As a digital marketer, I work in the medium of the internet. This entails everything from email to Search Engine Optimization to social media to blog posting to website design to content creation to graphic design to many, many other aspects of the practice of marketing. It’s the most ubiquitous communication tool ever created by mankind, so understanding it is crucial to my profession.
While I don’t claim to understand how the internet works on a technical level, it is my job to understand how it works as a tool that can influence others. And while the internet today might resemble corporate America, where the ultimate goal is to maximize shareholder value, the internet I grew up with was quite different.
One key difference between the internet of the past and the internet of today is that the bar for entry has been lowered. Before the advent of YouTube – circa 2005 – hosting video on the internet was a privilege held only by those with an understanding of Adobe Flash Player. Ergo, in order to share your content with the world, you had to first become competent in a technical skill, which required commitment and dedication.
This higher barrier of entry meant more driven content creators self-selected, so that there was a greater proportion of high-quality content to low-quality content. There existed no Elsa feat. Spiderman AI generated children’s YouTube videos in the early days of the internet. There wasn’t a cottage industry of YouTube creators giving tutorials on the specific prompts you can put into LLMs in order to mass produce children’s books to sell on Amazon.
As LLMs (Large Language Models – the technology most know as OpenAI’s ChatGPT) become more advanced and capable of replicating human generated content, the proportion of low-quality content to high-quality content increases. Bots have proliferated social media sites, which makes it difficult to discern whether you’re actually communicating with a human being when you use sites like Instagram or Twitter/X. As technology expands in its scope, it threatens the purity of a communication tool that once held objectivity, as all competitors faced the same barrier of entry. As monied interests consolidate power in the internet through social media, we are seeing a rapid deterioration of the integrity of communication on the internet.
One of my biggest concerns about the state of the internet is that it has come to embody some of the worst traits of corporate America. Specifically, the attention you pay to content on the internet has been commodified. More traffic translates to more advertising revenue, which incentivizes internet giants like Meta, Twitter/X, and TikTok to keep you on their platforms for as long as possible, through whatever means maximize their profit. Similarly, Google earns advertising revenue from you using their search engine, and is threatened by alternative internet search options such as Bing, Duck Duck Go, or even ChatGPT or other so-called AIs. We’ve left the age of internet innovation, and entered the age of internet exploitation.
In an era dominated by monetary interests in the sphere of the internet, driven by LLMs, I would encourage anybody pursuing a career in marketing to try and make their own website, or blog, or informational site. I’d encourage them to try and express something they’re passionate about on the internet in a way that both advances their skills, and adds a little bit of individuality to our internet. Maybe we marketers can be stewards of an equitable world wide web, and resist the dawn of an era where content is created by only machine.
I believe that human beings have the ability to think creatively and draw from their experiences on an emotional level, which LLMs do not – objectively. So-called “artificial intelligence” is far closer to the autocorrect on your iPhone than it is to Scarlett Johansson’s character in Her (2013). We can mathematically predict answers based on a humanly unfathomable amount of data, but that same agent making calculations far beyond the capacity of human intelligence is fundamentally incapable of understanding that, for instance, a man doesn’t like peanut butter because he has an ex who ate it often and thus often smelled like it. And as marketers, isn’t connecting with people emotionally by far the most effective tool at our disposal?
On a practical level, creating your own website demonstrates to employers your competency in website design (at the very least, although additional skills you could branch out into from this project include SEO, content creation, social media marketing, lead generation, PPC advertising, podcasting, and many more.) Its an excellent start to a career in marketing in an uncertain job market. Here’s how you do it. Written by ChatGPT.
New to web design? – WordPress
Prompt: “I am writing a blog post about which major website creation platforms appeal to a marketer looking to develop his or her skillset, and create their own blog. I have already divided the platforms I know – WordPress, Wix, and Webflow – into categories based on their ease of use to the fledgling marketer. WordPress is the most accessible entry into blog creation. Please write 150-250 words on how WordPress can be a particularly effective tool for a marketer who has no background whatsoever in creating content on the web.”
Reply: “WordPress is an ideal platform for marketers with little to no background in web development. Its user-friendly interface and vast ecosystem of themes and plugins make it an accessible starting point for creating and managing a blog. For a beginner, WordPress’s intuitive drag-and-drop features and visual editor mean you don’t need to understand coding or design principles to build a professional-looking site. The platform also offers a wide array of customizable templates, allowing marketers to quickly establish a unique brand identity without hiring a developer.
What makes WordPress particularly effective for marketers is its extensive library of plugins. These plugins can help optimize content for SEO, integrate email marketing tools, manage analytics, and even set up eCommerce functionality. This means a marketer can not only learn how to build a blog but also understand the technical aspects of website performance, audience tracking, and lead generation.
Moreover, WordPress is incredibly scalable, which means as a marketer grows their skillset and the needs of their blog evolve, WordPress can easily accommodate that growth with more advanced features. In short, WordPress is the perfect starting point for marketers because it’s both simple enough for beginners and versatile enough for long-term growth.”
Are you inexperienced in web design but want to know more? – Wix
Prompt: “I am writing a blog post about which major website creation platforms appeal to a marketer looking to develop his or her skillset, and create their own blog. I have already divided the platforms I know – WordPress, Wix, and Webflow – into categories based on their ease of use to the fledgling marketer. Wix has a slightly more advanced interface than WordPress, but is less advanced than Webflow. Please write 150-250 words on how Wix can be an excellent tool for a marketer seeking to improve his or her experience in web design, SEO, or content creation.”
Wix is an excellent choice for marketers who want to deepen their skills in web design, SEO, and content creation without diving into the complexity of more advanced platforms like Webflow. Its drag-and-drop interface is still intuitive but offers more design flexibility compared to WordPress, making it a great stepping stone for marketers looking to get more hands-on with the look and feel of their site. With Wix, marketers can experiment with layouts, fonts, colors, and interactive elements, which helps them understand the finer points of web design without requiring coding expertise.
For SEO, Wix provides an easy-to-navigate SEO wizard that walks marketers through optimizing their site for search engines. It offers built-in tools for adjusting meta descriptions, alt text for images, and URL structure—skills that are essential for any marketer looking to drive organic traffic. Additionally, Wix offers features like automatic mobile optimization and fast load times, which help improve user experience and ranking potential.
As for content creation, Wix allows marketers to easily integrate multimedia elements like videos, blogs, and social media feeds, enabling them to produce dynamic, engaging content. The platform’s ability to support integrations with marketing tools such as email campaigns and analytics gives marketers the opportunity to practice tracking and refining their strategy as they go. Wix strikes a nice balance between ease of use and control, making it a powerful tool for those looking to expand their digital marketing skillset.
Already comfortable with HTML, CSS, and other tools of web design? – Webflow
Prompt: “I am writing a blog post about which major website creation platforms appeal to a marketer looking to develop his or her skillset, and create their own blog. I have already divided the platforms I know – WordPress, Wix, and Webflow – into categories based on their ease of use to the fledgling marketer. Webflow has many advanced features, including a CMS, ability to highly customize your website, and built in web hosting, should you choose their paid features. Please write 150-250 words on how Webflow can be an excellent tool for a marketer who is already familiar with html and css, and wants to create content on the internet using a tool that allows him or her a very high degree of customizability”
Reply: “Webflow is an excellent platform for marketers who already have a solid understanding of HTML and CSS and are looking to push the boundaries of website customization. Unlike more beginner-friendly platforms, Webflow offers a powerful visual interface that allows marketers to design and build highly customized websites with precision, without needing to write extensive code manually. This is ideal for those who want to combine their coding knowledge with the ease of a drag-and-drop builder.
Webflow’s CMS (Content Management System) is one of its standout features, enabling users to create and manage dynamic content such as blog posts, portfolios, or product listings with ease. This flexibility is perfect for marketers looking to scale their content operations while maintaining complete control over the structure and design of their site. The ability to create custom interactions, animations, and responsive layouts is another major draw for those who want to elevate their site’s user experience and make it truly unique.
Additionally, Webflow’s built-in hosting service is fast, reliable, and optimized for SEO, meaning marketers don’t need to worry about managing third-party hosting. The platform also allows for easy integration with third-party tools, providing further opportunities to streamline content marketing strategies. In sum, Webflow offers a perfect balance of high-level customization and ease of use for marketers who want complete control over their online presence.
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