Turn the lights on in your marketing house

We talk a lot about marketing automation like it’s a set of tools — HubSpot, Mailchimp, Marketo, Klaviyo. But what Perry Sheraw reminded me is that automation is really about attention.

Are you paying attention to what you customers are actually experiencing? Or are you just sending things into the void and hoping something sticks?

Before there were plug-and-play CRMs, Perry was stitching together her own systems. She led call centers, built Franken-CRMs and mapped customer journeys with a whiteboard and a pen — not a dashboard and AI assistant.

And here’s the thing: most of the challenges she saw 20 years ago still exist today. Marketing and sales still don’t talk to each other. Founder still send paid traffic to websites that aren’t ready to receive it. Teams still chase tools instead of strategy.

So what can we take away from this:

1: “If you invite people to your house and then leave…”
That’s Perry’s way of describing most lead capture efforts.

We’ll run ads, spend money, get clicks — but then have no autoresponder, no follow-up, no welcome.

It’s like throwing a dinner party, opening the door and then walking out the back.

Key takeaway here: If you’re spending to drive attention, make sure the experience on the other side is alive. One automated welcome sequence that feels human is worth more than any new ad campaign.

2: Start with a whiteboard, not a platform
Every founder wants to “fix their funnel.” Perry says don’t start with the funnel, start with empathy.

May your customer journey on a whiteboard. Walk through what they see, what they feel and where they drop off.

No data, no dashboards, just story.
Then build automation around that story.

Key takeaway here: If your customer journey isn’t clear enough to draw by hand, it’s not clear enough to automate.

3: Automation is a conversion
Perry started her career in journalism, and is shows.
She treats every campaign like a two-way dialogue, even if it’s one-sided.
Every email, every trigger, every autoresponder is a chance to build trust.

Key takeaway here: Don’t automate to save time. Automate to deepen connection.

4: Stop thinking in channels, start thinking in ecosystems
This was a big one for me.
Marketing, sales and customer support shouldn’t operate in silos.
They’re all part of the same conversation, the same ecosystem.

Your website isn’t just a “sales tool.” It’s the living room of your brand. Your email isn’t just a “blast”. It’s a handshake that happens after they walk in the door.

Key takeaway here: Great customer journeys feel seamless because the people behind them are connected too.

5: Long form vs short form? Let your audience decide
Perry shared a story about a supplement brand in New Zealand that built a multi-million-dollar business from long, text-heavy newsletters. She tried to shorten them and engagement dropped.

Their customers wanted depth.

Key takeaway here: Don’t follow trends. Follow behavior. Let your data (and your readers) tell you what they value.

My closing thought: 
Perry’s work is a reminder that technology should make us more human, not less. Automation isn’t about replacing relationships — it’s about making them possible at scale.

Before you chase another platform or campaign, ask yourself: Is the light on in your marketing house?

Let’s get to it.