Some exciting news from Masters in Marketing HQ: Starting with our January 26 newsletter, we're changing our name to Marketing Against the Grain.

If that sounds familiar, you're probably a subscriber to the podcast of the same name (thank you!). The podcast and newsletter share a mission of bringing you marketing insights and tactics from the people who are actually doing the work.

In addition to the new name, you'll see a new design, and emails will come from Marketing Against the Grain by HubSpot Media — but the content you signed up for isn't changing, and neither are the people behind it.

Like today's email, in which HubSpotter Caroline Forsey talks to digital marketer Jenna Kutcher about a surprising organic traffic driver...

|   Meet the Master

Jenna Kutcher

Digital marketing expert, author, and host of the Goal Digger podcast

• Fun fact: Landing on the New York Times bestseller list and watching herself on a billboard in Times Square with her daughters 
  
  
• Claim to fame: She lives with her family in the woods in Minnesota and they're learning how to be beekeepers 

Lesson 1:
Don't sleep on Pinterest.

One of the most frustrating experiences for Jenna is chatting with marketing big-wigs and hearing Insta and TikTok and Google getting all the hype — without a peep about Pinterest. 

And I get it: When most people think of Pinterest, they probably think of the internet equivalent of a middle school collage. A hodgepodge of DIY projects, one-pot recipes, and wedding inspo — just without the Elmer’s glue. 

But when Jenna thinks of Pinterest, she thinks of dollar signs.

Why?

Pinterest is Jenna's number one organic traffic driver for her business (far surpassing Instagram), and her most lucrative channel. 

Yep. You heard that right. And the reason boils down to longevity. 

"The average entrepreneur is spending 20 hours a week on marketing and eight hours on social media," Jenna told me. 

"By comparison, Pinterest takes me under an hour a week, and gives my content a longer shelf life. The average lifespan of a post on Instagram is 24 hours at best. The average lifespan of one pin on Pinterest is four months."

As Jenna points out, Pinterest is not a social media platform; it's a search engine. A visual-forward version of Google, if you will.

So lean in, B2B marketers: There's a massive opportunity here to get your content in front of new audiences, particularly in a time of extreme volatility on the SERPs. 

Lesson 2:
Less strategy, more heart.

I'll admit, this lesson sounds suspiciously like a Friday Night Lights quote. 

But it's also a takeaway Jenna is passionate about sharing. 

"As creators, we need to get back into the creation of our content. We need to go back to what worked a decade ago and share our lives and what we love online," she tells me. 

"Too many business owners have created systems and teams and gotten too far away from the content, and their audiences feel that divide."

Case in point: How likely are you to respond, "OMG CUTE" to an Instagram reel from Lululemon's branded handle? I'm guessing not likely. 

But what about when a friend posts herself in new Lulu joggers? 

In the age of AI, people are desperate to connect with real humans.

Impressively, this means Jenna is the only person who creates IG content for her 1M+ followers. She also responds to all her own DMs and comments. 

Nobody on her team has access to her login because "that's the heartbeat of my connection with my audience." 

Jenna's advice here is simple, but not easy: "Take some of the strategy out, and put the heart back into it. Be off the cuff, and share things for the sake of sharing versus just looking for ways to monetize."

Lesson 3:
Don’t overcomplicate it.