Customers Should Write Your Copy

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Oli Gardner – Most of Us Aren’t the High-IQ Marketers We Could Be

Okay, this one feels a little like cheating. Unbounce’s Oli Gardner was the keynote speaker who set the tone for the two days to come. His keynote presentation explored the differences in “marketing IQ”—the depth of thought behind the work we create and the strategies we build.

Most attendees, hopefully, weren’t operating at a “low IQ” level. Yet, as Oli pointed out, many were likely stuck in “fixed IQ” mode. Their work wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was standard—the norm. As digital marketers, we often repeat what we know works instead of experimenting with fresh, innovative ideas that could give us a competitive edge.

The rest of the conference focused on practical ways to move beyond “fixed IQ” habits and step into high-IQ marketing.

Sonia Thompson – Our Buyer Personas Need to Better Reflect Our Audience

Sonia Thompson, CEO of Thompson Media Group, delivered sharp insights into the gaps many marketing teams still face when building buyer personas in 2026.

Today’s audiences are more aware of identity and expect brands to act responsibly. Millennials and Gen Z now hold significant purchasing power, and they want to support companies that align with their values. Traditional personas often fall short.

Personas built on homophily (the pull between similar people) can unintentionally alienate those who don’t fit the mold. Marketers should consider who their messaging might push away, not just who it attracts.

Sonia shared a powerful example: a wedding dress brand that featured real couples of all races, sizes, and orientations instead of the usual homogenous, airbrushed models. The message was clear—they wanted to serve everyone.

Of course, relevance matters. Not every difference applies to every product. Businesses also have limited resources, so too few personas can exclude entire groups by default. Sonia cited a stocking manufacturer that ignored how its products would appear on darker skin tones and lost that audience entirely.

Authenticity is essential. Superficial diversity efforts can backfire. LGBTQ+ audiences, for instance, can spot rainbow-themed campaigns that feel like opportunistic grabs rather than genuine support.

Teams should consult members of the communities they want to reach before launching campaigns. Real understanding beats surface-level assumptions every time.

Angie Schottmuller – Don’t Solicit Reviews, Hold Satisfaction Interviews

Angie Schottmuller, founder of Artisan Interactive, shared the “6 S Formats of Social Proof” and plenty of actionable tactics. One standout idea challenged how most teams collect reviews.

Sending a quick email with a review-site link is classic fixed-IQ marketing. It sometimes works, but it rarely delivers strong results and leaves you with little control.

Instead, Angie recommended satisfaction interviews. Ask customers what problem drove them to you, what concerns they had, what results they achieved, and how satisfied they ultimately feel. When someone shares a compelling answer, follow up immediately, refine their words if needed, and ask them to post it.

Include reviews for free trials and demos too. Always add names or other identifiers so readers know the feedback comes from real people.

Ross Simmonds – Three Rs for Effective Content Marketing

Ross Simmonds, founder of Foundation Marketing, outlined a simple yet powerful framework for content: Research, Rethink, Remix.

Start by studying where your audience already spends time (Reddit, Quora, niche Facebook groups) and what content earns shares, comments, and upvotes. Then rethink how you can create something original that delivers similar value. Finally, remix successful pieces across formats—turn an infographic into a blog post or a blog into a YouTube video.

When you understand both the channels and the content that resonates, reaching your audience becomes far more effective.

Joanna Wiebe – The Best Copy Comes From Your Audience, Not a Copywriter

Even as a recognized copywriting expert, Joanna Wiebe argued that the strongest messaging rarely comes from professional copywriters.

Customers understand their own pain points, frustrations, and desired outcomes better than any outsider. The most persuasive copy simply reflects their own words back to them.

One practical technique: search Amazon reviews for the phrase “tired of (keyword)” to uncover real frustrations your product solves. You can also interview founders or review sales-call recordings.

Always validate new copy with preference and user tests. The strongest messaging often sits between “breakthrough” and “bust”—bold enough to stand out, yet grounded in authentic audience language.

Larry Kim – How Politics and “Star Trek” Make Great Ad Targeting

Larry Kim of MobileMonkey shared tactics for Facebook Messenger and chatbots, including his “inverted unicorn targeting method.”

The approach uses Facebook’s precise targeting to reach a hyper-specific audience, allowing highly tailored creative. Larry’s example promoted an article about social media and elections using a Deep Space Nine meme aimed only at liberal DS9 fans—delivering hundreds of thousands of engaged impressions.

He also stressed remarketing: if 70 % of conversions come from remarketing (which typically uses just 10 % of ad spend), reallocating budget toward awareness stunts followed by remarketing often yields better results.

Nadya Khoja – Content Marketers Should Be Growth Marketers Who Can Write

Nadya Khoja, Chief Growth Officer at Venngage, declared that traditional content marketing is obsolete in 2026.

Instead of simply publishing blogs and hoping for traction, content marketers should act as growth marketers who can write. She introduced the GRAP framework: Goals, Research, Authority, Promote.

Different pieces of content serve different purposes—some drive links and authority, others generate traffic, and still others convert readers into subscribers. Marketers must match content to the right objective and spend as much time promoting as creating.

Carl Schmidt – There’s No Such Thing as the One Best Landing Page

Unbounce founder Carl Schmidt echoed the theme that one-size-fits-all approaches are outdated. A/B testing for a single “best” landing page wastes opportunities because different visitors respond to different experiences.

Fear of underperforming variants often leads to paralysis. The smarter path is to create multiple page variations and let AI route each visitor to the version most likely to resonate with them.

CTA19 featured many more standout talks, including Nir Eyal on focus, Talia Wolf on emotional triggers, and Dr. Brian Cugleman on data-driven creative. These were simply some of our favorites.

Also read:

• Pornhub Faces Ban in 13 U.S. States
• Learning Made Easy: Anara Now Does Your Research For You
• B2B Marketing Tips to Drive Revenue Generation for SaaS

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