15 proven strategies from the smartest operators I'm watching—no theory, just documented results

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Hey Guys,

I just went through a week's worth of research—76 different strategies from the smartest operators I'm watching—and pulled out the absolute best 15 for you.

These aren't theories. These are documented results from people actually executing right now in 2026. We're talking a TikTok shop doing $14M in 18 months, a LinkedIn system that generated $225K in 57 weeks, and a "boring" business filing paperwork for dentists that's making $2.4M/year.

Here's what I'm seeing: while everyone's chasing the next shiny object, there's a massive gap opening up between people doing busy work and people doing profitable work. The ones winning right now understand that speed of execution beats perfection every single time.

I've organized these 15 strategies to give you a complete view of what's working across every major channel—paid traffic, organic, AI automation, and even the unsexy businesses nobody talks about.

Pick ONE. Execute it today. That's how you actually win.

Let's dive in.

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1. The $225,000 LinkedIn Roadmap (57 Weeks to Revenue)

Alex Groberman started from zero 57 weeks ago and just revealed the exact system that generated $225K in revenue and 12K connections.

The routine that works:

• 3 posts per day: Morning (Proof), Afternoon (Carousel), Evening (Lesson)
• Reply to comments within the first hour to trigger the algorithm
• Hooks without data fail—"I made X doing Y" outperforms generic advice every time

This is a complete 30-day growth plan you can swipe. No theory, just documented results from someone who actually did it.

🔗 Steal his complete growth plan​

2. TikTok Shop: $14M in 18 Months (Just Using His Phone)

Brandon Lush is doing $100K+ profit per month with no team, no complex funnel—just his phone and a volume strategy.

What's working:

• The hook: First 1.5 seconds (not 3 seconds)—visuals must arrest the scroll immediately
• Volume strategy: Posting 10 videos a day across multiple accounts
• Product selection: Don't niche down too hard—test everything from tools to home goods

This is the speed-of-execution model in action. While others are perfecting their strategy, he's already banking six figures monthly.

🔗 Watch the complete breakdown​

3. YouTube's Algorithm Changed January 10th (Do This Now)

YouTube just introduced a "Prioritize" metric and new search filters that could crush your views if you rely on Shorts.

What changed:

• "Popularity" now weighs engagement/completion rates higher than raw views
• Users can now filter search results to hide Shorts completely
• Strategy shift: Use Shorts for testing, but double down on 10+ minute videos

The algorithm is rewarding long-term engagement now. Adjust or get buried.

🔗 Read the full algorithm analysis​

4. WhatsApp Ads: The "No-Website" Funnel That Converts

HubSpot just released something that makes me want to rebuild half my funnels.

The play: Stop sending traffic to landing pages. Send them straight to WhatsApp conversations using Meta's "Click to WhatsApp" objective.

Why this works: Every additional step in your funnel is a conversion leak. Landing pages, opt-in forms, thank you pages—all friction. WhatsApp removes that entire layer.

The scale move: Hook up ManyChat or train a GPT to handle incoming messages 24/7. You're not glued to your phone, but leads think they're talking directly to you.

🔗 Watch the full breakdown​

5. Claude Cowork: AI That Actually Does The Work

Anthropic just blurred the line between chatbot and employee. This is the agentic AI breakthrough we've been waiting for.

What changed:

• Sub-agent coordination breaks tasks like "post to my community" into 14 separate steps and executes them
• It reads your local files directly—no uploading/downloading
• You can set an agent to work on a 2-hour task and walk away

Chatbots are cool, but Cowork actually logs into your browser and does the job while you watch. This is admin workflows sped up by 100x.

🔗 Watch the demo​

6. I Cracked Reddit SEO (The Hidden Traffic Source)

Google trusts Reddit more than your website. This guide explains how to hijack that trust to rank on page 1 of Google via Reddit threads.

The setup:

• Don't post immediately on new accounts—wait 10 days to avoid shadowbans
• SERP hijacking: Find questions ranking on Google, answer them on Reddit with your brand mentioned naturally (no naked links)

This is the new parasite SEO. And it's working like crazy right now.

🔗 Watch the complete strategy​

7. Alex Hormozi: Know Your Business "Shape"

Alex Hormozi breaks down the four business archetypes. If you don't know which one you are, you're fighting the wrong battles.

The four shapes:

• Service: High margin, easy to start, but people are the bottleneck—hard to scale
• Ecommerce: Infinite scale, but cash-intensive—you live and die by inventory flow
• SaaS: Holy grail of valuation, but requires surviving years of burn before product-market fit
• Education: Fastest cash, lowest retention—you must constantly resell the same customers

Know your shape. Play to its strengths. Stop trying to be something you're not.

🔗 Watch the framework​

8. The "Boring" Business Making $2.4 Million/Year

James Shields shares the story of someone making $2.4M/year doing something incredibly boring: filing compliance paperwork for dentists.

The formula: Unsexy problem + wealthy customer + recurring need = quiet millions.

While everyone's chasing the sexy businesses, the real money is in solving boring problems for people with money. This is the anti-influencer model—no personal brand required, just systematic service delivery.

🔗 Read the full story​

9. Stop Guessing Your Link Building Budget

After managing $2M+ in SEO budgets, Noel Ceta built a calculator to determine exactly what you need to spend to rank. No more guessing, no more burning cash.

Why this matters:

• Most companies either wildly overspend or underspend on backlinks
• This uses math to calculate the precise "Link Gap" between you and page 1
• You'll know your exact link acquisition cost based on competition levels

Stop throwing money at SEO and start using data.

🔗 Get the calculator system​

10. What's ACTUALLY Working on YouTube (300K Videos Analyzed)

Think Media and OneOf10 spent $10,000 on data to analyze 300,000 videos and find the truth about the algorithm right now.

The surprising findings:

• Thumbnail shock: Thumbnails without text get 19% more views
• Duration sweet spot: 15-25 minutes for non-long-form content
• Sentiment: Negative titles outperform positive ones—fear beats desire

This contradicts a lot of what we've been told. Data doesn't lie.

🔗 Watch the full analysis​

11. How I Make $32,556/Month Posting on Facebook (Using AI)

This creator is pulling $30K+/month on Facebook without showing his face.

The strategy:

• Nostalgia niche with simple text posts and AI images
• 30-day warmup process to avoid getting banned before monetization
• Repurpose viral Twitter posts into Facebook Reels for maximum bonuses

Facebook isn't dead. Most people just aren't using it right. This is the complete playbook for faceless monetization in 2026.

🔗 Watch the breakdown​

12. Stop Using AI Like a Slot Machine

If you're typing one sentence and hoping for good results, you're failing. You need to build digital employees.

The breakthroughs:

• The meta prompt: A prompt that writes better prompts for you
• Expert extraction method: Feed a YouTube transcript into Claude to create a permanent personal brand coach
• Why 500-word prompts are the new standard for quality output

This is how you actually get value from AI instead of treating it like a lottery ticket.

🔗 Watch the tutorial​

13. $10M Revenue with Zero Ad Spend

This DTC skincare brand hit $10M annual revenue in just 32 months without spending a dime on ads.

The playbook:

• Pure organic search and social media
• Specific content strategy targeting high-intent search terms
• They own the distribution instead of renting it from Zuckerberg

Sustainable growth is possible when you control your traffic sources. This is the complete organic-only case study.

🔗 See the complete playbook​

14. The "Forced Organic" Ad Strategy Making Info Products Rich

NICK dropped a strategy that's delivering massive returns for info products and services. It's brilliantly simple: take what's already working organically and force it to scale with paid traffic.

The 4-step system:

1. Find your top-performing organic content
2. Push it to cold audiences with ads
3. Retarget with your best CTAs
4. Reinforce with value content

This works because you're not guessing—you're scaling proven winners.

🔗 See the full "Forced Organic" strategy​

15. The $5 Validation Hack (From Idea to $45K/Month in 60 Days)

Giovanni hit $45K/month in 60 days without writing code first. Here's how.

The key insight: "Founder's Expansion Disorder"—spending weeks on logos instead of validation.

His rule: Spend 5 minutes on branding, weeks on validation. A waitlist is vanity. A $5 deposit is sanity.

Once validated, he built the MVP over a weekend using no-code tools like Lovable. This is the exact playbook for speed-to-market in 2026.

🔗 Watch the complete case study​

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The marketers making serious money aren't just reading about these strategies – they're implementing them with proven systems that actually work.

What's Next?

You just got 15 proven strategies that are working right now in January 2026. Not theories from 2023. Not generic advice. Real playbooks generating real revenue.

But here's the truth: most people will read this, feel inspired for 10 minutes, then do absolutely nothing. They'll wait for the "perfect moment" or the "complete strategy."

The person who ships first usually wins.

So here's what I want you to do:

Step 1: Pick ONE strategy from this list that fits your situation right now. Not the sexiest one. Not the one everyone's talking about. The one you can execute today.

Step 2: Block 2 hours on your calendar this week. No distractions. Just execution.

Step 3: Ship something. Even if it's imperfect. Even if it's just a test.

Information without action is just entertainment. You've got the information. Now it's time to act.

What are you implementing first?

Talk soon,

- Tony