Greetings Rainmakers!
2025 changed everything for marketers. Old ways of reaching the audience have lost their effectiveness; though the channels may be the same, the way we use them is different. This year’s final Monthly Dispatch showcases how discoverability, engagement and action have changed over the past year.
I Ran an AI Misinformation Experiment. Every Marketer Should See the Results
How much should you trust AI information? Mateusz Makosiewicz of Ahrefs explains the results of his AI misinformation campaign — and how he was able to seed all the market-leading LLMs with a company that doesn’t even exist. Learn which sources these platforms trust, the value of specific over vague information, and more in this critical piece.
Stand Out in the Inbox
It’s critical for marketers to reach their audience through permission-based channels like email. But just getting to the inbox doesn’t matter if people don’t actually open the messages you’re sending. Our own David Brandon breaks down how you can stand out in the inbox with effective subject lines.
Americans’ Social Media Use 2025
One of the most trusted research organizations in the world has just released its latest report on social media use. In this piece, Jeffrey Gottfried and Eugenie Park of Pew Research break down social media use in the USA — ages, demographics, popular platforms and more.
The Pinball Customer Journey Has Replaced the Marketing Funnel
The marketing funnel is a time-honored and useful model for how customers come to your business. But these days, there are so many touchpoints and potential ways to engage that the funnel model feels a little simplistic. Rand Fishkin of SparkToro makes the case for a new model: the pinball machine.
Traffic Is Down – Now What?
SEO used to be a surefire way to get traffic. Now it’s much more complex. With LLM search, AI overviews and other new technologies, many websites are finding their referral traffic is less reliable. How do you still get eyeballs on your content? Christine Skopec lays out some options in this Semrush article.
Google AI Mode Sends Traffic on 69% of Transactional Queries
Traffic for informational queries is down in Google AI Mode, but transactional queries are still performing well. Learn the details on how these vital queries are still making it to your site in this Search Engine Land piece from Frank Olivo.
Thanks for reading. And if you have any questions, comments or thoughts, feel free to reach out. Just drop us a line, anytime.
Best Regards,
David Brandon
Copywriter
Rainmaker Digital Services