Episode 1: Intro to Content Community Commerce
Robbie and Tim introduce themselves and give an inside look into what to expect in the Content Community Commerce Podcast.
“SEO plus email is kind of like a one plus one equals four relationship.”
Transcript
Robbie Fitzwater:
[00:00:00] Tim, what happens when content, community, and commerce converge? Business growth and brand loyalty.
[Intro]
Hello, this is Robbie Fitzwater and Tim Lowry with the Content, Community, and Commerce podcast. We unpack and discuss ideas at the intersection of content, community, and commerce—so e-commerce entrepreneurs and marketers can leverage them in their own work, have some fun, and make marketing a little more accessible.
We’re doing something fun here—we’re introducing the Content, Community, and Commerce podcast and diving into topics where those three pillars overlap.
And Tim—Tim, great to have you here. This is going to be fun.
Tim Lowry:
Yeah, I’m excited to be here, man. Hopefully, it's not just the two of us excited to be in a room together... and no one else excited to be with us.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Hey, you know what? If nothing else, we’re holding our feet to the fire and making ourselves accountable.
So, a little about us and a high-level view—we both work mainly in the e-commerce space, with a variety of different groups. We have a lot of ongoing conversations around marketing and e-commerce...
Tim Lowry:
A lot.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Yeah, all the time. So we thought, why not have some fun and bring those conversations to the world with a different lens? Think out loud, think in public...
Tim Lowry:
And...
Robbie Fitzwater:
Bring those conversations to the world through a podcast. And now it’s finally coming to life.
Tim Lowry:
Welcome! Yeah, dude, I’m excited to share this. We have these great conversations, constantly pushing each other to learn and grow. Now we get to share that with others—while also keeping ourselves accountable. Like, “Hey, we’re testing, experimenting, and learning as marketers too—and here’s what we’re seeing that works.”
But we also want to hear from you—what are you seeing? What’s working for you? How would you do things differently? That’s how we grow together. So again, bringing this to life, bringing it to the world... who are we bringing it to life for?
Well, basically, we work mainly with e-commerce businesses. So whether you're an e-commerce marketer, entrepreneur, or just a marketer looking to grow in the content space, the ideas we’ll be talking about will give you solid insights into broader marketing strategies and how to bring them to life across different businesses and verticals.
Robbie Fitzwater:
And these are topics we’re excited about—passionate about—and we’re looking forward to sharing them more consistently.
Tim Lowry:
Yeah, seriously. If you're just starting out in e-commerce, this can feel like an accelerator course into things that businesses with more experience should be doing—but often aren't. We see that a lot. It’s about putting all the pieces together to build an effective marketing ecosystem.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Yes! That’s exactly what we’re here for. You used the word “ecosystem,” and I feel like you’re a man after my own heart. I can see the smile across your face as I say that.
Okay, Tim—high-level view: What do you do, what’s your specialization, and what’s your go-to karaoke song?
Tim Lowry:
Oh man...
So, I bring traffic to websites. SEO—search engine optimization—is my jam. I’ve been doing it for the last seven or eight years. My company is Tipped Up Search Marketing, and, as Robbie mentioned, I work primarily with e-commerce businesses. I help them plan and execute strategies to build loyal audiences through content and page optimization—whether that’s technical SEO or optimizing core pages.
And my karaoke song? I’m going with Who Let the Dogs Out. My little boy loves that song, and he always sings it when I least want to hear it—so I sing it with him.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Shout out to Sammy Shout! That’s awesome. And you’re extremely humble—you’ve got experience in publishing and across several verticals. But you’ve really found your niche with lifestyle businesses in recent years, and you’ve seen some groups do amazing things.
Tim Lowry:
Yeah, for sure. Lifestyle businesses are fun. You’re always working with people—but with lifestyle brands, it’s like you’re connecting with their passions.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Exactly. You always describe it as that “third place,” right? People have work, family, and then their lifestyle interests or hobbies. If you can speak to what they care about, and do it well—they’ll love it.
And having that background in publishing has really helped you learn how to package and present content—make it something people want to grab off the shelves, or download digitally. That gives you such a unique angle on marketing.
Okay, I guess I’ll give my high-level view too...
My name is Robbie Fitzwater. I’ve been in the digital space since 2008, starting in social media. I spent most of my early career as the Director of Social Media for Clemson University—go Tigers! (Shameless plug.)
That was an amazing experience, but in 2018 I moved over to the e-commerce space. I learned a lot—fast. Where social can be a little “warm and fuzzy,” e-commerce felt more concrete. I loved seeing: “If we pull this lever, we get this outcome.” It gave me a better understanding of how the whole marketing ecosystem works together.
I also fell in love with email marketing—because I realized we were doing the same things we were doing on social, but now three steps closer to the cash register, without battling an algorithm. It felt like cheating.
Tim Lowry:
But a kind of cheating the clients love!
Robbie Fitzwater:
Exactly! Cheating that prints money in a really valuable and authentic way. It’s like playing the hits. You get to walk your audience through the experience you want them to have. There are so many ways to look at that.
After a little over a year as Director of Marketing for an e-commerce company, I pivoted and started my own business: Marketing Rhythm. We focus on retention marketing—mainly email, some SMS, and a good amount of content. Where those things connect, there’s real power—especially for e-commerce brands trying to build communication pipelines without relying on constant discounts. That’s what we focus on: audience building.
And I also teach in an MBA program.
Tim Lowry:
Because clearly you didn’t have enough going on.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Right? I decided I wanted to teach, finally made it happen. So I’ve got a lot of plates spinning, but it’s worth it. Marketing is fun, and helping empower the next generation of marketers is exciting. What we’re doing here is just an extension of that—just in a different format.
And this podcast is my first real foray into producing a show.
Tim Lowry:
Same here.
Robbie Fitzwater:
I’ve been a guest on a few, but hosting—building narrative and structure—is going to be fun. You guys are going to see the process. Warts and all.
So let’s talk about why we’re doing this. We came up with the name Content, Community, and Commerce because these are the areas we focus on. Tim, what does that mean for you?
Tim Lowry:
For me, content is the big one. Creating things your audience wants to read and engage with. And when you do that well, you build community—people trust you and start coming back. Eventually, that leads to commerce. You become a trusted source for things they care about.
As an SEO, it’s easy to get deep into technical issues, product pages, collections, etc.—and those are all important. But if you can’t build a relationship with people, what’s your brand, really? Just another store. Content is how you build those relationships.
Robbie Fitzwater:
We always joke that working together on clients is like cheating—because SEO plus email is a 1 + 1 = 4 equation. They complement each other so well.
No business is going to out-scale Amazon—but they can out-human Amazon. That’s a huge advantage in an increasingly competitive space. And great content builds great retention. It’s like peanut butter and chocolate—it just works.
Tim Lowry:
So what can people expect from this podcast? We’re going to share tools, strategies, and real-world examples. We’ll talk through ideas we’re testing, what’s working, what we’re questioning, and what’s scalable. We’re learning and executing right alongside you.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Yeah, and something I love about the digital space: If you’re listening to this, you’re probably already engaging with some of the best marketing in the world. We just want to help you recognize it—understand the strategy behind it—and build your own framework.
We’ve been in the trenches for years. We’ve kissed the frogs, taken a few slaps from Google... but we’ve learned what’s durable, what’s strategic, and how to build sustainable systems that aren't dependent on one algorithm change.
Tim Lowry:
I’m excited. Let’s get into it. Let’s roll this first episode.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Over the next few weeks, months, and hopefully years, we’ll be diving into topics like audience building, the 3H content framework, and more. This will be a toolkit you can use.
This is just episode one—we hope we’ve got you hooked! So go ahead and subscribe. Leave a five-star review. Pretend it’s Tim’s birthday and leave him a little gift. (Shameless, I know.)
Tim Lowry:
I’m excited too, Robbie. We’ve logged so many miles running and talking marketing. We’ve had countless conversations in this office. It’s time to share what we’ve been learning—and help others put it into action too.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Oh—and my go-to karaoke song is Midnight Train to Georgia.
Tim Lowry:
I was just about to ask!
Robbie Fitzwater:
Midnight Train to Georgia. I'm leavin’... on the midnight train to Georgia…
Okay, that’s a wrap. See you guys soon!
[Outro]
