What’s Up THIS WEEK?! NEW AI Must Do’s, 1990s Impact, Subject Line Tips, TV Recos? | Ep. 491

Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson

The data landed this week, and it quietly changes how you should be titling just about everything. Jay Schwedelson unpacks three tactics that are already moving the needle on AI visibility and email open rates, including one that produces what he describes as the most poorly written subject lines imaginable, and it still outperforms. Add in a genuinely spicy Coachella take and some unexpected news from Levi's, and this one earns its 10 minutes.

Best Moments:

(00:30) Content titles that start with a number are getting picked up by AI overviews nearly 22% of the time, the highest rate of any content type

(01:45) Starting your subject line with "And," "But," or "Plus" is lifting email open rates by around 15%, and yes, it looks as weird as it sounds

(03:00) Comparison-style content like "X vs Y" is showing up in AI answers 45-60% more than other formats

(04:45) Levi's 517 jeans saw a 25% sales spike this quarter, and a JFK Jr. TV show gets partial credit

(05:30) Why Kylie Jenner's cigarette post at Coachella is one 90s trend that should stay buried

(06:00) Jay's full-throated defense of Justin Bieber's Coachella set and why calling it lazy is just wrong

Big shoutout to our sponsor, Knak!

Marketers, you know the pain… You spend hours on a campaign, and then it gets stuck in review cycles and barely looks like what you started with. Knak makes it simple. Build emails, landing pages, and mobile messages; collaborate and launch - all in one place. No tool hopping, no messy handoffs, with AI built in to help you move faster.

See how it all works, get started at knak.com/demo

Partner with Jay: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/contact

Check out Jay Schwedelson's new book: Stupider People Have Done It

All net proceeds are donated to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, let's kick cancer's butt: https://www.amazon.com/Stupider-People-Have-Done-Marketing/dp/1637635206

Subscribe to Jay's newsletter for weekly marketing tips and tactics: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/newsletter

Register for GuruConference (FREE + VIRTUAL!) https://www.guruconference.com

Check out Eventastic (FREE + VIRTUAL!) https://www.eventastic.com

Connect with Jay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwedelson/

Check out Jay's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelson

Check out Jay's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/

Ask Jay anything: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/ask

Leave a comment and follow the show, it really helps us out!

More description

The data landed this week, and it quietly changes how you should be titling just about everything. Jay Schwedelson unpacks three tactics that are already moving the needle on AI visibility and email open rates, including one that produces what he describes as the most poorly written subject lines imaginable, and it still outperforms. Add in a genuinely spicy Coachella take and some unexpected news from Levi's, and this one earns its 10 minutes.

Best Moments:

(00:30) Content titles that start with a number are getting picked up by AI overviews nearly 22% of the time, the highest rate of any content type

(01:45) Starting your subject line with "And," "But," or "Plus" is lifting email open rates by around 15%, and yes, it looks as weird as it sounds

(03:00) Comparison-style content like "X vs Y" is showing up in AI answers 45-60% more than other formats

(04:45) Levi's 517 jeans saw a 25% sales spike this quarter, and a JFK Jr. TV show gets partial credit

(05:30) Why Kylie Jenner's cigarette post at Coachella is one 90s trend that should stay buried

(06:00) Jay's full-throated defense of Justin Bieber's Coachella set and why calling it lazy is just wrong

Big shoutout to our sponsor, Knak!

Marketers, you know the pain… You spend hours on a campaign, and then it gets stuck in review cycles and barely looks like what you started with. Knak makes it simple. Build emails, landing pages, and mobile messages; collaborate and launch - all in one place. No tool hopping, no messy handoffs, with AI built in to help you move faster.

See how it all works, get started at knak.com/demo

Partner with Jay: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/contact

Check out Jay Schwedelson's new book: Stupider People Have Done It

All net proceeds are donated to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, let's kick cancer's butt: https://www.amazon.com/Stupider-People-Have-Done-Marketing/dp/1637635206

Subscribe to Jay's newsletter for weekly marketing tips and tactics: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/newsletter

Register for GuruConference (FREE + VIRTUAL!) https://www.guruconference.com

Check out Eventastic (FREE + VIRTUAL!) https://www.eventastic.com

Connect with Jay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwedelson/

Check out Jay's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelson

Check out Jay's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/

Ask Jay anything: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/ask

Leave a comment and follow the show, it really helps us out!

2026-04-14 10 min Transcript
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