOB OF THE WEEK: Circle is hiring a Head of Marketing and it's what I'd define as a dream role. If you're a member of Exit Five, you already know the product – we use it to manage our community. You'd be joining a killer team and taking on the challenge of brand building as they go multi-product.

Interested? Apply here.

Other open roles on the Exit Five job board this week:

• Freshpaint is hiring a Product Marketing Manager
• Close is hiring a Marketing Operations Manager. USA Only, 100% Remote. 
• Brainlabs is hiring a Global CMO/EVP of Social.
• Culture Partners is hiring a Business Illustrator and an Instructional Designer & Map Developer
  
  

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