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Stop Marketing to Strangers
Published about 11 hours ago • 5 min read
Everyone Wants to Be Norm
I love walking into my favorite soccer bar and having people immediately smile and greet me by name (like Norm from Cheers). They know what I drink. They know why I’m there. They make me feel like I belong, and that feeling keeps me coming back.
Yet most marketing experiences do the exact opposite. Most websites, newsletters, and customer journeys are built almost entirely for the stranger. We spend all our time explaining who we are to people who don’t know us, while barely acknowledging the people who already showed up.
It simply doesn’t make sense, but that’s what we do.
Today’s article is a gut check on what may be the real opportunity in this new AI-generated world: stop obsessing over strangers and start doing more for the people who already know you.
Any questions or comments? Just shoot me a note. JP
P.S.: You won’t find ads in this newsletter thanks to a generous donation from Lulu. Since 2002, Lulu has helped authors and creators publish, print, and sell their books. If you’re ready to publish in 2026, consider using Lulu.
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More clicks. More subscribers. More followers. More leads. More people who have never heard of you suddenly realizing that you exist.
I hear the same questions from marketing leaders at events and through emails. How do we increase traffic? How do we reach a new audience? How do we create awareness with people who don’t know us yet?
There is nothing wrong with those questions. Every business, nonprofit, creator, author, and consultant needs new people to find them.
But I think we’re asking the wrong questions first.
Maybe the biggest marketing opportunity today is not reaching more people who don’t know us. Maybe it is doing more for the people who already do.
The Locked Door
A few weeks ago, I was driving around with my dad. It was a warm, humid June day in northern Ohio, and instead of playing golf in the heat, we decided to head to a nearby golf simulator.
I checked the company’s website before we left. It said they were open. So we hopped in the car and drove about 15 minutes.
When we arrived, the doors were locked. They were closed.
It was not a major life event. Businesses change their hours. Websites get overlooked. Things happen.
But I probably won’t go back there anytime soon.
They had already done the hard part. I knew who they were. I found their website. I made a decision. I got in the car and drove to their business.
They did not lose a stranger. They lost someone who had already chosen them. That is a very different kind of marketing failure.
The Traffic Is Not Coming Back
For years, marketers built their plans around rented traffic.
Facebook. LinkedIn. Instagram. Google. We wanted people to click. The platforms received the content, and we received some traffic in return. Fair trade, right?
That arrangement has changed.
The social platforms would rather keep people inside their walls. Search engines can increasingly answer questions without sending people anywhere. AI platforms can summarize an article, recommend a company, or explain a concept without the user ever visiting the original source.
Marketers are now rushing into AEO, GEO, LLM optimization, and whatever three-letter acronym gets invented next week. Some of that work may be valuable, but nobody really knows how it will all shake out because the systems keep changing.
We do know one thing. When someone visits your website today, there is a good chance they already know something about you.
Maybe they listen to your podcast. Maybe they have seen you speak. Maybe a friend recommended you. Maybe they have read your newsletter for two years and finally decided to explore what else you offer. They are not beginning at zero.
But most of our marketing still treats them like a stranger.
We Have a Step-Two Problem
Robert Rose talked about this on the July 17th episode (541) of This Old Marketing. Most websites are built for step one. Here is who we are. Here is what we believe. Here is the problem we solve. Here is why you should pay attention.
That information is necessary, but what happens after someone already understands it?
What happens after they subscribe? What happens after they read five articles, listen to ten podcast episodes, or buy the first product? What happens after they decide that they trust you?
In many cases, absolutely nothing happens. They receive more introductory content. They see the same generic homepage. They get the same promotions as someone who arrived yesterday. We continue explaining who we are instead of helping them figure out what comes next.
That’s the opportunity.
Step-one marketing is about getting attention. Step-two marketing is about helping someone make progress.
#1 To Do: Give Them Somewhere to Go
Start by looking at your website through the eyes of someone who already knows you.
Is there an obvious next step for that person? Can they quickly understand what to read, watch, buy, join, or do next?
Instead of another “Learn More” button, tell them who something is for and what it will help them accomplish.
They already know who you are. Help them understand where the relationship can go.
To-Do #2: Create Something Beyond the Beginning
Beginner content has always been attractive because the potential audience is enormous.
There are more beginning runners than marathoners. There are more first-time entrepreneurs than experienced founders. The problem is that many companies and creators never move beyond the beginning. They keep publishing the same five introductory lessons in 50 slightly different ways.
The people who have followed you for years don't need another explanation of your big idea. They need help applying it. They need the problem that comes after the first problem.
Look at your recent content and ask how much of it is truly designed for someone who already knows your work. You may discover that your best audience has been waiting patiently for you to catch up with them.
To-Do #3: Deliver on the Small Promises
Most trust is built through the small things.
Are your hours correct? Do your links work? Do you publish when you say you will? Does someone respond when a customer has a problem? Does the product actually do what the sales page promised?
The golf simulator made one very small promise. The website said the doors would be open but they weren’t.
Loyalty is rarely destroyed in one dramatic moment. It usually disappears one small disappointment at a time.
Open the Door
I am not suggesting that we stop attracting new people. Discovery still matters, and every audience needs fresh energy. But we’re completely out of balance.
We spend most of our time, money, and creative energy chasing people who do not know us. Then we give remarkably little thought to the people who have already clicked, subscribed, listened, purchased, attended, or recommended us to someone else.
They already made the trip. They are standing outside the door, waiting to see what happens next.
In this week's This Old Marketing, Robert and I talk about three OpenAI stories and how they all point to a revenue brawl with Apple.
Until next Friday, keep building something that matters.
JP (Joe Pulizzi)
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