Old growth playbooks are dying: AEO directory listings, events and podcasts now work, says founder survey
devenbhooshan · x · 2026-11-06
Olly (helloitsolly) synthesizes conversations with founders and marketers: output is up, but visits, sign-ups, and upgrades are harder to drive than ever.
Old playbooks no longer working (ignoring outliers): programmatic/AI content and tools, product-led build in public, email/newsletters, cold email, Product Hunt launches, community posting (Facebook groups, IH), platform integrations, AI SDRs and marketing slop, Reddit for AEO.
What's working now: AEO through LLM directory listings, fancy launch videos + sponsored social, social selling, trend-jacking and "marketing playbook" posts, "I made this for you" cold email, events and IRL, YouTube and podcasts, partnerships, customer proof and outcomes, thought leader ads.
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