Welcome to 2026, the year that doesn’t require resolutions. Make it the year of tiny experiments (or at least make the first quarter about them.) Borrow an idea from neuroscience that feels far more realistic for solo marketers.

This week, get your calendars out (Marketing Minute), ask LinkedIn for your data (What I Did With AI), and think about flywheels and funnels (The Shortlist).

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— Ann Gynn

I make New Year’s resolutions and wonder if I should do the same for my business. While my resolve usually deteriorates by February, I wonder if I should make for my marketing. What should I do to make them stick?

Short answer: Skip the resolutions.

I’m no neuroscientist, but Anne-Laure Le Cunff is. She’s the author of Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World.

Resolutions often backfire because they create the illusion of certainty, she tells CNBC. That doesn’t mean you should skip 2026 goals; just change how you pursue them.

Her recommendation: Run tiny experiments instead of setting lofty goals.
Test. Learn. Adjust.

It’s a smart approach for marketing, too. While I don’t love New Year’s resolutions (ever), I do believe in goal setting. The process works even better when paired with small, doable actions.

Tiny experiments make marketing more manageable. You’re far more likely to test one idea than launch a full-blown strategy.

Here’s how to try it:

For example:

Then do what any scientist would do: Look at the data.
Double down on what works. Tweak or stop what doesn’t.

Tiny experiments won’t give you certainty. But they will give you clarity on what will actually move your marketing forward and be worth investing more time in.

What do you think?

Got a question you’d like me to answer in a future edition of The Hotline? Call or text Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984 (or just reply to this email.)

This week: Come up with a tiny experiment to execute in the next four weeks. Schedule an appointment now for February to analyze the data.

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I am helping a former employee of mine who is a college student search for internships. He’s a media arts major and wants to explore storytelling, film, audio, scriptwriting, etc. I wanted to see who among my LinkedIn connections might be able to offer him helpful advice.

But I have a few thousand connections, so the research would have been time-consuming if I had manually scrolled through them. So I asked ChatGPT for help.

It suggested ideas on how to conduct searches on LinkedIn. But it also provided me with this idea: Download my data through LinkedIn. Here’s how to do it:

LinkedIn delivered my data, including connections, within 24 hours. Then, LinkedIn helped me again by identifying relevant connections.

It’s a trick that you can use too. What type of connections could help in your business? Do you want to find potential customers? Vendors? Newsletter subscribers?

Have any AI tricks of your own? Hit reply, call, or text the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.

Schedule a 30-minute CMO appointment each week to plan your marketing.

🔄 Reconstruct your funnel: “People don’t discover brands anymore. They discover moments, ideas, and creators. That changes everything,” writes Yhen Ojhomna. Her updated 2026 marketing funnel reflects that shift—from linear journeys to moment-driven discovery. It’s a smart reframe that asks a better question: What moment will your marketing create?

🚪 Roll out a better welcome mat: After studying what converted best for Isaac Saul at Tangle, Lex Roman rebuilt her welcome flow. The key move? A dedicated welcome page with an immediate offer shown right after subscription. It’s a great reminder that first impressions don’t start in the inbox — they start the moment someone says “yes.” Get even more help from the full post. (I’m updating mine this week.)

🎢 One idea, many directions: Long before “content ecosystems” were a thing, Walt Disney sketched a model with theatrical films at the center and TV, music, merch, and Disneyland radiating outward. That same idea still holds. Monica Khan shares the original chart and why it works in this LinkedIn post.

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Got a question you’d like me to answer in The Hotline? Email me or DM me on LinkedIn. Even better: Text or leave a message on the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.