100 MarTech Posts Later: What I Learned About Writing What People Actually Read

Two years, countless hours, and the million-dollar secret to making MarTech click.

Two years, 100 posts, and the 💸million-dollar question💵: What do people actually read about in MarTech?

I started this blog for a few reasons:

1. to prove I knew what I was talking about¹

2. to thank / put into words the people that have influenced me²

3. to force myself to actually write on a timeline

🎉and I’ve been able to hit all three🎊—& I’ve also learned a lot about writing.

In this post, I’ll cover the lessons I’ve learned from writing 100 MarTech posts (so hopefully you can skip the awkward starting phase in your future newsletter³)

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Table of Contents:

Lesson 1: Showing Up Beats Perfection

Lesson 2: Stories Beat Lectures

Lesson 3: Readers Shape the Path

Lesson 4: [What Makes a Post Popular] Money Talks

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1. Showing up Beats Perfection

Summary:

• I started by trying to write perfect pieces

• Quickly, I learned that the posts that do well are unexpected—and spontaneous

Why It Matters? Consistency outweighs perfection every time.

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Consistency Outshines Perfection

I owe one of my earliest life lessons was from my grandfather who oversaw projects with a pragmatic approach⁴.

He’d often say:

“Old ugly’s better than old nothing”

Back then, I’d nod politely, but didn’t realize it’s truth extends to everything—even writing—until I started this newsletter.

Take my first post, “Marketing Analytics #1: Zero to Hero” (March 29, 2023).

Marketing Analytics #1: Zero to Hero

I labored over it for weeks

• hemming and hawing on it’s direction

• triple quadruple checking the specific statistical methods I used

• Making sure I had well-cites sources perfectly formatted in the footnotes

It was thorough.

It was technically correct.

It wasn’t very interesting.

there’s “AutoZone: A Weirdly Good Customer Experience” (June 23, 2023), written in a hurry after a car breakdown left me stranded.

AutoZone: A Weirdly Good Customer Experience

I expected it to fall flat, but its’ still one of the most read articles nearly two years later.

The difference? I kept showing up—week after week—rather than waiting for some elusive spark of genius.

That’s how you get to find your audience.

2. Stories Beat Lectures

Summary

• Early on, I was all about teaching—think dry, instructional stuff like “How to Keep Track of Customers.” Over time, I pivoted to storytelling to make my points stick.

• Why It Matters: Readers connect emotionally with stories, not just facts. It’s how to from “informative” to “unmissable.”

MarTech Is Dry—But You Don’t Have to Be

The most interesting⁵ video I’ve ever seen is 3 minutes on rubber bands.

Below, Feynman talks about rubber—nothing else—but he so excited that it’s contagious.

Tell you you’re not enraptured by elastics after this sub-3 minute video:

Just because a subject itself is dry doesn’t mean it’s content has to be.

Almost all the content you see about MarTech is dry definitions—like starting a speech with “Webster’s dictionary defines…”

Like Feynman⁶, I wanted to get people excited about MarTech.

I knew it could be done.

But my first posts were super dry.

Testing & Analyics? Important, but not a sexy starting place.

Making Sense of A/B Testing for Marketing

What worked instead?

What captured peoples’ attention instead was a story—a story of how a morning might go for someone obsessed with useless productivity.

Ditch the Ice Bath and Do What Matters: Real Productivity Explained

Enough people saw themselves (or others) in the post that it became one of my top articles.

People love relatable stories—use them!

3. Readers Shape the Path

Summary:

• Subscriber input matter more than rigid planning in guiding content.

• Listening to readers drives traction—while meticulously planned posts sometimes see minimal response

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I originally thought I’d map out this newsletter like a textbook—charts, data, a neat little plan.

But I quickly learned my subscribers had better ideas.

Their (your) feedback—whether a jump in sign-ups or an email about a post—has guided me more than any one number ever could.

For example, “Marketing’s $100 Billion Fraud Problem” (December 6, 2024) almost didn’t happen.

Marketing's $100 Billion Dollar Mistake: Fraud in Digital Channels

I hesitated, thinking it was too niche—who cares about digital ad fraud?

Then I saw a Linkedin post from a peer about their own ad budget woes, and I wrote it.

Sent it out without much thought that Friday as normal.

The response was much higher than normal—shares, subscribers, real traction.

Meanwhile, a carefully planned piece like “How should you manage content” barely made a ripple.

How Should You Manage Content? DAMs and CMSs Explained

It’s clear: listening to readers beats plotting in isolation.

AKA The Customer Is Always Right

4. [What Makes a Post Popular] Money Talks

Summary:

• Cash on the line = eyes on the page

• People love numbers

• Why It Matters: When you tie ideas to wallets, readers can’t look away. It’s a powerful way to make an abstract field feel urgent and relevant.

What Makes a Post Popular

Posts about money—whether it’s lost, gained, or at stake—consistently capture attention.

Numbers tied to real financial impact turn casual browsers into engaged subscribers.

Why It Matters: Linking MarTech ideas to tangible dollar signs doesn’t just spark curiosity—it keeps readers glued to the page.

Cash on the Line = Eyes on the Page

Take “Why AppLovin’s Stock Tanked 36% This Week—And Might Go to $0” (February 28, 2025).

Why AppLovin Stock Fell 36% This Week--And Might Go to $0

I wrote it after an investment analyst buddy forwarded me some short seller reports that had just gone public.

All this happened right as their stock had come off all time highs.

I wrote a deeper article digging into the MarTech angle—how their ad tech bets went south (and most importantly what that meant for their finances).

It wasn’t my most polished piece; I dashed it off in a day, half-expecting it to fade into the ether.

Instead, it exploded—shares across LinkedIn, reposts, more ‘new subscriber’ emails than I’d ever seen.

Then there’s “Marketing’s $100 Billion Fraud Problem” (December 6, 2024). I hesitated on that one, thinking ad fraud was too inside-baseball. But after a peer’s LinkedIn rant about bot-driven losses, I laid out the stakes: billions evaporating into thin air, with tips to fight back.

The response? Hundreds of clicks, new subscribers, real momentum. The pattern’s clear: when there’s cash on the line, readers click.

What ties these hits together?

It’s not just big numbers—wait, yes it is.

• Money lost (AppLovin’s tumble)

• Money wasted (ad fraud)

• Money to be made

grabs attention where technical breakdowns alone don’t.

People don’t just want to just understand MarTech abstractly—they want to know how it hits their bottom line.

Why It Matters (Again): In a field full of jargon and tools, tying MarTech to wallets makes it concrete.

It’s not about flashy stats for the sake of it; it’s about showing what’s at risk.

That’s the engagement edge I’ve learned audiences like—and it’s a trick worth borrowing if you’re aiming to make an impact.

Conclusion

Looking Ahead

Two years and 100 posts later, these lessons have sharpened my craft and made me a much better, faster writer:

• showing up built the foundation

• stories made it stick

• readers steered the course

• money keeps them hooked

Now, I’m not aiming to have the most popular newsletter—but I do want people to read and understand more about the world of Marketing Technology and feel comfortable asking questions they otherwise think could sound dumb.

Here’s to the next 100—packaging more MarTech for human consumption

1. And realize where I was overconfident—it’s tough to write a whole post on something and not realize where you need to brush up on a topic.

Essays are one of the best tools for learning

2. Thanks extends far beyond my footnote here, but thanks to the Credera team, Tory, Jacob Sanders, Arpit Choudhury, and Sean.

3. Which you should start—today, ideally

4. His measure once, cut twice, go to the hardware store philosophy hasn’t served me as quite as well.

5. Interesting in that it sticks with you—brain rot content may stop the scroll, but doesn’t stick beyond that

6. More in style than actual acumen, but hey, shoot for the stars I guess