Explore all emails from Chris Donnelly

----------------------------------------------------------------- How To Create Content For Citations, Which AI Tools Should You Be Using, And The Claude Profile Audit ----------------------------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/n2hohquvqp65pgi6/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * TCA Early Email List * How To Create Content For Citations * Which AI Tools Should You Be Using? * The Claude Profile Audit ----------------------- Join The TCA Email List ----------------------- It's almost hard to believe I'm writing this, but we are approaching the 7th cohort of The Creator Accelerator. The success of this business has gone beyond what I've imagined. Not only in a monetary sense, but also in the way we've been able to help literally hundreds of founders transform their businesses and lives. The amount of heartfelt messages I've received post-cohorts ending has been overwhelming in the best way possible. And so I'm thrilled to say we're running another one again and the doors are open ! If you would like to hear exclusive insights and get any extra bonuses or discounts before they are given out publicly, click the button below and you'll be automatically added to our email list (you can also check out the website for more). -->Reserve Your Place ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/l2h964kqc6ul296v9vu6/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVjcmVhdG9yYWNjZWxlcmF0b3IuY28udWsv ) Reserve Your Place ( https://thecreatoraccelerator.co.uk/ ) ----------------------------------- How To Create Content For Citations ----------------------------------- If you run a business, you need to read this: 47% of consumers use AI for purchasing decisions. That’s nearly half. Ideally, when they are asking ChatGPT about running shoes, skin care, SaaS products, or whatever you’re building, your brand will appear in the chat. SEO was enough to rank in Google, but ranking in AI search requires new strategies. Yes, there are technical things you can do. But I recommend starting with the fundamentals: content and how to structure it. SEO has long been based on keyword research and including the right backlinks. AI content looks for slightly different elements in a piece of content. That's what led me to build Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/wnh2h6uq7pxvp3f7/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ). And it's why I'm running this live webinar: How to create and optimise content for AI citations I think this might be the most useful webinar yet. It's a step-by-step playbook for creating content that LLMs actually cite. We'll go over: * Why most content never gets cited and what the top 38% do differently * The three things you must nail before you write a single word * How to write so AI engines can actually extract and cite your content * How to do this at scale without a big team You'll receive: * A content audit checklist * The full webinar recording * A live Q&A with myself at the end If you're creating content and it's not showing up in AI search, this webinar will tell you exactly why and how to fix it. If you're already running SEO and want to add that next layer... this is not one to be missed. Claim your seat below. Nearly 2k people registered last time ! -->Save Your Free Spot ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/reh8h9umdrwvr5u2/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNGRzZmtCVQ== ) Save Your Free Spot ( https://bit.ly/4dsfkBU )And if you want to go deeper, you should join the AI Search Accelerator. More info here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/08hwhgu2e5gw5mfl/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vZXZlbnRzL2FpLXNlYXJjaC1hY2NlbGVyYXRvcg== ). ----------------------------------- Which AI Tools Should You Be Using? ----------------------------------- If you’ve been around within recent years you probably know I've been deeply involved in 3 businesses: Searchable, LeverBrands, and The Creator Accelerator. I also invest in multiple companies and produce content across LinkedIn, YouTube, and my newsletter. And I do all of this with a small team because we've built the right AI workflows. A lot of founders are still ignoring AI completely or drowning in tools that are of no use to them. They sign up for everything, but don’t commit to learning any of the properly. That’s simply not the right way to use AI for your business. AI is only useful if it's integrated into your actual workflows. Like proper business use cases that drive actual revenue. This is exactly how we built Searchable. ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/wnh2h6uq7pxvp3f7/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ) We used AI at every stage, from research to product development to go-to-market. Now I'm going to give to you the exact tech stack you need to grow your business in 2026. Content Creation: SayWhat, Lovable, OpusClip, Descript Most people are still creating content manually, which means they're either spending all their time on it or not doing it at all. Not sure which one's worse... here's my recommended content creation stack: SayWhat: Use this for LinkedIn content ideation and creation. It has an inspiration tab for post ideas, and a pretty great content writing tool. Lovable: If you're building software or prototyping products, Lovable lets you ship fast. We used it extensively when iterating on Searchable features. OpusClip: Takes long-form video and turns it into short clips. If you're creating YouTube content or webinars, this saves hours of editing time. Descript: Audio and video editing made simple. Record a podcast, edit it like a document. Remove filler words with one click. And if you're looking beyond tools, a bit of a cheeky plug but the two businesses I am involved with, TCA and Lever, can help you with this as well. If you're looking to get hands on with content and learn the system I used to gain over 1 million followers... check out TCA ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/8ghqh3uodvqpvlck/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNGNndDNkVA== ). If you are looking to outsource and grow your entire personal brand ecosystem, that's where Lever ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/vqh3hmuo07e37osg/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHRvblNpMA== ) comes in. SEO / AEO / GEO: Searchable I'm most obsessed with this category because it's the foundation of how customers find you. If you're not visible in AI search, you basically don't exist. It is the best tool on the market for AI search. Hands down. I’ve been a founder for over 20 years. After that long, you start to figure out what you need and to recognise quality when you see it. What we’ve built here is special and necessary. Searchable shows you where your content appears across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. It will tell you your gaps and how to fix them. It gives you the analytics and actions so you can develop and implement a clear strategy. Plus our agent is really cool (You can ask it literally anything). If you're running a business with any web presence, this is the first place to start. You need to know where you stand. Market Research & Analysis: Comet, Julius AI We use these tools constantly at Searchable to understand user behaviour and identify what features to build next. Comet: Pulls insights from customer feedback, reviews, and conversations. If you're trying to understand what your customers actually want, this surfaces patterns you'd never spot manually. Julius AI: Analyse datasets, run models, and visualise trends. If you have data but don't know what to do with it, Julius makes it accessible. Communication: Granola, WisprFlow, Superhuman If you're a busy founder, these tools are honestly a lifesaver (and timesaver). Granola: Records meetings and gives you summaries without anyone knowing it's there. Gives you clean notes after every conversation. WisprFlow: Takes away the need for a keyboard (or at least 99% of it). Simply hold one key and speak into your desktop or phone, and it'll turn that into text completely accurately. Superhuman: Email on steroids. AI-powered inbox management. If you're drowning in email, this cuts your time in half. GTM/Outbound: Clay, Framer These will help you stop manually researching each lead and save time on your GTM efforts. Clay: Enriches contact data. Gives you phone numbers, email addresses, company size, intent signals. Connect it to your CRM directly. Framer: Build landing pages and websites fast. No-code, beautiful, and functional. If you need to spin up a page for a campaign or product launch, this is the fastest way. Productivity/Execution: Claude, Gamma These are the tools I use every single day for thinking, drafting, and executing. Claude: Better for long-form content and deeper reasoning. I can't believe how good this tool has become and how fast it is updating. Can barely keep up ! Gamma: Create presentations in minutes. If you're building decks for pitches, webinars, or internal strategy sessions, this is the tool. Workflow Automation: n8n, Zapier This is where you stitch everything together. N8n: Open-source workflow automation. More flexible than Zapier, but requires a bit more setup. If you're technical or have a technical co-founder, this is the most powerful option. Zapier: The easiest way to connect apps. If someone emails you, it can research them, draft a response, and put it in your drafts. If someone fills out a form, it can enrich their data and add them to your CRM. Set it up once, let it run forever. I'm hearing great things about OpenClaw too, but I need to try that one out a bit more but giving a full recommendation ! I wouldn’t recommend trying to download and learn all of these tools at once. Pick maybe 3 or 4 and use them consistently for 30 days. Build them into your actual workflow, then add more. Start by thinking about where the bottlenecks or problems in your business are. Then you can decide where automation can help. ------------------------ The Claude Profile Audit ------------------------ I shared this on my LinkedIn earlier this week and it went berserk... I swear it got somewhere around 1000 comments in a 20 minute period! Just goes to show the demand for AI tools that actually have a legitimate use case. Anyway, it is called the Claude Profile Audit, which is a Claude Skill that I've made that (funnily enough) audits your profile for you. It tells you where your profile is going wrong, and how to fix it. The setup takes around 10 minutes, and you'll get: ​ ➡️ A profile score for clarity, authority, and conversion potential. ➡️ Your top 3 quick fixes with exact rewrites you can implement today. ➡️ 5 headline options written specifically for your offer and audience. ➡️ Banner recommendations that turn your header into a conversion tool. ➡️ Featured section suggestions based on what actually converts visitors into leads. ➡️ A complete about section rewrite that positions you and drives inbound enquiries. Best part of all folks? It's free. Don't say I don't treat ya. -->Claim Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/l2heh6ul296v96a6/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNGMzUnA5TA== ) Claim Here ( https://bit.ly/4c3Rp9L ) ​ p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx/m2h7h6u35pm0pecm/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.kit-mail3.com/lmul6d8gwwumhn7447qf6h8vo398mhghd4xzx )​

----------------------------------------------------------------- How to Find Competitor Gaps, Why Your LinkedIn Content Matters for AI Search, and How to Get Started on LinkedIn in 2026 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv/9qhzhdudwnxw2oh9/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * How To Stand Out In AI Search * Why Your LinkedIn Content Matters For AI Search * How To Get Started On LinkedIn In 2026 ----------------------------- How To Stand Out In AI Search ----------------------------- This Wednesday, we hosted our first of our weekly webinar series for Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv/3ohphdu3mvrmdpir/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ). Over 1k people showed up, and the vibes were awesome. Everyone getting involved, asking questions, and learning deeply about prompt research for AI search. We go again next Wednesday, April 1st (no April Fools jokes I promise), at 4pm BST. ​ It is called: How to find every competitor gap in AI search and close them. In 60 minutes we will show you how to map where competitors are being cited instead of you, identify the gaps that matter most, and build a strategy to close them. We'll cover why these gaps actually matter, a full gap matrix, the 90% problem with AI search, and why positions 11-20 are the highest ROI. As a thank you for signing up, you will get: * The full competitor gap matrix template we'll show * The full live recording link sent within 24 hours * And a live Q&A session with myself at the end If you are already interested in AI SEO, this is not one to be missed. Claim your seat below, and hope to see you there ! -->Save Your Free Spot ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv/n2hohquvqegqolu6/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNGJ5Z3YxcA== ) Save Your Free Spot ( https://bit.ly/4bygv1p )And if you want to go deeper, you should join the AI Search Accelerator. More info here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv/48hvh7umlk9l23ix/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vZXZlbnRzL2FpLXNlYXJjaC1hY2NlbGVyYXRvcg== ). ----------------------------------------------- Why Your LinkedIn Content Matters For AI Search ----------------------------------------------- In some very exciting news that combines my two biggest business interests at the moment, LinkedIn is officially the second-most-cited domain by AI. That means 11% of all AI responses reference LinkedIn content directly. That puts it out ahead of Wikipedia, YouTube, and every major news publisher. Only Reddit has held its spot as the top-ranked source for AI citations. Very simply, this means that what you post on LinkedIn is showing up in conversations with ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, etc. These aren’t the dominant search engines, but they are quickly growing in popularity. Think about, I’m sure you are going to ChatGPT/Claude for queries you used to ask Google… For founders, CEOs, business leaders, and any other operators thinking about publishing content on LinkedIn, this is basically a neon sign telling you to start posting. Thousands of your potential customers are asking AI questions about your industry right now. And LinkedIn content is shaping the answers they receive. If that content comes from you, your visibility will be untouchable. I’ll be honest, this news did give me a little boost of personal validation as well. I’ve been posting and speaking about the power of LinkedIn for years. And now we can see just how powerful it is as a business asset, even in the era of AI. The best part is that you don’t even need to “go viral.” The average cited post has just 15 to 25 reactions. So even if you don't have massive engagement right now, it doesn't matter. Keep posting high-quality content. AI doesn't care about your follower count. It cares about whether your content actually answers questions. The most-cited content on LinkedIn will be: Original: Written by the person posting it, not recycled from someone else. Educational: Answers a real question clearly and directly. Consistent: The authors show up regularly, not occasionally. Credible: Real people with genuine expertise in a specific area. If you can nail all four elements, you’ll own visibility in your category this year. I want to end this section with a few quick tips to nail both AI search and LinkedIn. They really are part of the same strategy now. When you publish content on LinkedIn that's structured for AI extraction, you're building visibility across both. For LinkedIn: 1. Use the exact language your customers use. ​ AI matches for conversational queries instead of keywords. If your customers ask "How do I automate lead generation?" and you write about "automated lead gen workflows," you'll show up. 2. Own one topic. ​ Post about the one thing you want to be known for. If you consistently own a topic, AI will associate you with it. 3. Answer specific questions. ​ Give real answers to real problems. "How do I choose the right CRM?" "What's the best way to onboard a remote team?" These are the posts that get cited. For AI search: 1. Structure your content for extraction. ​ Use question-based headers and lead with clear answers. Bullet points and lists have always been good practice, and now they’re even more important. Make it easy for AI to pull and cite your content. 2. Treat your LinkedIn profile as your knowledge base. ​ Your About section, your featured posts, and articles are all indexed by AI. Make sure they clearly explain who you are, what you do, and who you help. 3. Post consistently. AI favours authors who show up regularly. It’s more important to be relatable than viral. If you've been posting on LinkedIn, congratulations, you're already ahead. But even if you're starting now, the window is still open. And... I just released a video which gives you tips on both LinkedIn and AI Search. It touches upon the top 8 content strategies you need to win customers in 2026. If you are an entrepreneur building a business, content is not an avenue that can be ignored, and these 8 are the best I've come across for winning customers. Check it out below, and let me know what you think ! ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv/wnh2h6uq7847ozu7/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNDg0TXZZSA== )​ -->Watch Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv/wnh2h6uq7847ozu7/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNDg0TXZZSA== ) Watch Here ( https://bit.ly/484MvYH ) -------- Step Up: -------- Each week one of my readers will send in a challenging business question for me to answer. I will give a detailed overview of the problem and how I would personally solve the challenge. Hey Chris, I'm an entrepreneur running a six-figure consulting business helping e-commerce brands with paid media strategy. I've been putting off LinkedIn for years because I thought I was too late to the game. But I keep seeing how powerful it is for business, and I'm finally ready to commit. The problem is, I have no idea where to start. Should I be posting daily? What should I even post about? And is it actually possible to build an audience from scratch in 2026, or have I missed the boat? Thanks for any help you can offer! Hi Hugo, Good news for you today: you have definitely not missed the boat. Not even close. And I'm going to prove it to you. I didn't start posting consistently on LinkedIn until two and a half years ago. I'd never posted on any other social media before that. I'd built an agency business in my twenties, worked with clients like Bugatti and Aston Martin, but I always struggled to get new clients. Then someone analysed our pipeline 6 months in and told me that over 75% of all new business was coming from my LinkedIn profile. That was the moment I realised I needed to take it seriously. So I committed to posting every single day. And I can tell you with absolute certainty: I've never met anyone who posted every single day for a year and didn't look back at it as one of the best decisions they ever made. Yes, there are people with big audiences. And the platform can feel crowded. But most people on LinkedIn aren't posting consistently. The majority of folks post for a few weeks, get discouraged, and stop. And they definitely don’t have a system. If you're willing to commit to consistency, you're already ahead of 90% of people on the platform. Here is exactly what I’d do if I were starting over: 1. Figure out who you're posting for. This is the most important step. If you don't know your ICP, every post is a shot in the dark. You're a paid media consultant for e-commerce brands, meaning E-commerce founders or Senior marketing positions are likely to be your ICP. Any content you create should be for them. What do they care about? What problems are they trying to solve? Answer those questions. 2. Decide what you're going to post about. ​ You need content pillars. Pick three to five topics you're going to talk about consistently. For you, it might be: paid media strategy, e-commerce growth, ad creative that converts, scaling profitably, and case studies from your clients. Every post you create should fall into one of those categories. 3. Commit to consistency. ​ Post every single day. I know it sounds like a lot, but trust me. Every day. Consistency is the single most important piece when you’re starting out. The first 50 posts won't get much traction. That's fine. The results will come. I didn’t reach a million followers posting when I felt like it… 4. Use a system for your posts. ​ Don't just write whatever comes to mind. Use a proven structure. Two-sentence hooks are performing 20% better than any other hook right now. The first line is 65 characters, the second line is 45 characters before it creates an ellipsis. That's data you can use to improve your posts right now. And focus on educational content. Posts that help people go from A to B are the posts that drive follower growth. Motivational stories or personal posts are good to mix in, but most of your content strategy should be focused on helping your ICP solve a problem. 5. Don't wait to be perfect. ​ Just start. The first posts you create will be bad (I cringe thinking about my first year of content!). But those posts taught me what worked and what didn't. You can't learn that without doing it and you will get better. That’s just what happens when you commit to something every day. So don’t overthink this one, it’s not rocket science, and it doesn’t need to take up your entire life. With AI now, it’s never been easier. Claude can help you write content, and I’ve seen that Gemini can create some pretty impressive visuals in a pinch. The point is that LinkedIn is still one of the best platforms for building a business. And it's absolutely not too late to start. The window is wide open, but it’s up to you to commit and execute. In a happy coincidence, your timing with this question couldn’t be better. We're actually hosting a free webinar at The Creator Accelerator on Wednesday, April 1st, that will give you the full framework for how to grow your first 10,000 followers on LinkedIn. It’s basically a free, in-depth training that covers the exact questions you asked this week. It's everything I know about the platform, and it's specifically designed for people starting from scratch. Click here to join us: -->Save My Seat ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv/reh8h9umdn7dq9t2/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHN2eDJzUA== ) Save My Seat ( https://bit.ly/4svx2sP )Hope to see you there ! p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv/08hwhgu2eqxemoil/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.kit-mail3.com/0vu572nx66f9h9epx44ulhv8qwvkrfnh58vrv )​

----------------------------------------------------------------- Free Upcoming AI Search Event, Why E-E-A-T Matters, And The "Death" Of SEO ----------------------------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4wwd3vclh8dor4xzc4hokeze/7qh7h2u9l4rk2lfz/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * Upcoming Free AI Search Event ! * What Is E-E-A-T And Why Does It Matter? * Is SEO "Dead"? ------------------------------------------- Learn Which Prompts To Target For AI Search ------------------------------------------- Excited to announce that as of next week folks, we are starting a new weekly webinar series in the lead up to the launch of the 3rd AI Search Accelerator cohort, which I'm stoked about honestly. We're starting off with teaching you: Which prompts should you target for AI search? So, what does that actually mean? Essentially, in 60 minutes, we will show you how to find the prompts your customers use, spot where competitors are cited, and build a strategy you can act on this week. We will cover: * Why prompts are different from keywords * 50+ trackable prompts from one seed keyword, live on screen * Every prompt where competitors are cited and you aren't * A 9-step workflow from seed keyword to revenue attribution In addition to an hour of incredible search advice (if I do say so myself), all registrants will receive: * A free Notion template with a 9-step prompt workflow * The full recording if you register but cannot make it live * A live Q&A with myself at the end of the webinar So, if that sounds enticing to you... sign up below. -->Save Your Free Spot ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4wwd3vclh8dor4xzc4hokeze/z2hgh7ue6dq42vap/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvM05GN3Vkdw== ) Save Your Free Spot ( https://bit.ly/3NF7udw )Hope to see you there, I am pumped ! --------------------------------------- What Is E-E-A-T And Why Does It Matter? --------------------------------------- If you're running a content site, an e-commerce store, or any business that relies on organic traffic, you need to understand E-E-A-T. Not necessarily because it’s an SEO tactic, but because it's the filter that's keeping the web from drowning in AI slop. E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. It's Google's framework for evaluating content quality, and it’s a non-negotiable for businesses hoping to scale. Here's why it matters: We're living in a world where AI can produce unlimited content at basically zero cost. If there were no quality filter, machines would dominate every search result. The web would become an endless stream of generic, low-value content with no accountability. Google knows this threatens their entire business model. That's why E-E-A-T has evolved from a helpful guideline into the core mechanism that determines what ranks and what doesn't. Recent API leaks have revealed that E-E-A-T is actually embedded in the algorithm through specific variables that measure author reputation, content quality, and trustworthiness. So it holds more weight than most people assume. Most SEOs focus on fixing technical issues like page speed and broken links. And while those are important, they are really only maintaining a certain level of growth. In other words, you can remove every technical issue from your site and still be completely invisible. Ranking isn’t just about avoiding penalties. You have to demonstrate value, or you’re really just posting out into the void. Google needs to see positive signals that prove your content comes from real expertise. The algorithm is searching for signals that distinguish human-created content from machine-generated output, including: * Original data and insights: New research or unique perspectives from industry experts. * Evidence of effort: Structure and depth that show real thought went into the content. * Real-world validation: Proof that you exist beyond just a website, including media mentions, credentials, and social proof. * Accountability: A real person or organisation standing behind the content who can be held responsible. Google isn’t banning AI-generated content by any means. In fact, given that Google’s AI Overviews are triggered for around 55% of queries, I’d say it’s the opposite. But, that said, it is filtering out content where AI is used without human oversight, verification, or accountability. So copying the first output you get from ChatGPT is still the worst content strategy you can aim for. I don’t think enough businesses realise that there is a quality threshold below which your site effectively doesn't exist in search results. If your content is thin, scaled, or lacks clear authorship and expertise, you're being suppressed. Google classifies this as "Scaled Content Abuse," and it doesn't matter whether you used AI or hired cheap writers. It’s simple: low-effort content gets filtered out. And the businesses getting hit hardest are relying on volume over quality. They’re publishing hundreds of articles without demonstrated expertise, using fake author bios, and recycling information without adding value. E-E-A-T signals have never mattered as much as they do now because we didn’t have this level of AI content out there. This is something that has been in the DNA of Searchable since the beginning. E-E-A-T signals carry even more weight when it comes to AI search. And a big part of what the tool does is ensure your content meets E-E-A-T standards and actually builds trust with your audience. If you want to see where your site stands right now, we have a free visibility report: -->Claim For Free ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4wwd3vclh8dor4xzc4hokeze/p8hehqu467n3wwsq/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vZnJlZS12aXNpYmlsaXR5LXJlcG9ydD91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249U2VhcmNoYWJsZSZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPU5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1OZXdzbGV0dGVy ) Claim For Free ( https://www.searchable.com/free-visibility-report?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Searchable ) ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4wwd3vclh8dor4xzc4hokeze/p8hehqu467n3wwsq/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vZnJlZS12aXNpYmlsaXR5LXJlcG9ydD91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249U2VhcmNoYWJsZSZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPU5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1OZXdzbGV0dGVy )​ This is the easiest way to get started and understand what work you have cut out for you. To put it as clearly as possible: if you can't prove you’re an expert or, at least, a human, in 2026, you won't rank. -------- Step Up: -------- Each week one of my readers will send in a challenging business question for me to answer. I will give a detailed overview of the problem and how I would personally solve the challenge. Hey Chris, I keep hearing people say SEO is dead. I run a B2B SaaS company, and we've been investing heavily in SEO for years. But with AI search taking over and ChatGPT answering questions directly, I'm wondering if there's even a point in optimising for Google anymore. Should I just abandon it and focus elsewhere? What's your take? Is SEO actually dead? Hi Cameron, Great to hear from you. Since launching Searchable, I’ve been living and breathing AI search and SEO. Let me say it upfront: SEO is not dead. But it has fundamentally changed. And the way you optimised for SEO three years ago, or even a year ago, won't work today. Here's what's actually happening: Google is still handling 13 to 14 billion searches every single day. It's still the behemoth of search. ChatGPT is the fastest consumer adoption of technology ever, but the majority of people are sticking with what they know. But that doesn't mean things haven't changed. AI search is changing the way people find and engage with brands. Even Google is responding. 50% of Google searches now end with AI Overviews. That's 7 billion searches where people get their answer without clicking a single link. This is why AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) are now essential. Think of them as additional layers you need to add to your existing SEO strategy. Traditional SEO still matters, but it's not enough on its own anymore. Here's what you need to do differently: 1. Structure content conversationally instead of keywords When we used to optimise for SEO, you'd structure everything around a keyword like "CRM software." That doesn't work with LLMs anymore. Instead, structure content around natural queries: "What is the best CRM software to help SMEs generate leads?" Build your headers (H1, H2, H3) as human-like questions. Then answer conversationally. One tip: record a Loom and talk as if you're explaining the answer to a friend. This forms the basis of your article, and it will sound far more natural. 2. Double down on E-E-A-T E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) matters more than ever. Answers increase by up to 30% for ChatGPT and Perplexity when brands include expert commentary, case studies, and clear FAQs. AI needs proof you're credible. 3. Use semantic richness and clear structure Use natural variations of concepts rather than repeating keywords. Use clear headings, bullet points, lists, and tables. If an AI is asked a specific question and you have that exact question as a header with a clear answer underneath, it will cite you. 4. FAQs are gold If you structure your content as question-and-answer pairs, AI will cite you. It's that simple. This is quite literally the easiest win you can implement today. Look, I've spent 20 years in SEO. I bootstrapped a 100-person agency running SEO for Bugatti and Aston Martin. And I've never seen a shift move this fast. The businesses that refuse to adapt are going to be in a tough spot in 6 months time. So, to get back to your question Cameron, SEO isn't dead. But your strategy needs to shift. You need to optimise for both traditional search and AI search. The best time to prepare was yesterday. But the second best time is right now. If you want the full breakdown and the exact four-step framework to get your business showing up in AI search, I’ve shared a video on my new YouTube channel ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4wwd3vclh8dor4xzc4hokeze/x0hph3ue275rv5h5/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvM09Qb1RBcA== ). It’s less than 20 minutes but it will give you a clear picture of where you should be putting your priorities. Best of luck and stay tuned for more AI search tips and advice ! p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4wwd3vclh8dor4xzc4hokeze/6qhehoulr2mk89co/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4wwd3vclh8dor4xzc4hokeze ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.kit-mail3.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4wwd3vclh8dor4xzc4hokeze )​

----------------------------------------------------------------- ChatGPT Is About To Change Advertising Forever. Here's What To Do Right Now. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to a special edition of my Step by Step newsletter. For the past month, one topic has been stuck in my head. There's already been a lot of content about it online, but most of it felt surface-level. I wanted to actually understand how this works before I said anything and be sure I’m giving you the most actionable, pointed advice possible. And I think I’m finally there. Here is your complete guide to ChatGPT Adverts so that your business can benefit from this opportunity before anyone else I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen/dphehmue6wzvkzbm/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * Why ChatGPT Ads Are the Biggest Advertising Opportunity of This Decade * What ChatGPT Ads Are Going To Look Like * The 5-Step Targeting Strategy You Can Start Right Now (Reminder, you can watch everything I cover in this newsletter and more in my latest YouTube video, just go to the last video on my channel) ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen/e0hph0u7vw96eph8/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvQ0RCdXNpbmVzczIxMDI= )​ -->Watch Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen/e0hph0u7vw96eph8/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvQ0RCdXNpbmVzczIxMDI= ) Watch Here ( https://bit.ly/CDBusiness2102 ) ------------------------------- Why ChatGPT Ads Are So Exciting ------------------------------- There are very rare moments where marketers have opportunities that deliver disproportionate returns from a single activity. In 2000, Google launched AdWords, and you could get website visits for pennies on the dollar… yet, most businesses ignored it, dismissing it as a fad. Just over a decade later, Facebook released their ads, and over the past decade, we’ve seen brands like Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club and GymShark become billion-dollar brands off the back of cheap traffic. Today, both platforms are cornerstones of any marketing strategy, but the traffic isn't cheap anymore. In fact, it’s 10,000% more expensive to use either of these platforms. That’s okay for brands with deep pockets, but for the past five years, smaller brands have struggled to compete. But that changes now. ChatGPT’s 800 million free users are about to receive adverts. And as with any new platform, they’ll start cheap. I’ve spent the last year obsessing over AI search, well over 1,000 hours studying how businesses get cited, ranked, and found organically inside tools like ChatGPT. And I can tell you with complete certainty: this is the single biggest untapped opportunity for any business or marketer right now. There are two main differences you need to understand: 1. The ads are interactive. 2. The targeting is the most personalised we’ve ever seen. 1. What ChatGPT Ads Look Like. Firstly, there's no banner at the top of a results page with four or five relevant results. On Chat, there will only be one ad per response and the ad is embedded naturally within the response. Here's a real example. Someone is having a conversation with ChatGPT about booking a holiday villa in Santa Fe, New Mexico. ​ They've described their budget, their dates, and their preferences and ChatGPT has given them a helpful response, and alongside it, an ad appears for desert cottages in the area. It takes up roughly a quarter of the (left) screen. It's directly relevant to everything they've just been discussing. And what is so exciting about these ads is that there's a button to chat with the ad, right there in the thread (right). That's the key difference that I find so exciting. The user isn't being interrupted mid-scroll, but they're in an active problem-solving mode. They've already told the AI exactly what they want, and the ad that appears feels like a natural next step. 2. The 5-Step Targeting Strategy To Get A Headstart. ChatGPT prioritises ads based on their relevance to the conversation. It doesn't matter if you're a brand that is willing to spend ten times more to be mentioned in a specific conversation. If ChatGPT doesn’t understand the relevance to the conversation, it will not promote your brand. This is what OpenAI refers to as intent, and it’s the most important metric you can measure. When you want to bid on an advert, ChatGPT will cross-check the relevance of your business before deciding whether your ad should even show. That matters because the businesses building their organic AI presence today will get cheaper, better-performing ads from day one. Step 1: Map the conversations already happening around your product Firstly, you need to understand what questions customers might be asking ChatGPT already. You can use this to map and understand what conversations you might want to turn up in. Start by listing every problem your customer has, every question they ask before buying, and every alternative they'd consider. This is the raw material for everything that is about to follow. ​ ​Step 2: Identify where you're being mentioned, and where you're not Now you know what conversations your customers are asking, you need to understand whether you're already being mentioned organically. If you're already being mentioned organically, ChatGPT is likely to approve adverts for this topic for you. You can do this in two ways: * Ask ChatGPT several variants of the questions and record the results. * Use a tool like Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen/7qh7h2u9lpvq86bz/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ), which will give you everything automatically. When you’re mentioned in ChatGPT organically it signals to OpenAI that your business is the authority which directly affects your ad relevance score and your cost of your ad. Step 3: Create content that wins organically in high-value conversations If you've already got a very strong organic relevance, then you can move past this step. If you're not currently being cited around this topic, then you need to start filling those gaps. The best way to fill gaps is to create content that answers these questions specifically. I've made a whole video on how you can master organic AI Search, feel free to skip the reading and watch it on my channel here. ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen/owhkhwuw9l3pnnbv/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvQ2hhdGdwdGFkcw== )​ Step 4: Use your organic data to build your paid strategy Once you understand which organic conversations are bringing you customers, you can start tracking the traffic those conversations send to your website. When you have real evidence of what converts, that becomes your targeting strategy. This will stop you from bidding on search terms that will struggle to convert, thereby lowering your cost per click. Step 5: Scale with ads once you know what converts A slight variation in a prompt can generate a completely different answer. The role of ads is to guarantee you're appearing in similar high-intent conversations that your organic strategy isn’t covering. Start with your best-performing topics and spread out from there. Once you have campaigns set up, monitor which conversations deliver the lowest Cost Per Acquisition and retarget your spend towards them. When you complete all five steps, this targeting strategy will give you a head start and a compounding advantage which your competitors will struggle to catch. One more thing Most businesses approach this completely wrong, and it costs them. However, the reason GymShark and Dollar Shave Club grew so quickly with Facebook Ads was that they didn’t set a fixed budget. If you get the calculation right, you can spend aggressively from day one, but get it wrong, and you'll burn money the moment competition picks up. I cover the exact framework in the video, including how to work out your target cost per acquisition and how to design the perfect ChatGPT Advert. Watch my full tutorial on my channel here: ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen/owhkhwuw9l3pnnbv/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvQ2hhdGdwdGFkcw== )​ -->Watch Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen/owhkhwuw9l3pnnbv/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvQ2hhdGdwdGFkcw== ) Watch Here ( https://bit.ly/Chatgptads )P.S. If you want more in depth information about how to rank organically on ChatGPT, I did a 15 minute video covering it all here. ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen/z2hgh7ue6r9n7rfp/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvV2F0Y2hBaXNlYXJjaA== )​ Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.kit-mail3.com/r8uxdrzk22aoh3dn0lkt2hdnzm6zmh7hoxnen )​

----------------------------------------------------------------- Claude Code vs Claude Cowork: What’s the Difference? And How To Master AI Search Video ----------------------------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2/7qh7h2u9lklod3fz/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * How To Master AI Search In 2026 * Claude Code or Cowork: Which Should You Learn? * Hiring At Searchable ! ------------------------------- How To Master AI Search In 2026 ------------------------------- If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know I’ve become slightly obsessed with AI search. Over the past year, I’ve spent more than 1,000 hours studying how businesses actually get cited in tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews, and I’m convinced this is the single biggest untapped opportunity for any business right now. Let me explain why this has been on my mind: Google still processes 13 - 14 billion searches a day. But thanks to AI, overviews more than half of them now end without the user clicking a single link. The balance has started to shift towards citations. You aren’t actually aiming for ranking high anymore. And it feels a lot like SEO in 2009, where the businesses that adapted early had a huge opportunity. The tricky thing is, most people have no idea where to start. So I’ve taken everything I’ve learned over the last 12 months and condensed it into one comprehensive video. This is probably the most informative 16 minutes of content I’ve made in a long time. ​ In it, I break down: * How AI search actually works * The 4 things that determine whether AI tools cite your business * The practical steps you can take today to start getting cited -->Watch Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2/owhkhwuw9k9rxxtv/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvV2F0Y2hBaXNlYXJjaA== ) Watch Here ( https://bit.ly/WatchAisearch ) ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2/owhkhwuw9k9rxxtv/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvV2F0Y2hBaXNlYXJjaA== )​ ---------------------------------------------- Claude Code or Cowork: Which Should You Learn? ---------------------------------------------- By now you’re probably aware of Claude’s capacity as a chatbot. Maybe you’ve heard about it’s more natural-sounding writing style or read about it in the news as a more ethical option to ChatGPT. After the recent scandal with ChatGPT and the Department of Defense (which caused a nearly 300% increase in subscriptions) Claude has become more popular than ever. And while ChatGPT remains a decent all-around option in my AI toolkit as a founder, Claude has been my preferred LLM for some time. So, this week, I want to walk you through two tools within Claude that extend beyond its capabilities as a chatbot or search engine. We’ll go through what they are, when you might want to employ them, and how they can automate parts of your business. Here's the breakdown: Tool #1: Claude Code Claude Code is a command-line tool built by Anthropic that sits inside your terminal and works across your entire workflow. It's designed for engineers and technical people who want AI that can read, write, create, and organise files on their computer. But it’s accessible enough that anyone can learn it. Think of it this way: ChatGPT is asking someone for help. Claude Code is having a capable learner who actually does the work. It reads files, writes code, creates documentation, organises your projects, and handles everything without you needing to upload files, copy-paste back and forth, or manually manage the process. It lives in your terminal and has full access to your file system with your permission. While building Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2/p8hehqu4636zr6hq/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ), we really wanted to wrap it around code that would take it to the next level. We tested a few options, but it wasn’t until we worked with Claude Code that we knew we were building something special. Tool #2: Claude Cowork Cowork is an AI assistant that lives on your computer and actually does things for you. It's built for founders, managers, and non-technical people who need AI to handle real tasks without touching code. You tell it what you want done, it does it, and you approve or iterate. It reads your files and controls your browser. It can interact with Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and Notion. And it can even fill in forms, send emails, and organise folders, all from one place. It’s a remarkably useful tool that every founder should be looking into. The Core Difference Claude Code is really built for engineers and technical people. It lives in your terminal, sits inside your codebase, offers full customisation with hooks and GitHub integration, and is best for technical work like writing scripts and managing codebases. Of course, you can absolutely learn it if you so choose - there are free resources all over YouTube, LinkedIn, and on Anthropic’s website ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2/6qhehoulrkr7xgbo/aHR0cHM6Ly9jb2RlLmNsYXVkZS5jb20vZG9jcy9lbi9vdmVydmlldw== ). But just know that it is more technical and therefore might take longer to master. Cowork is built for founders, managers, and non-technical people. It has a visual interface inside the Claude desktop app. It's point-and-click with no terminal and no code. It's best for file management, browser tasks, filling out workflows, and managing apps. Some Use Cases Claude Code: * Synthesise customer feedback from survey data and create a categorised summary. * Draft documents and presentations from PRDs or pitch decks. * Build code and prototypes like MVPs, dashboards, and complex projects without a dev team. * Research and competitive analysis by summarising reports and comparing competitors. * Automate repetitive workflows like recurring reports, build file processing, and data cleanup. * Create reusable skills by building task-specific instruction sets. Claude auto-loads when relevant. Cowork: * Build an expense report in three minutes by pulling receipts from a folder, scanning PDFs, extracting totals, organising files, creating a formatted report, and emailing it. * Prep for meetings by checking Gmail and Slack, summarising context, and creating a Notion page with action items. * Research competitors by pulling data on pricing, positioning, and feature sets, then creating comparison tables. * Draft quarterly reviews by finding past business reports and drafting a summary. * Transcribe and repurpose videos by pulling transcripts and creating email newsletter drafts. * Triage your inbox by sorting emails, flagging urgent items, and drafting replies. The Optimal Workflow For Claude Code: I wouldn’t jump straight into prompting. You’ll likely overwhelm yourself. Here's the flow that works best: * Start in plan mode (Shift + Tab twice). Let Claude break down your goal into steps before it starts executing. * Write your goal clearly. Be specific about what you want. * Let Claude break it into steps. Review the plan before execution. * Review and iterate the plan. Make sure it's doing what you actually need. * Switch to auto-accept edits mode. Let it execute without constant approval. * Claude executes the plan end-to-end. It writes, tests, and refines. * Review output and refine if needed. Check the work and adjust. Key rule: A good plan is everything. The better your brief, the fewer revisions you'll need. The power features: MCP (Model Context Protocol), Skills (Reusable Automations), and CLAUDE.md (Project Memory). These three features separate casual users from power users. For Cowork: * Mount your receipts folder. Give Cowork access to the folder on your desktop. * Scan and extract filenames and expenses. It reads files automatically and pulls metadata. * Build a spreadsheet from the data. Pulls merchant, date, amount, and category into a formatted expense report. * Open Gmail and draft the email. Opens Gmail, finds your contacts, drafts the email message. You review and hit send. The workflow is visual, simple, and requires no code. The Bottom Line You don’t need to learn both. In fact, you’re probably better off going deep than broad when it comes to these skills. If you're technical and work in a terminal, learn Claude Code. If you're a founder or operator who needs AI to automate business tasks without code, learn Cowork. And if you really think both will take your business and you to the next level, then start with Cowork and try Code after. This is a rising tide and the sooner you start, the less you’ll have to catch up later. These skills take time, so I encourage you to break it down into bite sized pieces. Take it from someone who taught themselves AI and now runs a AI start-up that hit $1.5 million ARR in 120 days: even a small amount of self-education each day can go a long way. Give yourself 20-30 minutes every day to learn these Claude skills, you’ll be amazed at how much you know by the end of the month, and certainly by the end of the year. ---------------------- Hiring At Searchable ! ---------------------- The last few months at Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2/p8hehqu4636zr6hq/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ) have been amazing, but mad. We've been shipping at an incredible pace, building out new features every week and improving our product daily. I’ve been working insanely hard (exhausted honestly), but progress is reaching insane levels. I’ve built multiple 8-figure businesses, and I know this kind of speed and quality only comes from having the right team moving in the right direction. I’m incredibly proud of every single member of this team and the unique talents they bring to this mission. And I’m even more excited to announce that we are actively looking to expand that team. Of course, I’m biased, but I genuinely think we are building something here that will change the future of discovery. I’m not saying that because I’m some kind of tech genius. I’ve just seen the reactions from our customers, listened to feedback about the team, and I know we’re building something special. Ultimately, our mission is to wake businesses up to the fact that the way people find products, services, and information is fundamentally changing... and fast. AI search is replacing traditional search, and so many brands are completely in the dark about it. That's the problem we're solving, and we need real A-players who are willing to come in every day and dedicate themselves to building the solution. To be frank, you cannot join Searchable, coast, and expect to do well. We swear by these principles: Move fast: Move incredibly fast (and sometimes break things in the process). Find your lever: Find the lever that moves the world and pull it. Ask why: Ask why things are the way they are and create a better way. Create your swim-lane: Own your domain and don't wait to be told what to do. Simple scales: It’s not about the tabs on the sidebar, it’s about the value you create. We keep the team small and do more with less, we hire winners and put the best people on the field at all times, and we build an environment people want to be in. We're currently hiring across operations, engineering, design, marketing, and finance and would love to hear from you (we've opened more roles since last week). Open roles include: Operations * Community & Cohorts Manager * Customer Success Manager * Mid Market Account Executive * Operations Lead * Sales Development Representative * Senior Account Executive, Germany and DACH (Remote) Engineering * Data Analyst * Software Engineer Design * Content Designer * Design Engineer * Lead Product & UX Engineer Marketing * Content & Personal Brand Manager * Digital PR Lead (Hands-On) * Head Of Performance Marketing * Senior SEO Consultant (Hands-On) * YouTube Content Creator & Host Finance * Founding Head Of Finance (AI-Native) If you want to build something that matters with a team that truly believes in what they’re building, check out our open roles: -->Apply Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2/7qh7h2u9lklodruz/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHJRd0JzWA== ) Apply Here ( https://bit.ly/4rQwBsX ) ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2/7qh7h2u9lklodruz/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHJRd0JzWA== )​ p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2/p8hehqu4636zreaq/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2 ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.kit-mail3.com/75u4eomxqqt8h6l97dob9uwrvvzg7anhmr2k2 )​

----------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring At Searchable, AI Shopping, And How To Avoid Fame When Building A Personal Brand ----------------------------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/08hwhgu2vlww60bl/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * Hiring At Searchable ! * What Is AI Shopping And Why Should You Care? * How To Avoid 'Fame' When Building A Personal Brand ---------------------- Hiring At Searchable ! ---------------------- The last few months at Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/8ghqh3uozrpp60ak/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ) have been amazing, but mad. We've been shipping at an incredible pace, building out new features every week and improving our product daily. I’ve been working insanely hard (exhausted honestly), but progress is reaching insane levels. I’ve built multiple 8-figure businesses, and I know this kind of speed and quality only comes from having the right team moving in the right direction. I’m incredibly proud of every single member of this team and the unique talents they bring to this mission. And I’m even more excited to announce that we are actively looking to expand that team. Of course, I’m biased, but I genuinely think we are building something here that will change the future of discovery. I’m not saying that because I’m some kind of tech genius. I’ve just seen the reactions from our customers, listened to feedback about the team, and I know we’re building something special. Ultimately, our mission is to wake businesses up to the fact that the way people find products, services, and information is fundamentally changing... and fast. AI search is replacing traditional search, and so many brands are completely in the dark about it. That's the problem we're solving, and we need real A-players who are willing to come in every day and dedicate themselves to building the solution. To be frank, you cannot join Searchable, coast, and expect to do well. We swear by these principles: Move fast: Move incredibly fast (and sometimes break things in the process). Find your lever: Find the lever that moves the world and pull it. Ask why: Ask why things are the way they are and create a better way. Create your swim-lane: Own your domain and don't wait to be told what to do. Simple scales: It’s not about the tabs on the sidebar, it’s about the value you create. We keep the team small and do more with less, we hire winners and put the best people on the field at all times, and we build an environment people want to be in. We're currently hiring across operations, engineering, design, marketing, and finance and would love to hear from you. Open roles include: Operations * Community & Cohorts Manager * Customer Success Manager * Operations Lead * Sales Development Representative Engineering * Data Analyst * Software Engineer Design * Design Engineer Marketing * Digital PR Lead (Hands-On) * Head Of Performance Marketing * YouTube Content Creator & Host Finance * Founding Head Of Finance (AI-Native) If you want to build something that matters with a team that truly believes in what they’re building, check out our open roles: -->Apply Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/l2heh6ulexvvm4f6/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHJRd0JzWA== ) Apply Here ( https://bit.ly/4rQwBsX ) ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/l2heh6ulexvvm4f6/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHJRd0JzWA== )​ -------------------------------------------- What Is AI Shopping And Why Should You Care? -------------------------------------------- If you run or lead a business, I need you to read this statistic: AI-driven retail traffic is up 693% year-over-year. Now read it again... 693%! That’s truly insane. But for an even more shocking statistic, less than 0.1% of e-commerce stores are prepared for this shift. So, I want to break down what’s happening and how you can respond to ensure your brand is prepared. In January 2026, Google and Shopify launched the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). This is the infrastructure that lets AI agents discover products and complete purchases on your site without sending users to your website. It allows AI agents like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to discover, recommend, and purchase products on behalf of users. In plain terms, this essentially means that AI agents can now buy products directly. They don’t need to redirect customers to your store, and they don’t need you to click through to a website. So, for example, ChatGPT can handle entire transactions autonomously in the chat. You can go from searching for a great pair of running shoes to actually buying those Hokas or Nikes inside the same chat. OpenAI has called it turning ChatGPT into a “personal shopper.” And that’s basically what it is. For customers, your purchasing experience just became a lot more convenient and personalised. But for brands, this is more urgent. You need to ensure your store is UCP-compliant if you want it to be discoverable in the top LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity). If not, you could be inadvertently sending your customers straight to your competitors. I wish there were more time to prepare, but as you read this, people are already able to complete some purchases directly inside ChatGPT through new shopping features and retail partnerships, including Walmart and Shopify. Google and other major retailers are actively exploring or piloting similar agent‑led commerce experiences, some of which are only available via limited access or waitlists. As I mentioned at the beginning, most e-commerce stores haven't even heard of UCP yet. That presents a massive opportunity for your brand right now. As AI agents increasingly become the default way people discover and purchase products, you can catch this wave if you're UCP-compliant. The key is to make you eligible for native checkout placements as AI shopping surfaces expand. So, here’s what I would do now as a business owner: The first step is understanding where you stand. Most stores have no idea whether they're UCP-compliant or not. They don't know if their product data is structured correctly. They don't know if their checkout flow works for AI agents. We built the UCP Readiness Audit ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/m2h7h6u3v40060tm/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHVsbzE3Yw== ) at Searchable so you can see exactly where your store stands and send you a detailed report in minutes. The audit includes: * UCP Protocol Check: Detection of your endpoint and API capabilities to see if AI agents can even access your checkout. ​ * AI Visibility: Whether your brand appears when AI agents search for your products. ​ * Browser Checkout Test: A live agent simulation of your add-to-cart and checkout flow to identify where the process breaks. ​ * Schema.org Data: Product markup analysis, including name, price, availability, and images, to ensure AI can parse your product information. ​ * Trust Signals: Shipping policy, returns, and contact pages that build agent confidence in recommending your store. ​ * Priority Fixes: AI-generated recommendations ranked by impact so you know exactly what to fix first. The audit is completely free. And it takes less than five minutes to run. You'll get a full report showing you exactly what's working, what's broken, and what you need to fix to become UCP-compliant. I find this moment very analogous to the launch of Google Ads in the early 2000s. The brands that moved early on and dominated their categories. Meanwhile, those who waited spent years playing catch-up or simply had to close their doors. AI shopping is following the same trajectory, and the window is wide open right now. But it won't stay open forever. The only way to know how far you need to go is to understand where you currently are. Take the audit and go from there. -->Start Your Free Audit ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/m2h7h6u3v40060tm/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHVsbzE3Yw== ) Start Your Free Audit ( https://bit.ly/4ulo17c ) ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/m2h7h6u3v40060tm/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHVsbzE3Yw== )​ -------- Step Up: -------- Each week one of my readers will send in a challenging business question for me to answer. I will give a detailed overview of the problem and how I would personally solve the challenge. Hey Chris, I keep hearing people say I need to build a personal brand to grow my business. But honestly, the idea of becoming "famous" or putting myself out there constantly makes me uncomfortable. I'm not trying to be an influencer or go viral. I just want more high-quality clients and better opportunities. Is there a way to get the benefits of a personal brand without having to be everywhere all the time? Or am I missing the point entirely? Hi Charlie, You're not missing the point. But I think we can change how you see the idea of a personal brand, and that might help. Your line of thinking is completely normal, by the way. I think most people misunderstand what building a personal brand actually means. It’s not taking selfies and sharing what you had for breakfast. It’s about demonstrating your expertise and positioning yourself as the go-to person in your industry. Best part is, you do not need to be ‘famous’ to make an impact. What you need to be is ‘micro-famous’ in your niche. There is actually a difference, so stick with me here, and I’ll break it down for you. (I actually just released a full video breaking this down on YouTube, so you can head over there if you prefer to watch the full breakdown ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/dphehmuevpww9mum/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj1aNU14OUFTZXpCdw== ).) But let me give you the short version here. Income in any industry is not equally distributed. 95% of all opportunities go to the top 1 to 2% of people in any sector. Yes, it’s brutal. But once you understand why it happens, you can use it to your advantage. When I started Verb, my digital marketing agency, there were 10,000 agencies in the UK all competing for the same clients. I was 21 years old, but I looked about 16. And I had less experience than almost every competitor out there. I remember sitting in pitch meetings thinking, why would anyone choose me over an agency that's been doing this for 20 years? The answer had everything to do with visibility and positioning. Instead of trying to be the best agency out of 10,000, I positioned Verb as the number one luxury digital marketing agency. We became the most visible option in a very specific category. And by the time I sold that business, we'd worked with Bugatti, Aston Martin, Harrods, and Sunseeker. We weren’t objectively better than anyone else. We got them because when someone thought of luxury digital marketing, our name came up first. That’s really a roundabout way to describe what being micro-famous means. You’re not known all over the world for your work. You’re just known by a small number of people who really matter as the go-to expert in your space. So how do you get micro-famous without becoming "famous"? First, get clear on your positioning. You need to be crystal clear on what you want to be known for. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Your positioning should be specific enough that when someone hears it, they immediately know whether it's relevant to them. Second, create intellectual property. Package your expertise into frameworks, methodologies, or approaches that you can put a name on and teach. Think about how you help customers. What do you do first? What comes second? There's a pattern there. That pattern is your intellectual property. Third, create content consistently. You need awareness content at the top of the funnel to get attention. Then, educational content in the middle to build trust. And, finally, conversion content at the bottom to turn that trust into customers. The ratio should be 80% awareness and education, 20% conversion. Fourth, build a product ecosystem. Offer free resources, low-cost products, mid-tier offers, and high-ticket services. Create a ladder that takes people from discovering you to becoming long-term clients. Fifth, focus on one-to-many communication. Every piece of content you create should reach a minimum of 50 to 250 people. The shift is thinking one-to-many instead of one-to-one. Take the pressure off yourself to go viral. You really don’t need millions of followers. All you need to do is ensure that you’re visible to the right people in your niche. And when you do that, you can finally stop chasing opportunities and let them come to you. For me, that’s really where you unlock that “freedom” of working for yourself that everyone talks about. If you want the full breakdown of how to do this step by step, check out the video: -->Watch Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/dphehmuevpww9mum/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj1aNU14OUFTZXpCdw== ) Watch Here ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Mx9ASezBw )It’s a new channel, so if you can subscribe it would be greatly appreciated ! Best of luck building your personal brand, and I hope this has helped it become slightly less intimidating. Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr/e0hph0u76rww3nh8/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.kit-mail3.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hlvwlr8u7u8oep8k8blhg0rwr )​

----------------------------------------------------------------- Brand New Searchable Updates, Prompting, and Dominating LinkedIn in 2026 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595/p8hehqu4mmqk9msq/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * Searchable Updates * How To Show Up In Search Results * Is 2026 Too Late To Start On LinkedIn? ------------------ Searchable Updates ------------------ I have never been more exhausted or excited in my life. Between becoming a new father to my son Zac, and scaling Searchable to $1.5m ARR within the first couple months, it’s been a whirlwind. And I’m over the moon. Over at Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595/kkhmh2unrrxg8qbl/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ), we've been building like crazy over the past few weeks, and I wanted to give you a quick behind-the-scenes look at what we've shipped. These are features that fundamentally change how you can understand and improve your visibility in AI search. 1. Prompt Classification: Learn, Consider, Purchase First, we've added a new way to classify prompts based on where your customers are in their buying journey. When you look at your prompts now, you'll see them broken down into three categories: Learn: These are the top of funnel prospects. This includes people learning about a product, brand, or service. They're not ready to buy yet but they may just be doing their research. Consider: These are your mid-funnel prospects. They've moved past learning and are now evaluating options and comparing brands. Purchase: This is your bottom of funnel crowd. Pay careful attention to them because they're ready to buy. And they’re looking for where to purchase, what the pricing looks like, and what’s available. This feature is already live, and we're planning to add deeper nested labels in the future. But for now, this gives you a clear view of where you're winning and where you're losing in the customer journey. 2. Microsoft Webmaster Tools Integration We've added Bing Webmaster Tools to Searchable. You can now see your Bing traffic alongside your Google Search Console and Google Analytics data in one place. This is huge for a number of reasons. First, Bing has an AI performance dashboard. And we're seeing really strong growth in Bing AI-driven traffic for brands that are optimising for AI search. Second, ChatGPT relies heavily on Bing for citations, so it’s important to know where you appear in Bing traffic. This data is now available directly in Searchable, so you can track how you're performing across all AI search engines without jumping between platforms. 3. Opportunities: Showing your next wins This is the feature I'm most excited about. We've added a new "Opportunities" tab that tells you exactly where your next wins are. And shows you what to do with that data. You can filter opportunities by on-page (things you can fix on your own site) or off-page (things like getting featured on other publications or building backlinks). Each opportunity comes with specific, actionable steps you can take. We're building Searchable to be the autonomous SEO and AEO growth engine that businesses actually need to save time and energy. Now, if you're interested in playing around with the tool yourself, we actually have a free interactive AI SEO Agent you can use. With the agent you can, for example... * Audit your homepage * Find 5 quick wins for your website * Analyse your competitors and their gaps For free, you can improve your SEO, AEO, and GEO results. Probably shouldn't be giving this away for free (hoping none of the Searchable product team see this !) Give it a whirl and see an AI Agent in action. -->Try For Free ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595/qvh8h8udzzkg8ktl/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNGN0SFN1Zw== ) Try For Free ( https://bit.ly/4ctHSug ) ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595/qvh8h8udzzkg8ktl/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNGN0SFN1Zw== )​ If you are a business that wants to take AI search seriously, either sign up for a free trial of a professional account here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595/qvh8h8udzzkg8ktl/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNGN0SFN1Zw== ), or make an enquiry ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595/9qhzhdud005kg8s9/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vY29udGFjdC1zYWxlcw== ) on the website. -------------------------------- How To Show Up In Search Results -------------------------------- So now you've heard of the product updates within Searchable, let's break down the theory behind it. First things first, if you're not showing up when your customers ask AI for recommendations, you're invisible. And the problem is that most businesses have no idea what their customers are actually asking. They're optimising for keywords they think matter. But they have no data on what people are actually typing into ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude when they're looking for solutions like yours. This is the single biggest gap in most businesses' AI search strategy. You can't optimise for prompts you don't know exist. So, how do you figure out what your customers are asking? First, start by thinking like your customer. If you run a business, what would your customer type into ChatGPT before discovering you? If you can create a list of questions that fit that description, you’ll be able to position your site as the AI's best source for clear, accurate advice. You have to shift your mindset from writing for humans to writing for AI. If you structure it like that, you’ll create content that AI can pull from and deliver to humans. Then, use tools to find real questions. That includes AlsoAsked, AnswerThePublic, or even ChatGPT itself to source the top questions in your niche. Ask ChatGPT: "What are the most common questions people ask about [your product category]?" It will give you a list of questions people are asking. Use that list to create content that answers those questions directly. Next, structure your content for AI extraction. Once you know what questions people are asking, you need to structure your content in a way that AI can extract and cite. That means: Question-based headers – Use questions like "What is [topic]?" or "How do I [task]?" to structure your page like a conversation. Direct answers in the first sentence – Open each section with a one-sentence summary. Write the exact quote you would want to read in an AI summary. That's the phrase AI will pull. Structured FAQ sections – AI loves FAQs. They're clean, scannable, and easy to cite. Add an FAQ section to your top content pages and landing pages. Clear definitions – The first 40 words of your page must contain a clear, standalone definition. AI pulls opening statements to establish context. Original data and statistics – AI platforms prioritise first-party data over recycled information. If you have proprietary research or case studies, surface it clearly. Tables and charts – LLMs extract tabular data more reliably than prose. If you can present information in a table or chart, do it. Credible author bylines – E-E-A-T signals matter. Anonymous content gets deprioritised, so put a real person's name and credentials on your content. Finally, once you've created content, you need to track whether it's actually working. Go to ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude and ask the questions your customers would ask. "What's the best [your category] for [your ICP]?" "How do I solve [problem your product solves]?" This is exactly why we built the prompt classification feature in Searchable. It shows you which prompts you're appearing in, which ones you're missing, and where those prompts sit in the customer journey. Most businesses have no idea what their customers are asking AI. They're writing content based on what I assume is just gut feel. The old SEO playbook simply isn’t going to work in 2026. -------- Step Up: -------- Each week one of my readers will send in a challenging business question for me to answer. I will give a detailed overview of the problem and how I would personally solve the challenge. Hey Chris, I've been thinking about starting to post on LinkedIn in 2026, but I'm worried I'm too late. Everyone I know has been posting for years, and it feels like the platform is saturated. My feed is full of founders and entrepreneurs who already have huge audiences. Is it even worth starting now, or have I missed my chance? And if I do start, where should I even begin? Hi Scarlett, I mean this wholeheartedly... you're not too late. To be honest, we're not even close. I hear this all the time, and it's always the same pattern. But the reality is that LinkedIn is still one of the best platforms for building a business. I didn't start posting on LinkedIn until 3 years. I'd never posted on social media before that. Pretty quickly I analysed our pipeline and told me that over 75% of all new business was coming from my LinkedIn profile. That was the moment I realised I needed to take it seriously. So I committed to posting every single day. And I can tell you with absolute certainty... I've never met anyone who posted every single day for a year and didn't look back at it as one of the best decisions they ever made. If you're willing to commit to consistency, you're already ahead of 95% of people on the platform. So where do you start? First, figure out who you're posting for. This is the most important step. If you don't know your ICP, you're just guessing. Here are some questions to ask yourself: ​ Who is your ideal customer? What do they care about? What problems are they trying to solve? ​ Every piece of content you create should be for them. Second, decide what you're going to post about. You need content pillars. Pick 3 to 5 topics you're going to talk about consistently. For me, it's AI search, personal branding, and founder lessons. Every post I create falls into one of those categories. That gives me clarity on what to create and when. Third, commit to consistency. Post every single day without fail. It sounds like a lot but consistency is the only way to reach the audience size that really count. The first 50 posts won't get much traction, but don’t worry, you're building momentum and I promise the results will come in time. Fourth, use a system. Don't just write whatever comes to mind. Use pre-validated structures that we know work well for LinkedIn. And focus on educational content. Posts that help people go from A to B are the posts that drive follower growth. If you're just posting motivational quotes or talking about yourself, you're frankly just wasting time. Teach something or help your ICP solve a problem. Fifth, don't wait to be perfect. Just start. The first posts you create will be bad and that's completely fine. It’s like any skill: you have to practice if you want to improve. Simple as that. I hate to look back at my early posts, they are incredibly cringe. But those posts taught me what worked and what really didn’t. You can't learn that without making those early mistakes. This is just skimming the surface. As I’m sure you know, I’ve got tons of resources on LinkedIn and in this newsletter, of course. But the best place to start is probably this new video we just posted on YouTube ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595/3ohphdu300p6qwir/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvM09Qb1RBcA== ). I break down exactly how to grow and sell on LinkedIn in 2026. It's less than 20 minutes, so you can watch it anytime. Don’t hesitate to start now. You don’t need to be perfect to post. Be brave and jump in. Good luck ! Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595/48hvh7umvvxzr5tx/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595 ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.kit-mail3.com/wvuwoqrlzzfghkndxnmflunzg3lxpf8hl2595 )​

-------------------------------------- The State Of The LinkedIn Algo In 2026 -------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq/25h2h9u363n0xmb3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * An AEO Masterclass * The State Of The LinkedIn Algo In 2026 ------------------ An AEO Masterclass ------------------ Now, I talk about SEO, AEO, GEO, and AI Search as a whole a lot, in my content and in this very newsletter. But I am fully aware that a lot of my audience don't really know what each means in depth, but if you are a business owner or marketer... I believe you should ! So, in the essence of taking things one step at a time, I wanted to give you a masterclass on one element of that: AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation). Briefly, it is essentially optimising for zero-click answers, aka Google snippets, "People Also Ask" results, and voice search responses. I was talking with my team recently on it, we're essentially calling it a new conversational layer on top of SEO. Which is significant, because if you are now not optimising for AEO, you are directly and negatively impacting your SEO performance, which most companies are still solely focusing on. However, there aren't a lot of similarities between the two. Which is why you need to learn AEO as a separate discipline with clear components. It has a logical progression from understanding to implementation. Because so many businesses are still unsure of what it really means... I've broken it down into one clear flowchart. Read on for how to interpret it properly. ​ Start with understanding what AEO actually is. This includes prompts, mentions, citations, and AI visibility. I have content on my LinkedIn profile ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq/qvh8h8udzdq23lul/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2Rvbm5lbGx5Y2hyaXMv ) and the Searchable LinkedIn page ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq/g3hnhwumrmxo22ir/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2NvbXBhbnkvdHJ5c2VhcmNoYWJsZQ== ) that breaks down what AEO is in further detail. Then, understand why it matters. It is a conversational layer that sits on top of traditional search discovery with zero-click answers and voice search. When someone asks ChatGPT "What's the best project management tool for agencies?" they don't get a list of 10 blue links. They get one synthesised answer. Maybe two or three brands get mentioned. As a result, you need to build your technical foundation across three areas: 1. Site Structure Your site needs to be organised in a way that AI models can parse quickly and accurately. → Implement schema markup on your key pages. Product, FAQ, HowTo, and Review schemas are the most important for AEO. → Use structured data to define entity relationships. AI models need to understand what your company does, who runs it, and how your content connects together. → Clean up your site hierarchy. Every important page should be reachable within 3 clicks from your homepage. 2. Crawlability If AI crawlers can't access your site, nothing else on this list matters. → Check your robots.txt file. Make sure GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended are not blocked. You'd be surprised how many businesses accidentally block AI crawlers. → Strengthen your internal linking. Connect related pages so AI understands the full depth of your authority on a topic. → Page speed matters. Slow, broken pages get crawled less frequently. Keep your Core Web Vitals strong. 3. AI Readiness This is where most businesses fall short. Your content might be crawlable and structured, but is it easy for AI to extract and quote? → Break content into clear, digestible chunks. AI models pull specific passages. Each section of your content should be able to stand alone as a complete answer. → Optimise for passage ranking. Write clear subheadings that mirror the questions people actually ask. Then answer those questions directly in the first sentence of each section. → Use clear hierarchies. H1 → H2 → H3 should flow logically. Don't skip levels and don't bury key information three paragraphs deep. Then, optimise your content for AI citations: 1. Authority Signals AI models recommend sources they trust. You need to prove your credibility explicitly. → Apply E-E-A-T principles across your site. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness aren't just Google guidelines anymore. → Add real author bios with visible credentials to every piece of content you publish. An anonymous blog post has almost zero chance of being cited by AI. → Earn backlinks and citations from trusted, high-authority domains. AI models use citation networks to judge whether your content is credible enough to reference. 2. Answer Format AI pulls from content that directly answers questions. Structure yours accordingly. → Lead with the answer. Don't build up to your point over three paragraphs. State the answer in the first sentence, then expand. → Target specific questions. Use your customer conversations, support tickets, and "People Also Ask" results to find the exact questions being asked about your space. → Write in natural language. AI models are trained on conversational text. Content that reads like it was written for a human conversation gets cited more than content stuffed with keywords. 3. Topic Coverage Surface-level content doesn't get cited. AI rewards depth. → Cover topics comprehensively. If you're writing about a subject, cover every angle. The main question, the sub-questions, the edge cases, the comparisons. → Address related subtopics within the same piece. AI models assess whether a source covers a topic fully before deciding to cite it. → Match user intent. Understand whether someone searching for your topic wants a quick definition, a step-by-step guide, a comparison, or an in-depth analysis. Then deliver exactly that format. Apply these principles across proven formats: - How-to guides - Step-by-step tutorials - Comparison posts - "What is" explainers ...and more, which you can find in the infographic above. This is the same framework we use at Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq/9qhzhdud0dn387f9/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ) to get businesses cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. We built it by reverse-engineering what LLMs actually cite. And then creating a system around it that gives you the analytics, actions, and agentic workflows to drive growth. If you want to see where the gaps are in your AI SEO in under 2 minutes, I highly recommend grabbing your free visibility report: -->Claim Your Report ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq/3ohphdu303v9w6fr/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vZnJlZS12aXNpYmlsaXR5LXJlcG9ydA== ) Claim Your Report ( https://www.searchable.com/free-visibility-report ) ​ This includes: 📊 Deep Visibility & Analytics Report ⌨️ 100 prompt credits 🤖 Work with the agent co pilot 🧹 5 site audit credits 💻 1 article credit Plus free step-by-step guides on how to prepare for this shift. Have a play around with it, and I hope you find it useful ! -------------------------------------------------------- How To Dominate The New LinkedIn Algorithm In 19 Minutes -------------------------------------------------------- LinkedIn just replaced its entire algorithm, and most people have no idea. This isn't a small update. LinkedIn has killed its old ranking system entirely and replaced it with an AI language model that reads your content, judges your profile, and decides whether you deserve to be seen. The tactics that worked well for you in the past simply won't cut through in 2026. Most creators won't catch on to this for another 6-12 months. By then, the people who moved first will have already locked in the audience, the authority, and the clients. This is that window. In the video we cover: * What LinkedIn's new AI algorithm actually rewards (and what it now punishes) * The content format that converts followers at the highest rate right now * Why most personal branding advice is making it harder for you * A pre-validation method that takes the guesswork out of every post * How to turn LinkedIn attention into actual revenue for your business I did a video like this on my previous channel, it went on to become my highest-performing video on that channel. So I hope you find this one just as useful. Click on the button below and go on the recent video to check it out ! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq/n2hohquvmve5d8s6/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVzdGVwYnlzdGVwbmV3c2xldHRlci5jb20vQ2hyaXNEb25uZWxseUJ1c2luZXNzMjEwMg== )​ -->Watch Today ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq/n2hohquvmve5d8s6/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVzdGVwYnlzdGVwbmV3c2xldHRlci5jb20vQ2hyaXNEb25uZWxseUJ1c2luZXNzMjEwMg== ) Watch Today ( https://thestepbystepnewsletter.com/ChrisDonnellyBusiness2102 )(You can also find a free gift for you at the top of the description !) This is still a relatively new channel ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq/48hvh7umvmkqopsx/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvQ0RCdXNpbmVzczIxMDI= )folks, so I appreciate any support you can give. Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq/wnh2h6uqnq8vz4f7/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.convertkit-mail2.com/68unr7pl99h8h5zee84u9up0ne72vu9hpdqeq )​

------------------------------------------ Updating Your Landing Page For The New SEO ------------------------------------------ Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hl64e04i7u8ooeo22clhg0rwr/m2h7h6u3v0qpnwfm/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * Updating Your Landing Page For The New SEO * How to Become Micro Famous * Dealing With The Overwhelm Of AI Tools ------------------------------------------ Updating Your Landing Page For The New SEO ------------------------------------------ Let’s start this week with a couple of stats I think you should be aware of: ChatGPT has approximately 800 million weekly active users and receives around 2.5 billion prompts per day. AI-driven search traffic has increased 527% year-over-year, and 50% of Google searches now result in AI overviews. As a founder or business owner, this should have you on high alert. To put it very briefly, this means more people are getting their answers from LLMs (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, etc.) and from AI Overviews. They’re not scrolling through pages of blue links on Google to find the best results. For your business, that means you need to make sure your content is optimised for AI to cite. This week, I’ll break down how to do that for your landing page and why it matters for the future health of your business. Let’s dive in. Getting Cited by AI If you want to get cited by AI, you need to stop writing solely for humans. That might sound counterintuitive, but let me explain. AI doesn’t really care about whether your content has a good narrative flow or interesting vocabulary. It cares about sources that are engineered for machine extraction. The main reason content gets ignored today is that it wasn’t created for AI to parse and pull from. Quick shameless plug, but that is literally why I co-founded Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hl64e04i7u8ooeo22clhg0rwr/dphehmuevwog7dum/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vP3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TZWFyY2hhYmxlJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09TmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fc291cmNlPU5ld3NsZXR0ZXI= ). It's an autonomous SEO and AEO growth engine that analyses, fixes, and scales your website to drive customers in the age of AI search. It shows you where your website appears in AI search engines, identifies visibility gaps, and provides actionable optimisation recommendations. Then it handles the technical work automatically. So, basically, you get all the benefits of being cited by AI without any of the extra work. But whether you use Searchable or do this manually, here's what you need to know about updating your landing pages for AI visibility: The Anatomy of Content That Gets Cited AI won’t just pick up your content randomly, citations require deliberate page architecture. LLMs like GPT and Perplexity, scan for specific signals before deciding what to cite, and without these elements, your expertise will remain invisible to AI crawlers and therefore your customers. Here's what you need in your content to get cited: 1. Titles that answer direct questions AI matches queries to titles, so vague headlines will always get skipped. Where as question-based titles will signal immediate relevance. Instead of "Our Approach to Marketing," use "How Do SaaS Companies Generate Leads Without Paid Ads?" 2. Opening definitions that can be extracted The first 40 words must contain a clear, standalone definition. AI pulls opening statements to establish context. This is the sentence that will show up in the summary, so make it count. 3. Question-based subheadings H2 and H3 headers that mirror natural queries act as navigation points for LLM parsing. Use "What is X?" and "How do I Y?" instead of clever or vague headers. 4. Structured FAQ sections AI extracts these directly as ready-made responses. An FAQ format provides the cleanest citation source, so if you're not using FAQs on your landing pages, you're missing the easiest win. 5. Credible author bylines E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals will matter to AI platforms. Therefore, anonymous content will get deprioritised in citation decisions made by LLMs. So it is important to put a real person's name and credentials within your content. 6. Original data and statistics AI platforms prioritise first-party data over recycled information. Original insights earn citations that generic content never will. If you have proprietary research, case studies, or data, surface it clearly. 7. Tables and charts LLMs will extract tabular data more reliably than prose. This means that visual data presentation will improve citation accuracy. So, if you can present information in a table or chart, I would 100% recommend you do it. 8. Supporting topic links Related content proves topical authority, whereas isolated articles appear less credible to AI systems. Meaning you should link to other relevant pages on your site consistently to demonstrate a greater depth of knowledge. If you include all of these elements in your content, you’ll be golden. Your New SEO Checklist To end this section, I’m going to give you a helpful tool that I always keep handy. It’s a simple checklist, but it should get you on track to prepare for these SEO updates. First, go to the landing pages that matter the most for your business and personal brand. Then, go through this checklist to see if you have everything you need to get cited by AI: ✅ Does the title answer a direct question someone would ask? ✅ Does the opening paragraph contain a clear, extractable definition?✅ Are your subheadings structured as questions? ✅ Do you have an FAQ section? ✅ Is there a credible author byline? ✅ Have you included original data, stats, or case studies? ✅ Are there tables or charts presenting key information? ✅ Have you linked to related content on your site? If the answer to most of these is no, your content is still invisible to AI. But if you do tick all these boxes, you’ll see an uplift almost immediately. AI search doesn't have the same lag as traditional SEO. Once your content is structured correctly, it can start getting cited within days. And unlike paid ads, this is evergreen. Once you've optimised your pages, they keep working for you without ongoing spend. Again, Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hl64e04i7u8ooeo22clhg0rwr/dphehmuevwog7dum/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vP3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TZWFyY2hhYmxlJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09TmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fc291cmNlPU5ld3NsZXR0ZXI= ) is probably the easiest way to get it all done for you, but I won’t beat that drum needlessly ! What I really want you to walk away with today is a sense of urgency. This shift to AI-based search is already happening. People are using ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI overviews more than ever before, and those numbers are only climbing. If your content isn't optimised for AI extraction, you will lose visibility in the exact places your customers are searching. Happy building everyone. If I've convinced you to give Searchable a whirl, click the button below and grab and 14-day free trial: -->Sign Up For Free ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hl64e04i7u8ooeo22clhg0rwr/dphehmuevwog7dum/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vP3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TZWFyY2hhYmxlJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09TmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fc291cmNlPU5ld3NsZXR0ZXI= ) Sign Up For Free ( https://www.searchable.com/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Searchable )If nothing else, it’s a live example of all these tactics put into practice ! -------------------------- How to Become Micro Famous -------------------------- 95% of all opportunities in your industry go to the top 1% of people. I spent 4 years building a business that nobody knew existed. 80-hour weeks, thousands of pitches, and barely breaking even. Then I made one change. Instead of trying to get better at my work, I got better at being known for it. Within 2 years, Bugatti, Aston Martin, and Harrods were calling us. In my recent YouTube video I go over the exact framework behind that shift. If you're interested, I go over: * A 5 step framework for becoming the go-to name in any niche * Why being great at what you do is the biggest trap in business * The real reason some people attract everything while you're still chasing * How to charge premium rates without changing your skill set ​ ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hl64e04i7u8ooeo22clhg0rwr/e0hph0u76wlgn6s8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj1aNU14OUFTZXpCdw== )This is still a relatively new channel folks, so I appreciate any support you can give ! -------- Step Up: -------- Each week one of my readers will send in a challenging business question for me to answer. I will give a detailed overview of the problem and how I would personally solve the challenge. Hey Chris! Love your content, really great stuff. I’m also a veteran entrepreneur currently building my second business in the market research space. But I have to say, I've never been more overwhelmed by all the new AI tools. It seems like there’s a new one every week that I HAVE to adopt if I want my business to survive. It’s too much. My team has tried a handful, but I end up abandoning most of them because we’re too busy to really give them the time they deserve. So, my question to you: What are your must-have AI tools and why? Thanks! Hi Rachel, Thanks for your message! I completely understand. There are thousands of AI tools on the market, and honestly, 99% of them are a complete waste of time and money. The way I think about AI tools is simple. They either generate revenue or save time. If a tool doesn't do one of those two things, I don't use it. Because I really want to help founders like you find the best resources (and I’m fascinated by AI), I’ve really gone all in on testing tools across the last few years. I think I’ve tested over 150 AI tools across my businesses! It’s been mad. So, I completely appreciate that you just need a quick breakdown of the best ones. So, without further ado, here are my top AI tools and why I chose them: (If you want a more visual breakdown, I go more in depth into these tools in one of my recent YouTube videos. Give it a watch ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hl64e04i7u8ooeo22clhg0rwr/owhkhwuwpl6v8dbv/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj1NYkdIUDVrWlQ1Zw== ) if you want more details!) Start with Claude and customise it. This is the backbone. Don't just use the basic chatbot but instead create custom Claude Projects. I have a Claude Project that acts as my sales manager. I uploaded hundreds of examples of me replying to customers during the sales process. Now, anytime someone sends me a sales query, I paste it into Claude and get a perfect response based on my own style and knowledge. I have projects for operations, YouTube scripts, investor updates, and basically everything to do with running my businesses. This alone will save you hours every week. Use Fathom or Granola to record and transcribe meetings. Fathom joins your calls, records everything, and gives you summaries. We run all our customer calls through Claude to identify aggregated insights. What are customers repeatedly asking for? What bugs keep coming up? This gives us a clear view of what to prioritise. If you don't want a tool visibly joining your calls, use Granola instead. It captures everything without being intrusive. Set up Notion as your workspace. All company documentation and workflows will live here. Also, Notion integrates with Fathom, so all your meeting notes feed into one place. When a new team member joins, they can query Notion for any question and instantly have the context they need. The better your knowledge base, the better your AI outputs. If you only use those three tools, you'll already be miles ahead of most businesses. But if you want to go deeper: Use Clay to enrich contact data: If you're doing any outreach, Clay gives you phone numbers, email addresses, company size, and intent signals. Use Attio (or another CRM) to track every customer interaction: This captures every stage of the customer journey. Use n8n to stitch multiple AI instances together: n8n allows you to build workflows where, for example, an AI researches a customer, another writes an email, and another enriches the data, all automatically. My advice is to start small. Put 15 to 30 minutes a day into learning one tool. Start with Claude. Learn how to create custom Projects. Once that's native to your workflow, add the next tool. Don't try to use everything at once. You'll burn out and abandon all of it. Hope this helps ! Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hl64e04i7u8ooeo22clhg0rwr/z2hgh7uenrkvdvcp/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hl64e04i7u8ooeo22clhg0rwr ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.convertkit-mail2.com/e5u7qwrgvvu7hl64e04i7u8ooeo22clhg0rwr )​

------------------------------- Everything I Learned At Lovable ------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/8kuwvlz5kkfoh2zx9w7alukggqg99c3hxk4r4/08hwhgu2n4vxe5il/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * Everything I Learned At Lovable * How To Deal With Self-Doubt As An Entrepreneur ------------------------------- Everything I Learned At Lovable ------------------------------- I've been a founder for over 15 years and never had a job. But when my previous investor from Lottie was backing a startup called Lovable, and they needed someone to run creator campaigns and education programs, I jumped at the opportunity. Within 24 hours of talking to Anton, the founder, I was starting. So why did I spend three months working at Lovable? Well, first of all, they are one of the fastest-growing startups in history. They went from zero to 200 million in MRR in 12 months. And I got a front row seat to watch them do it, which was very cool. But more importantly, Lovable and startups like it are redefining who gets to be a founder. Before, if you wanted to launch a product, you needed to hire engineers or raise money for a dev team. Now, non-technical founders can build landing pages and products themselves using plain English to prompt. These kinds of platforms are lowering the barrier to entry for entrepreneurs globally. What I witnessed over those three months was unlike anything I'd seen in 15+ years of building businesses. The speed, the execution, the way they used community and technology, it was next level. And today, with their permission, I'm sharing their entire playbook. Here's exactly how Lovable achieved its meteoric rise (and how you can too): Spot trends early and validate fast. Lovable didn't invent a new category. They rode a massive wave. ChatGPT launched, and suddenly, millions of people were experimenting with AI. Lovable built GPT Engineer as a free tool. Millions used it to build landing pages and prototypes. That validated the demand before they even launched the full product. By the time Lovable went live, they already had proof that people wanted this. This isn't new. Jeff Bezos saw internet usage explode by 2,000-3,000% in 1995 and knew he had to build an internet business. The App Store launched in 2008, and entrepreneurs rushed to build mobile apps. ChatGPT is the current wave. Your job is to spot these shifts early and position yourself to ride them. What to do: Use tools like Google Trends or Exploding Topics. Read consumer behaviour reports from KPMG or Deloitte. Look for big shifts in how people behave, then build a solution that meets that new demand. Build a counter-mission. Lovable's message is clear: you don't need to be technical to build a business. And that message is a direct challenge to the status quo. Y Combinator and the entire startup world had been saying for years that technical founders are essential. Lovable flipped that narrative. And millions of people rallied behind it. This is what Monzo did with banking. They positioned themselves against slow, expensive banks. Spotify did it with record labels, empowering artists to distribute their own music. The pattern is simple. Find the old guard, position yourself as the alternative, and galvanise people around that mission. What to do: A counter-mission doesn't just attract customers. It attracts the best talent. A-players want to work on something with a real mission that could change the world or at least the industry. Hire A-players and give them autonomy. Lovable's team was the best I've ever seen. They weren't just talented. They were obsessed with the mission. And they had total autonomy. No one was waiting for approval to ship features. If they had an idea, they built it and launched it. The engineering team was on Slack 24/7, discussing customer feedback. They shipped features daily. Sometimes, within 24 hours of getting feedback. That's what A-players look like. High agency, high autonomy, and completely driven by the mission. What to do: Steve Jobs said A-players hire A-players and B-players hire C-players. If you want to build a world-class team, you need a world-class mission. Make it big enough, clear enough, and compelling enough that A-players want to be part of it. Ship fast, learn fast. Most companies take months to ship features. Lovable took hours. They'd hear feedback from the community, distil it, and ship an improvement the next day. That meant they could take a product from basic to advanced in 30 days instead of six months. This also builds product evangelists. When customers see you implementing their feedback within 24 hours, they feel like they're part of the mission. They become champions for your product. What to do: The feedback loop is simple. Ship a product. Ask customers how they're using it. Track their behaviour. Take that information, iterate, and ship again. Most companies do one or two of those steps. Lovable did all three relentlessly. Build community as distribution. Distribution is the hardest problem in business. Lovable solved it by building a community. Their users weren't just customers. They were evangelists. They shared what they built. They invited friends. They created content about the product. Community also becomes your talent pipeline. Half of Lovable's team came from their community. When people join, they already understand the product and the mission. They're all in from day one. What to do: Do you need to build a community? No. But if you don't, you're making it harder for yourself. When I launch a product, I have 1.1 million people on LinkedIn and 250,000 newsletter subscribers I can reach immediately, plus another 2 million on other platforms. That gives me instant feedback, validation, and distribution. Design viral mechanisms Lovable's product is inherently viral. Non-technical people want to show off that they built software. So they share it. Lovable made sharing easy. They also amplified viral moments. Like the story of the kid who rebuilt DocuSign. They turned that into content, ads, and theatre. What to do: Look for viral moments in your business. Maybe your customer shares a dashboard with their team. Maybe they send a report to colleagues. Find the moments where using your product naturally exposes others to it. Then amplify those moments. Expand your TAM with a magic moment Lovable made their product free for up to five credits a day. That's enough for someone to build a quick landing page. A non-technical person who never thought they could code suddenly thinks they're an engineer. That's the magic moment. And it expanded their total addressable market massively. What to do: Time to value is everything. How quickly can someone experience real value from your product? Can they get it in their first session? Break down your product to deliver that magic moment as fast as possible. We applied all of this to building our AI start-up, Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/8kuwvlz5kkfoh2zx9w7alukggqg99c3hxk4r4/8ghqh3uow8z3d6sk/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ). We spotted a trend: people are using ChatGPT instead of Google. We built a community of 8,000 people and a waitlist of 10,000. (Not to mention the 3 million + following I’ve built through my personal brand…) Then we shipped fast based on feedback. We designed viral mechanisms around shareable traffic reports. And we created a way for people to talk directly to their analytics and get revenue insights immediately. That's the playbook. If you're building something ambitious, I highly recommend paying close attention. The proof is in the pudding… which in this case is hovering around 200 million. -------- Step Up: -------- Each week one of my readers will send in a challenging business question for me to answer. I will give a detailed overview of the problem and how I would personally solve the challenge. Hey Chris, I've been running my business for about three years now, and objectively, things are going really well. We hit our revenue targets last quarter, we've got strong customer retention, and the team is solid. But I can't shake this feeling that I'm one bad decision away from it all falling apart. I'm constantly second-guessing myself, even on things that are clearly working. My co-founder told me I need to relax and enjoy the wins, but I just can't seem to do it. Is this normal? How do you manage the doubt that comes with growth? I feel like I should be more confident given where we are, but instead, I'm just anxious all the time. Hi Martin, I completely understand where you're coming from. Imposter syndrome is real. I've felt it enormously in every single new business I've ever done. And the uncomfortable truth is that doubt doesn't disappear just because you're successful. It just shows up in different ways. When things are going well, your brain starts looking for threats. You're waiting for the other shoe to drop. You might think it’s a personal weakness, but I’ll let you in on a secret: we’re all wired that way. I’ll bet your co-founder has the same fears as you, even if they don’t say it out loud. I’ve been an entrepreneur for 16 years now. And I can honestly say that doubt is real and very obvious. It’s your job not to let it get in the way of where you need to go. The answer I'm going to give you might sound annoying, but I'm borrowing this from Alex Hormozi. What you need is undeniable proof. A stack of undeniable proof and work that you've put in towards the thing will give you the confidence to continue. You have to put in the work that you can, then look at it and say, that's giving me the confidence to pursue this. That could mean tracking your wins. Writing down the exact numbers when revenue is up. Or documenting customer testimonials and repeat purchase rates. I like to list the concrete milestones I've hit. So, next time doubt creeps in, you’ve got the data to disprove it. The second thing to change is how you define success. Right now, you're probably measuring success as "nothing going wrong." That's an impossible standard. Reframe it instead: success is making decisions based on the best information you have, then iterating based on what you learn. Success is shipping consistently. Success is listening to customers and adjusting. You're not trying to be perfect. You're trying to keep moving. The third thing, and this is critical, is to close loops. There's something called The Zeigarnik Effect, and I picked it up from James Smith. You'll remember any unfinished task or any task that's left open. Those open loops haunt you. So if you're doubting a decision, don't just sit with it. Take action, test it, get feedback, and then make the call. Even if it doesn't work, closing that loop means you're no longer carrying it around mentally. Inaction creates much more anxiety than action. I've found that doubt often shows up when you're working in areas outside your zone of genius. If you're still doing everything yourself, if you haven't delegated properly, if you're stretched across too many tasks, that's where you’ll really start to feel insecure. It’s not rocket science. You start questioning everything because you're exhausted. That’s when you need better systems and better people to delegate to. Hire A players who care about the mission. Give them autonomy. Let them take ownership of parts of the business so you can focus on the 20% of work that drives 80% of results. When you're operating in your zone of genius, doubt will naturally dissipate. You'll stop second-guessing yourself because you're doing the work only you can do. And here's the last thing. Doubt isn't always bad. Sometimes it's telling you something useful. If you're questioning a decision, ask yourself: is this doubt based on fear, or is it based on real information I'm ignoring? If it's fear, push through. If it's real information, adjust. The goal isn't to eliminate doubt. It's to make sure it doesn't paralyse you. You're doing well. The business is growing, and that's not because of “luck.” That's the result of good decisions compounding over time. Trust the process you've built. Keep taking action. And when doubt shows up, remind yourself that you've earned the right to be here. Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/8kuwvlz5kkfoh2zx9w7alukggqg99c3hxk4r4/l2heh6ulqpe42xi6/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/8kuwvlz5kkfoh2zx9w7alukggqg99c3hxk4r4 ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.convertkit-mail2.com/8kuwvlz5kkfoh2zx9w7alukggqg99c3hxk4r4 )​

------------------------------ Is Claude Code worth the hype? ------------------------------ Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze/qvh8h8udepzx4vul/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * Today's Sponsor: Shortform * How To Use Claude Code To Build An MVP * The New Rules Of LinkedIn In 2026 * The AI Search Accelerator Starts Soon... --------------------------------------------------- Shortform: The Most Efficient Way to Learn Anything --------------------------------------------------- 📚 Ready to finally read those books you’ve always wanted to read and start learning more quickly? Then Shortform ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze/9qhzhdud4r076lf9/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2hvcnRmb3JtLmNvbS8_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1wYXJ0bmVyJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZG9ubmVsbHk= ) may be the answer for you 📚 ​ ​ ​ As an entrepreneur juggling multiple businesses and several teams, I simply don’t have the time to read every book I want to. Reading guilt is a real thing! That’s why I’ve been using Shortform ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze/9qhzhdud4r076lf9/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2hvcnRmb3JtLmNvbS8_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1wYXJ0bmVyJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZG9ubmVsbHk= ) for years to keep learning, without needing more time in the day. I was talking to another founder recently who had the same experience. We agreed on just how valuable it is to be able to access world-class summaries of all the business books we’ve been dying to read and actually get value from them. Other book summaries are lacking in substance and detail. But the ones from Shortform ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze/9qhzhdud4r076lf9/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2hvcnRmb3JtLmNvbS8_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1wYXJ0bmVyJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZG9ubmVsbHk= ) are the most comprehensive breakdowns of nonfiction books you can find anywhere. Plus, they have thousands of titles available, so you can find exactly what you’re looking for. I’m able to refresh my memory on some of my favourites like Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, or get super in-depth summaries of the latest books I haven’t read yet. And it’s not just doing the thinking for you. These summaries will help you grasp the key concepts faster than ever before, and you can finally get through the key parts of the books you’ve always wanted to read. Get a FREE TRIAL and $50 OFF your subscription below ! -->Get $50 OFF! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze/9qhzhdud4r076lf9/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2hvcnRmb3JtLmNvbS8_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1wYXJ0bmVyJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZG9ubmVsbHk= ) Get $50 OFF! ( https://www.shortform.com/?utm_medium=partner&utm_source=donnelly ) -------------------------------------- How To Use Claude Code To Build An MVP -------------------------------------- The barrier to entry for building businesses has collapsed. And one of the most powerful tools driving that shift is Claude Code. You might have heard of it, but perhaps you may not be sure what it actually is. Or maybe you’ve read about it but are too nervous to test it out. So, this week, we’re going to break down what Claude Code is and why it’s an incredible tool if you’re building a business in 2026. Let’s get into it: Claude Code is an agentic coding tool released by Anthropic in May 2025 that works directly from your terminal. It writes, tests, and deploys code autonomously. You tell it what you want to build, and it builds it. You don't need to know how to code at all (not really). You just need to know what problem you're solving. When we were building Searchable, we tested wrapping it around different LLMs. The minute we wrapped it around Claude Code, it felt like we'd built something special. That's how incredible the underlying model is. It handles massive context windows better than anything else. When you're working on multi-layered projects that require the AI to remember everything and maintain accuracy across thousands of lines of code, Claude Code is unmatched. Tools like Claude Code are genuinely changing the world and the future. The first piece of software I ever wrote took me four months when I was 19. Now you could create that with proper planning and Claude Code in days, maybe even hours. But there's a massive difference between building something and building something people will actually use. The quality of your input will dictate the quality of your output. If you give Claude Code a terrible plan, you're just wasting time and energy. But if you invest time in proper planning, defining features clearly, and testing as you go, you can build something genuinely useful. So, here are 5 steps I would recommend taking to get the most out of Claude Code: 1. Start with a proper plan Don't just tell Claude Code to build you an app. Break down exactly what features you need. If your app needs four core features to work, map those out clearly. The better your plan, the better your output. Most people fail with AI tools because they give vague instructions and expect magic. 2. Use Plan Mode properly Claude Code has a Plan Mode that lets you go back and forth with the AI before it starts building. Don't skip this. Spend time refining the plan. Ask Claude Code to ask you questions. Get it to clarify what you actually want. The more detailed this first plan is, the better the results you'll get. 3. Build features one by one and test as you go Don't try to build everything at once. Build the first feature. Test it. Make sure it works. Then move to the second feature. This prevents you from wasting time building functionality on top of broken code. It also helps you understand whether your product is actually working the way you expected. 4. Don't over-obsess on tools and plugins There are a million different tools, plugins, and setups people are talking about. Things like MCP servers, skills, and custom configurations. Most of that doesn't matter. What matters is your plan. If your plan is terrible, no amount of tooling will save you. Get good at planning and prompting first ,then experiment with advanced setups. 5. Keep your context clean Claude Code has a massive context window, but that doesn't mean you should fill it endlessly. If you're in a long session and you've used more than 50% of the context, start a new session. The model starts to lose clarity when you overload it with too much information. I've been in the startup world for 16 years, and now, with tools like Claude Code, building really is the easy part. If I were starting out now, I would build an MVP as quickly as possible, then shift my focus and resources elsewhere. Namely, discovery and distribution. Search is shifting away from Google and traditional SEO. Or, more aptly put, it’s expanding. Brands need to start optimising for AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. This is exactly why we built Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze/3ohphdu3xg0w2dhr/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ). We knew founders were going to be launching products faster than ever. And we knew most of them would have no idea how to get found. Searchable helps you analyse where your product appears in AI search results, diagnose why you're not showing up, and fix it automatically. The reality is that we're living in the most exciting time to build a business. There is virtually no barrier to entry anymore. If you want to build something, you really need two things: a product that works, and a system that gets people to it. Tools like Claude Code handle the first part. Searchable handles the second part. --------------------------------- The New Rules Of LinkedIn In 2026 --------------------------------- I just released the most comprehensive LinkedIn growth video I've ever made. In this video I cover exactly how the algorithm has changed and what you need to do to grow in 2026, including: * The 7-touchpoint profile setup that converts at 3-5% * he 5 post types that drive 80% of growth ​ * The specific 2026 algorithm changes and how it'll impact you. * The invisible sales system that turns followers into customers * And I'm giving away my updated LinkedIn playbook for free If you're building a business in 2026, I still believe LinkedIn is the highest-leverage platform available and this video shows you exactly how to use it. -->Watch Now ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze/n2hohquv20mdxni6/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vQGNocmlzZG9ubmVsbHlidXNpbmVzcw== ) Watch Now ( https://www.youtube.com/@chrisdonnellybusiness ) ​ ---------------------------------------- The AI Search Accelerator Starts Soon... ---------------------------------------- On February 3rd (Tuesday), we kick off another 6 week program with Searchable: The AI Search Accelerator. Just 3 weeks after joining the first program, brands started seeing up to 30% lifts in AI visibility. Again, bare in mind that's just 6 weeks. This isn't like most cohorts, where you consume the content, you save the frameworks... but you never implement any of that info. In the first program, we did the opposite: our participants picked a strategy, shipped AEO pages, and fixed technical blockers quietly killing AI visibility. This is exactly what we teach inside the Accelerator: * How AI engines decide who gets cited * How to target the prompts that actually matter * How to build content LLMs can extract from * How to track AI visibility properly You do not pay to be part of this program. It is free for existing paying pro and above accounts on Searchable. If you're willing to put in the work, I encourage you to apply here: -->Apply Today ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze/48hvh7umw8voprhx/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vYWktc2VhcmNoLWFjY2VsZXJhdG9y ) Apply Today ( https://www.searchable.com/ai-search-accelerator ) ​ See you there folks ! Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze/wnh2h6uqm6nzkqh7/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2wp4deef7h4ex5nrugu8ddxdkkc4hokeze )​

-------------------------------------------------- New 'ChatGPT Ads' changes everything for founders… -------------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8/owhkhwuwxgz6zguv/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * Prepare Your Business For ChatGPT Ads * Secrets Behind A $6.6 Billion Company * Cohort 2 Of The AI Search Accelerator Starts Soon... ------------------------------------- Prepare Your Business For ChatGPT Ads ------------------------------------- ​OpenAI just announced ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8/z2hgh7ue5pgkgwip/aHR0cHM6Ly9vcGVuYWkuY29tL2luZGV4L291ci1hcHByb2FjaC10by1hZHZlcnRpc2luZy1hbmQtZXhwYW5kaW5nLWFjY2Vzcy8= ) they're testing ads inside ChatGPT starting this month in the US, with plans to roll out globally soon after. You could see it as a way for OpenAI to monetise their 800 million weekly active users without forcing everyone onto paid plans. But if you're a brand, a founder, or anyone building a business online, you should be looking at it as an opportunity. AI search has officially become a paid distribution channel. And the brands that figure this out first are going to dominate the next decade. For the last two years, we've watched consumer behaviour shift away from Google and toward AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching this in real time. Family members, friends, and my employees have all started using ChatGPT as their default, instead of “Googling it.” The brands that show up in the responses are the ones they are paying attention to. Now bring ads into the mix. OpenAI has essentially created a paid distribution layer inside ChatGPT. Brands will be able to pay to have their ad show up directly below ChatGPT's answer. Let’s say you’re asking for the best day trips outside of London. You’ll get a list of places in the response, and then see an ad for a hotel in Oxford underneath it. When Google introduced ads in the early 2000s, the brands that understood SEO early dominated for a decade before the space became competitive. The same thing is happening right now with AI search. Except this time, the window is even shorter. And ads are only half the equation. The real opportunity is organic visibility. Getting your brand to show up in ChatGPT's responses without paying for it. The brands that crack organic AI search visibility now, before this becomes saturated, are going to own their categories for years. This is exactly why we built Searchable ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8/p8hehqu4rgv2v8tq/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNG1VcWVsTg== ). We saw this shift happening months and months ago. We saw that people were moving away from Google as AI became the new front door to the internet. And we knew that most brands had no idea how to maintain visibility in these systems. Searchable helps brands analyse where they appear in AI search results, diagnose why they're not showing up, and fix it. We built it because we knew this moment was coming. And now that ChatGPT is introducing ads, the urgency just went from high to critical. AI models don't crawl the web the same way Google does. They don't rank based on backlinks or domain authority. They pull from training data, structured sources, and real-time retrieval systems. OpenAI has said they'll match conversation topics to relevant advertisements, but they won't sell user data or expose conversations to advertisers. That means the game is fundamentally different. The SEO playbook you've been running for the last decade doesn't work here. You need a completely different strategy. If you want to scale any time in the next five to 10 years, you need to take this seriously. That means investing in structured content, optimising for how AI models surface information and building authority in the places AI actually pulls from. It also means testing, iterating, and learning faster than your competitors. OpenAI has made it clear that ads won't influence ChatGPT's responses. They've outlined principles around user trust and data privacy and said they won't serve ads on sensitive topics like health or politics. But none of that changes what's happening right now. AI search is becoming a distribution channel. And if you're not showing up organically or exploring paid options, you're already behind. Start treating AI search like a real distribution channel. Start auditing where your brand appears in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. Start building content that answers the questions people are asking these models. And start thinking about how ads in ChatGPT will impact your category. This isn't a future problem. It's happening right now. And the brands that move first are going to own this space before most people even realise it exists. ------------------------------------- Secrets Behind A $6.6 Billion Company ------------------------------------- After building three $10M+ companies myself, I thought I'd seen it all. Then I joined Lovable ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8/x0hph3uek9gpgkt5/aHR0cHM6Ly9sb3ZhYmxlLmRldi8= ) (the fastest-growing startup in history) and discovered the strategies that are working today, and it's completely changed how I build businesses. In this video, I break down the exact playbook Lovable used to scale at record speed, and how you can apply the same principles to your own business. Specifically, I touch on: * How to spot and validate massive trends early * How to build a mission that attracts elite talent and loyal customers * Why A-players are the real growth lever (and how to attract them) * How to ship faster than competitors and learn in real time * How to build community, distribution, and product evangelists * How viral mechanisms and “magic moments” unlock hypergrowth ​ ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8/6qhehoulxnq5qzio/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj04aFVmMndmSjdLbw== )This is my new YouTube channel ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8/kkhmh2unz6757wtl/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vQGNocmlzZG9ubmVsbHlidXNpbmVzcw== ), so I'd really appreciate any early support you could give with a quick like and subscribe ! ---------------------------------------- The AI Search Accelerator Starts Soon... ---------------------------------------- On February 3rd, we kick off another 6 week program with Searchable: The AI Search Accelerator, Cohort 2. Just 3 weeks after joining Cohort 1, brands started seeing up to 30% lifts in AI visibility. Again, bare in mind that's just 6 weeks. This isn't like most cohorts, where you consume the content, you save the frameworks... but you never implement any of that info. In Cohort 1, we did the opposite: our participants picked a strategy, shipped AEO pages, and fixed technical blockers quietly killing AI visibility. This is exactly what we teach inside the Accelerator: * How AI engines decide who gets cited * How to target the prompts that actually matter * How to build content LLMs can extract from * How to track AI visibility properly We're opening 100 seats for Cohort 2 (starting Feb 3rd) ! You do not pay to be part of this cohort. It is free for existing paying pro and above accounts on Searchable. If you're willing to put in the work, I encourage you to apply here: -->Apply Today ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8/58hvh8ug3kene2h6/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vYWktc2VhcmNoLWFjY2VsZXJhdG9y ) Apply Today ( https://www.searchable.com/ai-search-accelerator ) ​ Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8/25h2h9u3l4585zi3/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8 ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu96dro00sehpwexx4cqu6kd8l77a5hg48v8 )​

--------------------------------------------- The 2026 SEO Framework Your Business Needs... --------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/z2hgh7ue5r6eglhp/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * ANNOUNCEMENT: Brand New YouTube Channel ! * The 2026 SEO Framework * The Creator Accelerator 6 Starts Tomorrow ! ---------------------------------------- ANNOUNCEMENT: Brand New YouTube Channel! ---------------------------------------- I'm quitting my old YouTube channel. And starting again. I feel like that channel has served its purpose but interviews and podcasts aren't where I add the most value. I've been building companies for 16 years: * 4 businesses * Three past £10m+ in revenue * One sold in an 8-figure deal And now, I'm back in founder mode once again, in the trenches, building from scratch. So I asked myself a simple question: What content would I actually want if I were starting again today? The answer definitely wasn't more podcasts. So I've launched a brand new YouTube channel. It will featured step-by-step breakdowns of: * How I'm building businesses today * Where leverage actually comes from * How to build a personal brand that compounds * How to win customers and scale properly * How to use AI, not in theory, but practice This is the stuff I wish I had on camera at 21. And so if you are a founder, or planning to be one, this channel is for you. My first video teaches you how to a build a $1 million business without selling your time, using The CODE Framework: ​ ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/p8hehqu4r564vpiq/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj1xa1gwRUJzaHlrYw== )Check it out by clicking on the video above! Unless you want to become a glorified freelancer who trades time for money... ---------------------- The 2026 SEO Framework ---------------------- AI summaries now appear in 50% of Google searches. Brands that ignore this reality will lose visibility fast. That's not to say traditional rankings in terms of SEO don't matter, they still do, but fundamentally AI engines are redefining how people discover brands. Visibility in 2026 requires optimisation across both traditional search and AI-driven platforms (AEO/GEO). Because AI-driven results shape recommendations and buyer intent with personalised guidance which traditional SEO cannot offer. That is powerful. And so I've come up with a simple 5 step plan that you can all follow at home to help get your brands discovered not only in Google, but ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, etc as well. Here it is: Step 1: Be Found (SEO) Search engines still matter, but they’ve changed. You need to: * Nail the fundamentals: fast site, schema, structured data. * Build clusters around full topics, not just keywords. * Own authority with consistent on-page optimisation and backlinks. This is a prerequisite to entering the conversation. Step 2: Be Chosen (AEO) AI Overviews are now the front door of discovery. To win, you must: * Optimise for voice queries, FAQs, and instant answers. * Structure content so LLMs can “lift” your answers directly. * Prioritise clarity, short snippets, and schema-rich responses. If you aren’t AI’s first choice, you will be invisible. Step 3: Be Cited (GEO) Generative engines reward those they can reference. To earn citations: * Create high-trust, insight-led content. * Publish data, original thinking, and frameworks AI can reference. * Use prompt-led publishing to match how people query LLMs. If the machines don’t cite you, humans won’t find you. Step 4: Be Scaled (AIO) AI has changed the economics of content. Scale comes from: * Automating content production without losing voice. * Repurposing into multiple formats (text, video, carousel). * Using AI for editorial planning, clustering, and coverage. This is how you compete on volume without burning resources. Step 5: Be Dominant (SXO) Winning in 2026 is all about owning the ecosystem: * Stack SEO + AEO + GEO + AIO into one system. * Dominate a niche with topic-layering across search, AI, and platforms. * Push traffic off platforms into owned channels (newsletter, community). Search visibility in 2026 operates across multiple channels. SEO is essentially the foundation, then you stack these layers on top for an incredible amount of added traffic to your business. Brands that wait will lose that traffic to their competitors. In case you are curious to learn more about AI SEO looks in 2026... I'm hosting a free event on it very soon! “AI Search Summit 2026: The Big Event” It's a 3-hour live event focused on one main topic: How brands actually win visibility inside AI answers in 2026. I’ve brought together some of the best minds and businesses building in AI search to share what’s genuinely working as of today. Here’s what we’ll cover in 3 hours: * Myself (Founder, Searchable) on why the metrics that mattered in traditional search need updating for AI * ​Dan Slagen ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/x0hph3uekd2egmi5/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2Rhbi1zbGFnZW4tNzE4Njc1YS8= ) (SVP Marketing, Zapier) sharing how Zapier is is leading AI-led discovery and what their team is doing differently to stay visible * ​Ethan Smith ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/6qhehoulx6rlqqio/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2V0aGFubHMv ) (CEO, Graphite) breaking down practical tactics for getting cited by AI engines When, where, and how much? 📅 January 22, 2026 ⏰ Live online (global-friendly) starting 3pm GMT (for 3 hours) 🎟️ Completely free We’re capping attendance, and spots are already filling (2000+ people signed up already). -->Register Here ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/kkhmh2unz2w6gghl/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20vYWktc2VhcmNoLXN1bW1pdC0yMDI2 ) Register Here ( https://www.searchable.com/ai-search-summit-2026 )You’ll also get access to the 2026 AI Search Visibility Report with data on how AI engines actually select sources. We’re giving away $50,000 in prizes to live attendees... don't miss out. ------------------------------------------- The Creator Accelerator 6 Starts Tomorrow ! ------------------------------------------- For our brand new Founders' Edition of The Creator Accelerator, spots have filled up faster than any we've ever done before. I'm an entrepreneur first and a creator second. So TCA is not a "personal branding course" and I'm not a "LinkedIn coach" whose only business is showing people how to gain followers. I've built and sold a luxury marketing agency for $25 million, scaled a health tech startup to a $125 million valuation, grown TCA to $10m ARR with 4 staff, and launched Searchable, which hit $1M ARR in its first month. These results prove it: * Results like Julia ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/58hvh8ug3oxkpvf6/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2p1bGlhdGhlZ2Vlay8= ), who landed a $250,000 contract weeks after starting. * Or Harvey ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/25h2h9u3l094r8i3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL21yLWhhcnZleS1sZWUv ), who was already a credible creator before joining, launched a successful new business on the back of a 20x increase in impressions and 21x increase in engagement. * Or Dr. Heather ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/g3hnhwumgo967ohr/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2hlYXRoZXJtYWlldHRhLw== ), who came in with 1,300 followers and has since grown to over 52,000, landed a $40,000 government contract, and posted 300+ consecutive days. * Or Sandeep ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/9qhzhdud43wzklh9/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL3Nhbmd1bGF0aS8= ), who signed a £135,000 SEO retainer and hired three new team members just to manage the inbound demand his content was creating. And I'll be honest, the cost reflects the rigorous nature of the program. The investment from your side is: A $5,850 one-time payment, OR 3 monthly payments of $2,166.67. It's an investment, but we can't reasonably offer this much value at a lower price. Especially as applicants will also get access to a bonus stack, worth over $2500, including: The Creator OS ($99): The system for managing your content. The Digital Business Blueprint ($999): A 10-week program on building a high-leverage digital business with 10 modules and actionable assignments. All of our GPTs ($297): Every GPT we use daily. Chris Coach AI ($999): An AI coach trained on all of my knowledge. I'm not exaggerating when I say there are only a few full price spots left. So if you're going to act, now would be the time. Applications close tomorrow. -->Claim Your Spot Now ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/n2hohquv25q6wna6/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVjcmVhdG9yYWNjZWxlcmF0b3IuY28udWsv ) Claim Your Spot Now ( https://thecreatoraccelerator.co.uk/ ) Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505/48hvh7umwql6zrtx/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505 ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.convertkit-mail2.com/n4urx7nlwwhvhx2ekr0t0u68qvkggalhvq505 )​

Hello wonderful people ! I'm going to be honest with you. Most founders I speak to are heading into 2026 with the same problem they had in 2025. They have a great product or service, real expertise, and genuine value to offer. But their pipeline is unpredictable, their growth depends on referrals and manual outreach, and they're working harder than ever just to stay in the same place. I've been there myself. When I was building Verb Brands, I spent years grinding through cold outreach and chasing clients before I figured out how to make leads come to me instead. That shift changed everything. It's what allowed me to scale to over 100 staff and eventually sell the agency for $25 million. And it's what I want to help you do in 2026. On January 15th, I'm hosting a free, 4-hour live event called Lead Generation Live. It's designed for founders and business owners who want to stop chasing clients and start attracting them instead. -->Reserve Your Free Seat ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x/08hwhgu2q4xdd4bl/aHR0cHM6Ly9ncm93dGguY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvbGVhZC1nZW4tbGl2ZQ== ) Reserve Your Free Seat ( https://growth.chris-donnelly.co.uk/lead-gen-live ) ------------------ Why I'm Doing This ------------------ After 15 years of building startups, I've learned that almost everything in business is downstream of attention. If people don't know you exist, they can't buy from you, if they don't trust you, they won't take a chance on you, and if you don't have systems to capture and convert that attention, you're just creating content for the sake of it. ​The Creator Accelerator ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x/8ghqh3uok83ll4ck/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVjcmVhdG9yYWNjZWxlcmF0b3IuY28udWsv ) has now helped over 600 founders build personal brands that drive real business results. I've seen what works and what doesn't, I've watched members go from invisible to inundated with inbound leads, and I've refined the frameworks that make that transformation possible. Lead Generation Live is my chance to share those frameworks with a much wider audience, completely free, so that more founders can enter 2026 with a real plan for growth rather than vague resolutions that fall apart by February. ​ ---------------- What We'll Cover ---------------- This isn't a solo show where you listen to me talk for four hours straight. ​ I've brought together some of the most respected entrepreneurs in the world to share their specific strategies for generating leads and building sustainable businesses. ​Daniel Priestley ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x/vqh3hmuo864po2sg/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2RhbmllbHByaWVzdGxleS8= ) - A serial entrepreneur who has built and sold several successful businesses and written 5 books on starting and scaling businesses. He is the founder of Dent Global, an accelerator and venture studio with offices in the UK, Australia and Canada and he’s also the co-founder of ScoreApp, AI powered marketing software with clients in over 150 countries. Daniel has won entrepreneur of the year and scale up of the year awards and regularly gives talks for growing businesses. What Daniel will talk about: How the nature of business has fundamentally changed with AI, why we're entering an era of millions of small and profitable businesses that can compete with corporations, and the combination of AI and personal brand that creates unstoppable momentum for founders who understand how to use it. ​Nathan Barry ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x/m2h7h6u3wx983qim/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL25hdGhhbmJhcnJ5Lw== ) - As the CEO of Kit, Nathan Barry has a front row seat to what’s working in the most successful creator businesses. He's helped tens of thousands of creators earn a living online and is a big believer in teaching everything you know, something he does every week in his newsletter and podcast. In previous careers, Nathan has been a designer, author, and blogger. After learning the power of email marketing, he gave up a successful blogging career to build Kit. ​ ​What Nathan will talk about:​ 4 Flywheels You Need to Build a Million-Dollar Newsletter ​Eric Partaker ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x/dphehmuerxk0ekam/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2VyaWNwYXJ0YWtlci8= ) - The Founder of The Founder & CEO Accelerator, a 10-week cohort based program that helps founders and CEOs to scale their companies, become great CEOs, and operate at their full potential in the process. He has advised Fortune 50 CEOs while at McKinsey & Company, helped build Skype’s multi-billion dollar exit, founded several companies, and helped scale over 100. Eric has been recognised as the “CEO of the Year” and one of the nation’s top entrepreneurs. His work has featured on over 7 major TV stations, in the Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. He has also appeared as a guest judge on The Apprentice. ​ Recognised as the #1 most influential creator in the world on LinkedIn, within the Management & Leadership category, Eric has built a following of over 1 million in just over 2 years. ​ ​What Eric will talk about:​ 3 Levers to 10x Your Sales Growth ​Sara Davies MBE ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x/e0hph0u75ze07wc8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL3NhcmEtZGF2aWVzLW1iZS03NDA2ODU0Lw== ) - The founder of Crafter’s Companion which designs, manufactures and sells its craft-related products to customers across 40 countries and employs more than 100 people worldwide. ​ In 2016, Sara was presented with an MBE in the Her Majesty’s Birthday Honours List for services to the economy. In 2019, she was named the youngest entrepreneur to join BBC One’s Dragons’ Den. ​ In 2024, Sara was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University of York, where she first studied for her Bachelor’s Degree. Sara has written three books: We Can All Make It, Craft Your Year, and The Six Minute Entrepreneur. ​ ​What Sara will talk about:​ Marketing on a zero budget -------------------------- What You'll Walk Away With -------------------------- Over 4 hours, you'll learn how to: * Turn your expertise into content that attracts your ideal clients without spending hours creating every single day. ​ * You'll understand how to build a personal brand that generates trust, credibility, and inbound enquiries from people who already want to work with you. ​ * You'll discover how to create lead magnets and systems that capture attention and convert it into real business conversations. ​ * You'll learn how to position yourself as the obvious choice in your market so you're competing on value rather than racing to the bottom on price. ​ * And you'll see how to leverage LinkedIn and AI to scale your reach without scaling your workload or hiring a team. You'll leave with ready-to-implement frameworks you can start using the very next day. ----------------------- ​ Live Attendance Bonuses ----------------------- Everyone who registers gets access to the Personal Brand 3-Pager Template before the event, so you can come prepared to fill it in live. But if you show up live on January 15th, you'll also receive exclusive bonuses that won't be available to anyone who just watches the replay. These include my personal Lead Generation GPTs (the AI tools I use to generate outbound leads for my own businesses), 10 Lead Generation post templates and a complete breakdown of the 4 Layers of Lead Generation with implementation guides for each layer. These bonuses are only available to live attendees. If you register but don't show up, you won't receive them. ----------- The Details ----------- Date: Thursday, January 15th, 2026 ​Time: 12:30pm – 5:00pm GMT (7.30am - 12.00pm EST) ​Location: Online (link sent upon registration) ​Investment: Completely free We're limiting live attendance to 15,000 people. We're already past 5,000 registrations, and given the size of our speakers' audiences, I expect this to fill quickly. When spots are gone, registration closes, and there's no waitlist or "we'll squeeze you in" option available. A replay will be available after the event ends, but the live attendance bonuses are only for those who show up on the day. ​ ------------------------------------------- One Final Thing - Our Biggest TCA Offer Yet ------------------------------------------- Live on the call we will also be offering our biggest offer for The Creator Accelerator ! With one Single Purchase, you can get: * A Free Creator OS ($99) - The system for managing your content ​ * A Free Digital Business Blueprint ($999) - 10 week program, normally sold at $7,000. How to build a high leverage digital business with 10 modules and actionable assignments to get started fast. (added to your TCA community area and you keep for 6 months). ​ * Access to all our GPTS ($297) - All of the GPTs we use on a daily basis. ​ * Access to the first ever Chris Coach AI ($999) - An exclusive AI coach trained on all of my knowledge and insights ​ * A 10% discount - Our final discount. -->Reserve Your Free Seat ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x/08hwhgu2q4xdd4bl/aHR0cHM6Ly9ncm93dGguY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvbGVhZC1nZW4tbGl2ZQ== ) Reserve Your Free Seat ( https://growth.chris-donnelly.co.uk/lead-gen-live )I'll see you on the 15th. Chris Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x/7qh7h2u93e8o9mcz/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.convertkit-mail2.com/92ulrpoe88unh6420r7bzuzoxm933bwh0nx5x )​

------------------------------------------------- Open this if your resolutions fail after 1 month… ------------------------------------------------- Read time: 5 minutes Welcome to Step by Step, my weekly newsletter where I give actionable business & personal advice from my experience as an entrepreneur. If you're looking for my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the vault is at the bottom of this email! I’m always trying to send you the most relevant advice possible. it would be great if you can spare 15 seconds here to help me do just that: Help me help you! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/v8upw2exvvsrhvmxvwxswuv3xwmllh9hl03n3/wnh2h6uq87o6dlc7/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hyaXMtZG9ubmVsbHkuY28udWsvdGhhbmtz ) -------------------------- Step Up Today by Learning: -------------------------- * Why You’re Not Sticking To Your Resolutions * The New Huge Opportunity in 2026 * The 2026 Updated LinkedIn Algorithm Report ----------------------------------------------------- Here’s Why You’re Not Sticking To Your Resolutions... ----------------------------------------------------- So we are now officially in January 2026 and suddenly everyone becomes a goal-setter. Everyone feels like they need to set new resolutions and targets and as a result, the gym starts to get packed, the journals come out and everyone becomes a self proclaimed expert on productivity. And then by mid February... nothing has changed. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Because I speak to hundreds of founders and business owners every week. People who are smart, ambitious, and working incredibly hard. People who genuinely want to build something meaningful. And yet most of them look back at 2025 and realise they didn't hit the goals they set for themselves twelve months ago. So what went wrong? Well it’s definitely not the information, that's infinitely accessible now. You can learn almost anything from YouTube, podcasts, courses and books. Almost all knowledge is just a search away. Therefore the gap between those who build something meaningful and those who don’t does not come down to knowledge anymore, it comes from implementation. And for implementation you need accountability. It's having the right people around you. It's someone who has actually built the thing you're trying to build, looking at your specific situation and telling you what to do next. This is one of the main reasons we built The Creator Accelerator the way we did. Yes, there are 100s of hours of module content for you to learn from and yes there's a structured curriculum. But we have now refined it from over five sold out cohorts and 600+ alumni. Because we realised, the modules aren't why people succeed in TCA. The real reason they succeed is because of the live coaching calls where we work through their specific challenges in real time. It’s because of the accountability groups and channels where the coaches and I will give feedback on a daily basis, so standards never slip. And it’s because of a community of other founders who are building alongside them and pushing each other forward. To be honest, the information creates the foundation. But the implementation structure is what creates the real results. Results like Yinka, who generated over $400,000 in revenue directly from LinkedIn using the systems we teach. Or Jeff, who sold $80,000 worth of offers in his first few weeks. Or Christine, who made $52,000 in course revenue in under two months while nearly doubling her audience. This is what happens when you combine proven frameworks with real accountability and hands-on support. Now, I want to be direct about something. I also think there’s another reason why the TCA has helped others achieve these types of results. It is not a solely "personal branding course." and I am not a 25 year old LinkedIn coach who’s only business is showing people how to grow on LinkedIn. I will always try to help break down real business problems and I use all of my previous experience to try and give you personalised answers. Because I am and always will be an entrepreneur first and a creator second. I've built and sold a luxury marketing agency for $25 million, I've scaled a health tech business startup to a $125 million valuation with my brother. I’m currently running the TCA (which hit $8m ARR with 4 staff) and currently I'm building Searchable, an AI search business, which in the last month alone has hit $1M ARR and scaled to 8000+ users, I say this not to impress you, I say it because what we teach in TCA comes from building real businesses, not from being a content creator who teaches content creation. That's why for Cohort 6, we've gone deeper than ever on the business side. New modules on: * Lead Generation * Funnel Strategies * And Social Selling Systems. Because blowing up on LinkedIn means nothing if it doesn't translate into clients, revenue, and real business growth. If you're someone who set ambitious goals last year and fell short, I'd encourage you to ask yourself an honest question: was the problem really that you didn't know what to do? Or was it that you didn't have the structure, the accountability, and the right people around you to actually do it? We are getting closer and closer to reaching capacity for the January 19th cohort, so I wanted to get this message across for the founders who are genuinely serious about driving significant business outcomes using their personal brand in 2026. It’s an application based process, so if you’d like to make a change, click the button below. -->Apply to make 2026 the year your wildest goals (actually) came true ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/v8upw2exvvsrhvmxvwxswuv3xwmllh9hl03n3/8ghqh3uokd5n4ehk/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVjcmVhdG9yYWNjZWxlcmF0b3IuY28udWsv ) Apply to make 2026 the year your wildest goals (actually) came true ( https://thecreatoraccelerator.co.uk/ ) ------------------------------ The Other Opportunity In 2026… ------------------------------ Aside from personal brand, there's something else that I think you should be paying attention to if you want to build genuine leverage as a business owner in 2026. The way people search for products and services has fundamentally shifted. We've gone from scrolling through 10 blue links to having personalised conversations with AI. And the data backs this up, McKinsey recently found that 40-55% of consumers across electronics, travel, wellness, apparel and financial services are already using AI search to make purchase decisions. This is a massive visibility opportunity. Especially for smaller businesses who want to close the gap on bigger competitors. That's why I launched Searchable. It's the first AI Search copilot that helps businesses optimise for traditional SEO, AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) all in one place. It will create the strategy and execute on the key workflows so you're not left behind your competitors when it comes to being visible online. Some of the early results have been insane. Customers across those key sectors have seen a 300%+ increase in their AI Search visibility within 90 days of using the platform. This is a rising tide and businesses who get on it early will have a significant advantage. If you want your business to be more visible in 2026, hit the button below ! -->Start Your Free Trial ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/v8upw2exvvsrhvmxvwxswuv3xwmllh9hl03n3/e0hph0u75vnox2t8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2VhcmNoYWJsZS5jb20v ) Start Your Free Trial ( https://www.searchable.com/ ) ------------------------------------------- The 2026 Updated LinkedIn Algorithm Report… ------------------------------------------- The LinkedIn algorithm changed significantly in Q4 2025. Some creators saw their reach collapse, others adapted and are now getting 149x more reach than the average post. If you want to know exactly what shifted and how to take advantage of it, I'm running a free live session with Will McTighe where we break down what's actually working right now. We'll cover: * Exactly what changed in the algorithm since Q3 2025 * The huge opportunity opening up in certain niches * The four hook patterns that are making people stand out * The two video formats that actually help grow your business * The comments that actually help your reach * 15+ practical tips you can use in your content tomorrow We'll also be doing a live Q&A at the end to answer all questions based on the data ! Looking forward to seeing you there. -->Join for Free ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/v8upw2exvvsrhvmxvwxswuv3xwmllh9hl03n3/08helm68bgu2qe7r82hl/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYWRkZXZlbnQuY29tL2V2ZW50LzQ4cWRsc3o4NHd5cQ== ) Join for Free ( https://www.addevent.com/event/48qdlsz84wyq )​ Ps I'd recommend adding it to your calendar, we'll send some reminders before the event, but if you're anything like me, if it's not in the calendar, it'll probably get forgotten ! Cheat Sheet Vault p.s... As promised on LinkedIn and TikTok, click the button for my cheat sheets on giving feedback, productivity, and more! -->Click Here ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/v8upw2exvvsrhvmxvwxswuv3xwmllh9hl03n3/25h2h9u3n9ow56b3/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ ) Click Here ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M95vklBzkTo1PgOaXxITYvXOWK6_87EI ) Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/v8upw2exvvsrhvmxvwxswuv3xwmllh9hl03n3 ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.convertkit-mail2.com/v8upw2exvvsrhvmxvwxswuv3xwmllh9hl03n3 )​

Hey friend, Before I get into what this newsletter will do for you, just 3 quick things: * Reply to this email saying “yes” - This tells Google you actually want to read this * If this landed in your promotions inbox, please move it to your primary (because who checks their promotions?!) * If you signed up to access my Cheat Sheet PDFs, the link to the vault is at the bottom of this email! Now, here’s what you’ll get See this as your personal road map to bring leverage into your career and life. Every Sunday afternoon, you will get: Real actionable advice from someone who is still in the trenches of running multiple businesses. I’ll be sharing actionable business & personal advice that draws on my own experience building successful companies, as well as the lessons I’m learning in real time. These will cover multiple topics, including: * How to build, scale, and systemise a business * How to successfully build and monetise your personal brand * How to stay ahead of this AI revolution * SEO, AEO, GEO, and marketing strategies I also have a section specifically for you, my reader ! This section is called Step Up, and this is where I answer anything that is sent in by you! To have your question answered in the next edition, simply reply to this email and ask me. Why trust me? ------------- I’m Chris Donnelly - entrepreneur and investor. I built my first business from putting £400 into the business myself to an 8 figure exit, I then created a health tech business with my brother called Lottie.org, which is now valued at 9 figures. I’ve grown my social media channels to 3 million followers in 2.5 years and built an 8 figure revenue business alongside this called The Creator Accelerator. I’m currently running an investment and education business supporting entrepreneurs to create more successful lives while working less. (If you are a founder of a profitable and growing company with approximately $1m+ EBITDA, and you want to see if you can grow faster, reach out.) I’ve also just launched a brand new AI Tech company called Searchable, which is designed to show where your brand is visible (Google + AI search) and automatically optimise for SEO, AEO, and GEO so you can turn visibility into clicks and revenue. ​ I plan to document the whole journey of this new business, sharing the highs, the lows, and the critical lessons for building an AI business from scratch. We are in the perfect time for anyone to build leverage in their life to achieve financial and time freedom, and I want this newsletter to be the exact place to help you to take the next Step Up! See you soon, Chris P.S. Here is the link to the cheat sheet vault! ( https://a691973e.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umlx3r88bmu9ve75cdfzl7d544ilhg5x7x/x0hph3uwkdvxegb5/aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU05NXZrbEJ6a1RvMVBnT2FYeElUWXZYT1dLNl84N0VJ )​ Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 ​Unsubscribe ( https://a691973e.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umlx3r88bmu9ve75cdfzl7d544ilhg5x7x ) · Preferences ( https://preferences.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umlx3r88bmu9ve75cdfzl7d544ilhg5x7x )​