You can’t afford another year of your content NOT producing you money.

👋 Welcome back to Content to Commas, your weekly playbook for turning content into authority, opportunities, and growth.

If your strategy is still “post more” or “rank for keywords,” your going to hate 2026.

Because the job of your content is evolving.

Consumers no longer browse like humans. They skim like machines.

And if you’re building your business on platforms you don’t control, you need to be prepped to pivot fast. Even exit if you have to.

This week, we’re getting you prepped for 2026 and sharpen your tactics now before it’s too late.

📌 In this issue:

Let’s go build,

Brandon Smithwrick 🧠

_{FROM OUR FRIENDS @ TEACHABLE}

Many creator-entrepreneur hybrids underestimate how valuable their experience is.

Teachable put together the Modern Course Creator Playbook to help creators stop guessing and start building with clarity.

It breaks down the 7 strategies that help you create something that stands out … even with a small audience.

Inside the guide:

If you want to teach but don’t want a second job, this is where to start.

Over the last few months, I’ve noticed something subtle happening across content, marketing, and how people buy.

I’ve been thinking a lot about where this all heads next year.

Not in a “here’s the next hack” way, but in a “what’s actually changing underneath us” way.

Because 2026 isn’t about learning new platforms (to a degree)…

let’s get into it!

Buyers are increasingly relying on AI instead of searching.

This shows up everywhere: Google summaries at the top of results, AI assistants collapsing research into a paragraph, tools like ChatGPT Atlas becoming default discovery layers.

Search used to be exploratory. Now it’s delegated. People don’t want ten tabs. They want a decision fast.

When I was a Director of Content, this first showed up as “zero-click” behavior. At the time, it looked like an analytics problem. In hindsight, it was a behavior shift.

The brands that win here won’t necessarily have more traffic. They’ll be easier to explain.

Key signals:

What changes in approach:

We’re tired of being everywhere.

Consumers are becoming loyal to a small circle of platforms, whether that’s Reddit and TikTok, LinkedIn and Substack, or YouTube and podcasts.

The exact mix will keep changing, the behavior not so much.

Being everywhere used to signal ambition. Now it signals dilution.

Key signals:

What changes in approach:

Build your brand like a media company. Show up where it matters. Ignore the rest.

(wow … an AI trend … what a shock)

AI not only added more content to our feeds, but it also made people question what they see.

Is this real? Is this AI? Why does this feel overproduced? Are we cooked?

As tools like NanoBanana improve image and AI video generation become more realistic that skepticism only increases.

This is why I believe proof becomes more important than authenticity in 2026. The word "authenticity" no longer means much, and it's hard to tell what's real.

Now, your brand, your story, and your proof matter more.

Key signals:

What changes in approach:

Creative isn’t dying … interruption is.

Creators didn’t replace marketing. They became distribution.

This is why I believe every brand needs a creator advisory board. Not just for reach, but for cultural fluency. Creators understand how audiences think because they ingest creator content daily.

Key signals:

What changes in approach:

The niches that compound are the ones that make people money, grow them professionally, & make life easier

Aesthetics are fun. Clout is cheap

Creator Spotlight’s recent survey says it plainly: a huge percentage of creators make less than $500 a year. That’s the Clout Olympics catching up.

Key signals:

What changes in approach:

This is why I’m thinking bigger next year. In 2026, I’ll be doing more with Teachable and launching a full course. If you want to follow that path with me, the course playbook is there when you’re ready.

Nothing here is meant to cause panic, but the easy era is over.

2026 won’t reward louder content. It’ll reward clarity, proof, and restraint.

Reply and let me know some your 2026 predictions!

Each week, I share simple tips on branding, making money, growth strategies, and useful tools that you might have missed. You can catch up in just a few minutes.

Not hype. Not hacks. These are the frameworks.

The stack I keep coming back to in my own business.

These posts did numbers for a reason. Worth a reread.