🤷‍♂️ A new marketing perspective

A couple weeks ago, I went to my first SEO conference in San Diego, CA.

I was so excited to finally go and meet all the SEOs I admired. So many of these people I have seen go viral on LinkedIn, and I've even shared their stuff in these newsletters.

And even more, I was curious to see how others were actually thinking about AI search and the current state of marketing.

When I got there, my introverted self didn't know what to do. So I just roamed around for a bit. Grabbed some coffee, looked at the booths and nodded with a smile.

You know, the typical "just browsing" type shi.

Then, slowly, I started to recognize some people.

I ran up to them saying "HEY!! I love your stuff, thanks for all that you do!"

I'm not sure what was going on in my head, or what I was expecting when I was going to meet many of the people I admired in the marketing industry.

Maybe I thought we were all going to hold hands and jump around in a circle and scream "OMG let's be friends!!1"

But almost every "influential" person I introduced myself to, looked at my name tag, gave me a half smile, and said "I know who you are."

Flattered, I again envisioned us jumping around in a circle dancing or something.

But that didn't happen.

In the most polite way, all my conversations were cut short and there didn't seem to be any chemistry.

At first, it hurt a bit. Maybe my ego thought they would return the same enthusiasm.

Ah, the ego.

So I decided to chill out for a bit and just observe as much as I could. I stopped running up to speakers to see if they knew who I was. And instead, I focused my attention on the crowd. I would go on to have conversations with everyone from a marketing intern at a startup to the Director of SEO of one of the largest financial companies in the US.

When I turned the attention away from me, stopped looking for validation in the wrong places, and just focused on understanding how people thought about SEO and giving them all of my insights from my career, things changed.

I had so many amazing conversations.

And I even uncovered a handful of SEO trends going into 2026, which I made a video about (linked in the SEO section below).

But the event reminded me that our marketing careers aren't about what we do. People don't care about your skills or accomplishments.

They don't even really care about what you can solve for them.

What they care about is how you make them feel.

Do you make them feel seen? Understood? Appreciated? Validated?

Maybe instead of reaching for the next career accomplishment or status upgrade, it's more meaningful to get better at learning how to help people.

And I don't just mean "help" in the typical sense, like solving problems or providing “value.”

I mean meeting people where they’re at and making them aware of that fact that you see them.

This frame of thinking has shifted how I think about everything.

Instead of thinking about how to manipulate search engine algorithms, think about how to create something that makes people love you for creating it.

I think all timeless marketing starts there.

Forget the race to figure out ChatGPT SEO, or how to go viral on TikTok.

Learn how to get better at helping people feel seen and understood. Because everything revolves around that. And if you can prioritize that, you will see through all of the BS in the marketing industry today.

You'll see right past the perceived value of AI trends, and you'll save a lot of time worrying that you’re behind on something everyone seems to know but you don’t.

And instead of running up to people hoping they'll buy your stuff or give you an ego boost, you'll find ways to care about others more than you care about yourself.

Just like I should have done when I first walked into that conference.

BTW, thank you to all the new subscribers since the last edition. This newsletter is mixed with personal insights and real marketing strategies. If that intro was your first impression, I apologize lol. Next edition will be more tactical.

With that, let's get into what we have in store this week (lots of good stuff):

• Marketing news from the past week

• A growth framework for the AI era

• How to make your copy C.R.I.S.P.

• SEO trends for 2026

• Social media predictions for 2026

• Ad in the wild

• Website of the week

• Cool marketing jobs

• And much more

🗞 In the news

• Ad tech’s economy depends on float — and it’s getting pricier to keep it moving

• Microsoft locks In OpenAI partnership through 2032

• Threads launches ghost posts that disappear

• Pinterest boards get AI-powered upgrade for personalized experience

🚀 All things growth & product

 🤖 AI, emails, & copywriting

✍️ SEO & content marketing

🤳 Social media, paid ads, & branding

🧠 Wild card

📣 Ad in the wild

💻 Website of the week

🏝 Cool marketing jobs

• SEO Manager @ Vanta

• Partner Program Lead @ beehiiv

• Head of Content @ Remote

• Head of Paid Media @ Directive

• Director of Product Marketing @ Aspire

Okay, that's it for now 💛. See you in the next edition!

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill

Riddle answer: The future