Podcast Summary:

Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson Presented By Marigold
Episode: What’s Up THIS WEEK: 25% Increase in EMAIL OPENS! And...Avoid doing this with AI! | Ep. 433
Date: October 21, 2025
Host: GURU Media Hub

Episode Overview

This fast-paced episode breaks down timely marketing strategies, focusing on email marketing tactics for October, leveraging Instagram’s evolving features, and critical guidance on using AI-generated content without sacrificing engagement. As always, host Jay Schwedelson mixes in offbeat commentary, ending with a playful pop culture tangent.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Seasonal Tactics for Email Marketing (00:39–05:10)

October & Early November: A Unique Opportunity
- Company Name Personalization in Subject Lines (B2B):
  - Personalizing subject lines with the recipient’s company name is especially effective during this time.
  - Data: Over 30% increased open rates now versus other times of year.
  - Examples: "Is ACME at risk?", "New security tips for Acme", or "Is ACME prepared for 2026?"
  - Quote:
    
    “If you’ve never tested company in the subject line, you’re missing out. But this is the time of year that it does particularly well.” – Jay [01:24]
- Black Friday Mentions (B2C & SMB):
  - Start referencing ‘Black Friday’ in subject lines ASAP—don’t wait for mid-November.
  - Immediate action yields 25%+ lift in open rates.
  - Timing Tip: The last week of October and first week of November are prime time.
  - Quote:
    
    “Do not wait for mid November to say Black Friday … literally right now, these next 10 days is when you want to be doubling down.” – Jay [02:23]
- Key Takeaway: Don’t default to typical marketing cycles—holiday messaging (and consumer readiness) is starting earlier each year.

2. Instagram Reels Are Dominating (05:11–07:11)

Posts vs. Reels: The Shift
- Recent studies show Reels reach 30% of users, compared to 13–14% for other post types.
- Engagement rates on Reels are almost double regular posts.
- Platform Change: Instagram is updating its UI; Reels will have their own main tab, directly after Stories/Feed.
- Quote:
  
  “They’re organizing the app around what people use for it most, which is reels and DMs. So it’s all about reels on Instagram, period, end of story.” – Jay [06:47]
- Advice: Focus creative effort on Reels, not static posts or carousels, to maximize visibility and engagement.

3. Smarter Use of AI Content Generation (07:12–10:00)

Issue: Generic AI Language Hurts Performance
- World Data Research found ChatGPT’s most common content phrases lower marketing engagement by over 15%.
- The prevalence of “AI wallpaper” (generic, predictable phrasing) is desensitizing audiences.
- Solution: Use a prompt to “de-AI” your content.
  - Prompt suggestion:
    
    “Take this copy and rip out anything AI normally gives back that lowers engagement: generic phrases, corporate tone, forced positivity, fake hype, or anything that sounds too polished or predictable.”
- Key Mindset:
  
  “We now need to even go further with this idea of un-AIing our writing, because we are all just turning what we’re putting out there into generic garbage.” – Jay [09:15]
Actionable Takeaway: Incorporate this check BEFORE publishing AI-assisted copy—especially for emails, blogs, landing pages, and social content.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On B2B personalization:
“There’s something about seeing your company in the subject line and it’s getting your mind thinking about what’s coming next, what’s the outlook for the upcoming year...” – Jay [01:17]
On Black Friday timing:
“Everything’s starting earlier. I mean, I know you feel you go to Target, Costco, whatever, and it’s almost like it’s already 2026.” – Jay [03:05]
On AI language fatigue:
“If you use any of them, you’re dropping by about 15% because it’s like wallpaper when people see it.” – Jay [08:12]
On Instagram Reels:
“Stop wasting energy on regular posts… they should all be Reels.” – Jay [05:33]

Fun, Offbeat Segment: Celebrity Social Media Commentary (10:01–12:30)

Kristen Bell’s "Strange" Anniversary Post
- Jay riffs on Kristen Bell’s odd Instagram caption referencing Dax Shepard not wanting to kill her despite “heavily incentivized” reasons, using it as an example of quirky (maybe too quirky) public oversharing.
- Quote:
  
  “Just write, I love you. 12 years have been amazing. I can’t wait for the next 12 years. What are we doing?” – Jay [11:29]

Important Timestamps

00:39–03:05 – Email subject line personalization for B2B and early Black Friday messaging
05:11–07:11 – Shift in Instagram strategy: Reels over posts, platform changes explained
07:12–10:00 – How to prompt-check and strip AI-generated content to avoid engagement drop
10:01–12:30 – Humorous take on celebrity Instagram behavior

Key Takeaways

Email: Try company name personalization for B2B recipients, and start "Black Friday" subject lines now (late October/early November).
Instagram: All-in on Reels—you’re losing reach and engagement with anything else.
AI Content: Don’t trust the first draft from ChatGPT or other AI—actively “de-AI” your copy to remove lazy, generic phrases.
For Fun: Don’t overthink your anniversary post—and keep your social media authentic.

If you want to level up your marketing game, implement these actionable tips ASAP—and remember: always test, adapt, and don’t sound like everyone else!

Transcript

A (0:01)

Welcome to do this not that, the podcast for marketers. We share quick tips, things you can do right now, and then we add a little bit of chaos at the end of every episode. We also keep it short like this intro. Let's check it out. We are back for what's up this week from the do this not that podcast presented by Marigold. And this is our short episode. We break down what's going on this week in business and marketing in life. So let's jump right into we got stuff about email, Instagram, all sorts of stuff. So first off, October is such an interesting time for email marketing and people don't realize there are certain tactics that work incredibly well in October and early November that don't do as well other times for some reason. And this is some data from subject line.com so one of those tactics, first on the business side, business to business, is in your subject line, the personalization that does actually the best this specific time of the year is, is company name personalization. So when you actually put whoever you are sending an email to, you put their company, the name of their company in the subject line, it increases email open rates by over 30% this time of year. Meaning things like this. Your subject line could be is ACME at risk? Or New security tips for Acme Or Is ACME prepared for 2026? There's something about seeing your company in the subject line and it's getting your mind thinking about what's, what's coming next, what's the outlook for the upcoming year, whatever it may be. But if you, first of all, if you've never tested company in the subject line, you're missing out. But this is the time of year that it does particularly well. So that's a really great personalization tip this time of year. And then the other one, which is so obvious on the consumer side, but I don't think people realize it enough, is actually talking about Black Friday, saying Black Friday, do not wait for mid November to say Black Friday do not wait for, you know, post Thanksgiving or that would be totally ridiculous. I mean that's out of control now. Literally right now, these next 10 days is when you want to be doubling down using Black Friday because Black Friday actually the last week of October and the first week of November, if you put that in your subject line for either consumer offers or, or small business offers, we also see that lift open rates well over 25%. So think about this time of year and not just going through the motions because everything is starting earlier. I mean, I know you feel you go to Target, Costco, whatever, and it's almost like it's already 20, 26. It's wild. All right, what else is going on that's kind of interesting? Well, Instagram, there's some new data out from oisi, this big study where they revealed that basically posts on Instagram are dead. It's all about. I'm talking about regular posts. It's all about reels. Reels are where it's at. You shouldn't even be wasting your time with regular posts pretty much anymore. They should all be reels. And their study showed that reels now have an average reach of over to reach about 30% of users, as compared to 14% for regular posts that are carousels, or even 13% for photo posts. And, and the engagement rates from another study that just came out from Vidico said that reels get almost double the engagement rates versus regular posts. And this makes a lot of sense because Adam Massari, who's the head of Instagram, came out this week and he actually talked about the fact that Instagram is going to be changing the format on Instagram. We go on there what the little icons are that we can move around and be able to toggle when we're looking at our feed. And they're going to actually now change the tabs. So he said the first tab is still going to be stories and your feed, but then the second tab is going to be your reels, and the third tab is going to be your DMs. And now you'll be able to swipe between the tabs. And they're organizing. This is what he said. They're organizing the app around what people use for it most, which is reels and dms. So it's all about reels on Instagram, period, end of story. Let's talk about some AI stuff that's going on. So ChatGPT, we all go to ChatGPT, right? And we ask it for help with content, all this stuff. Well, there's some new data actually out from World Data Research that shares that the top 50 phrases that ChatGPT gives back when asked for content generation help in marketing efforts actually causes a drop in engagement by over 15%. What does that mean? You go there, you ask it for help with a blog or content, for a landing page or an email or a social post, and it's giving you back certain phrases, right? So now it's now the top 50 phrases, the most common ones that gives back. Actually, if you use any of them, you're dropping by about 15% because it's like wallpaper when people see it. So what can you do? There's one simple prompt that you want to do when you are getting any content back from ChatGPT or you've written any content or anything like that. And the prompt is basically this. It doesn't be exactly this, but this is what you want to do. You want to go chatgpt with whatever copy of content, whatever you have. And then you want to say, take this copy and rip out anything AI normally gives back that lowers engagement, generic phrases, corporate tone, force, positivity, fake hype, or anything that sounds too polished or predictable. You want to use a prompt like this with any content that you're about to put out there, especially any content that you've gotten from Chat GPT or any of the AI tools. Because basically, we now need to even go further with this idea of unaiing our writing, because we are all just turning all of what we're putting out there into generic garbage. So this data that the top 50 phrases that's giving back are actually hurting your performance is really important stuff to consider with everything you're doing out there. All right, let's get into useless, meaningless stuff that's going on. So I saw that nobody wants this. Season two is coming out in the next day or so. That's that romantic comedy thing on Netflix with Adam Brody and Kristen Bell, which is fine. Season one was good. Everybody likes season one, season two, whatever. But I. Kristen Bell is strange. No offense to her, but she's actually a strange human. I'm gonna tell you why I said she's a strange human. So Kristen Bell is married to Dax Shepard. Okay, whatever. I don't even know if I care about them. Whatever. I don't know why I follow these people on Instagram, but I do. So they just celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary. Who cares? Whatever. Doesn't matter. Everybody puts their anniversary online. Great. So they put a picture of themselves on Instagram, and then Kristen Bell wrote this caption, which I thought was really strange. This is a caption she wrote on the post about her and Dax Shepard wedding anniversary. She wrote, Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man. Wait a minute. Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me, I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I'm heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would. What is like, dude, just write, I love you. 12 years have been amazing. I can't wait for the next 12 years. What are we doing? Why do we have to say the most bizarre things? So what? Just so you get some people to share it and to talk about it like idiots like me on podcasts? What is going on? It makes me want to unfollow people. Just stop. Be regular. Come on. Enough. Enough with me. What am I talking about? I don't know. Listen, you're awesome. You got to check out Guru Conference coming up. It's free. It's virtual conference dot com. I don't know, just. I would tell you all these reasons why you should register, but I'm too lazy. So just go register. Who cares? All right. Thanks for being here. Later. You did it. You made it to the end. But wait. The party is not over. Listen, I want to keep hanging out. Subscribe to this podcast and if it wasn't the worst podcast you've ever listened to, give it a five star review. Why not? But you know what? I want to do even more with you. Go to guru mediahub.com and we can partner there. You could find out about all of our friends, free events, all of our stuff. And if you're epically bored, go to jschweddelson.com and we could stay connected. You could find my newsletter and everything else I got going on. Thanks for being here and hope you subscribe.