👋 What’s growing: people getting cars while the getting’s hot.

Cox Automotive said 15.6 million vehicles were sold in January—the highest since 2021. It’s not because prices have dropped or buyers are flush with cash, though. The company thinks shoppers are trying to overtake rising prices as tariffs come in, inflation looms and EV incentives head for the chopping block.

INSIGHTS

How to (actually) map seasonality 

Surface-level data and a quick Google search won’t cut it. You’re gonna’ have to get your hands dirty.

You just wrapped up a record-breaking Q4. Sales were through the roof. But now it’s Q1, and things are dead. You check Google Trends—people are still searching. You check competitors—some are running ads. Do you spend more? Hold back? Is this normal? What are you missing?

The real answers lie not in broad industry trends, but in your own data.

Seasonality isn’t just about when demand spikes. It’s about knowing which sales matter and where your real opportunities are hiding. 

Step 1: Pull Your Last 3-5 Years of Data

(If you don’t have five years, use as much as possible, but keep in mind COVID distortions.)

Look at:

• Website traffic → Look for when high traffic doesn’t translate into sales. If this occurs, try fixing your offer or messaging.

• Purchase data → Use moving averages to spot recurring sales cycles. If there's a hidden mid-year bump you haven’t capitalized on, test a campaign there.

• Marketing returns → Compare investment vs. lifetime revenue of customers acquired. The latter should outweigh the former.

Step 2: Segment & Spot Patterns

Not all seasonal sales are equal. Separate meaningful trends from distractions by looking at:

• Cohorts: Who’s buying? Are they one-off buyers or repeat customers? If it’s mostly one-offs, don’t over-index on that season. If they’re repeat customers, adjust your marketing to their buying cycle.

• High-value vs. low-value sales: Are seasonal spikes driving real revenue growth or just inflating order volume?

Step 3: Find Hidden Opportunities

• Find demand: Use Google Trends, Exploding Topics, or industry reports to find high demand periods.

• Find untapped windows: If demand is high and your competitors aren’t spending on ads (monitor this with Semrush), you might have a low-cost, high-margin opportunity.

Final Action Plan: What To Do Now

1. Pull your last 3-5 years of purchase + marketing data.

2. Smooth out the noise with moving averages.

3. Segment by customer type and sales value—what’s really worth chasing?

4. Spot seasonal spending mistakes—where are you overinvesting?

5. Find low-competition, high-demand moments and test into them.

Most businesses follow industry-wide seasonal assumptions. Your highest-value customers don’t. Time to start mapping your own seasonality.

FREE RESOURCE

14 ways to optimize your content

1. Optimize Your Content to Meet Search Intent

2. Target Relevant Secondary Keywords

3. Make Sure Your Content Is Easy to Understand

4. Keep Your Content Up to Date

5. Optimize Your Content for On-Page SEO

6. Optimize Your Page for SERP Features

7. Add Semantically Related Keywords

8. Optimize Visual Content

9. Satisfy Google’s E-E-A-T Guidelines

10. Cover the Topic Comprehensively

11. Include Original Research

12. Demonstrate the Value of Your Product or Service

13. Add Social Proof to Build Trust

14. Use Calls to Action

👉️ Power up your content

CULTURE

When a dystopian workplace hits too close to home

Is this real life?

ICYMI, you can follow Lumon Industries on LinkedIn.

Lumon Industries (the fictitious, creepy company on TV show ‘Severance’) can fix that.

Their LinkedIn page is littered with demotivational quotes.

Some personal highlights include:

• “Let not weakness live in your veins.”

• “May you hold close the work that fills your heart’s chambers with fondness and adulation.”

• And an appreciation letter for employees who made quota, offering (1) free package of raisins, shriveled, as a reward. 

Truly inspirational. Where do we sign up for a job at this place? 😷 

In all seriousness, it’s marketing and it’s funny. But it’s painfully realistic for anyone who’s ever clocked into an office where they felt they had to leave their personality at home.

THIS WEEK’S DOs & DON’Ts

DO

Have a serious think about how many of your job’s tasks are replaceable by AI. According to McKinsey, about 30% of US work hours will be automatable by 2030, and that includes high-paying, white-collar jobs like legal. 

Becoming an expert at implementing AI tools to automate parts of your job might become a necessity. Shaan Puri thinks that, in the future, “being able to ‘manage robots’ will be more valuable than being able to manage humans”.

DON’T

Let awesome ideas fall through your fingers.

Keep them in a swipe file!

Successful people like Brian Balfour or Shaan Puri will all tell you: put every amazing piece of information you come across in a swipe file. Organize them by whatever they mean to you, then come back to them when you need inspiration.

DATA POINT

Employee Wellness: Who Really Benefits?

Good for employees. Great for employers. Even better for big data.

Once a buzzword, corporate wellness is now a $94.6B industry (up from $61.2B in 2021). 80% of businesses with 50+ employees offer wellness programs—but is it really about employee health?

The Employee Perspective

Over half of Gen Z and Millennials consider wellness programs when job hunting. They matter, but do they work?

• Workhuman and Gallup: Wellness programs reduce burnout and increase well-being.

• Landmark British study: Job structure (pay, performance reviews) matters more than wellness perks.

• HBR: Burnout and mental health issues are still rising.

So, what’s driving the boom?

The Employer Play

Companies push wellness programs because they cut costs:

• Fewer sick days & higher productivity = direct ROI.

• SHRM: Two-thirds of businesses say wellness programs reduce healthcare costs.

• HBR: $6 return for every $1 spent on wellness.

• Many insurers bundle wellness programs for free—so employers win without spending extra.

The Big Data Angle

Wellness is a goldmine of health data for insurers and corporations. While insurers can’t ask about pre-existing conditions, wellness program participation voluntarily reveals health risks. Researchers Tamara K. Nopper and Eve Zelickson have dubbed it “wellness capitalism,” and are questioning how invasive the data collection really is.

Is your health worth your data?

This week’s issue was written by Amy Hawthorne and edited by Catherine Solbrig.