Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson

What’s Up THIS WEEK?! 🛑ELECTION Impact on B2B and Consumer Marketing Canpaigns!🛑 | Ep. 576

October 13, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

"More than what was spent during the presidential election cycle." That’s the number Jay Schwedelson leads with on this episode of Do This, NOT That: $11.6 billion in ad spend for the midterms. The flood of political messaging is distorting everything from cost-per-acquisition in paid ads to inbox placement rates in email — and most marketers are still running their campaigns as if it’s a normal quarter. Schwedelson walks through the real data on how the election is warping performance metrics, why you need to isolate those weeks from your reporting, and what to actually do about it.

The $11.6 Billion Distortion in Paid Ads

The scale is the first thing to absorb. This midterm cycle is outspending a presidential election, with 70% of that $11.6 billion concentrated in just 13 states. Michigan alone is seeing roughly $1 billion in ad spend; California is close to a billion, Georgia $840 million, Ohio $800 million. If you are running paid ads — digital, streaming, email — and you are only looking at your national cost-per-acquisition, you are missing the story. Schwedelson’s advice is straightforward: go to ChatGPT or Claude, ask for the 13 states with the highest ad spend this cycle, then pull your own CPA data for those states. "I would bet you your cost per acquisition is particularly high right now in those states," he says, because the competition to buy ads there is

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

Never miss an episode of Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson

Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

What you'll learn

1 (00:16) **Election Impact on Marketing: The Big Picture** - Jay introduces the main topic: new data on how the upcoming midterm election is affecting all types of marketing, and why marketers need to adjust their strategies now.
2 (01:15) **Record-Breaking Midterm Ad Spend** - Jay reveals the staggering $11.6 billion being spent on midterm ads, exceeding even presidential election cycles, and explains why this matters for your campaigns.
3 (02:24) **State-Level Cost Per Acquisition Analysis** - Jay advises marketers to analyze their cost per acquisition (CPA) at the state level, as costs are spiking in the most competitive states.
4 (03:24) **Email Deliverability Crisis Before Election Day** - Jay shares new data from Validity showing a significant drop in inbox placement rates during the weeks surrounding the election.
5 (04:37) **Avoiding Key Dates Around November 3rd** - Jay recommends avoiding sending important campaigns during the days immediately before and after election day.
6 (05:41) **LinkedIn View and Impression Drop** - Jay highlights a recent, unexplained drop in LinkedIn views and impressions that is affecting many users, including major influencers.
7 (06:56) **Sponsor Break: Knak** - A brief sponsored segment for Knak, an email marketing campaign builder that Jay uses and recommends for centralizing and personalizing campaigns.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Jay Schwedelson

Show Notes

Partner with Jay: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/contact

ㅤ

Check out Jay Schwedelson's new book: Stupider People Have Done It

All net proceeds are donated to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, let's kick cancer's butt: https://www.amazon.com/Stupider-People-Have-Done-Marketing/dp/1637635206

ㅤ

Subscribe to Jay's newsletter for weekly marketing tips and tactics: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/newsletter

ㅤ

Check out Eventastic (FREE + VIRTUAL!) https://www.eventastic.com

ㅤ

Connect with Jay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwedelson/

Check out Jay's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelson

Check out Jay's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/

Ask Jay anything: https://www.jayschwedelson.com/ask

ㅤ

Leave a comment and follow the show, it really helps us out!

ㅤ

Big shoutout to our sponsor, Knak!

Marketers, you know the pain… You spend hours on a campaign, and then it gets stuck in review cycles and barely looks like what you started with. Knak makes it simple. Build emails, landing pages, and mobile messages; collaborate and launch - all in one place. No tool hopping, no messy handoffs, with AI built in to help you move faster.

See how it all works, get started at knak.com/demo

ㅤ

Election season is making your cost per acquisition look terrible, your emails are landing in spam, and your LinkedIn views fell off a cliff. None of that is your fault this month. Jay Schwedelson walks through brand new data on how $11.6 billion in political ad money is quietly wrecking inbox placement and ad pricing, and what to pull out of your reporting before you start blaming the offer. Stick around for the candy corn verdict, which is not up for debate.

ㅤ<