AI “Commandments” For Marketing Leaders (From a 20+ Year CMO)

“I’ve Signed 7-FIGURE Marketing Contracts Wearing This!” Matt Vojacek

⚡️ Start Your Website Redesign Here: https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile [https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile] Motion design founder Matt Vojacek returns to Marketing by Design to unpack what actually separates memorable creative from forgettable work now that AI can get anyone to "average" in minutes. We dig into why he built Made by Things around story instead of software, the difference between creating and curating, and how the entire quality bar is shifting under marketers' feet. He also breaks down a sales philosophy that has nothing to do with cold calls and everything to do with being a real person over a long horizon. If you market a B2B brand and you're worried about blending in, this gives you a sharper way to think about standing out. CONNECT WITH MATT 🌐 Website: https://www.madebythings.com [https://www.madebythings.com] 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattvojacek/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattvojacek/] 📚 Book (The Business of Making Things): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GVBK9KVC [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GVBK9KVC] 🎟 Making Midwest: https://www.makingmidwest.com [https://www.makingmidwest.com] CONNECT WITH ANDY 🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/ [https://www.mmgdesign.net/] 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/ [https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/] TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:10 - The book he swore he'd never write 09:30 - "I wanted to make something real" 13:15 - How a dinner for 8 became a Columbus conference 22:40 - The first question every creative asks him 27:05 - The number he hit, and why it felt empty 34:20 - What AI actually changed (and what it didn't) 38:50 - Creating vs curating 44:30 - "AI makes everyone average" 49:15 - Sales is just making friends at scale 54:40 - Seven figures in a backwards hat TEAM 🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/ [https://www.mmgdesign.net/] 🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org [https://amacolumbus.org ]and our friends at COHATCH (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us) https://www.cohatch.com/mbd [https://www.cohatch.com/mbd]

Why Your Website Betrays Trust (And How to Actually Stand Out) in 2026

⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File: https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile [https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile] Alexander Ferguson, co-founder and CMO of TeraLeap, has helped over 170 B2B brands turn happy customers into video testimonials that close deals faster. In this conversation, Andy and Alexander get into why AI-generated websites all start to look the same, why traffic to B2B sites has dropped sharply, and what actually earns a buyer's trust in the first few seconds. You'll walk away knowing exactly where to place social proof, how to structure FAQs for conversion, and why differentiation is the only thing that wins when everyone can ship a "good enough" site. CONNECT WITH ALEXANDER 🌐 Website: https://teraleap.io [https://teraleap.io] 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexferguson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexferguson/] 🎙 Podcast: UpTech Report CONNECT WITH ANDY 🌐 Website: https://www.mmg.studio/ [https://www.mmg.studio/] 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/ [https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/] TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:16 - The $10M agency that never ran an ad 03:52 - How one meetup became a whale client 08:15 - Turning "be a good person" into a system 11:45 - Why B2B site traffic dropped 60% 15:11 - The "AI look" that kills trust 17:23 - FAQs are a conversion tool, not a dumping ground 23:08 - The testimonials page mistake almost everyone makes 27:17 - Why real video proof can't be faked 39:29 - The one word that wins deals in 18 months TEAM 🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmg.studio/ [https://www.mmg.studio/] 🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org [https://amacolumbus.org] and our friends at COHATCH (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us) https://www.cohatch.com/mbd [https://www.cohatch.com/mbd] TEAM 🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net [https://www.mmgdesign.net/]

Build an UNFORGETTABLE Brand as a Marketer (While Working In-House)

⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File: https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile [https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile] Maxwell Miller is a marketer and designer at Chute Gerdeman who thinks differently about how brands actually win. In this episode, he breaks down why building preference through storytelling beats selling features every single time. We explore the gap between marketing and sales, why early-career marketers need a personal brand before anything else, and how in-person experiences create loyalty you can't manufacture online. Max also shares his research into auditory accessibility in retail, fragrance as a side hustle, and why violent action beats perfect planning. His philosophy is simple: as long as you don't quit, you can't fail. CONNECT WITH MAXWELL 🌐 Website: https://www.chutegerdeman.com/ [https://www.chutegerdeman.com/] 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxmiller614/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxmiller614/] 📸 Instagram: @maxmiller614 🎵 Side projects: Local country band + experimental metal band in Columbus CONNECT WITH ANDY 🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/ [https://www.mmgdesign.net/] 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/ [https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/] TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:47 - Podcast recommendations and the Columbus creator scene 04:13 - Sensory retail experiences at luxury brands 06:35 - Building a fragrance collection and side hustle 08:59 - The Cadult market (designing for parents, not just kids) 11:18 - Why smaller agencies stay plugged into Gen Z trends 13:40 - Marketing is story, not features 16:05 - Building personal brand vs relying on talent alone 18:32 - Accountability and learning from failure 23:11 - Violent action and moving despite uncertainty 25:35 - Why in-person experiences will never go out of style 27:58 - Launching Brands and Banter podcast from nothing 32:51 - The Gist newsletter on retail optimism 35:17 - Auditory accessibility research in retail environments 40:00 - Career advice for early-stage marketers TEAM 🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/ [https://www.mmgdesign.net/] 🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org [https://amacolumbus.org] and COhatch: https://www.cohatch.com/mbd [https://www.cohatch.com/mbd]

Voice Memo: Thoughts on Networking for Marketers, Growing with AI, and Updates From Andy | Episode 164

⚡️ Columbus Marketing Jobs: the best curated marketing roles in Columbus, freelance, fractional, and in house, free to your inbox every Monday: https://www.columbusmarketingjobs.com [https://www.columbusmarketingjobs.com] In this solo voice memo, I step away from the guest interviews to bring you behind the scenes of the business and my personal life. I get into buying my first house in my 20s, the burnout that came with it, and the mindset shifts that reset how I define success, freedom, and leverage. You will walk away with practical takeaways on building a compounding network, reducing time to value after a client pays, finding your advantage in an AI driven market, and choosing clarity over certainty. CONNECT WITH ANDY 🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/ [https://www.mmgdesign.net/] 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/ [https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/] TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:00 - 12 house visits and total burnout 04:53 - The success milestone that wasn't 07:15 - The DoorDash mom that humbled me 09:34 - The freedom most people get wrong 11:56 - Relationships compound like money 14:14 - The no ask outreach habit that opens doors 15:30 - Why I paid for objectivity on my business 18:55 - The 48 hour window you are wasting 21:14 - Clarity beats certainty, plus 75 Hard TEAM 🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/ [https://www.mmgdesign.net/] 🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org [https://amacolumbus.org ]and our friends at COHATCH (get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us): https://www.cohatch.com/mbd [https://www.cohatch.com/mbd]

B2B Healthcare SEO Masterclass (2026)

⚡️ How is your website appearing in AI Search: https://www.mmg.studio/contact#services-form [https://www.mmg.studio/contact#services-form] In this episode, we’re walking through the complete six-phase B2B SEO playbook that MMG Studio runs for every client, using a real healthcare client as the live example. From technical audits and keyword research to schema markup, content architecture, Webflow CMS publishing, and authority building, this is an unfiltered look at the full process from start to finish. Whether you're optimizing an existing site or launching something new, you'll walk away with a repeatable system you can put to work immediately. CONNECT WITH ANDY 🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/ [https://www.mmgdesign.net/] 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/ [https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/] TEAM 🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/] 🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/ [https://www.mmgdesign.net/] 🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org [https://amacolumbus.org/] and our friends at COHATCH (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us) https://www.cohatch.com/mbd [https://www.cohatch.com/mbd]