If you’re anything like me, you already stopped your New Year’s resolution.

Gym? Nope.
Inbox zero? Laughable (without a ctrl alt dlt).
Dry January? Let’s not talk about it.

So instead of pretending 2026 is going to be different because the calendar flipped, let’s follow suit and talk about the real things you should stop doing in marketing this year.

Not aspirational fluff.
Not vanilla “best practices”.
Actual behavior changes that will make your marketing work smarter, longer and more efficient.

Here we go:

1. Stop Treating Content Like It Dies When the Campaign Ends

If your content strategy looks like:

Launch campaign → Post → Move on

We need to talk.

Content is not disposable. It’s derivative.

One campaign should fuel:

• Multiple social posts
• Website updates
• Sales enablement
• Follow-on campaigns
• Refreshes and modernization over time

Your website is not a “set it and forget it” asset. Algorithms change. Buyer behavior changes. Messaging that worked six months ago may already be stale.

Think optimization.
Think repurposing.
Think clarity.

And most importantly, think flywheel, not funnel.

Funnels leak. Customers fall out the bottom.
Flywheels compound.

Attract strangers → Engage prospects → Delight customers → Turn them into promoters → Renew → Expand → Repeat.

If your content doesn’t support every phase of that cycle, it’s leaving money on the table.

2. Stop Contributing to Email Fatigue (Internally and Externally)

More emails ≠ more impact.

At some point, you don’t have a communication strategy – you have white noise.

Internally:
Stop copying half the company “just in case.” (Unless you’re bravely replying all to ask everyone else to stop replying all… which, paradoxically, only makes it worse, and as will have it is great).
Be clear. Be concise. Be intentional.

Externally:
Your customers don’t need another “Just checking in!” email. They need value.

Quality beats quantity every time.

Post with purpose, clarity, and a clear takeaway

Holiday posts are fine. Culture posts are nice. But value-added content wins.

• Solve problems
• Share tutorials
• Explain the “how,” not just the “what.”

3. Stop Overcommitting to Conferences and Events

If your event strategy is “Everyone else is going, so we should too”

That’s not strategy. That’s FOMO (like when everyone went to Susan Whitakers party in 3^rd grade and I got stuck home with chicken pox).

Events are expensive – money, time, energy, opportunity cost.

Pick fewer.
Pick strategically.
Show up with quality.

One well-executed event beats five forgettable ones where you collect business cards that never turn into conversations.

Compete with intent, not volume.

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4. Stop Doing Video If You’re Not Willing to Do It Well

This one stings a little.

Bad video is worse than no video.

Shaky footage, poor audio, awkward scripting – it doesn’t say “authentic.”
It says, “we didn’t care enough.”

Video works when you:

• Invest in quality
• Commit to consistency
• Bring actual creativity to the table

Clean messaging beats flashy production every time – but sloppy execution speaks volumes.

If you’re not ready to innovate, invest, or improve, pause the video push until you are.

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5. Stop Worshipping Meaningless Metrics

If your dashboards are impressive but no one knows what to do with them, congratulations – you’ve achieved analysis paralysis.

Not all metrics matter.

Focus on:

• Engagement
• Customer delight
• Retention signals
• Friction points

Vanity metrics feel good.
Actionable metrics move the business.

Eliminate the noise. Track what actually brings customers closer to a sale, and keeps them there.

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6. Stop Ignoring the Message That Actually Sells

At the end of the day, marketing exists to do one thing:
Bring the right customer to the right solution.

If your message isn’t clear:

• Who it’s for
• What problem it solves
• Why it matters now

Nothing else will save you.

Not better design.
Not more ads.
Not another tool.

Messaging is the multiplier.

7. Stop Spending on Advertising (Yes, I Said It)

This one’s controversial – and intentional.

Stop spending on advertising before your organic marketing is dialed in.

Ads amplify whatever already exists.
If your message is unclear, ads just help more people ignore you faster.

Before you spend:

• Get your organic ducks in a row
• Confirm you’re solving real problems
• Tighten your positioning
• Test messaging naturally

Then, and only then, use advertising to scale what already works.

The Bottom Line

2026 isn’t about doing more marketing.

It’s about doing better marketing.

Stop the habits that drain energy, budget, and focus.
Double down on clarity, value, and momentum.

And if you already gave up on your New Year’s resolution, this would make up for it!

Unclear where to start – Let us help.

– Rhodes Scholar