Marketing Against The Grain

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Ep. 417

Everyone told you the blog is dead—but the data proves we were all wrong.

Kipp, Kieran, Aja Frost (Sr. Director of Global Growth and Paid at HubSpot), and Beeri Amiel (Product at HubSpot and founder of XFunnel) dive into how answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini are reshaping how companies get discovered online, and why your blog matters more than ever. Learn more on real-world AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) insights, why blog posts and listicles dominate AI citations, the science of influencing robots (not just people), and the new playbook for building trust across YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn.

Mentions


Aja Frost https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajafrost/


Beeri Amiel https://www.linkedin.com/in/beeri-amiel/


XFunnel https://www.xfunnel.ai/


ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/


Claude https://claude.ai/


Gemini https://gemini.google.com/app

Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt

We’re creating our next round of content and want to ensure it tackles the challenges you’re facing at work or in your business.

To understand your biggest challenges we’ve put together a survey and we’d love to hear from you! https://bit.ly/matg-research

Resource


[Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip

We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed

YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matgpod 

Join our community https://landing.connect.com/matg

Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain!

Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934  

If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends.

We really appreciate your support.

Host Links:

Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar  

Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat 

‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

Kieran's guide to turn Claude into a marketing machine: https://clickhubspot.com/knbr

Ep. 416

Is your AI marketing output stuck at "just okay" no matter how much you refine your skills?

Kieran dives into why building better skills isn’t enough—and shares the Pixar-inspired secret to world-class, distinctive results with AI. Learn more on the crucial difference between skills and the foundational context layer, harnessing "brain trust" principles to transform your marketing, and the four foundational files every marketer needs to move from average to extraordinary content.

Mentions


Claude Code https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview


Pixar https://www.pixar.com/


Edwin Catmull https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Catmull

Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt

We’re creating our next round of content and want to ensure it tackles the challenges you’re facing at work or in your business.

To understand your biggest challenges we’ve put together a survey and we’d love to hear from you! https://bit.ly/matg-research

Resource


[Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip

We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed

YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matgpod 

Join our community https://landing.connect.com/matg

Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain!

Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934  

If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends.

We really appreciate your support.

Host Links:

Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar  

Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

Free guide to climb the AI Skill Ladder (7 agent tools + prompts): https://clickhubspot.com/mgtv

Ep. 415

What if you could turn AI into your second brain?

Kipp, Kieran, and guest Kevin Hutson (Futurepedia) dive into the levels of AI maturity and how marketers can go from AI novices to master workflow builders. Learn more on the step-by-step journey to AI fluency, the power of building reusable AI skills, and how to leverage tools like Manus to automate complex marketing workflows and outperform the competition.

Mentions


Kevin Hutson https://www.youtube.com/@futurepedia_io


Futurepedia https://www.futurepedia.io/


Manus https://manus.im/


Glean https://www.glean.com/

Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt

We’re creating our next round of content and want to ensure it tackles the challenges you’re facing at work or in your business.

To understand your biggest challenges we’ve put together a survey and we’d love to hear from you! https://bit.ly/matg-research

Resource


[Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip

We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed

YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matgpod 

Join our community https://landing.connect.com/matg

Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain!

Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934  

If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends.

We really appreciate your support.

Host Links:

Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar  

Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat 

‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

Get our free AI Ad Prompt Kit: https://clickhubspot.com/skw

Ep. 414

How do you create killer ads when you don’t have a marketing team or big budget? 

Kipp dives into testing out Replit’s latest AI ad generation tool live, showing how anyone can validate ideas and iterate ad creative faster than ever. Learn more on crafting powerful prompts that drive results, iterating your way to great creative without breaking the bank, and navigating the pitfalls and possibilities of AI-powered ad creation on platforms like LinkedIn, Google, and Instagram.

Mentions


Replit https://replit.com/


Claude Opus 4.6 https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-6


Willow Voice https://willowvoice.com/


Base44 https://base44.com/


Lovable https://lovable.dev/

Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt

We’re creating our next round of content and want to ensure it tackles the challenges you’re facing at work or in your business.

To understand your biggest challenges we’ve put together a survey and we’d love to hear from you! https://bit.ly/matg-research

Resource


[Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip

We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed

YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matgpod 

Join our community https://landing.connect.com/matg

Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain!

Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934  

If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends.

We really appreciate your support.

Host Links:

Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar  

Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

Get Matt's free Vibe Design Guide: https://clickhubspot.com/wkse

Ep. 413

What if you could design a website just by describing what you want?

Kipp has Matt Wolfe (Future Tools) dive into Google's new Stitch tool, which uses AI to turn your prompts into polished web designs—no coding or design experience required. Learn more on how Vibe Design changes the way marketers build landing pages, why Stitch could replace legacy tools like ClickFunnels, and how you can export and iterate your site ideas directly inside Google's workflow.

Mentions


Matt Wolfe https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-wolfe-30841712/


Future Tools https://futuretools.io/


Google Stitch https://stitch.withgoogle.com/


Google AI Studio https://aistudio.google.com/


Figma https://www.figma.com/


vibe design https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-labs/stitch-ai-ui-design/


ClickFunnels https://www.clickfunnels.com/

Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt

We’re creating our next round of content and want to ensure it tackles the challenges you’re facing at work or in your business.

To understand your biggest challenges we’ve put together a survey and we’d love to hear from you! https://bit.ly/matg-research

Resource


[Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip

We’re on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed

YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matgpod 

Join our community https://landing.connect.com/matg

Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain!

Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934  

If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends.

We really appreciate your support.

Host Links:

Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar  

Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat 

‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.