What's up,
LinkedIn is feeling quiet. Out of office replies are on. If I've caught you between vacation or lounging on a sunny patio, you're probably sitting blue-lipped in an air conditioned office. Ah yes, summer is here.
The first half of the year always feels like a sprint, so I usually spend these quiet months checking in with myself and making adjustments to those January intentions. Where am I at? Am I making progress? Do I need to shift focus? And beyond personal reflection, I’m getting curious about what other marketers are seeing that I might be missing.
Part of the beauty of being in a community is having those conversations that help us grow and see things from new perspectives. So, I asked three brilliant marketers in the Growclass community to share their honest thoughts on what shifts they're seeing, how they're adapting, and what they're focused on for the rest of 2025.
Ivin Thomas, Content Marketer & Copywriter
Like most areas of marketing, the creative industry is evolving fast. With tools like ChatGPT and Claude, barriers are low, volume is up, attention spans are lower, and noise is louder.
Instead of using AI to generate content, Ivin uses AI tools as a thinking partner to bolster brainstorming sessions and get past blank page paralysis. He's also grounding into the fundamentals by reading copywriting classics like Scientific Advertising and The Boron Letters.
What feels important for Ivin right now? Retaining a strong sense of self in the work and trying not to feel too overwhelmed with AI. "Our humanity and unique perspectives bring authenticity and value to our work," he says.
His goal for the rest of the year is scaling his fractional consulting work and linking up with other Growclass marketers on multi-disciplinary projects—collaboration that's opened new doors for visibility, friendships, and learning.
Justin Reed, Paid Ads Specialist
For Justin, the most glaring change in paid ads is that customers have become far more cautious with spending. He sees three spending categories: food, shelter, and everything else. If brands want to make it into that third category, they absolutely must offer real value.
The problem? Most advertisers are focused on quantity over quality, creating hundreds of new AI ads each week to find a winner. Justin's taking a different approach by getting granular about customer research and segmentation, building ad creative that speaks to specific customers, not broad personas.
His approach is rooted in trust and consistency. "The only way I can convince a customer to buy—and buy again—is to make a promise we can keep, and really deliver on that promise."
He's spending the rest of the year focused on video ads that sell through relatable storytelling, highlighting universal problems and delivering lasting performance months or years after launch.
Brendan Hufford, SEO Expert and Founder of Growth Sprints
SEO has changed dramatically in the last six months. The key shift Brendan's seen? Organic traffic has taken a big hit, and even optimized websites are seeing fewer clicks from Google.
To adapt, he's focused on building content that does more than rank—content that's valuable across the entire customer journey. Any content needs to answer key questions: Can we use it in cold outbound? Would customers want to read it in a newsletter? Does it help activate inactive customers? Can it be pitched to PR outlets?
"Distribution is still important, but now is the time to diversify content impact," he explains. His advice? "Talk to your 3S teams—sales, success, support—and make sure it's valuable for them, too."
Regardless of discipline, one theme stands out: For the rest of 2025, marketers are focused on staying grounded to what connects us.
I'd love to know what you're focused on right now—so I welcome you to reply and let me know.
Don't be a stranger!
Ines
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