Digital marketing channels can feel like an endless uphill battle, with new platforms and trends emerging constantly.

As a digital marketer and writer for marketing companies like HubSpot and beehiiv, I’ve had a front row seat to what’s driving results. I’ve seen what’s working, watched as the fads sizzled into oblivion, and am furiously taking notes on how rapidly things are changing in 2025. 

In this article, I wanted to dive into the digital marketing channels I’ve personally tested. I’ve also gathered the latest data and included some interesting case studies. All of this should paint a picture of what you should be prioritizing (and why).

I’ve tested these channels across personal projects, like growing my own newsletter, and client work, ranging from startups to established brands. 

Success for me meant measurable outcomes: traffic (unique visitors), leads (form submissions or sign-ups), and ROI (revenue tied to campaign spend). I tracked everything using tools like Google Analytics, beehiiv’s analytics, and Meta Ads Manager.

What surprised me most was how some channels took weeks to show results, while others, like email, delivered almost instantly.

Why I Picked It: I moved from Substack to beehiiv for one simple reason: I needed more control.

I wanted to have more options to customize the look and feel of my newsletter, I wanted to have more sophisticated growth tools, and most importantly, I wanted to own my audience independent of any platform or algorithm. 

How It Worked: I brought my initial (albeit small) list over to beehiiv and found it incredibly simple to get set up. Over the past year, I’ve been able to experiment with different forms of content, from personal essays to case studies to tool demos, while consistently growing my list. 

Results: My campaigns average a 59% open rate (well above the industry standard of 21.5%)

Key Lesson: What I found with this platform is that owning your audience through email gives unmatched control. beehiiv’s tools, like automated welcome sequences (confirmation email templates), made onboarding subscribers seamless. 

I finally feel like I’m running a small media company instead of writing a simple newsletter. 

Why I Picked It: Organic search has historically been the most reliable channel for sustained, free traffic. But now, thanks to Google updates and AI search, the approach for SEO is getting flipped on its head. 

That being said, optimizing for SEO is still a necessary tool for any digital marketing team. 

As marketing expert Neil Patel says, “59% of Google searches are now no-click, meaning brand recognition is what moves the needle, not just rankings. Tracking brand queries is the best way to measure performance marketing across fragmented platforms.” 

On top of that, you should be broadening your understanding of how customers search. 

“Google isn’t the only search engine that matters anymore,” Patel says. “Platforms like IG have 6.5 billion searches, Amazon 3.5 billion daily searches. Even the Apple App store has 500 million daily searches.” 

How It Works: I shifted focus from short-form “SEO filler” content to in-depth pieces containing original case studies, interviews, detailed tool walkthroughs, and personal narratives — content that Google’s AI can’t easily summarize or replace.

Results: Thakkar argues that SEO is still king; it just wears different clothes now. “We mix human instinct with AI to build content ecosystems that don’t sound like they were spit out by a bot on autopilot,” he said. 

Key Lesson: If you are focusing on SEO, you need to create things that AI can’t summarize. Focus on quality, authority, and uniqueness rather than quantity.

Why I Picked It: Despite rising CPMs (averaging around $7–$8 per thousand impressions), Meta ads remain one of the most immediate, measurable sources for high-intent traffic.

Matt McGarry, newsletter growth expert and founder of The Newsletter Operator, says it clearly: “The most successful newsletters use paid as their primary growth source.”

McGarry regularly helps clients scale from zero to thousands of engaged subscribers using simple lead magnets, native-style creative, and short-form ad copy that speaks directly to the audience’s pain points.

How It Works: The strategy that’s working in 2025 is remarkably simple: run a short-form Meta ad (Reel or feed post) with a clean hook, direct offer, and a lead form that sends the user straight into a newsletter welcome sequence. No external landing page needed.

“Depending on how I run the numbers, 30-60% of my customers come from paid ads. Yes, on average, subscribers from paid ads are less engaged than organic sources. But it’s faster, more consistent growth,” McGarry writes in a LinkedIn post. 

“Not to mention, I still convert them into customers by nurturing them and getting them to join a live webinar where I introduce our flagship product, ‘Write, Grow, Sell.’”

Key Lesson: Use Meta to get the right people in the door, but make sure you’re onboarding them well and offering reasons to stick around. The real ROI comes from what happens after the click.

Why I Picked It: Content marketing has been a huge area of focus for myself and for the SaaS clients I’ve worked with in the past couple of years. A 2025 HubSpot report revealed 70% of consumers trust brands that regularly produce high-quality educational content.

Shawna Tregunna, CEO of Acclivity Agency, says that pivoting to hyper-targeted content marketing has been incredibly effective. 

How It Works: “We're not writing generic blog posts about "manufacturing trends" - we're creating white papers that address the exact challenges facing the engineering team at Boeing's Seattle facility,” Tregunna explained.

Key Lesson: Content marketing now requires personalization and highly relevant lead magnets tailored to specific reader interests. Bland content won’t convert in 2025.

Why I Picked It: Podcasting isn’t new, but in 2025 it’s finally getting the strategic respect it deserves. Edison Research’s 2024 data revealed podcast listening hit an all-time high, with over 100 million Americans tuning in weekly. 

This was impossible for me to ignore as a marketer.

I’ve found that podcasts are a great channel for building trust and relationships with your audience. It creates space for nuance, positioning, and long-form storytelling, things that are nearly impossible to squeeze into short-form content.

How It Works: 

There are two ways I see creators and brands using podcasting effectively in 2025:

Results: One team that’s ahead of the curve here is Lower Street, a podcast production agency that helps B2B brands turn audio into serious marketing assets.

Their approach is about designing a podcast as a full-funnel content engine. Here’s how they do it:

In one campaign, Lower Street launched Navigating Zero, a branded podcast for global shipping platform ZeroNorth. They helped create a high-impact trailer, optimized episode SEO for terms like “global trade” and “decarbonization,” and ran programmatic ads and PR outreach. 

The result? Navigating Zero was featured in Forbes — twice — and surpassed 10,000 subscribers, with an industry-best 76.5% episode completion rate.

Key Lesson: What stood out to me about Bogdan’s work was how methodical the process was: not just recording great conversations, but breaking them down into bite-sized moments that convert across channels.

Why I Picked It: Influencer marketing shifted from vanity follower-count chasing to deep engagement and authenticity. 

According to Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2025 report, nano-influencers achieved an average engagement rate of 1.73% in 2024, significantly higher than macro-influencers (0.61%) and mega-influencers (0.68%).

According to Neil Patel, “People don’t search for products in 2025. They discover them through social commerce, which will hit $6.2 trillion in 2030. Platforms like TikTok, IG, and YT are already driving over a trillion a year in sales.”

“Buyers now watch live streams and influencer videos instead of going to product pages. This changes how selling works online. Yes, your website is still important but going live, posting reals and leveraging creators isn't optional anymore. It’s the new front door of ecommerce.” 

How It Works: 

The playbook I’ve seen work best — especially for lean teams — looks like this:

Results: One person who’s executing this well is Laetitia de Oliveira, founder of Affiliate Babes.

She runs a $2/day Meta strategy that retargets users who’ve engaged with her influencer campaigns. Her team uses short-form video seeded by creators, then follows up with paid retargeting to drive conversions.

In Oliveira’s words, “The goal isn’t to go viral — it’s to show up consistently where your ideal buyer is already watching.” This method has helped her clients:

Key Lesson: What this confirmed for me is that the goal is to show up consistently where your ideal buyer is already watching. That’s what makes this approach so effective, even with a $2/day budget.

Why I Picked It: This is one of the biggest areas of growth I’m seeing. If it feels like everyone around you is investing in video, you’re probably not wrong. 

YouTube crossed 2.6 billion monthly users in 2025, and LinkedIn reports a higher dwell time on video posts compared to image or text content. 

Meanwhile, TikTok continues to dominate the short-form space, with over 1.5 billion active users, and Shorts are now responsible for over 70% of new YouTube channel discovery.

How It Works: 

I’ve tested two core formats:

Results: Ethan King, Founder of SimpleSuccess.AI, shared with me his strategy for video marketing: 

“Short-form video is still king. Behind-the-scenes content on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok lets people connect with the vibe of our brand. We’re hearing more and more customers say they found us on social media before they ever hit Google,” he said. 

Key Lesson: Video marketing is one of the best ways to expand your reach and build trust with your audience. 

For me, the ROI on video comes when it’s part of a system. Long-form builds authority. Shorts pull people in. Email closes the loop.

Why I Picked It: As platforms de-prioritize link clicks, the smartest marketers are bringing the conversation in-platform. It’s low friction, native, and algorithm-friendly.

“‘Link in bio’ kills your reach and your momentum,” says Dimple Thakkar, CEO at Fifteen Thirty Forty.  

“We’re automating DM flows using tools like ManyChat to turn content into conversations — without lifting a finger after posting.”

How It Works: 

This post from Amy Porterfield is a great example of how you could use automated comments/DMs to grow your newsletter. 

Results: Inro, a marketing automation platform, shares a case study around automating DMs. A fashion creator switched to an Instagram growth tool for creators that automated DMs based on keywords in comments (like “link” or “price”).

The results are striking: 6x more link clicks and 3x more sales in a week.

Key Lesson: This taught me something simple: don’t direct traffic, invite response. Conversations scale faster than clicks, and they convert better too.

Why I Picked It: Affiliate marketing isn’t new, but it’s changing fast.

According to Outbrain, the industry is currently worth $17 billion globally and is expected to hit $38 billion by 2027. What’s changed is the channel.

Right now, TikTok Shop is having a moment. Creators are earning commissions by blending affiliate links directly into native content without needing massive followings or years of SEO work.

How It Works: 

Results: Makeup artist Mitchell Halliday runs Made by Mitchell. In just 3 months on TikTop Shop, their brand grew by 4X and increased sales by 106%. 

Key Lesson: Affiliate marketing is definitely still a powerful digital marketing move. Just make sure you’re using updated tactics. 

What’s working now isn’t affiliate links buried in a blog footer; it’s content that’s built to sell without feeling like a sales pitch.

Personalization is one of the biggest trends in digital marketing. According to HubSpot data, 71% of consumers expect brands to tailor email content to their pain points and goals. 

This means there’s not a clear cut playbook you can follow. The days of mass producing bland SEO content are over. 

Customers now expect you to show up in different formats, from email to video and more. They also expect you to tailor the marketing for their own needs. 

So how do I decide where to focus?

Here’s the framework I use to align channel selection with business goals:

When it comes to building a direct, high-leverage relationship with your audience, nothing beats email.

As Matt McGarry, newsletter growth expert and creator of The Newsletter Operator, said in this podcast episode.

I’ve tested platforms like Kit and Substack, but beehiiv’s UX, analytics, and growth tools — like referral programs and optimized sender names — made it the clear winner.

Digital marketing doesn’t come with a universal playbook anymore, and that’s a good thing.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned writing for digital marketing companies, consulting with early-stage startups, and testing dozens of real campaigns across newsletters, content, social, and paid media, it’s this:

Your best channel is the one that aligns with your business model, your customer’s behavior, and your ability to show up consistently.

Yes, short-form video drives discovery.

Yes, email converts better than any other channel.

Yes, affiliate links, influencer UGC, and automated DMs can all work — if they’re mapped to the right audience and intent.

Here’s how I keep my own strategy grounded:

If you’re overwhelmed by options, zoom out and ask:

Where is your audience paying attention? What do they need to hear? And how can you help — clearly and consistently — right there?

That’s why email has become the center of gravity in my marketing stack and why I’ve kept building on beehiiv. It’s where I test new ideas, launch products, and stay in direct contact with the people who actually care.

Get started with beehiiv for free today.