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Hello...Hello! 👋🏻 I'm an AI realist. But I'm worried.
Teaching four classes connects me with marketers from companies of all sizes—from small businesses to global enterprises.
But what is clear is that some of them are heading in the wrong direction.
Heavy cost-cutting, 60% zero clicks from Google, and expectations of doing more with less. I get it.
The waters are getting choppy in marketing land.
But here's the uncomfortable truth: AI Alone Won't Save You.
"Are you using AI to surprise and delight your customers? Or to just reduce your costs?”
Gif by seowl_app on Giphy
Achieve More With Limited Resources: 15 Small Budget Success Stories Strategic marketing doesn't require enterprise-level spending. Our latest case studies reveal how 15 small brands achieved remarkable outcomes through creativity and smart resource allocation.
Innovative tactics that delivered exceptional ROI with minimal investment
Strategic approaches that helped small teams compete against industry giants
Data-driven techniques for maximizing impact when resources are limited
Looking for ways to stretch your marketing budget further? These 15 mini case studies show exactly how these small brands made such big waves without breaking the bank.
The Data Doesn't Lie: Humans + AI > JUST AI AI by itself actually underperforms humans + AI working together. It's not even close.
Remember that MIT study ? Workers using ChatGPT took 40% less time to complete tasks, and their output quality was 18% better . But they were still in the driver's seat.
Even more telling: that same research found the performance boost was 43% for lower-skilled workers compared to just 17% for highly skilled workers .
This is why I keep hammering home the "AND equation"...
Human + AI
Just AI
✅ Data Accuracy
❌ LLMs hallucinate aka Lie
✅ Creativity
❌ It's Tech. In the Cloud. It Fails
✅ Better Creative
❌ Over Reliance on Automation
✅ Compliance & Ethics
❌ AI is Siloed
✅ Recognize Edge cases
❌ AI can be out of date
Let's get real about where AI falls flat and humans ✨shine. ✨
5️⃣ Discover The 5 Marketing Areas Where AI Simply CANNOT Beat Humans…
The Human-AI Balance: My Tested Framework ✔️ After testing AI across dozens of companies, I've found the decision matrix below works best for determining where humans and AI should play:
Task Type
Business Risk
Time Savings
Optimal Approach
High-stakes, public-facing
High
Medium
Human creates, AI enhances
Repetitive, low visibility
Low
High
AI creates, human reviews
Creative conceptual work
Medium
Low
Human leads, AI assists
Data analysis & reporting
Low
High
AI leads, human interprets
Crisis/sensitive communications
Very High
Low
Human only
For any marketing task, multiply: (Hours it would take a human) × (% of work AI can do) × (Your hourly rate) = Potential value
But then subtract: (Time to review AI output) × (Your hourly rate) + (Cost of potential errors) = True cost
If the result is positive, AI helps. If negative, do it yourself.
Discuss AI With Your Peers (And Me) Want to talk through these AI shifts with your fellow marketers?
Join me, and a room full of them, at one of these upcoming events:
Actionable Next Steps 💪🏼
Quick Quiz: How Balanced Is Your AI-Human Approach? Do you have human review for all customer-facing AI-generated content?
Always
Sometimes
Rarely or never
How often do humans modify or improve AI-generated content?
Almost always (90%+)
Frequently (50-90%)
Occasionally (10-50%)
Rarely (<10%)
Who makes the final creative decisions in your marketing workflow?
Always humans
Mostly humans, AI provides options
Mostly AI, humans approve
Fully automated
If you answered "Rarely or never" to #1, "Occasionally" or "Rarely" to #2, or "Fully automated" to #3 – we should talk.
Your approach might be putting your brand at risk.
1. Audit your current marketing AI usage
List every place AI is currently creating content
Rate each on a scale of 1-5 for business risk
Identify which ones need more human oversight
2. Document where humans win for your Brand
Track where humans have caught significant AI errors
Where your team gives customers hugs.
Calculate the "save" in terms of potential reputation or revenue impact
Use these examples to justify the right balance of automation vs. human input
3. Quick win: The hybrid creation process.
Implement this workflow for your next campaign:
AI: First-draft content ideas (10+ variations)
Human: Select and refine the best 2-3
AI: Expand and optimize the chosen directions
Human: Final edit, polish, QA, and approval
The Big Picture: The AI Paradox As AI gets more powerful, human judgment, style, taste, become more valuable, not less.
Everyone's cell phone has AI today, and they're creating drivel.
How do you use it to ship stuff that your mother would be proud of?
Challenge: What's your uniquely human marketing superpower? What can you bring to the table that no AI…however advanced, can replicate?
Are you using AI to surprise and delight your customers?
P.S. Got a great example of how your human saved the day from an AI mishap? Hit reply – I'd love to feature it in an upcoming newsletter.
