Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

  • Home
  • About
    • About Jim Connolly
    • My top marketing tips for 2025. Yours now, for free!
    • Privacy Policy
    • How I use cookies
    • Contact
    • Disclosure
  • Hire me
    • Let’s Grow Your Business
    • Pick My Brain for the results you need!

What everyone needs to know about marketing automation

By Jim Connolly | December 2, 2013

Everyone with a business, is in the people business.

It’s people who buy from you, recommend you and support you. It’s people who frustrate you, hinder you and waste your time.

At every point and on every level, it’s all about people.

Automate what needs to be automated

When it comes to business, we know that the smartest people automate all the stuff that should be automated, but they keep all the human elements of their business, human.

For example, thousands of people will receive this blog post today, via an automated email service. However, 100% of the people who hit the reply button on that email to contact me, will get a personal reply.

The danger of over automating your marketing

Sadly, an increasing number of business owners get this horribly wrong. They try and automate everything that can be automated. The challenge with this approach is that you can’t automate your way to success… despite what some marketing automation providers claim.

Successful marketing is about; people, relationships, trust, confidence and belief… none of which can be earned via software alone. Software should be used to enhance, not replace, the human element of your marketing.

In short: Use automation software for processes that benefit from it, but keep the human stuff, human.

FREE marketing tips & advice

Get my best marketing tips, advice and ideas delivered direct to your inbox. Just add your email below.
I respect your privacy.

Hi! I'm Jim Connolly and I help small business owners to increase sales, boost their profits and build amazing businesses. Read more here.

Featured by

marketing advice, marketing help

Site sponsor

packaging consultancy

Categories

  • Blogging (406)
  • Business development (479)
  • Copywriting (303)
  • Email marketing & mail shots (186)
  • General marketing (1,663)
  • Professional development (534)
  • Social media marketing (355)

Hosting provider

20i hosting

Search

Recent posts

  • The false assumptions that destroy your results June 30, 2025
  • Here’s how the best paid service providers earn the highest fees June 25, 2025
  • Hard work isn’t enough (here’s what is) June 24, 2025
  • Make your marketing totally unmissable. Here’s how! June 19, 2025
  • Discounts: The full cost to your business June 17, 2025
  • Rapid, massive business growth: With MBRs June 9, 2025
  • For next-level success, swap your fears. Here’s how! June 6, 2025
  • It works better than advertising June 2, 2025
  • It’s the most valuable question in sales! May 27, 2025
  • Grab. Focus. Urgency: How to vastly increase your sales May 20, 2025
  • Attract. Don’t sell May 14, 2025
  • Marketing gold: The follow-up May 10, 2025
  • How to make more sales, in uncertain times May 8, 2025
  • 17 Tips to help you grow a stronger business May 6, 2025
  • How to increase your prices May 2, 2025
  • Your economy April 27, 2025
  • From rags to riches? April 26, 2025
  • Tiny tweaks. Huge wins April 21, 2025
  • Working in. Working on April 15, 2025
  • How to own your competitors. It’s easier than you think April 12, 2025
  • Home
  • About
  • Hire me

Copyright © 2025 Jim Connolly