Magnifier Monthly | Issue 44

MAgNIFIER O M NTHLY AUGUST 2026

The Art The Art of Automating of Automating When Heart & Soul Meet Systemization

ISSUE 44

CONTENTs 1

FEATURES LETTER FROM THE EDITOR................................. 3 AN OLDIE, BUT A GOODIE, AND A SHORTIE

STRATEGY SECRETS............................................... 5 When Automation Becomes Branding

USEFUL BUSINESS GADGETS.............................. 7 The Lead Magnet

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DIY SOLUTIONS MONTHLY PUZZLE................................................... 10 Crossword: Automation Terminology

DIGITAL TRENDS...................................................... 12 Reddit, Gen Z, Claude

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CURRENT EVENTS

PROJECT PORTFOLIO........................................... 13 LOCAL & SOCIAL..................................................... 15 Client Event Calendar

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laughs MEME OF THE MONTH.......................................... 17

Cover image by Magic Media

AN OLDIE, BUT A GOODIE, AND A SHORTIE This is my 44th issue of Magnifier Monthly, can you believe it??

Here’s what I wrote in my editor’s letter in MM34:

I launched Magnifier in January of 2023, so this coming January officially marks 4 years—and 48 issues—of my beloved little newsletter. It’s come a looooong way from its early days as a single page email.

“Keeping up with the insane news cycle feels oppressive, and on top of it all I’m having an existential crisis about AI. I was all set to unreservedly unleash AI on my business—you may recall my editor’s letter in Issue 31 about this exact topic. At first blush, AI comes across as the ultimate answer to most business problems.

Aaaaand there’s more to come.

Yep, you guessed it…

It’s time for another iteration! I believe this is my third or fourth time changing things up? Believe me, I don’t plan on making a habit of these iterations, but when you’re an early stage business, you’ve gotta go where the change blows you.

And exciting changes are indeed afoot at Marove Agency. We’re talking a new teammate, a new service, and a totally new trajectory for your favorite digital solutions agency.

I’ll have more to share in the next issue (I’m currently heads down working on said changes), so for now, I’m taking us all the way back to Issue 34 in preparation for the next era.

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It can be your personal assistant and your research assistant. It can synthesize your documents, write essays, create art, et cetera et cetera.

The conclusion I had come to was that AI was the answer I was looking for to solve the business growth paradox—needing help to get revenue, but needing revenue to get help…

From a business/bottom line perspective, AI is an obvious choice.

From a conscientious/concerned-aboutthe-state-of-our-union perspective, AI should be avoided at all costs. Ugh. It’s hard to be a business woman with a conscience…”

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Madelyn Veith

Some things never change.

I’m still having an existential crisis (I’ll probably always have one of those going on in the background), but I’ve learned and seen some things that have really helped me find my path forward with AI. Business automation is a key part of that.

So we’ll keep it short and just get into the issue at hand: The Art of Automation (recycled from MM34).

And heads up—the next time you see Magnifier Monthly, things will look and feel a little different, but don’t worry, my unsolicited advice and pithy commentary that you all know and love so much will still be the same.

Sitting courtside at a Fire game this month, all thanks to a networking event gone wrong, then very, very right.

And now for the issue at hand…

Flip through the pages of this issue and discover the timeless art of automating your business. Unlock the secret to a workflow that promotes your brand even when you’re off the clock.

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STRATEGY SEC

S T E R

When Automation Becomes Branding

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At face value, digital automation is an incredibly simple concept: An input triggers an output, without human intervention. And, as long as it’s set up correctly, you don’t need to do much to maintain it in the future. It’s the essence of “set it and forget it.”

You no longer need to keep track of all of the mundane tasks that suck up your valuable time and drain your limited energy. It gives you more space to focus on the fun stuff, or just take a much-needed vacation, while your business literally runs like clockwork.

There are the internal systems to automate, like invoicing and scheduling, and then there are the marketing processes to automate, like lead generation, sales funnels, subscriptions and more.

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CUSTOMER JOURNEY Automation is much more than just a quick this-then-that. It’s a complete customer journey—a robust, thoughtful workflow that traces a logical sequence of events and creates a guided, rewarding experience for your contacts.

It involves customized communications, thoughtful offers, and anticipated needs. As the mastermind behind the funnel, you must think from the point of view of your customer. “What do I want to know about this business? How and where do I learn more? When do I want to hear from them? When do I not want to hear from them? Can I trust this business?”

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REPETITIONS When you take care to meticulously plan everything down to the last digital detail, your automations go from being a technical infrastructure for your funnels to being an invisible brand engineer.

Branding is a layered process that happens over time and is defined by repetitions of trustworthiness and consistency. Automating activates those repetitions.

ART & SCIENCE Everything within the repetitions feeds into your reputation as a business, and thus up into your brand message (secret #2). The time in between interactions, the method of communication, the style of greeting, the tone of the copy… these all play a role. The better your repetitions, the better your brand message. The better your brand message, the higher your conversion metrics (sales, clients, revenue, you name it).

4 In other words, automating your business is a science, but automating your brand is an art. (The third secret.)

THE MEDIUM And, like every good artist, you need a medium. For marketing, that would be a CRM platform (Customer Relationship Management). These platforms usually have everything you need to not only build the technical components (the programmed steps that actually enact the automations), but to put your unique stamp on them—branded templates, contact customizations, passionate copy, etc.

So now you know: The art of automating is not just about efficiency. It’s about experience, and giving your customers the journey they deserve.

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USEFUL BUSIN

LEAD ABOUT Everybody loves free stuff, which is what makes the lead magnet such a useful business gadget.

A lead magnet is a valuable marketing tool you can use to grow your audience and convert potential prospects into viable leads. It starts with a free giveaway, like a resource or discount, which people can claim by submitting their email or other contact info to you. Once you have their data, you can contact them with future marketing offers or announcements.

The principle of the lead magnet is “try it before you buy it.”

By giving people a free option, you’re making it easier for them to say yes to giving up their personal information because it’s a low-risk outcome.

Whether or not the outcome is worth it, however, is up to you. It should be something that is well worth giving up personal information in the cyber age. Otherwise, your brand’s reputation to deliver on its promises could be at stake.

“Try before you buy!”

INSTRUCTION STEP 1.

Create a compelling offer.

Get my free style guide for fall 2025.

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STEP 2.

Design the workflow.

1.Contact submits email 2.Contact is tagged 3.Contact receives email #1 4.Drip campaign is triggered

NESS GADgETS

MAGNET ...IN ACTION! Imagine you run a thrift store and you want a boost in sales (some customer loyalty would be nice, too!). You decide to offer an exclusive style guide of your favorite curated looks for the fall. This showcases not only your expertise as a stylist, but also conveys your willingness to share your knowledge with others.

The first step is to set up the workflow. You’ll need a landing page, a purchase confirmation email, some follow-up emails, as well as the style guide itself.

Then, you’ll want to advertise the offer somewhere on the website, both as a pop-up block and as a separate landing page for linking on social media and in emails.

The workflow is pretty basic. The customer sees the content and subscribes.

A tag is added that triggers the first email that includes the style guide.

Then, they get one email every 2 days for the next week with follow-up notes about fall styles and images of similar styles you happen to be selling in your very shop, and possibly even a discount code for a future purchase (loyalty!).

MANUAL STEP 3.

Set up the conversion tools.

Landing page Style guide PDF CRM workflow Email templates

STEP 4.

Advertise your concept.

Social media promotion, email list promotion, website pop-up block 8

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T H N L O Y M

Puzzle Solution on next page...

AUTOMATION TERMINOLOGY

Across 1 To adapt based on data 4 A label for categorization; also price ____ 5 A single rule or action 9 The recipient as an email address 10 Software for managing it all 11 Wait for it...

12 Officially opt out Down 2 Filtered grouping of 8 down 3 Type of email messaging series 6 Action that sets off the chain of events 7 An automated sequence of 5 across 8 If/then

All to create a seamless...

CLICK TO PLAY

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FINAL

SOLUTION AUTOMATION TERMINOLOGY

Across 1 To adapt based on data 4 A label for categorization; also price ____ 5 A single rule or action 9 The recipient as an email address 10 Software for managing it all 11 Wait for it...

12 Officially opt out Down

All to create a seamless...

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2 Filtered grouping of 8 down 3 Type of email messaging series 6 Action that sets off the chain of events 7 An automated sequence of 5 across 8 If/then

Reddit Wars.

In a new practice known as GEO (generative search optimization), marketers are racing to structure digital content to be included in AI search citations as more internet users turn to AI-driven searches. Because the most highly-cited source for AI agents is Reddit, marketers have been attempting to infiltrate Reddit threads with promotional content, and in response, Reddit has unleashed its own AI technology to filter out the spam and prevent the degradation of its platform. In response to THAT, newly reported data shows that ChatGPT Reddit citations have fallen to below 5% of prompt responses. So if you’re a marketer, your Reddit ambitions might be short-lived.

Gen Z goes IRL (but mainly for content).

New research is showing that “49% of younger generations become sports fans because of content created by athletes, fans and/or viral videos” and that “78% of Gen Z only attends live sporting events for the chance to see celebrities, concert performances and/or brand activations, as opposed to purely watching the games outright.” If you’re targeting Gen Z, consider this pipeline to reach them.

New Claude Watermarks.

Claude has announced that watermarks are coming to its text generation for “models launched in the EU on or after August 2, 2026” so that “generated files will include digitally signed provenance metadata where supported.” The move comes in response to the enactment of the EU AI Act’s Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content. This is perhaps a bellwether of regulatory implications on AI yet to come.

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