Jake Abrams

I help 7-9 figure DTC brands with revenue & CAC | I write The Process, a newsletter about modern growth marketing | Sold 100K+ personal cooling devices

Consumer Marketing & Growth Leader.  

Brands I've worked with:

Caraway
Jones Road Beauty
Skylight
Canopy
Insurify
Naked Wines
Rugiet
Sundays For Dogs
Momofuku
Sunday Lawn Care

100+ others

Book a discovery call in the featured section below 👇

Founder

The lean DTC growth marketing partner that I wish existed when I was an in-house marketing lead. 

At Odyssey, we help 7 & 8-figure DTC brands increase revenue & ROAS by finding the right combination of:

- Messaging
- Audience targeting
- Media channel allocation
- Creative

https://www.growodyssey.com/

Over the last 90 days, I built a brand from scratch: category research, product formula, name, brand design, packaging, and website.

I used AI for probably 85% of the process. 

But here's what nobody talks about: the other 15% required humans. And that 15% made all the difference.

So I documented the process, and I'm giving away the breakdown for free.

What's inside:
- How I used Claude as a thinking partner for category research
- The naming process (including 2 failed brand names)
- How I used AI to develop the actual product formula
- Where AI's "yes-man problem" almost killed me
- The top 1% designer conversation that changed everything
- Why I spent 30+ hours on packaging with AI and still needed a human to finish 
- How I used Nano Banana Pro to generate my product imagery
- Where I'm drawing the line on AI-generated content vs human content

Bonus: A usable framework for knowing when to push AI harder vs. when to bring in a top 1% human to help.

I've been in DTC marketing since 2017 and run a creative agency working with 50+ brands. This doc is everything I learned the last 90 days trying to build my own thing with AI as my primary collaborator.

Want the full 2123-word outline and 16-minute Loom video?

Like this post and comment "BUILD" and I'll send it over 👇

♻️ Like & repost if this would help someone in your network ♻️

Creative-led growth for 8-9 figure consumer brands | Writing about AI & advertising | Sold 100k+ personal cooling devices

My 81 favorite BFCM/holiday ads from the past few years. 

This is not another "inspiration board" with random creatives.

It's a curated Foreplay.co collection of ads that actually work during peak shopping season.

Here's what makes these different: 

→ Written for people actively shopping right now 
→ Designed for bottom-funnel audiences hunting for deals 
→ Built for comparison shoppers evaluating your product vs. competitors 
→ Crafted for buyers comparing your solution vs. failed alternatives

PROBLEM THIS SOLVES: 
Most brands don't realize that BFCM / holiday creative is a completely different category of advertising.

Your audience isn't browsing. They're hunting. They're comparing. They're ready to buy but need the right specific reason to choose you.

Meanwhile, many brands are running the same top-funnel creative they use year-round, wondering why it fails. 

WHY THIS IS CRITICAL: 
The next 35 days aren't really about awareness or consideration. Your audience is in active shopping mode.

They're not asking "Do I need this?" They're asking "Should I buy this one or the other one?" and "Is this actually a great deal?"

So I built a Foreplay board with 81 of my favorite ads. Including a bunch of formats you could make with footage you're already sitting on.

Want the Foreplay board link?

1. Comment "BLACKFRIDAY" below
2. Like this post
3. Make sure we're connected so I can send the link

P.S. I'm sending the link to anyone who comments by Friday

We're hiring for multiple creative strategist roles (junior through senior). 

Honestly it’s because our strategists keep landing incredible roles at amazing brands that they can’t turn down (I’m proud of them).

Our people have been hired by Athletic Greens, Gruns, and other best-in-class DTC brands. 

You're a good fit for this if:
- You have a feel for making TikTok's that get lots of views
- You can work across data, taste, and creation
- You believe the next winning ad is 1 deep insight away
- You're AI native & use it as a strategic / operational partner

What we offer: 
- 100% remote work
- Make ads for best-in-class brands & build an elite portfolio
- Cutting edge creative strategy: AI, elevated shoots, native content
- In-person team event in January in Miami
- Insane growth potential, we promote fast

Links in comments 👇

JSESSIONID

li_at

Talks about #dtc, #careeradvice, #growthmarketing, and #digitalmarketing

Need to hire a freelance TikTok Shop / Affiliate strategist. 

You're a good fit for this if:

- You've grown multiple TikTok shops to over $100k a month
- You're an operational psychopath who enjoys wrangling hundreds of affiliates
- You have an innate feel for making viral TikTok content
- You can build an incentive structure that drives creator participation 
- You're AI native & use it as a strategic / operational partner

I don't care about resumes. Just send me a well-written DM with the names of 2-3 specific brands you've grown on TTS and the exact role you played in making the growth happen. I'll double check your work on Kalodata.

Matthew McConaughey's 'private LLM' idea is actually what every creative strategist needs in 2026. 

The people who are making fun of him for it are totally missing the point.  

My agency ships 2000+ video ads / month across 40+ brands.

Broad AI creative strategy tools are a waste of time. All they do is make it faster to generate a higher volume of mediocre content. Nobody needs that. 

What CS's actually need are narrower context kits:

- AI trained on ads they actually won, and why they won
- AI with vision into their ad account data
- AI that analyzes that data like an expert performance marketer
- Agent that knows exactly how to analyze customer reviews
- Micropersonas specific to the brand they are writing for
- Voice, and messaging guidelines specific to brand they are writing for

So that when a CS asks "how do I improve this skincare ad," the answer is actually valuable and based on a competitive advantage specific to them / the company they work for. 

McConaughey gets it. He wants an AI that thinks like him, not like everyone.

That's what we need as creative strategists.

I've been playing with Octo the last few weeks, and they are seriously onto something within this category of AI tech.

Dropped the link to the tool in the comments.

21 ways to find your next $100K spend ad:

1. Build an Airtable database that organizes all of your existing winners, making it easier to turn 1 win into 10 wins.

2. Use N8N + Apify to capture TikTok creators who are consistently hitting 100K+ views in your category, then scrape their email addresses to do outreach.

3. Set up Claude Desktop and use that as your primary writing zone, with all of your data flowing into projects that are specific to each part of the creative process. 

4. Mine Amazon reviews with AI agents to find the exact trigger events customers use before buying, then turn those into hook concepts.

5. Use Wispr Flow to voice-note analyze every ad that made you stop scrolling this week b/c your subconscious knows what works.

6. Make it a habit of writing down the specific creators that you see amazing partnership ads from, and have a $10/hour offshore person do systemic outreach.

7. Use Motion (Creative Analytics)'s Social Listening Agent to process 500+ customer reviews in 3 minutes and extract the psychological frameworks that drove purchase

8. Start your ads mid-moment. 

9. Analyze your top-performing ads with the Audience/Angle/Offer framework.

10. Put your best 4-5 creators on $1K-$5K monthly retainers instead of chasing new talent. Make it easier on yourself.

11. Use Octo to analyze groups of ads together, and automatically build storyboards for new ads to make based off of the undeniable proof in the ads that worked. 

12. Just launch your ads as partnership ads, stop playing Meta on hard mode. 

13. Use Adology.AI's "god view" to watch every signal related to your brand on the internet.

14. Use Arcads to make a comedic podcast related to your product, using Nano Banana to place your product onto one of the podcasters.

15. Actually allow a good thought to pop into your head, write it down, then talk through it with Wispr Flow into Claude.

16. Take something that's already a winner and do format multiplication: normal UGC becomes a staged moment, podcast version, street interview version.

17. Give open-ended briefs to strong up-and-coming TikTok creators via TikTok Shop affiliate program - let them run wild with commission-only structure and cash bonuses. 

18. Use Sora 2 Pro to generate beautiful cinematic b-roll that allows you to create brand new concepts with existing footage. 

19. Build an agent that analyzes your customer support tickets for recurring pain points, then creates creative concepts that address those specific objections.

20. Create a systematic workflow where you feed viral TikTok transcripts to Claude and have it help you do script re-writes that don't suck.

21. Start posting TikToks yourself. You'll learn the importance of writing incredibly specific caption hooks that break through.

TLDR:
- AI workflow = a competitive advantage 
- Human taste = your strategic filter 
- Outrageous operating speed = market domination

My $1.2M BFCM disaster nearly got me fired from an 8-figure brand. 

So I created a 103-item checklist to make sure it never happened again. Drop a comment on this post and I'll send you the entire checklist. 

Now back to the story....

I was so obsessed with our Black Friday email campaigns.

But I ignored the 3 flows that drive the bulk of BFCM revenue:
→ Welcome flow 
→ Cart abandonment 
→ Browse abandonment

Be honest with yourself: When's the last time you locked yourself in a room and made every single email within those 3 flows as strong as possible?

Omnisend data shows that:
- Email automations account for just 2% of email volume but drive 37% of email sales.
- 87% of automated orders come from just these 3 flows

Most brands haven't touched them in months.

Looking back, I was leaving a massive pile of on the table because I wasn't making optimizations likes these for BFCM:

- Making our Black Friday offer crystal clear ATF in every email
- Ensuring cart abandoners saw their exact products + our discount
- Adding urgency with clear deadlines to every flow
- Personalizing welcome sequences based on how people signed up

Inbox competition during BFCM is brutal.

The time you spend making every single email within these 3 flows perfect is so much more important than forcing your team to take another design pass at your campaigns.

Omnisend is great for DTC operators & agency owners b/c it makes it simple to nail these 3 flows:

- Email + SMS + push all working together
- Dynamic product recommendations that actually work
- $68 ROI for every $1 spent

Your BFCM campaigns will get opened once. Your automations work 24/7.

Focus aggressively on the 2% of volume that drives the bulk of your sales. 

---

👉 If you want to try Omnisend for 30% off for your first 3 months, check the link in the comments. 

---

And to grab my 103-Item BFCM Preparation Guide:

1. Comment "BFCM" below
2. Like this post
3. Make sure we're connected so I can send the link

P.S. I'm sending the link to anyone who comments by Monday

#Omnisendpartner

99% of creative strategists confuse looking busy with real insights:

→ They group ads from different channels together
→ They compare testing campaigns against proven winners
→ They set identical CPA targets across Meta / TikTok / YouTube

Because of this, the "analysis" ends up being meaningless.

They're comparing apples to oranges to bananas.

→ Conversion campaigns mixed with awareness campaigns
→ New channel performance held to mature channel standards
→ Creative tests evaluated against scaled winners

The result is bad decisions based on weird data.

"This ad failed" - no, it was a test in a testing campaign.
"TikTok doesn't work" - no, you expected Meta-level ROAS on day one.
"This format underperforms" - no, you compared video views to conversions.

To actually generate insights, evaluate creative within its own context:

1. Group by objective first. Conversion campaigns together. Video views together. Awareness together. Never mix them.

2. Separate testing from scaling. Your testing campaigns should have 10-25 ads where you're taking big swings. Don't compare those against your proven winners running at scale. Different purpose, different benchmarks.

3. Adjust expectations by channel. A new TikTok test won't hit your Meta ROAS targets immediately.

This is why a media buying foundation is so critical for creative strategy.

And why I'm willing to pay for tools like Motion, because it makes it simple for junior / mid-level CS's to build these segments with filters and actually evaluate the creative properly.

The strategists who understand this will always out-analyze the ones just making pretty decks.

P.S. Motion is hosting a 2026 Ad Creative Trends event in a few weeks. If you want to stay ahead of what's coming, link to register is in the comments.

How to survive and thrive as a DTC brand in the age of AI:

First off, ruthlessly copying what works is a strategy. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't work. AI makes it way, way easier. 

If a competitor's hook is crushing, study it. Rip it. See what happens. "Lift & Shift" can be a percentage of your creative output. 

But if 100% of your strategy is copying, you're screwed.

The brands I see actually breaking through right now aren't the ones who copy best. They're the ones who push past the baseline from a point of originality.

TikTok is the cultural tastemaker for the internet right now. The brands I constantly see in my TikTok feed aren't playing it safe.

Hismile. Underbrush. Hiyo. Pete's Pasta. Stan Store.

These companies aren't ignoring what works. They're paying attention to proven ad structures and formats, but injecting something unmistakably theirs. 

People can sense the difference. They can sense the difference between a brand with a genuine point of view and one that's trend hopping.

The AI age makes copying easier than ever. Which means it's easier for anyone to make content that is "competent."

But that means the gap between "competent" and "extraordinary" is widening every single day. 

Brands that win in 2026 will have a portfolio approach.

Don't make copying 100% of your strategy.

2026 will be the best time in history to be a Creative Generalist. 

Because AI makes it possible to get your vision to 85% done, and as long as you have the network to take it the remaining 15%, you are unstoppable.

Don't let anyone tell you that you need to "pick a lane."

The future belongs to the people who can see the big picture and make it become a reality insanely fast.

Built an AI owl podcaster in ~20 minutes with Arcads & Nano Banana Pro.

Used Nano Banana Pro to generate the owl + podcast setup:

“A wise owl sitting at a podcast table in a cozy moonlit library, warm ambient lighting, vintage microphone in front of the owl, owl wearing this exact black sleep mask, leather-bound books in background, intimate podcast studio setting, cinematic lighting with soft golden shadows, professional yet cozy atmosphere.”

Then I used the Sora 2 in Arcads to make the 8-second demo video. Provided the script and some subtle motion notes.

Is it ridiculous and unserious? Yeah, and that’s the point. 

This is the category of AI-produced content I’m actually excited about. You can think of a wild idea, and then make a demo in like 20 minutes. AI tools like Arcads remove so much of the friction.

Comment "PROCESS" and I'll send you the exact tool stack and step-by-step process I used to make this demo. 

---

P.S. Arcads is running a BFCM promo where you get 50% OFF all annual plans, so now’s a good time to sign up and try this workflow for yourself. Link in first comment. 

#ArcadsPartner

70% of your creative time should be spent on the first 3 seconds.

I always knew that the hook mattered. But after growing my own TikTok from 0 to 19.2K in a few months, feel like I have a different level of understanding now.  

The hook actually is EVERYTHING. 

And the hook is 3 related elements, all working together:

1. The written caption
2. The voiceover
3. The visual action

Most people are lazy and make the caption the same thing the person is saying. 

The best creative strategists connect all 3 elements to make something that people won't scroll past. 

Seeing our team pay attention to the details and put this into action makes me feel awesome.

1,358 people commented on a STOLEN viral post about AI Kobe Bryant.

I jumped in to offer my perspective, as someone who writes about AI every day but also worked in real sports marketing with pro athletes. 

I don't love dunking on people, but here's the problem I had with that viral post:

First off, the guy stole the content word-for-word from someone on Twitter. It's not his video. It's not his workflow. It's not even his hook.

Now onto the content itself (which wasn't even his):

Even if Kobe Bryant were still alive, there is a 0% chance Nike would ever make a consumer-facing ad like the one this guy posted (that he didn't even make himself). 

The video was useful as a prototype video, but if they were actually launching something like that it would probably tank their stock price.

The writing was AI slop, it made no sense.
The voice tried to sound like Kobe, but didn't.
AI Kobe was dribbling and dunking all weird. Super glitchy.
People hate the AI-ification of everything.

In reality, here's what would actually happen if Kobe was still alive:

Nike would organize a shoot with the real Kobe Bryant. 
It would cost a lot of money. 
The writing would have soul. 
He would dribble and dunk like Kobe, because it would actually be Kobe. 
He would sound like Kobe, too, b/c it would be his actual voice.

The AI process that the poster described is actually a massive unlock for the pre-production process. They could use the prototype video to pitch a campaign to Kobe. Way more powerful than a storyboard + 3rd party references.

But the real Kobe Bryant would HATE the video that he posted. The team responsible for it would be fired immediately.

So to me: when someone writes a post about text-to-video replacing consumer-facing Nike ads with real NBA stars is disingenuous.

I'm laughing tat my desk right now b/c there are so many layers to this latest LinkedIn grift:

AI Overhype + Stolen Content + "Fire Everyone" Hook

- Marketer & massive NBA fan

388k people have watched my TikTok about why a brand backed by the Paul Brothers, Mr. Beast, and other massive influencers is totally failing.

Here are the spark notes for why I believe the sales are so underwhelming:

1. If your positioning is wrong, nothing else matters. It's a shaky foundation. Better ads, more spend, bigger influencers...none of it will fix a broken core message.

2. Celebrity without trust doesn't worked like it used to work. People are smarter now, and they value authenticity over pure celebrity influence.

3. You can't do problem-based marketing when the problem is an insecurity nobody thinks they actually have.

Follow me on TikTok for more breakdowns like this. Link in comments.

A 9-figure brand I've been studying is driving 50M+ organic TikTok views a month with this wild new growth strategy. 

Horizontal scaling through organic TikTok carousels.

Here's what they figured out:

They / one of their partners own dozens, maybe hundreds of TikTok accounts. Not branded accounts. Third-party accounts about topics adjacent to their product.

Each account posts 5-10 times per day. Faceless slideshow content. Educational. Entertaining. No hard sells.

The product shows up on slide 4 or 5. So it's super subtle selling.

Heard they're getting sub-$4 CPMs on organic reach. That's lower than TikTok ads. Way lower than Meta.

The impression quality may even be higher because people are actually engaged with the content. Not skipping an ad.

Honestly I almost didn't write this post. This feels like a real short-term arbitrage window. But most people reading this won't take any action anyway. 

So here's how it works, step-by-step:

1. Creative strategy matters.
If you sell toothpaste, you don't make 20 toothpaste accounts. You make accounts about fresh breath facts. Dentist tips. Dating advice. Morning routines.
Spread the themes across anything adjacent to your vertical.

2. Then you need a content engine.
Use Claude to write carousel prompts at scale. Tools like GenViral and Reelfarm help with templates and posting across accounts. For your product shots, use Nanobanana Pro to generate realistic lifestyle images.

3. Account warming is real.
New accounts posting aggressively get banned. There's a process to warm them up. You can also buy pre-warmed accounts in Discord communities if you want a head start.

This solves the linear / declining growth problem I keep seeing with brands stuck on the Meta hamster wheel. 

This is massive short-term arbitrage that every 8 & 9-figure brand should be exploring for 2026. 

Want the full 11-minute video breakdown?

- Like this post
- Comment "TikTok"
- Make sure we're connected so I can DM you

Certified Clay Expert & Agency owner | I'll help you build a scalable outbound engine that gets meetings booked on autopilot in the next 180 days | Visit Youtube: @growth-today to see how

Growth shouldn’t feel random.

Most of the B2B companies hit the same walls:
Inbound leads that don’t convert

Outbound that burns reps out without results

Partnerships that look good on paper but never drive pipeline

A CRM full of noise instead of reliable data


I’ve seen it across founders, sales leaders, and marketing teams. The problem isn’t effort, it’s the lack of a repeatable, scalable GTM system.
That’s what we build at Growth Today.

Instead of disconnected tools or random campaigns, we design and implement repeatable GTM engines across sales, marketing, and partnerships that…

✅ Enrich and qualify data
✅ Activate inbound leads into real opportunities
✅ Automate outbound prospecting
✅ Keep CRMs clean and reliable
✅ Orchestrate multi-channel campaigns
✅ Make BDR teams more effective or fully replace them
✅ Align marketing + partnerships with sales for compounding growth

Recent wins:

 → Built a clean, automated CRM that doubled conversion rates
 → Launched a content-driven demand gen engine that 3x’d inbound lead quality
 → Systematized partner outreach → pipeline from alliances grew 40% in 6 months

Growth doesn’t come from more outreach or more tools.
It comes from building the right system once and scaling it.
If you’re a B2B founder or revenue leader serious about building predictable pipeline, let’s connect.

Book your call: https://calendly.com/growth-today/intro-meeting

Brigitta Ruha

We've run 200+ GTM experiments in the last 18 months and I'm giving away the exact 30-day testing playbook that helped us start growing.

If your GTM team is treating growth like a strategy problem.

Tell them… It's a lab problem.

30 experiments, 30 days, and zero bullshit.

Here's everything what you'll get 👇

✅ System & outbound tests we use to lift reply rates

✅ Messaging experiments that show what actually resonates

✅ Enablement rituals that help your team in learning

✅ Human-first GTM moves that protect your pipeline

Some flopped and some 3x'd our results overnight

But the difference is that we actually ran them

Here's how to get it 👇

1️⃣ Like this post 

2️⃣ Comment "EXPERIMENT" 

3️⃣ Follow me so I can DM you the resource

♻️ Repost this to help other GTM leaders stop wasting time on guesswork

Co-Founder @Growth Today | We Build Repeatable GTM Engines Across Sales, Marketing & Partnerships 🚀

if my first startup didn’t fail… ⚡️

I’d never gone through lots of shit 😬 BUT:

looking back, it had to happen. It changed my whole path (in ways I could never imagine).

🎢 BECAUSE my first business failed, I:

– saw a massive gap in how to actually run GTM funnels (ads, outbound, content, cold calls)

– was SO done with the fast that how “Revenue Operations” was always about collecting, not using, data for growth

– built resilience, wall after wall

– realized what my real strengths are (wasn’t what I thought at first)

– started prioritizing mental and physical health first

– learned to trust my intuition waaay more (Clay was a 15-person team when I first talked to Varun, Bruno. Now look at it.)

– Now get to grow businesses with the best team around

– Build something sustainable, where the goal is to EMPOWER people, not just “solve problems”

– Watch my team and our clients actually connect

– Give my team a real sense of purpose-work with meaning, not just a job

– Live one of my best adventures yet 🥹

Or as Steve Jobs would say: we can only connect the dots backwards. ✨

Those “dots”-all the mess, the lessons, the pivots - are what make us stand out.

And I LOVE that we help people turn those dots into a real advantage at Growth Today

👉 turning dots into a competitive advantage and something meaningful.

... turning five years of building, running, and scaling GTM channels. Marketing, partnerships, sales. (AI is just the start.)

We build growth engines. We don’t do “lead gen.” (Hate that word, btw.)

I wanted to share this because LinkedIn is full of shiny wins and drama posts.

we ALL have tough days. we ALL fail.

sometimes hard, sometimes less.

but isn’t it about what we make out of those fails?

the “what ifs” will always be there....

hope that’s the sign someone needed today - you’re exactly where you need to be.
(even if it doesn’t feel like it yet)

🙋‍♂️ aaand if you wanna share your take on this would love to hear - maybe some more “fails” turned into lessons.

🙋‍♀️ and if you're looking for a place (not just a job) where you can own real things and work with purpose, shoot us an email. We’re hiring CSMs, SDRs/AEs, BizOps.

Repost if you think somebody should hear this 🥺

React if you can resonate ❤️

#personaldevelopment
#mentalhealth

The #1 reason top reps close more deals?

They know when to stop.

Not stop caring.

Not stop trying.

Just… stop grinding themselves into dust 😅

Here’s what I’ve noticed:

Average reps stay in hustle mode 24/7.

Top reps go hard when it matters —

and then they actually unplug.

Because in sales, your energy is your edge.

You can’t run sharp discovery calls when you’re running on fumes.

Top reps protect their energy the same way they protect their quota.

They show up fully - then they close the laptop, touch some grass, and recharge so they can do it again tomorrow.

Hustle matters.

But knowing when to stop?

That’s a real competitive advantage.

That instant close they're celebrating?

It took them 2 months of mess to get there

You see the LinkedIn post: "Just closed our biggest deal! 🎉"

One great call and boom… done.

But this is what you don't see:

→ 14 cold emails that got ignored

→ 4 data enrichment loops to find the right contact

→ 3 messaging angles that completely flopped

→ 1 operator juggling 7 different tools

→ 2 months of consistent follow-ups before they finally replied

It's messy, manual, and honestly? not glamorous at all

And all the complexity only works when you master the basics

The tools help you scale, but the foundation gets you close.

The best outbound isn't the most automated, it is most human.

You don’t need more AI tools, you need the ones that help you fill the pipeline

These 6 made it to my ‘never launch without’ list 👇

Icypeas 
Find accurate emails fast, no more guessing games

Clay 
Hyper-targeted enrichment + AI-crafted outreach

BounceBan (Verify risky emails without sending messages)
Scale without hitting spam hell

EmailGuard
Warm up your inbox before launch

Ghost
Writes better, faster, smarter, and built for outbound

Attio
Because data > gut feelings

Instantly.ai
Where follow-ups stop slipping through the cracks

Each one saves me hours every week and together

If you’ve got an AI tool that helps you sell smarter not louder… drop it below 👇

If your sales content isn't working on LinkedIn, it's probably not your fault.

Most of us create content the way we are taught:

- Share insights
- post case studies
- Talk about the product

Sounds right, doesn’t it?

Except... prospects aren't engaging. and the pipeline isn't moving.

The thing is that… instead of posting more, we need to post in a smarter way

Different content types drive different outcomes: →

- Some build awareness but won't book meetings) 
- Some spark conversations (hello, pipeline 👋
- Some establish credibility

So, what do we do now?

Stop creating content that looks good and start creating content that starts conversations

Your prospects are on LinkedIn, they're scrolling, learning, and looking for solutions

The question is… are you showing up in a way that makes them want to talk to you?

Hope it helps 💪

12 months, 1 system and a Human-first GTM.

Want to build a human-first GTM system in 2026?

Here's your 12-month roadmap

Most GTM systems fail because they're built for metrics, not humans. This one's different.

We designed this as a step-by-step plan to help you build a system that actually works for your team and your buyers.

✅ Q1: Audit, define, design

✅ Q2: Launch experiments, automate smart, test your co-pilot 

✅ Q3: Make it sustainable, refine what works, align your team 

✅ Q4: Codify learnings, scale intelligently, review & evolve

A simple and clear plan you can actually follow.

Save it, or share it with your team. ♻️

And if you try even one month of this, let me know how it goes. I'm here for the messy progress stories. 😅

this is why I never complain about Google and Microsoft ⚡️

I want to understand it, here’s how.

What is detected as spam is constantly evolving.

After all the research and constant analysis (with some of our clients sending 738,000 emails/mo (LOVE IT)), I realized it always comes down to one thing:

having a clear strategy (whether you’re using email for marketing or sales use cases) + email infrastructure health.

Without regularly running tests against spam (on copy, domain, the inbox itself, and comparing against the reply rates), we’re just sending emails that might or might not connect with our goals.... or in the inbox 🙃

Therefore, we always start with... Which audience you’re going to reach out to first? Have you done this before? 👀

It’s simple but so powerful.

here’s what to include:

→ Match the inbox type. Analyze if your prospects use Google, Microsoft, or something custom. Send from what matches.

→ Audience: cold vs. warm? Different rules, different plays.

→ Sequencing Maybe you need 4 touchpoints. Maybe 17. Match to the buyer, not a random best practice.

→ Nail your offer + USP. Give something they want to grab. 

• Agency? Share your best ad swipe file. 
• SaaS? Drop a pre-built automation flow. 
• AI? Offer a free workshop or a ready-to-go agent.

What doesn't build trust? 

- Asking them to visit a landing page with no real/unclear value. 
- Workflow builders for execs (they’ll never use it, the manager will do)

aaand the cooooolest thing is, we use an AI agent for coming up with these at Growth Today (Seriously, I don’t even have to think of the different offers)✨

Any other Google/Microsoft/spam love-hate relationship stories or experiences?

P.S. Google and Microsoft shut down old domains and inboxes, too. If your response rate dropped these past weeks, and your partner didn't tell you this, talk to us. We can save you:)

Find it useful? 
Repost 🔄 
Like it? React 👍 

Want more tips on outbound? Hit the 🔔 on my profile

I've saved 60 conversation starters that actually get replies.

Because "just following up" doesn't count 👀

Here's the thing:

Your outbound fails because most messages sound like... every other message.

→ ‘Just circling back on this...’
→ 'Wanted to bump this up in your inbox...

These don't start conversations, they ask for favors

And honestly… most of us have done this

That's why I put this together 👇

60 Conversation Starters for Outbound

A collection of real lines you can use for…

✅ Re-engaging cold threads without being desperate

✅ Warming up lukewarm leads

✅ Starting fresh conversations that don't feel pitchy

✅ Following up in ways people appreciate

✅ Nudging decisions respectfully

✅ Reaching execs without wasting their time

Each starter includes:

→ Why it works
→ When to use it
→ The psychology behind it

Want access to the full resource?

Comment 'CONVO' and I'll send it over.

(Make sure we are connected 😀)

P.S. Follow Brigitta Ruha for more actionable outbound knowledge

Your lead gen is keeping you broke

Harsh? maybe. True? probably 😅 

But here’s the plot twist — it’s not your fault.

You’re not doing it “wrong.”

Your emails aren’t terrible.

You’re just missing the ingredients that make people actually care.

We’ve talked to hundreds of teams this year, and honestly…

every single one said the same thing:

→ “Our outreach gets ignored”

→ “Reply rates are bad”

→ “We send 1,000 emails and get 3 meetings”

And you know what they all had in common?

They were running 2019 playbooks in 2025.

Good intentions, outdated systems.

You can send generic emails forever —

but you’ll never build a pipeline that feels predictable this way.

So we put something together to make life easier:

6 things your lead gen needs in 2026.

(Think of it as: “Why buyers aren’t replying” → solved.)

Swipe the carousel, pick one thing, and test it this week.

Small tweaks → big movement.

Let’s make lead gen feel less like gambling and more like a system 🙌

P.S. Which one are you trying first? Curious to hear 👇

IF YOUR LEAD GEN IS KEEPING YOU BROKE

If your pipeline strategy fits into a tweet…

it’s probably not a strategy 😅

I get why we chase quick fixes.

One magic channel, or one AI tool that’ll hack your market without having to put in the work.

Sounds good, doesn’t work.

Here’s the part people usually skip:

The real pipeline gets built in the boring middle

the messy work between “send more emails” and “add another tool.”

Nobody glamorizes that part, but it’s exactly where everything changes.

So I put together a quick cheatsheet to show the real difference between:

What people think pipeline building is

vs.

What it actually looks like when it works

Is it more effort than a tweet-sized hack?

Yeah.

Does it actually build a predictable pipeline?

Also yeah.

If you’re tired of advice that sounds smart but doesn’t move the needle,

save this, it’ll make next quarter a lot easier 😉

Your team doesn't resist experimentation

They resist your approach to it.

Here's what I used to do,

Drop a "let's test this!" with zero context, expect everyone to just... get excited? 

Then they used to drag their feet

The problem wasn't my team… It was me thinking experimentation is just mechanical.

Experimentation needs structure and clarity. Otherwise, It just feels like more work piled on top of everything else

So here's how we do it now

Step 1: Create Safety Before Speed

If people fear failure, they'll never test. Make it clear.

Step 2: Start with Micro-Experiments

Don't drop a new GTM framework overnight. Pick one workflow, one segment, one channel.

Step 3: Show the Data, Not the Drama

Teams trust numbers more than slogans. Visualize impact and let results do the talking

Step 4: Close the Loop, Together

Review tests as a team. What did we learn? What do we keep? What do we kill?

This way experiments do not feel like solo projects

So if your team groans when you pitch a test... ask yourself… 

Am I making this easy enough to say yes to?

20 campaigns. 4 categories. 1 framework that actually makes sense.

I sketched this out because I kept seeing GTM teams run the same 3 plays on repeat 😅

Different quarter… same ideas… same outcomes.

So here’s the full map — every campaign worth testing in 2026:

Awareness stuff → get on their radar before you ever need anything

Conversion stuff → turn “hmm interesting” into “let’s talk”

Signal-driven plays → show up when the timing finally makes sense

The messy middle → the unglamorous workhorses that actually move pipeline

And here’s the part most people overthink:

You don’t need all 20 running.

Pick 3–5 that match where your buyers are right now.

Run them.

Watch what moves.

Kill what doesn’t.

That’s it.

Simple usually works best 💪

So… which one are you betting on this quarter?

P.S. Save this for the next time someone asks,

“What campaigns should we be running?”

You’ll look like the calmest person in the room.

taplio

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The Battle

Jake Abrams

Brigitta Ruha

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jake Abrams's LinkedIn Performance

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