TLDR MARKETING 2026-11-04

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AI TRAFFIC DRIVES 83% MORE REVENUE PER VISIT

Adobe found that AI-referred traffic generated 83% more revenue per visit and converted 90% better than non-AI traffic in September. AI visitors also spent 73% more time on site and added products to carts 53% more often. However, the average retail homepage scored just 63% on Adobe's AI readability measure. Product specifications, setup guides, and customer service pages were easier for AI to understand.

COMPANIES MAY NEED TO RESTRICT AI USE TO MANAGE COSTS

OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Meta are spending billions on AI development but struggling to turn their investments into profits. OpenAI reported more than $20B in operating losses in the first half of 2026, while Anthropic's infrastructure costs have surged 329% year over year. xAI has already restricted Grok access because of high operating costs. AI companies may introduce tighter usage limits to control spending as pressure to deliver returns grows.

“WHY DID YOU CANCEL?” EMAIL

Set up an automated cancellation email that asks customers why they canceled their subscription. Send it immediately and keep it short and conversational to encourage honest feedback. Use their responses to identify improvements or start conversations that could win back former customers. An example is provided in the post.

HOW TO IDENTIFY LINKEDIN AD VISITORS

Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator's Smart Links to identify people visiting your landing page before you reach the 300-person minimum for retargeting audiences. Create a Smart Link for your landing page and use it in your Thought Leader Ads. Sales Navigator will show visitors' names, companies, and job titles. Then reach out directly to understand why they didn't convert.

LET'S GET THE FIRST 100 USERS FOR A STARTUP

Many of the best early-user channels work because they're too small for bigger companies to chase. Smaller podcasts are often short on guests and open to founders who demo the product on air. Newsletters under 10K subscribers cost a few hundred dollars to sponsor and often beat larger ones on ROI. Buying a tiny app with an overlapping audience for $1K to $10K gives a ready base of users to redirect.

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FLIGHTCAST

Flightcast lets creators automatically distribute their existing YouTube video catalogs to Spotify for $100/month. Creators can connect their YouTube accounts and transfer individual videos, playlists, or entire catalogs, with future uploads syndicated automatically. Flightcast also adapts titles, descriptions, and chapters for Spotify.

WHY PR IS THE NEW SEO (THANKS TO AI) (40 MINUTE PODCAST)

AI is bringing SEO and PR closer together as brands compete for visibility beyond website clicks. Amanda Milligan from Semrush explains why earned media and third-party mentions influence AI visibility. She also shares how Semrush builds its B2B YouTube strategy by balancing search-driven videos with content designed for YouTube's recommendation algorithm.

HOW TEXT OVERLAYS IN SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGES AFFECT ENGAGEMENT

Large or centered text overlays lower engagement when the image underneath is dynamic. A busy image already draws the eye, so big central text creates a competing focal point that makes the post look disorganized. Static images can carry larger, centered text, which guides attention instead of fighting for it.

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS FOR CRM AND EMAIL: HOW TO UNDERSTAND PEOPLE WELL ENOUGH TO SEND THE RIGHT MESSAGE AT THE RIGHT TIME

Effective CRM marketing starts with understanding what people need when you contact them, not just who they are or what triggered an email. Track opt-in type and relationship stage in your CRM to distinguish intentional subscribers from people who signed up for a download or were added to a list. Analyze customer motivations and emotions around key triggers, collect the language they use to describe their needs, and review their email history to spot irrelevant or repetitive messages. Turn these insights into CRM properties and workflow rules that inform messaging at every stage of the relationship. Measure success through engagement by opt-in type, conversions by intent level, and fewer emails per conversion.

WHEN 10.3% IS BETTER THAN 10%

Precise figures make a feature count more in purchase decisions than rounded ones, but only for features where lower is better, like weight or price.

YOUR AI SEARCH NUMBERS FEEL GOOD. THEY MIGHT BE CHANCE.

Small samples carry wide ranges, so a month-to-month gain may be chance rather than the result of new content.

THE 25 BEST AEO/GEO EXPERTS TO FOLLOW IN 2026

25 people who are publishing the most original research on AI search.