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Why Your Marketing Stopped Working (& How to Fix It)

Hailey Dale

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I’m Hailey – content strategist and founder here at Your Content Empire where we help you create more profitable, purposeful and productive content — and hopefully enjoy yourself more while doing it too. Learn more about me here >>

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Why Your Marketing Stopped Working (& How to Fix It) by Your Content Empire

Ever catch yourself thinking “marketing used to be so much easier” or “my marketing stopped working!”

You're not imagining it. Between plummeting social media reach, AI-generated content flooding your feed, and a world that seems to serve up a new crisis every morning, marketing feels a bit like navigating an obstacle course – blindfolded

But here's the thing: while the landscape has undeniably changed, that doesn't mean effective marketing is out of reach. It just means we need to shift our approach.

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Recently, I've been having the same conversation over and over with business owners. Whether they're just starting out or have been in the game for years, they all share a common frustration: marketing just feels harder than it used to. And they're right—but not for the reasons you might think. 

After diving deep into the data, speaking with hundreds of entrepreneurs, and testing what's working (and what's not) in my own business, I've identified four key factors that are making marketing feel like pushing a boulder uphill. But more importantly, I've uncovered specific shifts you can make to adapt to this new reality. Let's break it down.

Reason #1: Diminishing Returns

Remember when posting on social media felt like shouting from a rooftop, and everyone in the neighbourhood could hear you?

Those days are becoming a distant memory. If you're feeling like your marketing efforts aren't hitting quite as hard as they used to, you're not alone—and more importantly, you're not imagining it.

The truth is, we're experiencing a significant shift in marketing effectiveness across the board. Think about it: you're putting in the same amount of work (if not more) to create and distribute your content, but the return on that investment keeps shrinking and shrinking.

Recent data from Social Insider shows that Instagram posts now reach only about 4% of your followers on average—an 18% drop from last year. That means for every 1,000 followers you have, only 40 people are likely seeing your post.

So what do you do about it?

The good news: this isn't a sign to throw in the towel. Instead, it's an opportunity to make strategic shifts in how you approach your marketing.

First, it's time to double down on channels you actually own, like your email list, where you're not at the mercy of algorithmic changes. So make growing your list and send regular emails a priority.

Second, focus on deepening relationships with your existing community—those already engaging with your content and buying offers are your main focus. If you're on Instagram, you can add these people to your “favourites” feed so you see their content and can engage with them there. The people who already know you are most likely to engage back which creates a positive feedback loop with the algorithm and helps your overall visibility.

Finally, implement systems that streamline your content creation and distribution process, so you can maintain consistency without burning out. For example: where can you create templates? Where can you set up automations? Where can you outsource effectively?

Reason #2: Increasingly Saturated Markets

With more people selling online than ever (the global digital products market is on track to hit $331 billion by 2025 according to Sellfy), the market has become very noisy and very saturated. Everyone and their mother wants a piece of that pie.

And that's only been compounded by the tech disruption of AI making it easier and easier for people to generate content. The rise of AI-generated content has led to a paradox—more content doesn't mean better content.

The thing to remember about AI is it's a language predication model. So it's going give you the same spiel that everyone is getting (unless you know how to prompt it and feed it great source material, but that's a convo for another day) but if everyone is using the same AI generated content, it's all going to start sounding the same.

So how do you stand out?

First and foremost, focus on originality over volume. I've heard a lot of people claim that, in the age of AI, education content is dead. I don't think that's 100% true—but I do think your content and ideas must be based on your lived experiences and original ideas. Even better if you can jump on video and let your personality give your content even more of a unique edge.

Next, prioritize community. We've already touched on engagement in reason #1, but it's a twofer and can help you build the community you need to help people start seeking out your content even if it's not being served on a silver platter by the algorithm. You can give your community building an assist by adding in opportunities for real-time engagement like live video, virtual coffee chats, can't-miss online events. These real-time interactions can't be replicated by AI.

Reason #3: Consumer Expectations

Gone are the days when a catchy headline and a few testimonials were enough to win over your audience. Today's consumers aren't just savvy—they're practically professional investigators when it comes to where they spend their dollars. With economic pressures mounting and higher interest rates squeezing budgets, every purchase decision is under the microscope.

But while conventional wisdom might suggest that economic uncertainty leads to decreased spending, what we're actually seeing is a shift in how people invest, especially in the B2B space. Rising interest rates and inflation have pushed borrowing costs higher for businesses, creating a more competitive landscape where only the most convincing value propositions win. But instead of not spending at all, people are simply becoming more thorough in their evaluation process.

So how can you make your offer as valuable as it seems:

Don't take shortcuts on your offer messaging: Test multiple angles and promises for your offers, and more importantly, ensure your delivery matches or exceeds every claim. Your reputation depends on it. And any short-term gains from overpromising and underdelivering will disappear in the long-term.

Invest in the long-term relationship over the short-term conversion: Especially if you're spending money on ads to attract leads, remember that your job isn't done when they join your list—it's just the beginning. I've seen people waste a lot of money bringing in new leads and then when they don't immediately turn into customers, write them off. Keep showing up in their inbox with valuable content, community-building invitations and, once in a while, paid opportunities.

Another option is to diversify your pricing tiers – if you have only small priced products you're going to need a lot of sales to hit your revenue goals, if you only have high ticket, you might struggle to build the track record you need to convince an audience who's becoming more and more discerning with smaller priced taste testers.

Reason #4: Divisive World Events

Let's talk about the elephant in the room and what I see as the final big factor in why marketing feels harder now than ever is the constant stream of global events that keeps us all walking on marketing eggshells. Whether it's politics, war, natural disasters or other headlines, if you've found yourself second-guessing your content calendar or holding back on scheduling posts too far in advance, you're not alone.

We're living in an era where the next major headline could shift the entire conversation in an instant.

So how do you navigate this? Here are a few shifts:

Reframe your work: Remember that your work matters (even if it doesn't feel like you're making a massive impact all the time). And if you're having trouble tapping into that mindset, revisit your purpose—how does what you do support the greater good? Think about how you're helping people navigate their challenges, regardless of what's happening in the world. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can offer is a sense of normalcy and progress.

Stay flexible with your content and scheduling: Sometimes the right thing to do is to clear your outgoing content and that's much easier to do if you have weeks or months worth of content to unschedule. How I navigate this is that even though I batch my content a month in advance, we only schedule a week at a time (unless vacations are planned)

Draw boundaries: Decide where your personal voice ends and your business voice begins. Maybe you'll speak out about certain issues on your personal profiles while keeping your business channels focused on your expertise. Or perhaps you'll weave both together—there's no universal right answer. What matters is having clear guidelines for which conversations belong where, making those split-second decisions during major events much less stressful and more aligned with your overall brand.

So what’s next?

After outlining these four major shifts in the marketing landscape, you might be wondering how this applies specifically to your business. Where exactly should you focus your efforts first? What strategies will give you the biggest bang for your buck right now?

That's exactly why I've created the “What Got You Here Won't Get You There” Marketing Review. Get my eyes on your current marketing efforts and a personalized roadmap forward. I'll analyze what's working, what needs tweaking, and identify at least three specific opportunities you can implement right away to adapt to this new marketing landscape.

No fluff, no generic advice—just practical, actionable insights delivered within 2 business days. Because while marketing might be getting harder, having a clear path forward makes all the difference.

Ready to turn these challenges into opportunities? Grab the link here to get your marketing review and let's make sure your strategy is built for today's reality, not yesterday's playbook.

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Freebies vs. Low-Ticket: Which is ACTUALLY better for growing your list? 🤔

Everyone’s raving about low-ticket offers being the holy grail of list building... but is that really true for YOU?

I’m breaking down the honest pros and cons of both strategies so you can make the right choice for your business right now. Swipe through to see:

✅ The hidden advantages of freebies that nobody talks about 

✅ When low-ticket actually makes sense (and when it’s a money pit) 

✅ 5 key factors to consider before making your decision

The truth? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But swipe this carousel to figure out which path is right for YOUR specific situation.

P.S. I’m hosting a workshop on March 12th all about how to create a sales funnel that works in 2025. Comment WORKSHOP and I’ll send you the link to sign up.
That bundle or summit you just contributed to? It’s filling your list with dead weight...

Yes, there’s some anecdotal evidence and Cinderella stories from those who they’ve worked for but the majority are doing a lot more harm than good. 

From the participant/customer side: Yes, they get a firehose of information but there’s also so much information that very little (if any) of it gets implemented. 

From the contributor/speaker side: Yes, you get exposure and a big jump in email sign ups, but because all of those people are also signing up for 10+ other people’s lists too, they’re below the lowest form of validated. 

I worked with a client who had started hosting bundles and had grown her email list from just over 1000 to 40000 in a year (!) but when she launched her brand new course couldn’t get a single sale. We worked together after the fact to work on nurturing and validating that list so it came down to around 10K left on the list but after a lot of content, they started converting. 

There’s no way to short cut growing your email list. You’re better off with validated people who want to be there than a whole heap of people who have nearly zero buy-in. 

If you have grown through summits and bundles, have a really good welcome sequence (longer than you think you need) and don’t be afraid to remove people who don’t interact with it. 

One of the things I’m covering in my upcoming workshop all about how to design a funnel offer that’ll sell in 2025 is the validation process. 

Want in? Comment WORKSHOP and I’ll send you the link to sign up for the free workshop on Mar 12th!
Launching your funnel is just the FIRST step—not the end goal! 

Too many business owners hit publish and call it a day, then wonder why they’re not seeing results.

The real magic happens in what you do AFTER launch, and I’ve got a system that’s helped my clients’ funnels outperform industry standards by 3X.

Here are the 4 crucial steps I implement after every funnel launch:

1️⃣ Set up a proper measurement system (no more guessing!)
2️⃣ Optimize all your online hotspots (most people miss this completely)
3️⃣ Run my proprietary Testing Protocol with your existing audience
4️⃣ Create a sustainable traffic strategy that fits YOUR business

The Testing Protocol is my secret weapon—it lets you perfect your messaging while generating initial sales to fund your scaling efforts. Your audience becomes both your testers AND your initial investors!

Want me to walk you through my complete post-launch system step-by-step?

Watch the full breakdown on YouTube to get the entire step-by-step strategy!

#funnelstrategy #marketingtips #onlinebusiness #salesfunnel #digitalmarketing #conversionoptimization #funnelhacks
Stop treating your funnel launch as the finish line! After you hit publish is when the REAL work begins.

My “Testing Protocol” strategy has helped client funnels outperform industry standards for years—here’s why:

Instead of leaving your funnel to die after launch, strategically run your existing audience through it in small groups. These “test subjects” (aka your most engaged followers) help you:

 ✅ Optimize message open rates

 ✅ Improve click-through performance

 ✅ Generate initial sales to FUND your paid ads

The best part? Your audience helps perfect your funnel AND gives you the capital to scale it with confidence. No more guessing if your funnel will convert when you start running traffic!

Comment “FUNNELLAUNCH” if you want the full video with ALL 4 strategies for what to do after launching your funnel (hint: most people skip #2 completely!)
What happens after the funnel purchase matters more...

The main goal of your funnel is to make a sale, right? But after you make that sale comes your biggest window of opportunity (my customer multiplication formula) and most people are majorly dropping the ball here ↓

They send the offer and then treat new customers like everyone else on their email list → when they should be treated like anyone but.

Those who do take advantage of this opportunity turn new customers into brand ambassadors, repeat purchases and referrals.

How does this relate back to touchpoints?

This comes back to building your funnel around touchpoints. Looking at data for 2025:

📊 Past customers only need 1–3 touches on average
📊 Warm inbound leads need 5–12 touches
📊 Cold prospects require 20–50 touches

Even though it takes WAY less touchpoints to upsell existing customers, most people hyper focus on bringing in new sales when focusing on your existing customers is a much better way to bring in repeat AND new sales.

What is the delight and invite funnel?

That’s where the delight and invite funnel comes in. It becomes your offer delivery sequence with more delight and invite opportunities woven in.

The main goals of this funnel:

🏆 Incorporate feedback loops to get ahead of challenges your customers experience + be first to hear about wins

🏆 Create assets and campaigns around customer results

🏆 Connect directly with new customers to let them know they’re seen and appreciated

🏆 Incentivize them to share the offer with their audiences and friends

🏆 Invite them to exclusive offers

Here’s the customer multiplication formula this funnel is built upon:

Delight x Invite = Turning Every Happy Client Into 2-3 More

This formula (and the strategies behind it) is one of the things I’m covering in an upcoming workshop about designing a funnel offer that’ll sell in 2025.

Want in? Comment WORKSHOP and I’ll send you the link to sign up for the free workshop on Mar 12th!
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