940: 10 Marketing Predictions for 2026 (That Won't Make You Want to Quit)

27:20And no shade to extroverts. If you're listening to this and you're like, well, wait, what about me? I think even extroverts are tired right now. Like this whole, I was on, I was visible, I was performing model. It is not sustainable for anybody who has a nervous system. And I recently heard a quote where it was just something like true success is a balanced and regulated nervous system. And I couldn't agree more. Like I am not someone who wants to be on camera every day. In fact, I like hate being on camera. I batch when I need to get ready. And my kids will know when I have to be on camera because I'll sit at the breakfast table with them and do my makeup next to them.

27:53And they'll be like, what are you recording today? And it's just not in my DNA. I don't want to be accessible 24 seven. I don't want to be on camera. I don't want to have to show up. And for years, I thought that that made me less of an entrepreneur, right? Right back into the guilt and shame cycle that that was just not how I wanted to show up. But then I recognized like, wait a minute, behind the scenes, like how I operate, I can build systems. Like my business has been rinse and repeat for years and years. And I've built it in such a way that I don't have to show up. I don't always have to show my face.

28:23There are so many different weeks where I just get to work behind the scenes in the ways that I love. And so I built evergreen courses. I built out email sequences. I've rocked Pinterest that's working while I sleep. And I've realized that you can build a massive business from your couch in a small town, just like me, in your pajamas, if you build it right. Like there are no factors that keep you from doing this. And so this idea of designing a business that fits your wiring is the next era. It is the way that people will stay in business. It is the way that people will attract the right people.

28:55It is the way that we will save ourselves from burnout. And so if something like live launches makes you want to vomit, guess what? Don't do them. then build evergreen funnels instead or if daily instagram stories drain you post once a week and focus on your email list if you're somebody who hates networking events build relationships slowly through your content or have a podcast and invite your mentors or peers or your idols onto it it's no longer about who can show up the most it's about who can build systems that serve people whether you're online or not and so what i love about what i see is this next era is that we're actually remembering that there's more than one way to be successful and powerful.

29:32And that quiet can actually be as impactful or even I'd argue more impactful than being loud. And when we tend to what matters behind the scenes, and we see it just as valuable as being visible all the time, we build a business that supports the way that we want to show up in our lives. And so if this one hits you deep, what I want you to do is identify one performance area of your business that is absolutely positively draining you. Maybe it's going live every week. Maybe it's hosting coaching calls. Maybe it's being available in your DMs. And ask yourself, is there a way to create a system around this?

30:09Is there a way to automate it? Is there a way to use AI for it? Is there a way to do this differently in a way that actually honors my specific energy while also sharing my heart? Because visibility is valuable, yes. But what I would argue beyond that is sustainability is priceless. Okay, number six, being searchable versus being sociable. So as AI search continues to explode and as social media algorithms become increasingly unpredictable, being searchable is going to matter so much more than being likable to an algorithm. When you think about this, think about this for a minute. Viral is a moment, searchable is forever.

30:54Let me just illustrate this for you. So let's say you spent an hour on a reel and it gets seen for maybe 48 hours, if you're lucky, to be honest. That is going to be less important than the content that is still getting seen, found, and working for you in the future. Like that blog post you wrote two years ago, that is still bringing you leads every week. Or that podcast episode from 2023 that someone just discovered and led them to buy your offer, right? And so when we start to actually stack up our efforts, the algorithms and real results, we start to see that we can get much bigger results if we're spending our time in a little bit different way.

31:32And when we focus on things like being searchable versus being sociable, it changes how we show up. This is the power of search focused content because here's what happens. It compounds, right? Your Instagram posts from last month are essentially dead. they're probably not doing much for you. But a YouTube video, a blog, a Pinterest pin, a podcast episode, those keep working. That is the work that I've literally dedicated my life to is work that can keep working for me because I'm so sick of one and done churn and burn type content. And so when you think about search, the platforms that prioritize search, Google, YouTube, Pinterest, podcast apps and then ai as well and when you think about those and how you can prioritize them they become more valuable than the ones that prioritize recency and this is why again pinterest is a hill that i will die on this is why podcasting has staying power to me this is why blogs the thing that i literally started a free wordpress blog way back in 2011 still matter today is because you're not just creating for today.

32:41You're creating for the person who searches your topic six months from now and finds exactly what they need and gets led down the path to getting to know you more and working with you. Now, I started with a$300 Craigslist camera and learned early that the work that lasts is the work that serves, not the work that performs, not the work that looks shiny. Like when you create with service at the center, search engines will literally reward that. Your results will compound. People will reward that because they're searching for it. Time rewards that. Like when I picture the little emoji of the report with like the graph going up, that little red line, that is what search does.

33:18And so just think about how you can focus on staying power and being found through search. So if this one is one that is like, boom, baby, let's go. Here's what I want for you to consider. Write one SEO optimized post this month. I love blogs. Blogging is not dead at all. Answer the question that your ideal client asks the most, like actually create something from the goodness of your heart that serves the people you are dying to work with. Use the words that they actually say, make it comprehensive and then link to it everywhere. Like that one post can literally bring you clients for years. And so stop optimizing for the algorithm that literally is changing week by week and start optimizing for the person who's searching for help at 2 a.m.

34:02B, the answer they find, it will shift the way that you create and it'll shift the way that you're found. Okay, so this one, number seven, is actually in partnership with Pinterest. I'm a Pinterest educator and they sent us the 2026 Pinterest predicts trends report before it came out to the world. So essentially every year, Pinterest puts together this report where they analyze billions, that's billions with a B, of data points and they spot emerging patterns and trends. And then what they do is they curate the results and share their predictions on what will be trending. And one trend that I thought was so interesting is Pinterest is showing us that something called poet core is rising.

34:38So essentially, people are searching for the poet aesthetic. Think like cape outfits and satchel bags and fountain pens. And then they're channeling their inner protagonist with oversized turtlenecks and vintage blazers. And honestly, I am here for it. This is people wanting permission to be complex and literary and thoughtful, like not just one thing. And the advice to niche down has made so many of us feel like we have to hide parts of ourselves in order to be taken seriously. I have absolutely fallen prey to this. I've had this thought of like, you have to be one thing and only one thing, and you cannot change or evolve.

35:13Like somehow our range will make us less credible. And so what I'm excited about is I feel like the market is rewarding people who span expertise, not people who are aiming to shrink it. Like the most interesting businesses exist at intersections. I'm talking like business plus wellness, marketing plus motherhood, strategy plus spirituality. Your different interests are not diluting your brand. They are defining it. And so the fact that you care about email marketing and mental health, like that doesn't have to be confusing. That is your unique positioning. The fact that I teach Pinterest strategy, and I also talk about being a mom in a small town, That's what makes me me.

35:51That's what connects me to you, right? And the more that we look at buyer behavior, the more we understand people don't buy from categories, they buy from people. And being a human is a complex experience. It's multidimensional. Things get interesting because of their range, not in spite of it. I used to think that I had to choose between like the business strategist and the homesteader, right? Or between the podcaster and the mom, between the marketing teacher and the woman who volunteers at the soup kitchen with my grandpa. Those are not separate identities, they're the full picture. And the full picture is what creates real connection.

36:25Okay, if this one is hitting you deep, here's what I want for you to do. Write down something that sits at the intersection of two things you care about that maybe you thought or you were told were off-brand for you. Whether it's marketing lessons from your garden, or business strategy from your therapy sessions, or productivity tips from your spiritual practice. If you need some extra inspiration in finding what that intersection might be, the Pinterest predicts trends are out now. And honestly, it's a goldmine of niches and data that people are actively searching for. Find the spaces where you're answering their questions, or you can provide them what they need and lean on in.

37:01The riches aren't in the niches anymore. And I think I've known that all along. But again, I've fallen prey to the conditioning and programming. Because if you go back to my roots, the JK5 roots of picking five different categories and showcasing them and sharing them. I think I've always known we have to show up as our full selves. We have to be the complicated, beautiful, curious humans we are. But I want us to feel more free in showing the intersections and the overlaps, the U-shaped space that no one else can fill because no one else is you. And so I'm just excited that I feel like the movement is happening and that we can all be the full expressions of who we are and what we care about.

37:41All right, number eight. This is a theme on our podcast and something I'm excited to call out. Rest is a competitive advantage. Okay, so hear me out. Burnout is finally getting the rep that it needs, which is being recognized as bad business. Okay? The always-on entrepreneur, when I see content, because there are still a lot of them where they're like, yeah, I have no hobbies and I work all the time and I work 24-7 and that's the life I'm choosing. The always-on entrepreneur is becoming a cautionary tale. At least for me, it's not looking like a success story. It actually makes me really freaking sad.

38:16One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is I see a lot of people preaching, slowing down, but I also have the honor and privilege of seeing behind the scenes and they are doing the opposite of it. They are working through the weekend. They are working nights. They are missing time with their families. And like, I do not subscribe to that. Like when I I look at the through line of everything I've ever done and everything I've ever taught. It's to get you back your time, not to work more, but to live more. And so the people your audience will watch win in the next few years are the ones that have boundaries that see that boundaries aren't things that keep opportunities and people out of your life.

38:53They keep you in your life. Boundaries are these perimeters around what's sacred in your life. I am a girl of boundaries. And so when I look at all of this and I think about it, like we have all been sold a freaking lie. we have been sold this lie that success requires suffering that if you're not exhausted you're not working hard enough that rest is something you have to earn after you make it it's not something you need to make it at all and there have been stages of my entrepreneurial journey where I've absolutely fallen prey to this really it was the early days when I recognized whoa this is not successful to me this does not feel successful this is not sustainable there were times in the early days of my entrepreneurial journey where I wore burnout like a badge of honor like I loved being busy.

39:35I worked around the clock. And I've realized that hustle is often required to get the dream off the ground. I'm not going to lie. It takes a lot of grit, tenacity. It takes, you know, borrowing belief from others to really go for it. Hustle is often a requirement to get it going. But if hustle is the only way to sustain it, I would argue that whatever it is that you're trying to sustain, that might not be the dream after all, right? And so I have learned something radical that rest isn't the opposite of productivity. It's the foundation of it. And so if this is resonating, I want for you to go back to an episode that was recent and it's the relaxed woman revolution, redefining success without the stress.

40:13And I want for you to go to listen to that. And I want for you to learn more about why rest feels so hard for women, why female entrepreneurs in particular struggle to like turn it off. And then I want for you to hear about like the practical rituals and strategies that we can finally use to make peace with this idea of rest. So I'm going to link that for you in the show notes. It's a phenomenal episode. But when I look into the future, the businesses that survive the next decade are not going to be the ones built on adrenaline and caffeine. They're going to be the ones built for the long run, for endurance, for the founder who's still excited about her work 10 years in because she's never burned the whole thing down.

40:51I want you to hear your nervous system is your most important business asset, not your email list, even though I want to say that, not your audience size. It's your ability to regulate. It's your ability to recover. It's your ability to step back up, to come back to your work with fresh eyes and full energy. And the entrepreneurs with boundaries are going to outlast and outperform the ones without them. Not because they worked harder, but because they worked smarter, because they built something sustainable. What's been interesting for me is I have been alcohol three for three years now. And it's something my daughter was asking me something about alcohol.

41:24And I realized that like, she will never remember a version of me who drank. And what I've learned in that clarity for me is that a lot of times we find different ways to cope and numb ourselves to get through business models that were never meant to be sustained. Maybe it's not alcohol, maybe it's food, or maybe it's other alternatives. But I think a lot of times we've been medicating symptoms that don't work for us instead of looking at how do we change a system? Like, what if the business itself could be the healing? What if rest was woven into the fabric of how we work, not something that we collapse into when we've given everything away.

41:57And so if this one is speaking to you, I want for you to look at your month, the next month you have, and consider blocking off one non-negotiable rest boundary. So maybe it's no meetings on Fridays, if you have that flexibility. Maybe it's weekends completely logged off of social media. Maybe it's a hard stop at 3 p.m. or not cracking your laptop open again at night. Whatever that is, protect it like you would protect a client call because it's more important than a client call. It's the thing that makes the client calls possible, right? And so just remember, you're not a machine. You cannot outpour what you do not have.

42:32And the businesses built on depletion are going to collapse. Rest is not selfish. I'm going to argue it's strategic, especially as we move into the future. When I think back to when I bought my first little Craigslist camera, I had no clue that it would change my entire life. Like I didn't have this big plan. I just took the first tiny step. and that's what the new year is for, a clean slate, a chance to finally start that business idea that won't leave you alone. If 2026 is your year to launch, Shopify makes it feel doable. You can sell online or in person and they give you everything you need to get moving.

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43:48All right, number nine, community over audience. There is a shift happening and the shift is not looking at how many followers you have, but how many people actually care about what you have to say. It's kind of this idea, like instead of broadcasting your ideas and your offers out into the world, it's the shift from broadcasting to belonging, from trying to go viral to building something that actually lasts. And maybe you felt it already. I think there's a lot of hollowness online, especially when you hit different milestones and you're like, wow, this is great, but nobody's even paying attention.

44:21Or maybe you've built something or you've posted something that you're so proud of and then you watch it just get buried and nobody actually enjoys it. Or maybe you've recognized like, hey, I don't even own this. I can't control it. Like I am literally building my dreams on rented space. I will argue that depth is going to overcome with. And I think that is one of the most exciting things, especially for heart led entrepreneurs. thinking about things like 10 engaged people in a private community is going to be and feel more valuable than 10 ,000 passive followers on social because those 10 people they're going to show up and they're going to buy and they're going to refer and they're going to stick around when the platform changes or dies or pivots or whatever comes next and so when I think about ownership and assets and I think about depth and not with I think about the different means that we can do those things like email lists and memberships private communities those are going to be your insurance policies into the future.

45:12Like when Instagram changes the algorithm again, and it will, your email list doesn't care. Or if TikTok gets banned, who knows? Your membership keeps running. When the next shiny platform launches and everyone panics about being early, you can opt out because you own your audience. And so this is about building relationships that you can control. Spaces where your voice isn't competing or trying to like scream and be heard, where people are choosing and opting in to be there where depth is actually possible. So, I mean, I've helped thousands upon thousands of people build their businesses. And the ones that I've gotten to witness that last, they are the ones who have prioritized connection over clout.

45:52They are the people who have built communities that actually feel like gathering spaces, not megaphones. They're people that are deeply nurturing and they're creating these containers where people feel seen and heard and held. And to me, I would argue that is a work that matters and that is more meaningful. And so this one is the one that you're like, yep, sign me up. I want for you to create one insider only experience this quarter. Maybe it's early access to something, exclusive content, a private group, an exclusive email, like whatever that looks like. Something that makes your most engaged people feel like VIPs.

46:24Because when you treat them like they are, they will show up for you. They are the ones that matter. And so in a recent episode called survive and thrive why collaboration is the new secret weapon for business owners this episode can really help you with tangible ways to build community and collaborate with others this is one that i love and i am taking notes from and i'm building out what we talk about in this episode because i just think it's brilliant and so i just want you to remember loyal beats loud every single time so stop counting your followers and start counting your true fans like the ones who would be disappointed if you disappeared those are your people, build for them.

47:04All right, last but not least, number 10, the portfolio business model. Okay, so the era of having one signature offer one way, I'm going to argue is over. The women who are building sustainable businesses are building ecosystems. A course plus a membership, plus affiliate income, plus maybe a small service component, not because they're hustling, right? don't hear this as like more, more, more, but because they're diversifying. Relying on one income stream is absolutely terrifying in the world that we're living in. And you would know this if you've ever had a launch flop or you've lost an affiliate partnership or you've had a platform change tank your reach.

47:43When everything depends on one thing working, the pressure is absolutely paralyzing. But when you have multiple smaller streams feeding into one river, you can breathe. Like one thing can slow down. It's not going to break you. You have options. You have choice. You have flexibility. You have sustainability. Again, this isn't about doing more. It's about building smarter. It's about creating offers at different price points so that everyone can work with you at the level that makes sense for them. And it's not about like leaving money on the table because you only have this one entry point. Maybe you have a course for DIYers and then you have a membership for ongoing support.

48:20And then maybe you have a small group coaching program for people who want and need more attention. And then you promote affiliate products you genuinely love. Each stream is manageable, but together they create stability. I have had a quote, boring business that is so reliable, so sustainable, and so stable because of this idea. And so when I think about my life, I've joked that I've eliminated chaos from my life because of this stability. I run a multi seven figure business from my home, from Duluth, Minnesota. I have chickens and bees and gardens and foster dogs. I have daughters who are in school.

48:53And part of the reason why I can do all of that is because I have built multiple revenue streams over the years that do not require me to show up live, right? Going back to the introvert in me, like I have built this up in a way that supports my life, my rhythms, my energy. Some months, the course does well. Other months, affiliates carry more weight. The podcast provides steady income. It all works together. It all supports a life that I want to live. So if this is exciting to you, consider how you can add one low lift revenue stream this year. Maybe it's an affiliate partnership with something you already use and recommend.

49:26Maybe it's a small digital offer. Maybe it's a group offer instead of a one-on-one. Pick one thing that diversifies without overwhelming you because stability does not have to come from one perfect offer. It comes from multiple legs. Build a business that can withstand a storm because storms are going to come, but I want for you to be prepared. Wow, we made it through the 10. Now I want you to know these predictions aren't really about like marketing tactics, right? They're about a philosophical shift, something I'm sensing, something I'm seeing. It's this move away from hustle and a move towards sustainability.

50:02And believe me when I say I can absolutely get behind this. Like, let's move away from performance. Let's step into presence. Let's move away from doing it all. Let's move towards doing what matters. This is the future I want for you. This is the future I want for me, for all of us. A future where you can actually build something significant without losing your mind, without sacrificing your sanity. Where your business serves your life instead of consumes it. Where your success is measured not just by revenue but by how you feel at the end of the day when you go to rest your head, by whether you made it to dinner with your family, by whether you still like yourself when you look in the mirror.

50:39The women building businesses right now have this opportunity to do it so much differently than it's been done before. We have this invitation to reject models that broke the generation before us to create something so much more humane, more sustainable, more alive with the lives that we actually want to live and enjoy living. This isn't about building better businesses. It's about building a better world because when women build businesses that honor rest, that prioritize presence, that value community over competition, we are not just changing our own lives. We're changing the paradigm. We are showing the next generation that there is another way and you can choose it.

51:18Now, let me remind you, you do not have to implement all 10 of these. I know the perfectionist in you wants to get straight to work. Pick two or three that made you exhale, that felt like just gold in your soul. The ones that feel like the permission you've been waiting for, the ones that align with where you're headed, not where someone else thinks you should be going. Okay. The future does not belong to the people doing everything. It belongs to the people who have figured out what matters and built their entire business around that. Let me just remind you, you're not behind. You're not missing anything.

51:51You're right on time. Welcome to what's next. And thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Gold Digger Podcast. Thanks for listening to the Gold Digger Podcast. I hope today left you inspired and equipped with something you can put into action as you build a business that truly supports your life. If this episode resonated with you, here's how you can help the show reach even more entrepreneurs. Hit follow, share it with a friend who's building something meaningful. And if you're feeling generous, leave us a review. Those reviews help other listeners discover these conversations when they need them the most.

52:25This show has become so much more than I ever imagined. and it's because of listeners like you who show up and share. You are helping build something that will inspire entrepreneurs for years to come. For show notes, links, and resources, head to golddiggerpodcast.com. Keep digging your biggest goals. The world needs what you're building.