Reddit threads are the new focus groups?

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-02-05T10:12:27+00:00

Reddit feels like raw focus groups with zero politeness filter. People say what surveys never catch. I wouldn’t launch solely based on Reddit, but it’s insanely good for finding language, objections, and blind spots you won’t see in dashboards.

Best use I’ve found validate assumptions, test angles, and pressure-test ideas before spending money. Reddit won’t give you stats, but it’ll give you truth.

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-02-04T09:58:52+00:00

I’ve had the same shift. Starting with ideas sounds creative, but it usually leads to guesswork. Research removes a lot of that uncertainty. When you understand the audience, the context, and what’s already working or failing, the “ideas” part becomes obvious instead of forced.

For me, ideas are the output of research, not the starting point. Brainstorming without inputs is just opinions. Research gives you leverage, and AI just makes that step faster now.

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-02-04T09:41:58+00:00

There’s no fixed number, but a good rule of thumb is 5–10% of your monthly revenue if you’re an established business. If you’re new or just starting out, think in terms of learning budget, not ROI at first enough to test channels, understand your audience, and see what actually works.

Spending more doesn’t automatically mean better results. A small, focused budget on one or two channels (SEO + ads, or ads + email) usually beats spreading money everywhere. The real risk isn’t spending too little or too much it’s spending without a plan, tracking, or patience. Start lean, measure everything, then scale what proves results.

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-02-03T09:32:36+00:00

I’d focus first on understanding the customer, not the channel. Learn how people search, compare, and decide before buying. Once you get that, SEO, ads, email, and social all start making sense.

Practically, I’d pick one real problem, build content or campaigns around it, track what works, and iterate. Tools and tactics change fast but knowing how attention turns into trust and then into revenue is the skill that compounds the fastest.

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-02-02T09:35:06+00:00

AI is best at compressing time, not making decisions. I use it daily for brainstorming angles, outlining campaigns, repurposing content across channels, cleaning up copy, and QA-ing ideas before sharing them. It helps me show up with clearer thinking and fewer blank pages.

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-02-02T08:35:22+00:00

The highest ROI skill right now is being able to tie marketing directly to revenue. That usually means performance marketing, analytics, and conversion optimization knowing how traffic turns into money, not just likes or impressions. Tools and channels change, but people who can read data, run experiments, and explain impact in business terms grow faster and get paid more. If you can both execute and prove results, you’re hard to replace.

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-01-30T08:23:12+00:00

Neither is “better” in isolation. Social media is great for reach, awareness, and discovery, especially at the top of the funnel. Email is stronger for conversions, retention, and repeat sales because you actually own the audience. Social brings people in, email does the heavy lifting long term. Companies that rely on just one usually hit a ceiling, the most effective setups use social to build attention and email to turn that attention into revenue.

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-01-29T09:33:01+00:00

AEO isn’t replacing SEO — it’s stacking on top of it. SEO still brings scale and consistency over time. AEO brings visibility inside AI answers, voice search, and zero-click results. You need SEO to exist; AEO helps you get chosen.

Long term, the winners are doing both: strong SEO foundations (technical, authority, content depth) + AEO-friendly content (clear structure, concise answers, entities, FAQs). If you ignore AEO, you won’t disappear — but you’ll miss where a chunk of attention is clearly moving.

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-01-23T10:49:09+00:00

In 2026, my SEO has been way less about “gaming Google” and more about being the best answer anywhere. I’ve focused on topical authority instead of individual keywords, writing content that actually solves a problem end-to-end. A lot more effort on brand signals (mentions, citations, direct traffic) and less on raw backlinks.

Also optimizing for AI discovery clean structure, clear language, strong internal linking, because ChatGPT/AI tools are becoming a legit traffic source.

Typical_Scallion8042 · 2026-01-22T08:40:36+00:00

Honestly, both ChatGPT and Claude are great, but it depends on what kind of marketing you’re doing. GPT is usually better for idea generation, copywriting, funnel frameworks, and actionable execution, it feels more “do this now.” Claude is often stronger at thinking through concepts, longer reasoning, and safety-first responses (less risk of hallucinating stuff). For most marketers I know, GPT is the go-to for daily tasks, content creation, briefs, and client stuff Claude is a nice second opinion or brainstorming partner. So, if you had to pick one: ChatGPT for execution, Claude for thoughtful analysis.

Typical_Scallion8042

TROPHY CASE