Hi Reader,

Every Monday I bring you one thing worth knowing and one thing worth trying.

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The big thought...

Start with the outcome, not the tool.

As I'm building these AI marketing workflows, I'm noticing something. The biggest change isn't the tools, it’s the way we're starting to think. We're used to thinking about marketing as a series of steps. Do this. Then this. Then this.

But thinking with AI doesn't really work that way.

You can start with an idea. You can start with a problem. You can start with your customer. Or you can start with the outcome you want.

And then you move around. You ask a question. Get an answer. Realize you were asking the wrong question. Change direction. Ask another question. Come back to your original idea with a completely different perspective.

That's not bad thinking. That's just plain thinking.

In marketing, customer acquisition has never really been linear anyway. We as humans like to place everything into a little box where everything fits. As we all know, that is not life. Therefore that is not your customer. Your customer doesn't simply see your post, then click your ad, join your email list, and then buy your product.

They might see your ad three times before they pay attention. They might ask a friend about you. They might visit your website and leave. They might see your ad again two weeks later. They might ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude about the problem they're trying to solve.

Then finally think: oh, this is exactly what I need.

AI isn't making that journey more linear. If anything, it's giving us more ways to explore it. Now this is where we can get ourselves into trouble, and go down that infamous rabbit hole.

We start with the tool. "Should I use ChatGPT?" "What about Claude?" "Do I need Make or Zapier?" "Should I be using an AI agent?"

Before we know it, we're standing in the AI aisle with a cart full of ingredients and no idea what we're making.

Instead, start with the outcome. What do you actually want to create? What is your end-result? Also remember, it doesn't have to be a perfect outcome. Do something simple and build from there.

Maybe it's: I want more qualified leads. I want people who download my free guide to actually hear from me. I want to spend less time creating social content. I want to know which of my customers is most likely to buy.

Once you know the destination, or the problem you are solving (that how us marketers think) you can work backwards. That's where AI becomes incredibly useful. It can help you explore the possibilities, challenge your assumptions, fill in gaps, and figure out where technology might actually help.

But you are still the one deciding where you're going.

Clarity over cleverness. And always, human first.

From the Studio

This is exactly what I'm discovering as I build the AI Lead Generation Workflow.

I'm not starting with "what cool AI tools can I connect?" I'm starting with the outcome, and what tools actually get me there for a reasonable cost. As entrepreneurs and small business owners, we don't need the multi-team version of anything.

Here's the part I like most. You set up a workflow once. Once you know how to build one, the rest fall into place faster.

In this workflow, a person sees an ad. They become a lead. They receive the information they asked for. Now you have a lead, and someone to sell to.

Then we work backwards and decide what needs to happen at each step, and where AI or automation can take some of the work off your plate.

Now, here is the real reason I'm building this. It's not the ad. It's not even the automation. Although I love the creative process of building a story that resonates with my customer.

It's the response time.

Leads contacted within 5 minutes are up to 100 times more likely to convert than leads contacted 30 minutes later. That's not me exaggerating. That's a finding from a Harvard Business Review lead response management study.

Most of us are checking email once or twice a day. By the time we reply, the window has closed. We immediately assess that the ad didn’t work, but actually you did capture them at that exact moment but then you weren’t there with that next step. Maybe they found another company, maybe they decided they didn’t really need it. The reasons could be endless, but the fact remains they were a lead then they weren’t a lead.

That's what this workflow protects. Not your time. Your timing.

Now, the bigger shift. Platforms like Meta are increasingly using AI to make decisions that advertisers used to make themselves.

That can sound a little scary. If AI is making the decisions, what am I actually doing?

You're still doing the most important part. You're deciding what you want to happen. Who you want to reach. What you're offering. What you want them to do. What success looks like. And what happens after they respond.

The technology can help with the path. You decide the destination.

That's the shift I'm seeing as I build this, and it's one worth paying attention to.

Prompt of the Week

This week, don't ask AI to give you a marketing plan. Give it an outcome.

Try this:

— — —

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You don't need to know which AI tool you need before you start. Start with the outcome. Let the outcome tell you what you need.

One thing to understand. One thing to try. That's the move.

You've got this. And now you've got the tools to prove it.​
​

Kate Kozak

Kateology AI Studio | Kateology.ca

1400 Alta Lake Road, Whistler, BC V8E 0G9
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