🧲   AI Broke Inbound Marketing
đź“© Â Â Double Down on Email
🌎   Be Everywhere
🧲 AI Broke Inbound Marketing
If you’re experiencing a drop in inbound leads, you’re not alone.
HubSpot, the king of Inbound Marketing, saw its website traffic drop 75% between 2024 and 2025.
For over 20 years, marketers captured customer demand from search. “Inbound marketing” rose as an entire industry with Google. Then AI broke it.
The stats paint a stark picture:
- 58.5% of Google searches in the US end in zero click.
- 51% of B2B buyers start on AI chatbots, up from 29% in 2025.
- 73% of B2B websites lost 34% of traffic on average between 2024 and 2025.
The shift is real and rapid. Marketing is shifting from demand capture to demand generation, and brands win in the AI economy.
The Principles of Sticky Branding provide the roadmap: Build relationships with your customers early and often so they know your brand, like it, and trust it. This cuts through the clutter to receive the first call when they’re ready to buy.
The tactic is to amplify thought leadership. You’re not going to win with listicles and keyword-stuffed blog posts, and you’re not going to win with AI slop on social media. You win by distributing relevant, high-quality content that engages, educates, or entertains your market.
When your customers know your brand, like it, and trust it, they will choose you first. The same holds for AI. AI recommends brands with authority, not just big websites.
đź“©Â Double Down on Email
In 2021, I made my biggest marketing blunder. I paused my email newsletter. I was burnt out with writing and frustrated with our results, so we shifted to a podcast.
It was costly. The podcast cost a fortune and wasn’t sustainable. We pivoted to reels and social content. None of it had the impact of our email newsletter.
Email is the single most valuable marketing platform. AI is disrupting SEO. Social media platforms change their algorithms constantly. Email is a platform you own.
Email is a privilege. You have to create value for someone to invite you into their inbox. AI slop will get you unsubscribed really fast.
This is a muscle, and it’s not easy. It took me two and a half years to restart the newsletter after pausing it. Sending wasn’t the problem, it was creating the content consistently. Each issue takes me 6 to 8 hours to produce. I use AI to research and edit, but I write every word.
The commitment pays off. The newsletter drives our thought leadership and is the backbone of our social media content. It’s our number one source of new business.
If you invest in only one channel, choose email. Build a newsletter and commit to it as a forever program.
đź“ŠÂ One Stat to Watch
79%
of Gen Z adults worry that AI makes people lazier and less smart, according to Gallup.
🌎 Be Everywhere
The 8th Principle of Sticky Branding is Be Everywhere.
To combat the AI disruption, lean into the tried and true techniques of branding. Get customers to say, “These guys seem to be everywhere.”
For instance, a customer might receive your email newsletter, see a post on LinkedIn, and visit your booth at a trade show. The combination of experiences creates the impression that your brand is everywhere.
It’s like, “I saw them online, and then I saw them at a conference last month. They’re everywhere!”
Repetitive exposure builds trust and credibility. And you don’t have to break the bank.
Being everywhere isn’t about national campaigns or big ad spend, it’s about being hyper-focused on your target market to be where they are. This starts with understanding how they buy, how they evaluate their options, and where they interact with other vendors and suppliers.
For example, Khayeri Flooring partners with other building suppliers in stone and tile, fixtures, drapery, and furniture. When a homeowner is designing a kitchen, they may see the Khayeri display at the cabinetry maker and then at the appliance store. Then they see them as a title sponsor at a tradeshow and interact with them on Instagram.
Multiple touch points work together to build awareness, credibility, and trust. Customers choose Khayeri first when they’re ready to buy.
As you build your brand, how can you create the impression your brand is everywhere?
🤔 Thoughts on Today’s Issue?
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