Welcome back!
I’ve been wanting to write this one for a bit because there are a few things I keep seeing across the businesses I’m working with right now.
I had some personal stuff come up and it just did not get out the door. So I appreciate the patience.
Let’s dig in.
For context, I run Poppin Consulting. Most of my work is with companies in consulting, online education, business services, and software. Different sizes. Different stages. But when you zoom out, the same pressure points keep showing up.
Over the last couple months I’ve been paying close attention to what is actually producing results inside client accounts.
Not what people are talking about publicly.
Not what sounds good on LinkedIn.
What is actually moving conversations forward.
What is actually converting.
If you read the recent newsletter where I broke down the four part lead generation path, this all fits inside that framework. I will link it again here because it is still how I think about growth structurally.
The big shift I am seeing is this.
AI is dramatically improving the efficiency layer of a business. It is not replacing the human layer.
In fact, in many cases it is making the human layer more important.
Before I go deep on any one of these areas, I want your input.
I have a few directions I can take this over the next several weeks. I cannot promise I will go in the exact order of votes, but I am trying to prioritize what is most useful to the people actually reading this.
So as you read through the areas below, let me know what you want me to unpack first. If something does not interest you at all, tell me that too. And if you think I am missing something important, I am open to that as well.
This newsletter has grown because of the conversations around it. I would like to keep it that way.
Here is what I am seeing.
Here’s where we are right now when it comes to marketing.
AI has closed the knowledge gap.
Things that used to require years of experience or expensive agencies are now accessible to almost anyone willing to learn the tools. The barrier to execution has dropped. The information advantage that once separated companies is shrinking fast.
That changes where leverage lives.
When access becomes common, differentiation moves somewhere else.
Efficiency has improved dramatically. Businesses can move faster, test more, build systems with fewer people.
Effectiveness has not accelerated at the same rate.
Trust still builds through real interactions. Credibility still comes from lived proof. Relationships still require effort. None of that compresses just because technology improves.
So the question is no longer how to automate everything.
The question is what deserves automation and what requires human presence.
If you go back to the four-part lead generation path I wrote about recently, AI strengthens the efficiency inside each of those paths. It does not replace the trust layer inside them.
That tension between efficiency and effectiveness is underneath everything I’m seeing work right now.
AI is starting to feel less like a feature and more like plumbing.
Inside client work, I’m seeing teams use tools like Lindy to create lightweight AI agents that handle internal workflows and follow-up.
Instead of hiring another marketing coordinator, they map the process and let the agent take care of the predictable pieces. It is not flawless, but it removes a surprising amount of drag.
In practice, that means AI handling research summaries, drafting personalized follow-ups based on prospect data, qualifying inbound leads before a human ever steps in, and triggering next steps automatically when predefined signals are hit.
On the media side, tools like Magicx (and similar) are simplifying parts of ad execution and understanding your reports.
Meta’s own AI has improved dramatically at finding the right audience when the inputs are clean. The advantage is not buried in complex targeting anymore. It shows up in the offer and in the experience after someone clicks.
When you push clean data and clear conversion signals back into the platform, Meta’s AI expands around it and finds more people like your best buyers. The leverage has shifted from complex targeting to relevant creative and a strong post click experience.
The same shift is happening on the build side. With tools like Replit or Cursor, you can prototype internal tools, small apps, or custom automations without a full development team.
That used to be a real barrier. Now it is mostly a thinking exercise. If you understand the workflow, you can build around it.
Across the stack, APIs are easier to connect. Data flows more cleanly between platforms. Systems that once required custom agency work can now be assembled by a small team that understands how the pieces fit and prompt engineering.
That is where leverage has moved. It is no longer about knowing how to operate the tools. It is about knowing how to design the system.
AI handles repetition, routing, tagging, and optimization well. It does not replace positioning. It does not replace judgment. It does not replace credibility.
When it is used correctly, it gives you back time.
What you do with that time is what separates companies right now.
Across the businesses I’m working with, the pattern is consistent.
The ones making meaningful revenue moves are prioritizing conversations.
What that looks like depends on the model.
For some, it is structured LinkedIn outreach and follow-up. For others, it is reconnecting with past customers. For others, it is partnership discussions, podcast appearances, event conversations, or direct messages that turn into something larger.
It is not one tactic.
It is a posture.
AI saturation is real. There is more content, more automation, more synthetic communication than ever. That does not make AI useless. It makes it incomplete.
The people seeing traction are not trying to replace the human layer. They are using AI to clear space so they can engage more directly.
Follow-up gets organized. Signals get tracked. Systems make sure opportunities are not forgotten.
AI can tag conversations, summarize threads, flag buying signals, and surface who needs attention, but the actual exchange still happens between people.
Cold email still works. Not like it used to, but it works.
LinkedIn still works. Just done a little differently. The timeline from first touch to closed deal might stretch. Or in some industries… it’s condensed. It depends. Relevancy matters much more than cute copy.
That often looks like sending 20 to 30 targeted connection requests per day, running shorter follow-up sequences, and reaching out with real, specific reasons instead of recycled marketing angles.
Less “have you thought about this feature” and more “this made me think of you.” Direct up front. Human in tone. Short cycles that create quicker results, then deeper relationships over time.
For some businesses, those conversations are with prospects. For others, they are with customers who can refer, advocate, or expand. For others, they are with peers who can open doors to entirely new revenue streams.
The format changes.
The principle does not.
Revenue accelerates when conversation depth increases.
AI should make it easier to have those conversations.
It should not be the substitute for them.
AI has made content unlimited.
No one can read everything anymore. No one can evaluate every article, every landing page, every thread. There is simply too much of it.
So people fall back on something older and simpler.
They trust other people.
Across the businesses I’m working with, the campaigns cutting through are the ones showing real humans using the product or service. Not brand voice. Not polished positioning. Real usage.
Unscripted customer clips, screen recordings, and honest breakdowns of how something fits into someone’s workflow are outperforming overly produced brand messaging in many cases.
That usually shows up in two forms.
An influencer does not have to mean a celebrity.
Sometimes it is an existing customer who already has an audience and credibility in a niche. Sometimes it is someone you know personally who has genuinely used the product. Sometimes it is a creator whose business model is reviewing and recommending tools to their audience.
The structure varies.
You might pay them. You might provide a free product. You might offer affiliate commission. Sometimes it is a hybrid of all three.
What matters is that the recommendation feels real and connected to how they actually operate.
If the audience can tell it’s transactional, it underperforms. When it mirrors how the person genuinely uses the tool or service, it compounds trust instead of borrowing it temporarily.
The value is not the content itself. It is the credibility transfer.
UGC is similar, just without the audience scale.
It can be a straight testimonial. It can be a screen recording of someone using the product. It can be a short video explaining why they chose it. It can be a customer breaking down how it fits into their workflow.
Influencer marketing and UGC are close cousins.
One has distribution built in.
The other relies more on your own channels.
Both work for the same reason.
You are not telling people your product works.
Someone else is.
And when it is delivered through story instead of pitch, it carries weight. People relate to stories. They imagine themselves in the same situation. They see someone like them getting a result.
As AI-generated persuasion increases, that contrast becomes sharper.
Unlimited content is easy.
Believable proof still requires humans.
And the businesses investing in that kind of proof are seeing it move the needle across attraction, conversion, and retention.
This one is nuanced. So stay with me.
As automation became more powerful over the last decade, a lot of marketing became overbuilt.
Long nurture sequences. Multi-step journeys. Layered logic trees. Complex funnels that required people to consume everything before they were allowed to buy.
Some of that made sense at the time.
But the environment has changed.
Buyers can research you instantly. They can fact-check your claims with AI. They can compare alternatives in minutes. They do not need to be escorted through a long intellectual process just to feel safe moving forward.
What matters now is reducing the time between interest and value.
If someone resonates with your content, they should be able to understand the offer quickly and buy without friction. Not after five redirects and three competing funnels pointing in different directions.
That does not mean your backend cannot be sophisticated. Your automation can be layered. Your data loops can be tight. Your systems can be intelligent.
From the outside, though, it should feel fast.
Fast to understand.
Fast to act.
Fast to experience value.
This is part of why certain formats are working again.
Webinars are a good example. For a while, especially with cold traffic, they felt overplayed. Recently, I’m seeing them convert again when they’re structured clearly. You register, you attend, you learn, you’re presented with the offer, and you can buy.
Not ten branches.
Not three pre-frames.
Just a direct path.
I’ve been part of webinars responsible for over $100 million in collective revenue. When the offer is strong and the experience is straightforward, the fundamentals still work.
You see the same pattern elsewhere.
Direct-to-offer ads are working again when the positioning is sharp and the proof is real. Newsletter-first models are compounding trust without elaborate funnel architecture. Low-friction paid workshops and products are outperforming overbuilt launch machinery.
The common thread is not simplicity for its own sake.
It is access.
Speed to value does not mean rushing the sale. It means removing artificial delays. If someone is ready, let them move. If they are not, your content and follow-up keep them in orbit.
The more overwhelmed people become, the more they appreciate directness.
And if you are spreading traffic across too many funnels at once, both the algorithm and the customer lose clarity. Focused paths feed better signals. Clear outcomes convert better.
It is easier than ever to build something complicated.
It is more valuable than ever to make it easy to move forward.
I covered a lot in this issue.
That was intentional. I wanted to show you where my attention is and what I’m seeing work across the businesses I’m involved with.
To make it simple, this is my entire point:
Businesses that win this year will not be trying to replace themselves with AI. They’ll replace the repetitive work so they can spend more time on real conversations, real relationships, and real leverage.
AI should remove friction from execution. It should not remove the human layer from your business.
This looks different for everyone. Anyone that tells you they have a one size fits all system is full of shit.
AI agents and infrastructure
LinkedIn and conversation-driven outreach
Influencer marketing and UGC that actually converts
Webinars and direct education-to-offer models
Paid traffic with fewer moving parts
Newsletter-led growth and compounding trust
AI-driven search behavior and what it means for content
Automation systems that actually make sense
What does a modern funnel even look like now?
If you had to fix one of these in your business this quarter, which would it be?
Over the next few months, I’ll be breaking these down in detail. Tools, workflows, tradeoffs, and what actually holds up in practice.
Drop it in the comments. I read all of them.
And if this was useful, share it with someone building seriously this year. I’m putting more energy into Blueprint and I want the right conversations happening here.
Appreciate you reading.
Onward my friends,
Ryan Farrell
Owner | Poppin Consulting
Marketing Systems Consultant
Which of these areas are you most focused on right now, and where do you feel the most friction?
If you know someone trying to balance AI and real growth this year, this might be useful to send their way.
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