Why Your Marketing Math Is Broken With Emily Kramer
In this (classic) episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ are joined by Emily Kramer, founder of the MKT1 newsletter and former head of marketing at Asana and Carta, to break down how modern B2B marketers should think about strategy, budgeting, and distribution. They unpack her iconic Fuel vs. Engine framework, why most marketing teams are drowning in RAM (Random Acts of Marketing), and what finance and marketing leaders consistently get wrong about annual planning. Plus, Emily shares her LinkedIn flywheel playbook and calls out which channels are hot — and which are not.
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SPONSORS:
beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.
Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run
Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.
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LINKS:
MKT1: https://www.mkt1.co/
Emily on Linkedin: / emilykramer
Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
CJ on LinkedIn: / cj-gustafson-13140948
Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/
Kyle on LinkedIn: / kyle-poyar
Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/
Ben on LinkedIn: / slackerstuff
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro & Replay
1:57 Meet Emily Kramer
2:55 Steph Curry or Taylor Swift?
3:51 What Is RAM?
5:35 Fuel vs. Engine
6:27 Diagnosing the Imbalance
9:22 Sponsors - beehiiv | Tabs | Lightfield
12:22 Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up
13:24 Making the Math Work
15:55 Gut-Checking Your Plan
17:33 People Spend vs. Program Spend
19:55 CMOs & Budget Trade-Offs
23:18 The LinkedIn Flywheel
24:20 Thought Leader Ads
26:09 Signal-Based Follow-Up
27:08 Who Should Post on LinkedIn?
30:18 Is LinkedIn Pay-to-Play?
32:42 Channels: Hot or Not
34:41 Business Blunders
38:16 Something We Tried: Supper Clubs
40:22 Credits
#MostlyGrowthPodcast #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #LinkedInGrowth #SaaSMarketing