Humanise it in 2026 (yes, even with AI)
What digital marketing stuff this year reminded me about and what next...
2025 reminded me of a few simple things:
- People not profit - the best work happens when you focus on helping humans.
- vibeCoding is real - momentum and energy matter.
- Blogging is still alive - people still read, search and care about good writing.
- Newsletters still work - email still brings customers back.
- Stay flexible - the plan will change and that’s normal.
A personal note from me
This year I randomly hit pause on doing dev work for a bit and started training to become a disability support worker.
What I found surprised me: being a dev really is my thing. I missed building, solving problems and creating useful stuff.
Even though I only completed about half the training, it gave me a totally new way of thinking about people, communication, patience and what “support” really means. Also, I genuinely loved the people in the course, the friendships made were a highlight.
Ditial marketing is about people and somethings don't change
One small example: in the last week or so I was supporting a client with an end-of-year email campaign and the biggest thing was making sure the message felt personal. Like it was written for real people, not “an audience”.
Making it real is the difference between an email that gets deleted… and one that gets a reply.
2026 theme: Humanise (with AI)
Yes, in 2026 use AI - but use it to tell your authentic story, not replace it.
Let AI help you shape the message and move faster… while you keep the voice, the values and the truth.
Another 2026 theme: vibeCode it
Also, I’ve been working on vibe2value.com - and it’s been seriously interesting. Already we have rolled out some interesting apps. Personally, it’s helped me think more clearly about how we turn good energy and good ideas into real outcomes without losing the human side.
To all the influencerTips family: sing out if you need support connecting with people using digital marketing. I’m always happy to help. It really is simple, reply to this email with digital marketing questions and I will do best to come up with some ideas and suggestions.
Thanks for being here this year.
See you in 2026 💛