Why Human Marketing Is Winning

A few weeks ago, Jay Schwedelson, CEO of GURU Media Hub, hosted a session at the ASAE MMC & Tech Conference in Washington, DC. While originally planned as an email marketing session, he instead packed in insights on social media, video content, AI, audience engagement, and community building. His high-energy style, rapid-fire delivery, and pop culture references made it incredibly engaging and memorable.

The biggest takeaway?

The brands that feel the most human are winning. 

As AI-generated content becomes more common, audiences are getting better at spotting it - and ignoring it. What people are responding to now is content that feels authentic, personal, and real.

Behind-the-Scenes Content Is Gold  

One of Jay's strongest recommendations was to create more behind-the-scenes content.

Show event setup. Share candid team moments. Record quick updates from your phone. Take your audience along for the ride.

A few stats that stood out:

• Emails with a video thumbnail and a prominent play button see a 34% higher click-through rate.
• Walking selfie videos have a 49% higher completion rate on LinkedIn.
• Less polished content often performs better because it feels more authentic.

The message was simple: stop trying to look like a production company and start looking like a person. 

Your Email List Is More Than an Email List 

Another interesting reminder was that your email audience shouldn't live in a silo.

Upload email audiences into advertising platforms like LinkedIn to improve targeting and personalization. The people already engaging with your emails can help improve the performance of your paid campaigns as well.

AI Should Be Your Focus Group 

One of the most practical AI tips from the session was what Jay called the "100,000 Person Prompt."

Instead of asking AI to write content, ask it to evaluate content as if it represents 100,000 readers.

Use it to review:

• Subject lines
• CTA buttons
• Landing pages
• Marketing messages

The goal isn't creating more content - it's creating better content.

I also appreciated Jay's suggestion to use tools like Gemini to quickly research organizations by analyzing their websites, identifying their audience, uncovering potential tech stacks, and spotting gaps in their marketing funnel. 

Quick Email Wins

The session included plenty of tactical email advice that marketers can implement immediately.

A few favorites:

Make Subject Lines Stand Out

• Capitalizing a word in the middle of a subject line can increase open rates by 16–21%.
  • Example: Are you RED-Y for February?
• Starting a subject line with a greater-than or less-than symbol can increase opens by 10–20%.
• Avoid overused words like Discover, Learn, and Register.

Resend to Non-Openers

If someone doesn't open your email, resend it within 48 hours with a completely different subject line.

Simple tweaks like "Did you see this?" or "Yikes, you scrolled past..." can increase opens by an additional 20–30%.

Less Can Be More

One of the more surprising tips was to remove the preheader text entirely. The extra whitespace helps emails stand out in crowded inboxes, and Jay shared that three-word subject lines with no preheader have increased open rates by as much as 25%.

One More Thing: Watch Community Platforms 

Jay also encouraged associations to keep an eye on emerging community platforms, specifically Meta's new Forum app, which is designed around the Facebook Groups experience.

Whether it becomes the next big thing remains to be seen, but for organizations built around community and engagement, it's worth paying attention to.

Final Thoughts

The most valuable takeaway from this session wasn't an email trick or AI prompt.

It was a reminder that marketing is becoming more human, not less.

Audiences want real people, real stories, and real experiences. As marketers, we don't always need more polish - we need more authenticity.

And if that means posting the slightly imperfect video instead of waiting for the perfect one, that may be exactly what today's audiences are looking for.

Ready to Put These Ideas Into Action?

Whether you're looking to improve email performance, create more engaging member experiences, incorporate AI into your marketing workflow, or build a stronger content strategy, HighRoad can help. Our team works with associations every day to turn proven marketing tactics into practical, measurable results. Let's talk about what's working, what's not, and where there may be opportunities to better connect with your audience.