Marketing by Design

⚡️ Join a community of high-performing marketers: https://columbusmarketing.org🧩 Need a website that actually converts? MMG Studio: https://www.mmg.studioMost marketers fight for the moment someone searches. Diane DiCarlo, founder of Curiosity Consulting and a fractional CMO for healthcare and mission-driven organizations, says the real opportunity happens before that. She breaks down her Curiosity Moment framework, the mammogram campaign that proved keywords alone can't grow demand, and the toy review that taught her it's never about what you think of your product. She also shares how she left a 14-year health system career, why her business coach told her to stop targeting CMOs, and why being more human helps brands show up in AI search.CONNECT WITH DIANE🌐 Website: https://consultwithcurious.com💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-cheshire-dicarlo/CONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmg.studio💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro01:27 - From health system marketer to consultant02:21 - "My whole body sort of shrank"03:25 - Why she hired a business coach on day one07:27 - Why CMOs were the wrong ideal client10:18 - The toy review that changed how she sees marketing12:10 - The mammogram campaign that broke the keyword playbook15:57 - How she finds what customers actually care about18:12 - Why she interviews her clients' vendors21:15 - The Curiosity Moment vs. the moment of search22:10 - How a rent increase starts a customer journey26:09 - Why being human helps you show up in AI search27:08 - Her hunt for the weirdest thing in every cityTEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

⚡️ Join a community of high-performing marketers: https://columbusmarketing.org🧩 We are web experts: https://www.mmg.studioWhat's the strongest trust signal a B2B company can send? According to Becky Lawlor's research, 70% of tech buyers say it's original research, ranked above case studies, testimonials, and expert opinions. Becky is the founder of Redpoint Insights, where she builds survey-based research that B2B tech brands turn into reports, press, and pipeline. She breaks down how to design a survey that produces a real story instead of a pile of stats, why her core process barely changed with AI, and the one prompt she uses to make sure a report never spins the data. If you want content that earns trust instead of asking for it, start here.CONNECT WITH BECKY🌐 Website: https://www.redpointinsights.com💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckylawlor/CONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmg.studio💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro01:04 - From freelance writer to research agency owner03:09 - The high school friend who landed her first tech client06:47 - "I don't do customer research"09:17 - Why her process barely changed with AI11:55 - The AI "insight" built on 20 people13:25 - How to keep bias out of your survey14:00 - The prompt that catches spin in every report15:48 - Why every survey needs multiple storylines19:44 - 70% of buyers trust this signal most22:02 - Why one-way door decisions need data25:10 - The climbing term behind the name RedpointTEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

⚡️ Ask Columbus Marketing Leaders a Question: www.Columbusmarketing.org/askIn this Q&A episode of Marketing by Design, Andy Milligan answers real questions from marketers, fractional CMOs, and agency owners about what's actually driving growth right now. He breaks down why warm email beats AI-generated cold outreach, which LinkedIn content turns into client conversations, and the underused growth plays he's testing, from strategic podcasting to small, repeatable in-person gatherings. You'll also get his take on partner referral programs, how to stretch a $3,000 software and events budget, and two unpopular opinions about the marketing job market and freelancing that most people won't say out loud.CONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Cold Email vs. Warm Email03:39 LinkedIn Content Strategy06:14 Fringe Growth Strategies08:54 Partner Referral Programs11:51 Software and Events Budget15:59 Controversial Marketing TakesTEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

⚡️ Join a community of high-performing marketers: https://columbusmarketing.org🔵 Our Healthcare Web Agency: MMG Studio: https://www.mmg.studioPut your hand over the logo on most healthcare websites and you can't tell one practice from another. Matt Lee, managing director and co-founder of Strategy Collective, works with more than 30 private equity-backed healthcare platforms, and he says that sameness is about to get expensive. He breaks down why healthcare brands play it so safe, how to measure marketing against the schedule instead of the ad platform, and why phone number matching only gets you part of the way to real attribution. He also shares how Strategy Collective grew from two partners managing freelancers to a 55-person in-house team, and how they use AI as the brain of the agency without replacing people.CONNECT WITH MATT🌐 Website: https://www.strategyco.com💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewtlee/CONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmg.studio💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro00:41 - From agency partner to CMO to founder01:33 - The board member who opened the door to PE healthcare05:09 - Why they started as a collective of freelancers06:00 - Scaling a vet group from 75 to 1,000+ locations07:57 - Getting burned, then building a 55-person team in-house10:10 - "It's not saving us people"12:48 - Building the brain of the agency with AI16:46 - Be the conductor, not the instrument18:07 - How AI changed the way he answers RFPs20:07 - Why every healthcare brand looks the same21:45 - Outcompeting the doctor across the street24:46 - The hardest problem in healthcare attribution25:55 - Why phone number matching fails27:37 - Booked, showed, paid: staging attribution32:45 - Measure the schedule, not the ad platform34:00 - "Physician-led" isn't a differentiator anymore34:25 - How to use humor in healthcare marketingTEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File: https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefileIs SEO dead now that AI search has arrived? Sophie Brannon, co-founder of StudioHawk US, says no, and she explains why the "SEO is dead" crowd has it backwards. She breaks down how AI search builds on the same foundations as traditional SEO, why those inflated AI traffic stats are misleading, and the SOURCE framework her team uses to get brands cited in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and beyond. She also shares how she went from journalist to SEO leader to co-founder, and why StudioHawk only hires "wholesome nerds."CONNECT WITH SOPHIE🌐 Website: https://studiohawk.com🎓 Hawk Academy (free SEO and AI search training): https://hawkacademy.co💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-brannon-081bb294/𝕏 X: https://x.com/SophieBrannonCONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro03:00 - From journalist to head of SEO04:15 - She quit her job to live in a tent06:35 - The phone call that made her a co-founder08:23 - Why StudioHawk only hires "wholesome nerds"13:37 - The biggest myth about AI search14:55 - Ignore the 2000% AI traffic stats15:40 - The SOURCE framework for getting cited by AI19:37 - Voice search, featured snippets, and the shiny-object trap28:11 - Why Americans buy SEO differently32:32 - Why they'll never be a full-service agencyTEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

Got a question about job search, careers, or marketing? Submit it for a future Q&A: https://tally.so/r/A7ZYqlIn this solo Q&A episode, Andy Milligan answers the questions marketers have been sending him about building a personal brand, getting referrals, and landing jobs before they're posted. He breaks down why posting your work isn't enough, how to keep your voice in a sea of templated LinkedIn content, and how to make your resume, LinkedIn, and portfolio tell one consistent story. Then he builds and strategizes in public, sharing real cold outreach conversion numbers, a sales call that didn't close, and the brand stats he tracks to grow his business.CONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro02:17 - I did $26K last month as a solo marketer04:14 - Nobody cares about your first post (and that's fine)05:37 - The two-step move that built my entire business07:28 - The post type that makes people trust you faster08:05 - $350K from a channel with almost no subscribers08:25 - Every LinkedIn post sounds the same. Here's the fix.10:53 - Never gotten a job through someone you know?14:13 - How to find jobs before they're posted16:40 - Why I'd never use the Open to Work banner17:02 - Your resume, LinkedIn, and portfolio are telling 3 different stories20:25 - What happens when someone Googles you24:17 - 30 cold videos, 2 sales calls, 0 closes (yet)27:41 - Every brand stat I track, liveTEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

📥 Get the full VA playbook and slide deck: https://www.columbusmarketing.org/va-workshopRecorded live for the 10x Solo community, this workshop breaks down how I built a lean remote team from the Philippines, starting for less than $200 a month. I walk through where I found each team member, what I pay and why, and the exact tasks I delegate, from LinkedIn outreach and newsletter production to podcast editing and inbox triage. You'll also get my biggest delegation mistakes, how to vet candidates, how to pay international contractors, and why your assistant should be using AI. If you've been on the fence about hiring a VA, this is your roadmap.CONNECT WITH 10X SOLO🌐 Community: https://10xsolo.com📰 Newsletter: https://10xsolo.substack.com💼 Garrett Jestice: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettjesticeCONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmg.studio/💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File: https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefileTIMESTAMPS00:00 Intro01:54 The workshop begins05:30 Solo to a team of three10:30 Agency vs. going direct15:30 Why $8 an hour is 7x minimum wage18:00 Start for $200 a month22:00 The outreach system my VA runs daily26:00 I edited 100 episodes alone. Never again.29:00 The mistakes I wish I hadn't made34:30 How to spot a high performer fast37:00 My assistant texts my mom41:00 Live Q&ATEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Studio: https://www.mmg.studio/

The best community for marketers on the internet: https://www.columbusmarketing.orgHans Skillrud went from Groupon employee #100 to agency owner to acquiring a competitor to co-founding Termageddon, a privacy compliance SaaS he runs with his wife Donata. In this episode, Hans breaks down how niching down and buying out struggling competitors built his agency's growth, why he sold it to focus on Termageddon full-time, and why most website owners have no idea how much data their site is quietly collecting and sharing. He also lays out exactly what he'd do if he were starting a web agency today, from acquisitions to one-day builds.CONNECT WITH HANS🌐 Website: https://termageddon.com/💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-skillrud/CONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro00:00 - The Groupon job that started it all02:19 - The cold call that accidentally launched a web design career04:30 - 37 services down to one: the niche that changed everything06:24 - How buying a struggling competitor fell into his lap08:04 - Turning an acquisition into a six-figure pipeline with cold calls12:26 - How he met his wife and co-founder, Donata15:28 - Why he sold his agency to go all-in on Termageddon18:50 - The data your website is sharing without you knowing it21:15 - Inside the $30,000 SIPA demand letters hitting site owners27:15 - His playbook to buy agencies with zero money down33:10 - Why your current customers are your best growth channel35:51 - What's next for Hans, and the move to LithuaniaTEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

⚡️ Join the Columbus Marketing Organization: https://www.columbusmarketing.orgIn this solo episode, Andy Milligan opens the books on MMG Studio's August 2026 performance — $26K in revenue, a growing enterprise client concentration problem, the studio's first-ever in-person networking event, and the exact subscriptions he's cutting to trim $700 a month in software spend. This is Andy's monthly retro format, run with full transparency on profit, loss, wins, and losses.CONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/TOOLS I USE💰 Monarch Money: https://monarch.com/referral/z41ilq6s8l?r_source=copy📇 Folk CRM: https://try.folk.app/17t000urnxbbTIMESTAMPS00:00 - The August retro nobody asked for (but you needed)01:14 - Why I run these every month02:30 - Opening the books: Monarch Money walkthrough03:21 - $26K revenue, $378K lifetime, and where it's going06:14 - The client concentration problem I created12:14 - The $700 software bill I'm finally cutting19:34 - My first in-person event: 21 people, 0 regrets26:33 - The mistake costing me the most: mornings30:27 - Goals for September and what's nextTEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

🔥 Learn, Connect, and Grow With Other Marketers: www.columbusmarketing.org💎 Our agency (Web + SEO): www.mmg.studioAngela Troccoli is the Head of Marketing at Revecore and an award-winning marketing executive with nearly two decades leading go-to-market strategy across supply chain, healthcare, and digital commerce. In this episode, she breaks down why marketing goes wrong so often (hint: it's rarely the tactics), what pushed her to write her new book "Signals: Common Marketing Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them," and why AI is accelerating bad strategy just as fast as good strategy for teams that skip the fundamentals. If you lead marketing, sit on a board, or just got asked to "do more with the same budget," this episode gives you language for what's actually going wrong and how to fix it.CONNECT WITH ANGELA🌐 Website: https://angelatroccoli.com💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela1morel/📖 Book: https://www.amazon.com/Signals-Common-Marketing-Pitfalls-Avoid/dp/B0H4DV7GFDCONNECT WITH ANDY🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro00:07 - Why marketing goes wrong more than people think01:36 - Marketing is a science, not pixie dust02:19 - Everyone has a social profile, so everyone thinks they can market02:52 - The off-the-record story about what a "campaign" actually is04:47 - Founder-led content isn't lazy, it's strategy06:03 - The monthly review and quarterly pivot process07:15 - Leaving 20-30% of bandwidth for reactive news-jacking09:18 - Building content around three personas, matched by who's speaking12:11 - The mentor conversation that started the book15:55 - Twenty interviews, one question: what mistake do you keep repeating?17:19 - Why "mistakes" became "signals" instead18:57 - The budget trap every board asks and every marketer falls for21:34 - Giving marketers a resource to point to when they're the unpopular voice22:20 - The uncomfortable chapter on restructuring and layoffs24:16 - Angela's career path from supply chain to global product marketing27:32 - Even Google, Airbnb, and Instagram make these mistakes29:18 - Customer advocacy: the most underinvested function in marketing31:39 - Rewriting the exit strategy chapter for optionality over IPO hype34:11 - AI is a tool, not a colleague37:06 - Why QA still matters even when AI is faster40:00 - Where to find Angela and the bookTEAM🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net