Hey there,

I’ve been talking to a lot of folks recently about end-of-year planning and holiday campaigns (peep the Insight section for more!) which always reminds me how fast time flies. Anyone else feel like this year is zooming by? Just me?

🌟 Today’s Highlights 🌟

• Every Google Ads user should jump on AI Demand Gen ads

• How to become a LinkedIn Top Voice

• Insight: Your guide to 2023 holiday ad campaigns [Data]

🤯 Why I’ve vowed to never run a marketing agency search again!

I’ve hired dozens of marketing agencies, both as a fractional CMO for my coaching clients and for my own companies. The process always sucks! They won’t let us do proper vetting, we have to spend hours listening to the same pitches over and over again, and timing is never on our side.

Well, I recently discovered Vendry. They conduct the entire agency search for you from start to finish, they also:

• Intro you to top performing agencies in your industry

• Gather and vet proposals on your behalf

• Save you 20+ hours on “get to know you calls”

Oh, did I mention Vendry is free?! They only make money from their vetted agency partners if you end up hiring them, so they are incentivized to find you the perfect match. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this before!

⚡️Today’s Headlines⚡️

🙌 Google rolled out AI-powered Demand Gen ads to all Ads customers

😳 iOS 17 automatically removes ad tracking parameters from links

🧑‍💻 Adobe announced new AI features for Illustrator & Photoshop

🗞️ IG’s Adam Mosseri says Threads won’t amplify news

🧑‍⚖️ Utah’s suing TikTok for getting children ‘addicted’ to algorithm

*Want to get in front of our audience? Start here…

🛠️ Things Worth Checking Out 🛠️

🧠 LEARN WITH ME IRL - Learn how to grow your agency 10x faster from me at the #1 marketing agency conference during my session in LA later this month. Use code "Marketingmax" at checkout to come see my talk here!

🌟 FIND THE PERFECT AGENCY - It’s always been hard to decide what marketing agency to choose, until now! Use AgencyReviews.io to find your perfect marketing agency in just a few clicks here 🙂 

💰 GEN Z SPENDING - A new survey of nearly 10k U.S. teens shows that spending is down 1% YoY with Nike and Chick-fil-A maintaining their spots as top brands for the generation. Check out the full research here.

🌟 LINKEDIN CONTENT - Want to become one of LinkedIn’s top voices or community top voices? Buffer created the comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about the program. Learn here.

🎙 NEW PODCAST EPISODE:

How Peacock Increases Subscriber LTV

Now streaming on Spotify & Apple & YouTube

✨ Today’s Insight ✨

Data: Your guide to 2023 holiday ad campaigns

📰 TL;DR - Microsoft Advertising released this report of insights and ideas on how to plan your 2023 holiday ad campaigns. Key takeaways:

• 44% of clicks & 40% of conversions at 5% lower CPC were found in Sept & Oct across website visits & purchases in the U.S. & EMEA

• 67% of November purchases & 50% of December purchases were attributed to consumer clicks in Oct

• Over 2/3 of U.S. shoppers are spending the most time looking for coupons & deals

• 28% of holiday clicks were mobile & mobile conversions make up 22% of total retail conversions (via Microsoft Ad Network)

💡 Insight - Start early. Honestly, you should already be starting to craft your user journeys and funnel consumers into holiday purchases. Don’t risk scrambling come December.

Offer up deals. This doesn’t have to be a major discount. Even something as simple as free shipping or $5 off could make the difference. Consumers will be looking for deals, make sure yours are front and center.

Diversify your ad strategy. Consumers are going to be looking everywhere for holiday gift ideas and deals, so you should aim to be there too.

*Want to get in front of 100,000+ Founders & Marketers? Click here…