The Smart Marketer Podcast

Episode 279: Smart Marketer's 2026 Growth Playbook: What We're Building, Testing & Doubling Down On
Episode Description
What does growth look like when AI is changing every week, paid traffic is evolving, and your business has to keep adapting in real time?
In this behind-the-scenes episode, Molly Pittman and John Grimshaw pull back the curtain on what Smart Marketer has been building, testing, and improving in 2026. From Axon/AppLovin and TikTok Shop to AEO, AI-powered creative, new software, and launching an ecommerce brand from scratch, this episode is a candid look at how Smart Marketer is thinking about the future.
You'll hear why partnerships are becoming one of the biggest growth levers, why founder visibility matters more in the AI era, and why not every experiment needs to work in order for your business to keep moving forward.
"Not everything has to work. If everything is successful, you're probably not doing enough." – Molly Pittman
You Will Learn:
• Why Smart Marketer is expanding beyond courses, agency services, and masterminds.
• How Axon/AppLovin is creating new paid traffic opportunities for DTC brands.
• Why TikTok Shop requires a different approach than traditional paid media.
• What AEO is and why AI search may become a major growth channel.
• How Smart Marketer is using AI to create more direct-response ad creative.
• Why partnerships can unlock faster business growth and new opportunities.
• What Molly and John are learning from launching an ecommerce brand from scratch.
• Why the info product space is not dead, but it is evolving.
• How to decide what to scale, what to cut, and where to focus next.
Links & Resources:
Smart Marketer: smartmarketer.com

Smart Marketer Podcast: https://smartmarketer.com/podcast

Smart Marketer Free Trainings & Resources: https://smartmarketer.com/free-resources/

Smart Marketer Agency: https://smartmarketeragency.com/

Mentor Table: https://smartmarketer.com/mentor-table/

Thumbstop: https://usethumbstop.ai/

OmniSend (Sponsor): https://smartmarketer.com/omnisend
Use code SMART for 50% off your first three months.

TIME STAMPS:
00:00:22 – Welcome: What's Changing Across Marketing Right Now
00:01:10 – Sponsor Message: Ezra Firestone on OmniSend
00:02:14 – Molly Welcomes John Grimshaw to the Podcast
00:03:28 – Behind the Scenes: What's Been Happening at Smart Marketer
00:04:34 – How Smart Marketer Has Evolved Beyond Courses
00:06:29 – Why Business Leaders Must Keep Innovating
00:07:34 – Launching the Axon/AppLovin Masterclass
00:09:30 – The Power of Partnerships in Business Growth
00:11:51 – Testing TikTok Shop as a New Growth Channel
00:15:19 – AEO, AI Search, and Optimizing for Answer Engines
00:17:27 – Why Founder Visibility Matters in the AI Era
00:19:13 – Introducing Thumbstop: AI-Powered Ad Creative
00:23:51 – Smart Marketer's First New Software Tool in Years
00:24:49 – Launching a New Ecommerce Brand From Scratch
00:28:59 – Why Partnerships Are Central to Smart Marketer's Next Chapter
00:31:00 – Building Agentic AI Systems for Ecommerce Brands
00:33:01 – Why Courses and Info Products Are Not Dead
00:35:49 – The Reality of Testing New Ideas
00:37:59 – How Smart Marketer Is Refocusing for the Rest of 2026
00:38:29 – Molly's Reminder: Not Everything Has to Work
00:40:38 – Final Thoughts and a Bandit Cameo
00:41:15 – Closing CTA: Subscribe, Review, and Share the Show
YOUR ENGAGEMENT MATTERS!
Thank you for tuning in! Your support keeps this podcast thriving. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, review, and share it with fellow entrepreneurs, marketers, and business owners who want to stay ahead of what's coming next.
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: Click Here
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Have feedback? Email us at support@smartmarketer.com
Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit!

Episode Description
AI tools are changing how people research, compare, and make buying decisions, and the brands that show up in those answers are going to have a massive advantage.
In this episode, Molly Pittman sits down with entrepreneur and AEO expert Kasim Aslam to unpack what Answer Engine Optimization really is, how it differs from traditional SEO, and why founder-led content, real expertise, strong reviews, and authentic authority are becoming non-negotiable for brands that want to stay visible.
You'll also hear early results from Smart Marketer's first AEO client cohort, including wins from brands like BabyRX, Winona, and Outdoor Vitals, plus why AEO may be one of the biggest organic opportunities since the early days of SEO.
"If you believe in your product, if you're truly a thought leader, if you have the information and if other people really like what you have to say, AEO is great." – Kasim Aslam
You Will Learn:
• What AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, is and why it matters right now.
• How AI-driven traffic differs from traditional SEO and paid traffic.
• Why founder-led brands and expert-driven content are winning in AI search.
• The role schema markup plays in helping AI tools understand your website.
• Why reviews, reputation, and real authority are becoming major ranking signals.
• How to think about attribution when AEO cannot be tracked like Meta or Google Ads.
• Why "being for someone" is one of the most important marketing advantages in the AI era.
• Early AEO case studies from BabyRX, Winona, and Outdoor Vitals.
• Why brands that lack a clear point of view may struggle as answer engines become more influential.
Links & Resources:
Smart Marketer: smartmarketer.com

Smart Marketer Free Trainings & Resources: https://smartmarketer.com/free-resources/

Smart Marketer Agency: https://smartmarketeragency.com/

Mentor Table: https://smartmarketer.com/mentor-table/

AEO: https://aeo.co/

OmniSend (Sponsor): https://smartmarketer.com/omnisend
Use code SMART for 50% off your first three months.

TIME STAMPS:
00:00:16 – Introduction: Why AEO Matters for Modern Brands
00:01:16 – Sponsor Message: Ezra Firestone on OmniSend
00:02:20 – Molly Welcomes Kasim Aslam to the Podcast
00:04:11 – The Power of Long-Term Relationships in Business
00:06:34 – How Molly and Kasim's AEO Partnership Began
00:11:09 – Why AEO Is the Future of Marketing
00:13:14 – What Is AEO and How Is It Different from SEO?
00:15:42 – How Kasim Started Studying Answer Engine Optimization
00:16:44 – Why Understanding the Machine Matters
00:18:01 – Why AEO Strategy Must Be Vertical-Specific
00:19:16 – Why AEO Is Harder to Game Than Traditional SEO
00:20:08 – Why Reputation, Reviews, and Real Authority Matter
00:22:34 – Why Context Changes Every AI Search Result
00:24:48 – Why Direct Response Marketers May Struggle with AEO
00:26:14 – How to Measure AEO When Traditional Attribution Breaks
00:28:47 – Bot Traffic, Citations, and Secondary Success Signals
00:30:22 – The Return of "How Did You Hear About Us?"
00:32:54 – Early AEO Results from the First Client Cohort
00:34:33 – BabyRX Case Study: From Zero Visibility to AI Citations
00:35:31 – Why Schema Markup Is Critical for AI Visibility
00:37:32 – How Content Repurposing Helps AI Validate Authority
00:39:47 – Winona Case Study: Growing Share of Voice in Google AI Mode
00:40:46 – Outdoor Vitals Case Study: From Invisible to 34% AI Visibility
00:42:12 – Content Atomization and Founder-Led Authority
00:43:23 – How to Apply for the Next AEO Test Cohort
00:45:03 – Why Answer Engines Trust People More Than Brands
00:47:41 – Why Brands Need a Real Point of View
00:48:09 – Final Thoughts: Why AEO Rewards Businesses That Truly Serve Their Market
00:49:47 – Closing CTA: Subscribe, Review, and Share the Show
YOUR ENGAGEMENT MATTERS!
Thank you for tuning in! Your support keeps this podcast thriving. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, review, and share it with fellow entrepreneurs, marketers, and business owners who want to stay ahead of what's coming next.
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: Click Here
Share this episode on social media, tag us, and use #WeOutHere
Have feedback? Email us at support@smartmarketer.com
Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit!

Episode Description
AI can help your team move faster, work smarter, and free up hours of repetitive work… but only if you build the habits, systems, and ownership to actually use it.
In this live session from Mentor Table Nashville, Rytis Lauris, co-founder and CEO of Omnisend, shares the six practical lessons his company learned while transforming a 200+ person organization into a more AI-native team. From monthly AI Days and simple point-solution agents to the mindset shift required to "manage" AI assistants, this episode is packed with real-world examples you can bring back to your own business.
"AI can really help us to be way more productive and to be better employees, to be better specialists, to be better humans." – Rytis Lauris
If you've been wondering how to get your team to move beyond "playing around with ChatGPT" and start using AI to save time, improve processes, and scale smarter, this one is for you.
You Will Learn:
• Why AI adoption has to be intentional and led from the top down.
• How Omnisend uses monthly "AI Days" to help employees build real AI habits.
• Why simple point solutions often work better than complex AI agents.
• How a sales team built an AI follow-up tool without engineers.
• How Omnisend reduced influencer review time from 90 hours to 20 hours per month.
• Why AI tools should be treated like products, not one-time projects.
• The importance of assigning a human "manager" to each AI agent.
• Why AI works best when it improves existing processes instead of creating new work.
• How AI can support email, SMS, segmentation, forms, support, and sales workflows.
• Why the future belongs to humans who learn how to scale themselves with AI.
Links & Resources:
Smart Marketer: https://smartmarketer.com/

Smart Marketer Free Trainings & Resources: https://smartmarketer.com/free-resources/

Smart Marketer Agency: https://smartmarketeragency.com/

Mentor Table: https://smartmarketer.com/mentor-table

Omnisend Smart Marketer (sponsor): https://smartmarketer.com/omnisend
Use code SMART for 50% off your first three months.

Time Stamps:
00:00:15 – Welcome: Moving Beyond AI Marketing Tasks
00:01:13 – Sponsor Message: Why Ezra Firestone Uses Omnisend
00:02:39 – John Introduces Omnisend and Rytis Lauris
00:04:16 – Why Becoming AI-Native Isn't as Simple as Buying Tools
00:06:14 – Lesson 1: AI Does Not Adopt Itself
00:07:18 – How Omnisend Uses Monthly AI Days Across the Company
00:08:19 – The Sales Follow-Up AI Agent That Saves Time After Calls
00:09:30 – Reducing Influencer Review Time from 90 Hours to 20 Hours
00:10:31 – Lesson 2: Complexity Is a Trap
00:12:21 – Why Point Solutions Beat Over-Engineered AI Agents
00:13:24 – Lesson 3: Switch from a Project Mindset to a Product Mindset
00:15:24 – Lesson 4: Iteration Isn't Sexy, But It's Inevitable
00:16:24 – Why Every AI Agent Needs a Human Owner
00:17:23 – The AI Voice SDR Example: Smart, Useful, and Still Imperfect
00:19:13 – How Omnisend's AI Support Agent Resolves 40% of Support Conversations
00:21:19 – Lesson 5: Build on Existing Processes, Don't Create New Work
00:22:13 – Rytis' LinkedIn AI Agent Story and Why AI Won't Create Habits for You
00:23:55 – Omnisend's Most-Used AI Features: Subject Lines and Preheaders
00:24:47 – AI for Email Copywriting and Segment Building
00:25:58 – AI Form Generation and Giving Customers Control
00:26:48 – Lesson 6: AI Is an Assistant, Not the Enemy
00:28:00 – How Point Solutions Can Free Up 30–40% of Your Time
00:28:45 – Recap: The Six Lessons for Becoming AI-Native
00:30:11 – Special Omnisend Offer for Smart Marketer Listeners
00:30:39 – Closing Thoughts
Your Engagement Matters!
Thank you for tuning in to the Smart Marketer Podcast! Your support helps us continue bringing you practical marketing strategies, behind-the-scenes systems, and real-world business insights from operators who are doing the work.
If you enjoyed this episode:
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts.
Share this episode on social media, tag @smartmarketer, and use #WeOutHere.
Have feedback or questions? Email us at support@smartmarketer.com.
Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit!

Episode Description
AI is changing how customers discover, research, and choose brands. If your business isn't showing up in AI-generated answers, you may be missing the next major wave of organic visibility.
In this live session from Mentor Table Nashville, Julian Lopez from the Smart Marketer team breaks down AEO, Answer Engine Optimization, and what brands need to do now to become the recommended choice inside AI tools, AI overviews, and answer engines. From schema markup and indexability to brand authority and bottom-of-funnel search intent, Julian shares the early signals Smart Marketer is seeing after analyzing thousands of AI-driven commercial searches.
"Your brand is not what you say, it is what AI is able to pull out of the answer." – Julian Lopez
You Will Learn:
• What AEO is and why it matters for brands that want to stay visible in the AI era.
• Why SEO isn't dead, but the game has changed.
• How AI tools research, compare, and recommend brands behind the scenes.
• Why your website is becoming less of a destination and more of a data source.
• The difference between informational traffic and bottom-of-funnel commercial intent.
• How schema markup helps AI understand your products, people, and brand.
• Why third-party sources, reviews, Reddit, directories, and social proof impact AI recommendations.
• How to structure your content so AI can retrieve, understand, and cite it faster.
• Why brand authority now depends on what AI can verify across the web.
• What agentic shopping may mean for the future of ecommerce.
Links & Resources:
Smart Marketer: smartmarketer.com

Smart Marketer Free Trainings & Resources: https://smartmarketer.com/free-resources/

Smart Marketer Agency: https://smartmarketeragency.com/

Mentor Table: https://smartmarketer.com/mentor-table/

OmniSend (Sponsor): https://smartmarketer.com/omnisend
Use code SMART for 50% off your first three months.

Time Stamps:
00:00:20: Welcome: AI, Paid Traffic, Creative and Organic Visibility
00:01:11: Sponsor Message: Why Ezra Firestone Uses Omnisend
00:02:14: Molly Introduces Julian Lopez and the Importance of AEO
00:03:47: How to Get Your Brand Recommended by AI
00:05:00: Create Relevance, Not Awareness
00:06:03: Why AEO Is Still an Emerging Discipline
00:07:09: What Changed: AI Enters the Search Experience
00:08:16: Search Is Becoming Delegated Research
00:09:39: Is SEO Dead? What's Actually Changing
00:10:41: What Commercial Search Results Look Like Now
00:12:11: The Future of Walled Gardens, Wearables and AI Everywhere
00:14:11: GEO, LMO, AEO: What Should We Call It?
00:15:10: The Goal: Become the AI-Recommended Brand
00:16:19: What Smart Marketer Found After Thousands of AI Queries
00:17:22: Why Your Website Is Now a Data Source
00:18:28: The Challenge: AI Platforms Are Black Boxes
00:19:28: SEO Still Matters, But Rankings Aren't the Whole Story
00:21:29: How AI Answers Actually Work
00:22:38: Why Bottom-of-Funnel Questions Are the New Opportunity
00:23:21: The Site Is Not the Destination, It's the Data Source
00:24:29: The Answer Budget Theory: How AI Chooses Brands
00:26:43: Why AI Looks Beyond Your Website Before Recommending You
00:28:10: Your Brand Is Built on the Sources
00:29:10: The AEO Action Plan: Indexability, Content Readiness and Authority
00:32:11: Why You Need to Let the Right Bots Access Your Site
00:33:06: Schema Markup: Helping AI Understand Your Business
00:36:38: How to Make Product Pages More Specific for AI
00:38:44: IDs, Entities and Connecting Your Website's Information
00:39:45: Optimizing Product Data, Ratings and Rich Results
00:40:44: Content Structure: Make Your Pages Easier for AI to Retrieve
00:42:12: Cover Topics, Not Just Keywords
00:43:12: Brand Representation and Authority in the AI Era
00:44:23: Agentic Shopping: What's Coming Next
00:45:13: Wrap-Up and Final Applause
Your Engagement Matters!
Thank you for tuning in! Your support keeps this podcast thriving. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, review, and share it with fellow entrepreneurs, marketers, and ecommerce operators.
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts.
Share this episode on social media, tag us, and use #WeOutHere.
Have feedback or questions? Email us at support@smartmarketer.com.
Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit!

Episode 275: The Paid Ads Machine: Creative Systems That Scale in the Age of AI
Episode Description
What if your ad creative system could think more like Meta's algorithm?
In this live session from Mentor Table Nashville, Smart Marketer's Director of Creative Ben Bennett and Creative Operations Manager Melvin Cotton III break down the exact system they use to plan, produce, analyze, and scale paid social creative in the age of AI and Andromeda.
From diagnosing what's actually working inside your ad account to building scalable creator systems and using AI to uncover hidden performance insights, this episode is a masterclass in modern paid creative strategy.
"Our overall goal is to establish a strong system that provides us good creative and strong feedback." – Melvin Cotton III
If you're tired of guessing what makes ads work and want a smarter process for creating winning creative, this episode is for you.
You Will Learn:
Why marketers are overcomplicating "Andromeda" and what actually matters

The difference between what Meta sees in your ads vs. what it knows about users

How to use AI to analyze creative at scale

The creative variables Smart Marketer tracks across every ad

Why "creative volume" alone isn't enough anymore

How to identify gaps in your messaging and creative strategy

The framework for building a scalable creative production system

Different ways to source UGC and creator content effectively

Why operational systems are critical for creative scale

How feedback loops improve ad performance over time

LINKS & RESOURCES:
Smart Marketer: https://smartmarketer.com/

Smart Marketer Free Trainings & Resources: https://smartmarketer.com/free-resources/

Smart Marketer Agency: https://smartmarketeragency.com/

Mentor Table: https://smartmarketer.com/mentor-table/

OmniSend (Sponsor): https://smartmarketer.com/omnisend
Use code SMART for 50% off your first three months.

TIME STAMPS:
00:00:17 – Introduction: The Paid Ads Machine
00:01:19 – Ezra Firestone on Why He Uses OmniSend
00:02:41 – Live from Mentor Table Nashville
00:03:55 – How Ben Bennett Joined Smart Marketer
00:06:18 – Creative Planning in the Age of Andromeda
00:08:18 – Why AI & Andromeda Feel Like a "Black Box"
00:12:55 – Using AI to Analyze Creative at Scale
00:17:08 – Building an AI-Powered Creative Data Lab
00:22:34 – Closed Variables vs Open Variables in Creative Analysis
00:25:55 – Applying Marketing Frameworks to Ad Creative
00:29:20 – Turning Creative Data Into Actionable Insights
00:33:32 – What AI Reveals About Winning Creative Patterns
00:36:07 – Why Beginner-Focused Ads Outperformed Problem-Aware Messaging
00:40:56 – Transitioning from Analysis to Production Systems
00:42:01 – Building a Creative Menu for Your Team
00:45:16 – Different Systems for Sourcing UGC & Creator Content
00:48:20 – Creator Compensation & Contracts
00:49:59 – Managing Creative Operations & Tracking Systems
00:51:48 – Identifying Where You Are on the Creative Spectrum
00:52:23 – Final Thoughts & Downloadable Resources
YOUR ENGAGEMENT MATTERS!
Thank you for tuning into the Smart Marketer Podcast! Your support helps us continue bringing you actionable marketing strategies, behind-the-scenes systems, and real-world business insights.
If you enjoyed this episode:
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts
Share this episode on social media and tag @smartmarketer
Send feedback or questions to support@smartmarketer.com
Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit!