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How to Recession-Proof Your Brand

SEPTEMBER 3, 2025

Recession-proofing your brand starts with listening, and nowhere is consumer sentiment louder or faster than on social media.

Social is where users express financial anxiety openly, where thrift becomes aspirational, and where brands are scrutinized not just for price, but for their role in people’s daily lives.

Here’s a helpful framework from VaynerMedia North America’s senior strategist Estelle Levy:

Price as value: Thrift and moderation are badges of honor. Brands can reward resourcefulness and celebrate small wins.
Quality and efficacy: Every purchase is scrutinized. Transparency and proof points earn trust.
Convenience: Time is a currency. Simplify processes and demonstrate respect for consumers’ limited bandwidth.
Emotional value: Small indulgences matter. Position products as treats or moments of control in uncertain times.
Social value: Flexing is out, community is in. Brands that uplift and show up become indispensable.

How to Create Content for Search & Generative Engines

SEPTEMBER 2, 2025

Content needs to work for two different ecosystems: search engines and generative engines.

Search engines weigh everything from E-E-A-T signals to schema markup and link quality. Their inputs are usually short queries, and their outputs are lists of ranked URLs.

Gen AI, on the other hand, deals with richer prompts and provides human-like responses. But its citation layer is far simpler. Instead of ranking thousands of possible results, AI may pull from a much smaller pool of sources and often values co-citations (being mentioned alongside a term or brand) more than backlinks.

So, how do you serve both?

Structure content clearly with headings, subheadings, and logical flow.
Use semantic richness. Cover related keywords, entities, and FAQs.
Include concise summaries and takeaways to improve AI vectorization.
Format with Q&A or answer-driven sections, since AI often parses questions directly.
Build strong E-E-A-T signals for both authors and brands.
Leverage co-citations: being mentioned alongside relevant terms on authoritative sites.
Ensure accessibility and clean code, including metadata, alt text, and descriptive URLs.
Stay consistent across citations (addresses, names, details), since AI blends data sources.

Think of SEO as the foundation and generative optimization as the new layer on top.

Search Remains Dominant Over AI

AUGUST 27, 2025

New research from Datos and SparkToro challenges the “AI vs. Search” narrative. It appears that while AI tools are gaining traction, traditional search remains dominant.

Rather than AI replacing search, evidence suggests AI tools actually drive more search activity; new ChatGPT users often increase their Google searches.

Does this mean that AI tools are expanding the digital toolkit… and not cannibalizing search after all?

Key takeaways:

95%+ of Americans still use traditional search monthly.
86% are heavy traditional search users (10+ uses/month).
20% are heavy AI tool users, up from 3% in 2023.
AI adoption growth is slowing since late 2024.
Search queries per user have increased, not declined.
AI tools and search appear complementary, not competitive.

10 Ways to Get Your Brand Mentioned by AI

AUGUST 26, 2025

With ChatGPT alone reaching 700 million weekly active users, the question isn’t if AI will mention your brand… it’s whether it will mention your competitors instead of you.

Getting featured in AI-generated answers comes down to being visible where LLMs learn: high-ranking content, authoritative sites, Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and trusted publications. Early adopters are already seeing 8–10% of traffic coming from AI mentions.

Here are 10 proven ways to increase your AI visibility:

Allow AI crawlers access (check your robots.txt).
Test if you’re already mentioned in AI answers.
Get added to existing cited sources through outreach.
Create better content than competitors with depth and clarity.
Invest in SEO. 50% of AI citations come from top Google results.
Use Q&A formats, lists, and clear headings to make content AI-friendly.
Add credible stats, expert quotes, and sources to boost trust.
Build a presence on Reddit, where AI scrapes real opinions.
Publish YouTube videos, a key input for Google AI Overviews.
Run PR campaigns for authoritative media coverage and citations.

Before You Start a Newsletter…

AUGUST 25, 2025

Inbox Collective asked 20+ newsletter operators what they wish they’d known before starting a newsletter.

The biggest theme: Don’t wait for perfect.

Launch quickly, listen to readers, and improve iteratively. Audience feedback (not internal brainstorming) is what shapes a newsletter worth subscribing to.

Here are 5 pieces of advice veteran newsletter publishers wish they’d heard sooner:

Launch fast, learn faster. Don’t over-polish early issues.
Ignore the noise. Focus on your own audience and strategy.
Build research and reader feedback loops from Day 1.
Growth is incremental! Stack small wins instead of chasing virality.
A smaller, engaged list beats a massive, unresponsive one.

Connection > perfection. We totally agree.

Before You Start a Newsletter…

AUGUST 25, 2025

Inbox Collective asked 20+ newsletter operators what they wish they’d known before starting a newsletter.

The biggest theme: Don’t wait for perfect.

Launch quickly, listen to readers, and improve iteratively. Audience feedback (not internal brainstorming) is what shapes a newsletter worth subscribing to.

Here are 5 pieces of advice veteran newsletter publishers wish they’d heard sooner:

Launch fast, learn faster. Don’t over-polish early issues.
Ignore the noise. Focus on your own audience and strategy.
Build research and reader feedback loops from Day 1.
Growth is incremental! Stack small wins instead of chasing virality.
A smaller, engaged list beats a massive, unresponsive one.

Connection > perfection. We totally agree.

Run to Inbox Collective for the full write-up.

Emotional Ads or Informative Ads?

AUGUST 25, 2025

Data shows that emotional ads increase sales for high-price, high-quality products, while informational ads are more effective for low-price, lower-quality products.

The logic is straightforward:

For low-priced or lower-quality items, consumers often have doubts. Informational ads that clarify features, value, or reliability help reduce uncertainty and drive sales.
For high-priced, high-quality items, buyers assume a certain level of performance. So, emotional storytelling creates desire, strengthens brand attachment, and justifies that premium pricing.
Emotional ads also tend to generate more buzz and online searches, even for lower-priced products, making them ideal for awareness campaigns.

Bottom line? If you’re selling affordable products, highlight what they do. If you’re selling premium ones, highlight how they make people feel.

Lower Traffic Might Be… Better?

AUGUST 21, 2025

More clicks don’t necessarily translate into more customers.

Often, the chase for vanity metrics can distract us from what actually drives growth: the right audience.

High traffic might look good on a slide deck, but if the majority of those visitors bounce or never intend to buy, the value is close to zero. What matters more is intent. When you attract people who genuinely align with your product or service, you’re far more likely to see meaningful results.

Here are a few ways to shift your strategy:

Segment your audience. Obviously. Tailor content to specific personas and their needs.
Align content with the funnel. Create resources for awareness, consideration, and decision stages.
Invest in first-party data. Nurture audiences who have already shown interest
Optimize for intent, not keywords. Focus on solving problems, not just ranking.
Measure engagement, not just visits. Track dwell time, scroll depth, and conversion pathways.

How to Do Effective Content Research

AUGUST 20, 2025

Now, with AI tools generating copy in seconds, our top challenge is creating content that’s genuinely valuable, credible, and differentiated. And that’s where content research becomes critical.

It goes far beyond quick Google searches. It means deeply understanding your audience’s needs, analyzing competitors, spotting gaps in the market, and sourcing trustworthy data.

How to do effective content research:

Start with competitor analysis: Identify what exists and where you can provide something fresh.
Use SEO and keyword tools: Platforms like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Clearscope can uncover gaps and intent.
Incorporate credible sources: Pull from academic studies, industry reports, and government data.
Gather original insights: Run surveys, consult experts, or tap into your internal team’s knowledge.
Check communities: Reddit, LinkedIn, and forums are great for authentic conversations and overlooked questions.
Synthesize and simplify: Organize findings with visuals, charts, and TL;DR summaries for easy digestion.