And just like that, online marketing has shifted again.

Digital marketing is on the brink of a generational shift in 2025.?

Consumer behaviour has transformed, and big brands are already adapting to new strategies. But here’s the good news: you can take these same techniques and use them to level up your business - no matter how small it is.?

Let’s dive into the four of the strategies that I've been tracking over the last six months that will define the year ahead.

The best news is that none of this is going to break the bank.

So, what's the big change then?

Consumers are no longer following the old-school straight path from seeing an ad to making a purchase. Instead, they’re hopping between platforms, interacting with content that feels more authentic and natural.?

Enter Gen Z—the new consumer driving this shift. While they’re leading the way, their influence is rippling through every generation, shaping how all customers engage with brands.

And you know what? This has happened before.

It was the Millennials doing the same on Instagram. That shifted us from random sharing to curated feeds of only the highlights.

And Generation X did it on Facebook before them - pretty much acting as the cautionary tale on what oversharing does when it's let loose.

The key takeaway? Authenticity wins right now. People are tuning out overly polished ads and flocking to relatable, real content. So, what does that mean for you? It’s time to rethink your approach and embrace organic marketing.

And that's even better news, because this is the free stuff on the social platforms. You don't need ads.

Organic Marketing: Build Trust That Lasts

Gone are the days of throwing money at ads people block or ignore.?

Organic marketing—think social media posts, educational videos, and influencer collaborations—offers lasting value.?

Unlike ads, organic content keeps working even when you stop spending. It builds trust, credibility, and connections over time.

One of the fastest ways to establish trust is through video content. But let’s face it—creating videos can feel overwhelming for small businesses. Fancy editing, perfect graphics, and high production value? Forget it. In 2025, simple, educational videos packed with value will outperform flashy, high-budget content.

Take a cue from entrepreneurs like Alex Hormozi. If you don't know who he is, it's ok. He's followed by millions and made his name with highly polished and produced video content that people loved.

And then in the last year, he ditched entertaining, heavily edited videos for straightforward, no-frills content—and it paid off big time.?

Why? Because people craving real solutions will always prefer substance over style. Follow his lead: focus on what you know best, speak naturally, and let your expertise shine.?

LinkedIn Newsletters: Expand Your Influence

I'll admit that I am biased about this one because I've got one myself.

If you’re in the B2B space, LinkedIn newsletters are a game-changer. Unlike regular posts that fade from feeds in hours, newsletters are sent directly to subscribers and come up in their LinkedIn notifications, ensuring your content is front and centre.?

Better yet, LinkedIn amplifies your reach by sharing your newsletter on your feed and sending it to followers - not just connections.

Take John Hall, for example. With under 70,000 followers, his LinkedIn newsletter reaches a whopping 330,000 subscribers. The platform’s built-in audience of professionals gives your content instant credibility and helps grow your community without starting from scratch.?

I'm certainly not at that level yet, but I'm pretty chuffed about having an extra 3000 people picking up my thoughts on LinkedIn on a Saturday morning.?

Lead Magnets 2.0: Your Custom GPTs

Email marketing is far from dead—it’s just evolving. In 2025, the most effective way to grow your email list is by offering custom GPTs as lead magnets.

Yep. Custom GPTs in ChatGPT. If you don't know what they are, think of them as your very own custom-written prompts and instructions that you use to get things done in ChatGPT - but available to other people to use.

Imagine providing prospects with a personalised AI assistant tailored to solve their specific problems. It’s a sneak peek of your expertise, and that creates immense value upfront because you're solving one of their small problems in a very practical way - leading them to already trust you enough to consider getting you to solve their bigger problems.

I designed a couple myself - one that helps you assess your new business or startup idea here . And another that helps you to work out what to write by exploring seven different perspectives on your topic. You can check it out here .

For example: ?

• A financial advisor could offer a GPT for budgeting tips and retirement planning.
• A dog trainer might provide a GPT for personalised behavioural advice.
• A personal trainer could deliver workout plans based on fitness goals.

It’s a win-win: prospects get real solutions, and you get their email address if you deliver it via a form on a landing page or in an email.

Tailored Marketing Plans with GPT-4 Turbo

Finally, let’s talk about creating a customised marketing plan in minutes.?

With OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo, you can input your business type, target market, and challenges to generate a personalised strategy. It’s like having a marketing consultant at your fingertips.?

You’ll get detailed advice on social media, email campaigns, content strategies, and more—all explained with clarity so you can act immediately.

You can make it even easier by getting ChatGPT to ask you the question, rather than you having to type out ridiculously long prompts. Just type in "I want to create a marketing plan for my business. It is a xxxxx business. Tell me what you need from me, one question at a time." Seriously, it will pump out genius stuff.

None of this requires Einstein level skills, but you may need a little help along the way, so I'll be covering a bit of stuff in the next few weeks in a little more detail.

That's all for this weekend. Just one short read about how things have changed a bit when it comes to marketing - and how you can take advantage of a few things that I've noticed are working well.

If you're not getting value out of these tips, please consider unsubscribing.

I won't mind and there are no hard feelings.

And if you are enjoying this newsletter, the best compliment you could pay me would be to share it with one person who you think would benefit from it.

See you again next week.

Cheers,

Dante

P.S. Here's a few ways I can lend a hand if you need some help.

On Tuesday November 26 I am running a free one-hour webinar to show you how I approach writing online for newsletters, articles and social media. It's a great system. Book your free spot here.

In January I am starting a local Darwin Public Speaking Club. It's live and in-person only, but it also has free online learning that will start in January for anyone, anywhere. Check it out here .

As the world shifts from an ads economy to a trust economy, more people are buying because of who is behind the product or service. That's called personal branding. And I've got a free intro course on it. Start here.

And here's some of the new tools I'm using to get my work done.

I'm currently migrating all my customer relations, websites, marketing activities and social media monitoring to True Blue Connect. In fact, this newsletter will come from it next week. It's locally operated and supported right here in Darwin too. Find out more about it here.

Perplexity is an AI writing and research tool that doesn't make stuff up (like ChatGPT often does. It's now my most used AI tool. It's free and it's here.

I've been using Neuron Writer for over a year. I now have over 100 articles ranking on Google because of it. Get it here.

I've been levelling up my writing of blogs, articles, social posts and even the scripts for videos and podcasts using Dan Koe's Kortex app. It creates a whole new type of flow for content exploration and writing - and given that I recently hit 6 million views for my LinkedIn content recenlty, it is definitely working! Check it out here .

Motion is the calendar I use to bring all my calendars together. It's also how people book time with me. Check it out here.

Video doesn't have to be hard. For me, it's not something I can do on a mobile phone. I use the desktop version of CapCut to easily add captions, transitions and chop and change visuals. Check it out here.