This year, I ran so many creative business experiments—social media tests, email marketing tweaks, giveaways, sales strategies, and everything in between. In this video, I’m breaking down what actually worked, what totally flopped, and what I’d absolutely do again. Whether you're an author, artist, or creative entrepreneur, this recap will help you plan smarter for next year and skip the mistakes I made.

Mentioned in the video: Trial Reels Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmcSd3zvMuI&t

Enroll in the private 4-Week Marketing Momentum Accelerator by Dec. 22! We start Jan. 5. You, me and your marketing momentum! Learn more about the program here and start 2026 with a mentor, strategy, insights and direct feedback on your content! https://marketingbyshelby.com/momentumMentioned in today's video:I use Interact to make my lead magnet quizzes! Here's my affiliate link: https://get.tryinteract.com/shelbyCHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES created for you at: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebieJOIN THE CREATIVE'S CONTENT CLUB WAITLIST! Want hands-on marketing support, templates and shortcuts, feedback, step by step marketing strategies and more, every single month?! Join my all-in-one marketing membership, The Creative's Content Club! Add your name to the waitlist to receive an invite soon: https://marketingbyshelby.com/waitlist-podABOUT SHELBY: Hey, I'm Shelby, bestselling writer and marketing/business coach for creatives. After growing my own audience as an author to more than 500k on social media, working in social media management for 8+ years, becoming a full-time writer and selling over 60k books with social media and content marketing, I now teach other creatives, like authors, musicians, artists, poets, photographers and more, how to grow and sell their creative work with marketing!

Open me for details on how to grow your Instagram following and get more reviews and testimonials!

Increase sales with social proof: Collect product reviews & testimonials in minutes with https://shoutout.io/. Thanks to Shoutout for sponsoring today's video!In this week's episode, we're talking about what's new with Instagram's algorithm, how to shift your strategy to get better results from your posts, and more. We'll talk about ways to get more reach and engagement, and the reality of what's needed to compete with AI and all the noise on the platform.

WANT TO GROW YOUR INSTAGRAM FOLLOWING? CHECK OUT MY INSTAGRAM ADS VISIBILITY MASTERCLASS, only available now through Tuesday November 25 as an early Black Friday offer! https://cart.shelbyleigh.co/ig-ads/

P.S. That's not all I'm doing for Black Friday! Stay tuned for Nov 28 when my courses and guides will be on sale all weekend long, plus I'll be dropping two new offers. Join my email list below so you don't miss it!

CHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES created for you at: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebie

Let's talk about how to run a successful campaign and the 5 types of content you need to share in order to get your customers ready to buy, whether you're hosting a Black Friday sale, a launch or another type of marketing campaign.Increase sales with social proof: Collect product reviews & testimonials in minutes with https://shoutout.io/. Thanks to Shoutout for sponsoring today's video!CHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES and get on the waitlist for my November special offers: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebieJOIN THE CREATIVE'S CONTENT CLUB WAITLIST! Want hands-on marketing support, templates and shortcuts, feedback, step by step marketing strategies and more, every single month?! Join my all-in-one marketing membership, The Creative's Content Club! Add your name to the waitlist to receive an invite soon: https://marketingbyshelby.com/waitlist-podABOUT SHELBY: Hey, I'm Shelby, bestselling writer and marketing/business coach for creatives. After growing my own audience as an author to more than 500k on social media, working in social media management for 8+ years, becoming a full-time writer and selling over 60k books with social media and content marketing, I now teach other creatives, like authors, musicians, artists, poets, photographers and more, how to grow and sell their creative work with marketing! CONNECT WITH SHELBY: I post marketing tips here on YouTube (subscribe for more videos!) as well as on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/marketingbyshelby https://marketingbyshelby.com/