In this special episode, Joe and Robert answer all the questions from the This Old Marketing audience.

How do backlink strategies (SEO) and citations (AEO) work together, and what unified content strategy can help brands earn both?

In the age of GEO, how should membership organizations decide what content to keep free versus behind a paywall, especially when balancing search visibility with exclusive expert value?

As AI takes over more execution, will small businesses and solopreneurs still need and pay for human marketing strategy, and how can independent consultants differentiate and stay relevant in an AI-first world?

Did the Netflix series about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders measurably impact the team's brand or game viewership, and is it a model for how entertainment content can elevate a sports franchise's marketing?

Should marketers clearly separate "content marketing" (audience-building) from "sales enablement content" (purchase support), and does lumping them together lead to bad strategy and wrong KPIs?

If you were starting from zero today, with AI flooding every channel, what would you build first to create real audience trust and attention over the next five years, and what would you completely ignore that most marketers are still chasing?

Thanks to all of you for your questions and support.

Subscribe and Follow:
Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing.

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This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts. All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.

Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.

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Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.

Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/

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This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork

In this special episode of This Old Marketing, Joe and Robert tackle one of marketing's favorite habits: declaring things dead.

Every year, marketers rush to pronounce entire channels, strategies, and ideas obsolete. But many of the things we keep writing off are not only alive, they're quietly doing the hard work of building trust, relevance, and long-term value.

Joe and Robert break down what marketers think is dying (but isn't), why these fundamentals continue to matter, and what actually deserves to be put out of its misery.

• The Website
  Why the website is still the center of gravity for trust, clarity, and audience ownership, especially as platforms become more volatile and AI-driven.

• Traditional PR and Communications
  How earned media, relationships, and credibility haven't disappeared, they've become harder to fake and more valuable as synthetic content explodes.

• Purpose-Driven Marketing
  Why purpose didn't die. Performative purpose did. Authentic values still matter, but only when they're proven through action over time.

• In-Person Events
  The enduring power of physical connection, shared experiences, and real community in a world dominated by digital noise.

• Safe Marketing
  Why playing it safe is the fastest way to be ignored, and how clarity, conviction, and point of view beat neutrality every time.

• The Myth of Personalization
  After 25 years of trying to get personalization right, most marketing still confuses data with relevance. True one-to-one personalization at scale remains elusive, often resulting in content that feels generic, invasive, or hollow. The real opportunity isn't more personalization, it's better positioning and messages that resonate deeply without pretending to speak to everyone individually.

In a few weeks, Joe and Robert will be recording a special listener Q&A episode, and they want to hear from you.

Have a marketing question you want answered on the show?
Submit your question in text or audio form at:
https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Subscribe and Follow:
Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing.

-------

This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts. All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.

Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.

-------

Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.

Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/

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This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork