DM Funnels over Paid Ads

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🤝 The 1:1 Collab Funnel: Turning 10 Strategic DMs into 100K in Earned Growth

Forget paid ads. Forget discount codes. Some of the highest-ROI growth in DTC today comes from a founder sending the right kind of DMs, not 10,000 impressions.

This is the 1:1 Collab Funnel: a low-volume, high-context motion that turns your product into a shared platform. No agencies. No press kits. No cold pitches. Just people building together, and growing faster for it.

Why Brand Collabs Still Work (But Most Brands Get Them Wrong)

The idea of a collab isn’t new.

But the execution usually is:

• Brands chase collabs based on vibes, not strategic alignment
• Founders email generic “partnerships@” inboxes and never get a response
• Most outreach has no timing hook, no mutual benefit, and no context

Done right, though, a single collab can generate Email list swaps, Audience growth via social/posting, bundled product revenue, Shared UGC, Press angles + brand lift

And the best part? You only need 10 strategic DMs to find the 1–2 that convert into 100K in earned value.

The 1:1 Collab Funnel Framework

Step 1: Define Your Tier-1 Collab Profile

• Not your size — slightly larger or differently positioned
• Aligned with values, aesthetics, or audience
• Complimentary product or seasonal use case

Step 2: Build a Precision List

• Titles: Founder, Head of Brand, Partnerships, Marketing Lead
• Filters: DTC brands, $0–10M in revenue, relevant verticals
• Bonus: Filter by companies hiring or recently funded = momentum

Step 3: Personal DM or Email

Not “Let’s collab” — something like:

“Hey [Name], we’re doing a limited self-care drop with 2-3 brand partners we admire.

I think your product would slot in perfectly. Want me to send over a 1-pager?”

Step 4: Co-Create → Ship → Share

• Define 1 clear shared deliverable (box, giveaway, drop, event)
• Assign audience-sharing tasks
• Capture UGC + track lift via branded search or code usage

A Realistic Outcome: 10 targeted DMs → 4 replies → 2 meaningful calls → 1 activated collab → $100K+ in combined UGC, list growth, and new LTV

This funnel doesn’t scale horizontally. It scales intentionally.

To do this right, you need data, not discovery.

• Apollo helps you identify the actual person who makes decisions, not a cold inbox
• Filter by size, vertical, and title, skip guesswork
• See job history and funding info to tailor your pitch
• Use Apollo’s live data to enrich contacts for DMs that get read, not archived

You can sign up here and make Apollo your collab dealflow engine quietly humming in the background.

You don’t need a campaign. You need a calendar with 10 names worth DMing. Because in 2025, the best growth doesn’t always come from ads, it comes from alignment. And one good DM? That’s more scalable than you think.

Together with The Shift

You’re Not Behind on AI. You’re Just Learning It Wrong.

AI is evolving rapidly. But most people aren’t falling behind because it’s too fast. 

They’re stuck because they’re learning AI like a subject in school. And AI doesn’t play by textbook rules.

At The Shift AI, we don’t just tell you what’s new. We show you how to:

✅ Rethink workflows with an AI-first mindset
✅ Automate like a hacker, not like you’re replacing a task
✅ Ask smarter questions that unlock better results

If reading this made you pause, wait till you see what happens when you apply it.

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🧠 Google and Anthropic Expand AI Creation 

Google and Anthropic are expanding the role of generative AI, from single responses to full creative utilities. Imagen 4 brings sharper, prompt-aligned visuals, while Claude’s revamped Artifacts turn simple prompts into powerful shareable apps. 

The Breakdown:

1. Google Launches Imagen 4 & Ultra – Imagen 4 is now live in Gemini API (paid preview) and Google AI Studio (limited free), offering text rendering and image quality across everyday and high-precision tasks.

2. Two Models, Versatile Output – Imagen 4 ($0.04/image) handles general tasks, while Imagen 4 Ultra ($0.06/image) excels in following complex prompts, producing visuals from comics to cinematic fashion scenes, all marked with SynthID.

3. Claude Artifacts Become Interactive Apps – Anthropic’s Artifacts now let users instantly generate tools like flashcard apps or games from a single prompt, with full sharing enabled for both free and paid Claude users, no API cost required.

4. Cross-Platform and Easy to Customize – Artifacts can be created and used on mobile or desktop, with full customization available on desktop via a new Claude sidebar designed for easy access, discovery, and remixing.

With Imagen 4 powering creative visuals and Claude turning prompts into real tools, generative AI is shifting from content generation to product creation, flexible, shareable, and built for everyday use.

🚀Quick Hits

📦 Nurture Life went from 2 months to 2 weeks in UGC turnaround using just one marketer and Insense. If you’re spending hours managing creators manually, this is your upgrade. Book your free strategy call before July 4th and get a $200 credit toward your first campaign!

 📱 X will soon charge advertisers based on the vertical size of ad visuals. Larger, full-screen ads will cost more than smaller ones. The update was announced by Elon Musk but isn’t live yet.

📢 TikTok is testing “Bulletin Boards,” a one-way broadcast tool for creators and brands to send up to 20 text, image, or video updates daily. Fans can react but not reply.

🧠 74% of U.S. consumers believe AI finds better deals than they can. 69% have used AI shopping assistants, saving an average of $83 last year as usage continues to grow rapidly.

🔍 Google Local Service Ads now highlight review keywords with a “Reviews often mention [keyword]” label, marked by a people icon, similar to review summaries seen five years ago in regular local results.

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