I'm Jessica Stewart, VP of Marketing & Sales at EMRG Media. I've transformed The Event Planner Expo into the leading US conference for our industry, working with everyone from Google to JP Morgan over the past 17 years. **Physical direct mail for B2B events is about to make a serious comeback.** Everyone's inbox is completely destroyed right now--we're all drowning in automated sequences and AI-generated emails. But when we tested sending beautiful, physical invitations to our VIP prospects for our gala events alongside our digital campaigns, our response rate jumped 47% compared to email-only outreach. The digital noise has gotten so loud that a high-quality piece of mail actually cuts through better than another notification. We're seeing our corporate clients specifically request this for their product launches because their executives actually open and read physical mail now--it feels like a premium, exclusive experience instead of spam number 247 of the day.
I believe article directories as a viable marketing platform are about to see a resurgence. Article directories were once a popular brand-building platform but kind of died out after they became a hub for mass-producing low-quality articles. However, thanks to tools like ChatGPT, it's far more efficient to produce high-quality, long-form content at a fraction of the time. This enables marketing teams and influencers to get their name out there with informative content written with reader engagement in mind.
Email is about to feel fresh again. With AI crowding search and social, direct channels that don't rely on algorithms regain their power. At SuccessCX, we're seeing brands win by sending short, relevant messages tied to real customer actions in Zendesk and HubSpot. It works because it's personal, predictable, and cuts through the noise.
Referral marketing's having a moment because people can't stand ads anymore. At ShipTheDeal, we saw it firsthand - when users share deals with friends, those friends stay customers months longer. Just make sharing stupid simple and give something to both people. That's it. No fancy funnels or complicated systems needed.
I used to run some after-school programs and learned something simple. When we tried to reach everyone, we reached no one. But when we started making content just for parents in one specific community, like a group that only spoke Spanish, things changed. They showed up more, brought friends, and really got involved. Forget the huge audience. Focus on a small group and talk to them in their language. It works better.
AI video editing is now super easy, but brands shouldn't lead the charge. The best growth happens when fans grab your stuff and remix it themselves. Those polished studio ads feel fake, but user-made videos have that messy energy platforms love to push. So hand out a simple template or a clip, then let your community tell the story. Their version is always more interesting.
Here's the thing about partnerships. They're back, especially for SaaS. It reminds me of the pre-2015 days, but with way better integrations. At my first company, Tutorbase, we scaled by working with regional education networks. Now, you can do the same thing but with solid data sharing to make it run smoothly. It's an old-school move that still works.
Local business partnerships are making a comeback, and it's working. When the corner bakery and the flower shop team up, both of them rank higher in local search. Chasing those quick backlinks just gets you irrelevant phone calls. But building an actual partnership with another business you trust is how you get steady growth. Focus on creating real stuff you can share. It beats any old SEO tactic.
Webinars are getting interesting again, mostly because the tech is finally good. At Lusha, I launched a content series where we just talked with people. Those interactive sessions brought in way more interested customers than our static ads ever did. If you make the sessions actually useful and let people participate, they show up. And they keep coming back.
I think educational workshops are about to get popular again. Search algorithms seem to be pushing for real expertise now. I've watched healthcare clinics that share case studies or do live Q&As build patient loyalty much faster than the ones with fancy ads. We started recording our surgeons answering questions at my agency and the results showed up right away. The best move is to be present where your audience is learning, not just where they're scrolling.
Even with all the AI tools out there, emailing writers one by one works better. When we launched Backlinker AI, we tried both mass emails and personal notes. The personal notes got us three times more press coverage and much stronger search results. We see the same thing with our clients. Sending the right message to the right person beats blasting a huge list every time.
You know what's starting to feel innovative again? Just talking directly to users. Early on at Vodien, I just called our power users. Those real conversations led to new features and word-of-mouth we couldn't buy. We tried all the fancy analytics, but in the end, going back to simple talks brought us more actual business, and the same for the startups I mentor.
Direct mail is about to feel new again. With digital channels noisy and AI rewriting the web, a well targeted physical touch cuts through in a way inboxes can't. Pair it with QR codes and tight audience data and it becomes a hybrid growth engine. The twist isn't the medium, it's the precision we can bring to it now.
I've noticed that working with specific experts is becoming more important again. AI helps by showing people local specialists they can actually trust. In health tech, partnering with real doctors is the fastest way to earn user trust. At Superpower, we shared their actual advice instead of generic endorsements and engagement went up. If you're using AI to grow, find the exact voices your audience already listens to.
It's funny how those old-school local events work so well now, but only if you connect them online. Take Dirty Dough. They just let people try their stuff, and then those people post about it online, which drives more sales. It creates this self-sustaining loop. My advice is to do something people can experience in person and then easily share online.
You know that whole gamification thing? It's worth another look. We added simple points and badges for a clothing client last year, and daily logins jumped 40% in just a week. I thought it was old news too, but the new platforms make it so much easier to build something that actually gets people coming back.
Email is about to become good as new. With a new generation of AI-powered tools available, businesses can write hyper-personal emails that are not only relevant but also timely and don't sound like something that was sent to thousands of other people but rather as though it were part of a one on one conversation. Combine that with automation and data-driven intelligence and email is even more a compelling medium for engagement and conversion. It's an old trick but smarter and more effective than ever.
A good old days growth strategy that's about to sound new again: community building. Forums and niche communities were hotbeds of engagement and loyalty in the early days of the internet. Now, as places like Discord and Slack have roared to life alongside private social media-based groups, brands are rediscovering just how special it can be to foster these tight-knit communities. These spaces are conducive to relationship, trust and word of mouth brand advocate building. A throwback idea with a digital twist; it has become one of the primary growth engines of the modern internet economy.
Founder & Community Manager at PRpackage.com - PR Package Gifting Platform
Answered 3 months ago
Newsletters are about to feel new again after the AI/Google updates. We pivoted from ranking blog posts to ranking the newsletter itself - targeted "PR packages" and "PR package" for our influencer gifting platform (PRpackage.com)'s newsletter. We got those terms to rank bringing 1-2k subscribers a month, now all the search traffic flows straight into Beehiiv newsletter. Once they subscribe, we make back the cost through affiliate/co-registration sends, ads & upsells. The email list basically pays for itself. Old SEO method + old newsletters, but together it pays way better than blog posts did.
Email newsletters are about to feel new again. Algorithms keep squeezing reach, and people are tired of shouting into feeds they no longer control. A clean, consistent newsletter builds a direct line to your audience, and that stability is starting to feel refreshing. I see this at Local SEO Boost every week. When a business pairs strong SEO with a simple weekly email, their growth becomes steadier because no platform can quietly throttle it.