On Thursday, December 2, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. CT, we will talk with Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer for Orbit Media Studios, Inc. an award-winning Chicago web design and development company. He is the author of Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing, covering the theory behind web and content marketing and then detailing it in practice. As a true evangelist for content marketing and ethical digital marketing, he has written 500+ articles on content strategy, search engine optimization, influencer marketing, visitor psychology and analytics and he gives up to 100 presentations per year as a frequent repeat speaker at many of the top conferences. Oh, and he’s really into trees, which is super cool. He encourages planting them and he serves as a volunteer Treekeeper for Openlands, a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to natural spaces of northern Illinois.

Q: Who are you, and what do you do?

I’m Andy Crestodina, the co-founder of Orbit Media. Orbit is an award-winning web design studio with a team of 50 full-time experts. We build high-performing websites.

Q: What do you love about working in SEO/marketing?

I love using both halves of my brain at the same time. I love the intersection of art and science, creative and technical. So I’m perfectly suited to do SEO and digital marketing.

Q: What do you loathe about working in SEO/marketing?

My inbox. I get so many emails from so many people asking me questions. Not just clients. All kinds of people ask me things that they could easily look up. Why not do 5-minutes of research before emailing someone for help? 

Q: What’s one thing you’d like leaders to understand better about SEO/marketing?

Study it before you buy it. One of the big problems with SEO is that buyers really have no idea what they’re paying for. Lots of brands spend $5-10k per month without a strong sense of what that person or company is actually doing for them. 

Are there any other services that people buy with so little information? Why pay someone a retainer without knowing specifically what actions they take on your behalf?

Q: What’s one thing you wish leaders would forget about SEO/marketing?

Stop assuming it’s a mystery. Stop assuming it changes every day. Stop thinking you have to pay to play.

Q: What has been your biggest mistake in your career? Lessons from that?

I had a bad business partner once. It took years to unwind. I regret those years and that partnership.

Q: What has been the most satisfying victory in your career? Lessons from that?

The team around me is a great victory. They win for each other every day. They care deeply about each other and the clients. It’s an honor to have them all here! …well, not here physically, but here on our team. No one is really here physically lately.

Q: What sort of questions would you love for our guests to ask you on Being Marketers?

What are the key elements to your content strategy? What are the results?

Q: What are you reading or listening to (podcasts or audiobooks) right now that you would recommend? 

Nothing work-related at the moment. The Fate of Rome. Ancient History: 1177 BC. A Short History of Nearly Everything. Popular science-y books. I love audiobooks. 

Want to learn more? Follow our Being Marketers webcasts to join the conversation, ask questions, or listen to past episodes. 

Let’s Talk!