Welcome to the first Koozai Couch, our new interview series in which we sit down with people from across the digital marketing spectrum to talk about the ideas, tools, and transformations shaping the industry.
To kick things off, we spoke with Erin SimmonsManaging Director at Women in Tech SEO. Erin works through the WTS community, which brings together people of marginalized genders who work in SEO and marketing.
It felt like the perfect place to start. Community, trust, and real human connection are high on marketers’ agenda, especially as teams face more tools, channels, and choices than ever before.
In our conversation, Erin shared her thoughts on what the industry needs to remember, why Canva has become a go-to tool, and why downsizing can sometimes be the smartest growth move.
The interview
For every Koozai Couch, we ask the same five questions to get a quick but useful snapshot of what people are seeing, using and rethinking in digital marketing.
That’s what Erin had to say.
1. What’s the one thing the industry is getting completely wrong right now?
I wouldn’t say there’s anything wrong with our industry. I would say that our industry is subject to an unprecedented amount of choice: where to invest, what to do, and with whom to do it.
When shiny new things appear, we get excited. This excitement can make it difficult to see the forest for the trees. We focus too much, priorities change quickly, and we may end up leaving some basics and essentials by the wayside.
Things like authentic connection, delighting our audience, trust, and branding are some that have come to mind lately.
2. What tool or resource has recently changed the way you work?
Canvas. They make it very easy to create outstanding creations.
Being able to visually display our members’ knowledge and stories really helps expand our reach and our ability to amplify it.
3. What is something you have changed your mind about in the past 12 months?
Expanding and growing doesn’t always mean doing more successful things. Sometimes that means cutting back and trying something new.
We expanded conferences from three to five from 2024 to 2025. Then in 2026, we went back to three.
Our conferences represent 70% of our revenue. It’s a risk to downsize. But we truly believe that investing more of our time in our digital community will ultimately pay off on our revenue line, even if we can’t directly tie it to it.
And I did. Giving our time and energy to support our members does not directly fund the work. But our members sharing about our business, sharing our partnership opportunities with their network, and supporting them overall does just that.
4. What are you reading, watching or listening to that others in the digital space should know?
Anything I can get in terms of confidence.
Rachel Botsman is an excellent confidence expert. Read her books and listen to the podcasts she’s been working on.
5. Where is digital marketing headed in the next 12 months?
I think we’re getting back to connecting through 1:1s and small group formats where people can have real, meaningful conversations.
Expect to see word of mouth impact your vision and business results more than ever before.
Thank you Erin!
Thank you so much to Erin for joining us for our first ever Koozai Sofa. Their answers are a helpful reminder that although tools, formats, and channels continue to change, the most powerful marketing still comes down to trust, communication, and understanding the people you’re trying to reach.
Follow Koozai for more interviews, digital marketing insights, and practical ideas from the people shaping the industry.
Want to appear on Koozai’s sofa? Contact us and let us know your feedback. We would love to hear from you.
