JANUARY 2026

Hey friend

A new year comes with a sense of renewal, despite the darker, colder days. There's something quite delicious about the hope that brings, even if it doesn't always feel like that. I feel the winter particularly badly - I'm a warmer climes person - but a friend once suggested I lean into every season I don't like, and create visual reminders of everything positive.

I shall not miss 2025. Even so, the prospect of a dreary January and February doesn't give me the light I need. Resolutions don't cut it for me. Reminders of success do. How can we stay positive and remind ourselves of the great work we are doing? Here are some things I would consider.

Look at the numbers - But which ones? There are so many to choose from. Whilst I don't think you should lie to yourself, I see nothing wrong in basking in a success or three. Perhaps you had a piece of content that got more reach/views than others. Fantastic! You did that. Now think about why it was successful and consider repeating it.
Your team/people - Most people work with others that they like (if not, do something about it - life is short). Remind yourself of who's in your corner, what you've achieved together and how you can use this in 2026 to go further.
The goal(s) - Everyone has them, even if you feel yours aren't ambitious or formalised. Where are you hoping to get to by the end of the year? What do you need to do to get there? Why wait to start the journey? Act now while everyone else has a Christmas hangover and feels sluggish.
Content you are just proud of - Not every piece of content performs as you'd have hoped. Performance is not always in your control (indeed, in a world where tech bro algorithms decides who sees what, very little is in your control) but you might just love something you created. That's okay. If you enjoyed creating something, if you loved the process, for me that's a valid outcome.

The process is the privilege. Sales and marketing is not simple because people are not simple. Customers don't travel through linear funnels from awareness to action. I believe you can love the process if you remind yourself that you know your business and market best and the execution is a set of skills you can acquire.

Spend some time reviewing what you want out of 2026 and go for it. My team and I are ready to help if you would like some support. Let me know what we can do for you.

Good health and best wishes,

Paul

Paul Ince

CEO

LikeMind Media

Participate in our annual research

Each year we look at how B2B purchases make their buying decisions. We'd like you to tell us what affects your decision-making process in anything that you buy for your business (whether you're the owner, manager or employee).

The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete (we timed it).

Click here to take part

TEAM SPOTS

In this new section, members of the team share things they've seen that you may find interesting and helpful.

You told us you like being signposted to interesting things, not necessarily just our stuff. We like to be helpful so here you go!

FROM CHARLIE

And... scene! Can we edit that bit out?

“No, I can’t do that, I hate being on camera” is one of the most common things I hear when on a shoot.

Most people don’t like being on camera and I get it. It’s daunting, there’s going to be actual video evidence when you mess up or stumble (because you will, we’re all human) but the more you do it the more you’ll get used to making mistakes and the more you’ll get better on the whole.

One thing you can do when you’re starting out talking to camera is to split your script into points or sentences. Set up a camera in one location, walk into shot, say the sentence and walk out again. Repeat this process in numerous locations and you’ve flown through your whole script and have a fast-paced, engaging video.

Bitesize pieces of information for you to remember rather than great long paragraphs. Give it a go, make that huge scary task a bit easier by doing it in chunks.

FROM JP

Get rid of ’em! Here’s what to use instead of the dreaded em dash

Most of us have heard of the em dash by now, that sneaky little punctuation mark that is the scourge of AI-generated content.

Not a common sight in standard English, the em dash is used more widely in American English and, also, by AI. If you’ve seen one, it can be a telltale sign that what you’re reading has been written by ChatGTP, or Copilot, or whatever is your go-to AI.

An em dash looks like this—and is so-called because, cunningly, it’s the width of an M. But what are the better alternatives? What do you replace them with if you’re using AI to help generate your content?

Try a simple comma, or parentheses (()) or, if you’re confident you know how to use them, a semi-colon (but that’s a whole other story). My personal choice, and my recommendation, is to simply substitute the em dash with an en dash – le voila.

Note: Unsure how to use AI in your business? Here's how we're using AI tools at LikeMind Media.

Read the article

FROM SARAH

The power (and ROI) of communities for brands

60% of people are more loyal to a brand because of their access to a community (source).

82% of marketers report that actively managing a community increases their marketing ROI (source).

There are many benefits with building a community around your brand - the stats don't lie.

It makes sense - customers feel valued, supported and a sense of belonging.

They become more invested in your brand.

In return you get access to invaluable customer insights, brand advocates and loyalty.

Today, we have a wealth of options when creating an online community, whether that's social media, forums (Reddit, Quora etc), discussion platforms (Slack, Discord etc), conferencing tools (Google Meets, Zoom etc) or good old fashioned email.