Core Content for Core Fans
Doomscroll 3.2.2025
Hello. Welcome to another edition of Doomscroll, your favorite newsletter covering all things digital on the right. We know why we’re here, so let’s get to some scrolling!
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about re-engagement campaigns! Two-thirds of you say you still use them, while one-third of respondents said nope! That makes me feel a little better. A couple reader comment about what metric they use to evaluable whether someone should be put in a re-engagement campaign:
Opens! And I think it’s worth noting that a house file is a very valuable thing. Abandoning previous opt ins is not a great call. That said, I want some spice in my re engagement subject lines. I want to know if that email is still being used, and “are you still there?” Isn’t it. But “you’ve been audited” landed some success!
donated in the past
And one more reader comment:
Democrats can just email their entire inactive list and suffer no consequences. They tweet about it, blog about it and even get written in the NYT about it. Until republicans force Google to level the playing field we will get destroyed in fundraising.
Woof.
Ok. This week’s One Question is about YouTube! This week, the company announced it had passed 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content. One. Billion.
I have to admit. I do not consume podcast content on YouTube, but I’m intrigued by those who do. In fact, while I was going down the YouTube/podcast internet rabbit hole, I came across a separate report they put out last year and have to admit this factoid stunned me:
Viewers watched over 400M hours of podcasts monthly on living room devices. They’ve been tuning into podcasts similarly to how one would tune into a late-night talk show.
I guess I’m sorely late to the party here, but woah. Clearly, there’s opportunity here to get our messaging into more living rooms. So…what are we going to do with this information? How are you all planning to tap into podcasts with VIDEO on YouTube - if at all? Let me know!
One Quote
One Thought
A couple years ago, the retail brand Lush announced it was getting off social media (although it’s still on YouTube and runs an influencer marketing program, lol). Marketing Brew recently caught up with the company’s chief digital officer to find out how the boycott is going and…unsurprisingly the official word is it’s all good! Most of the rationale behind the decision is eye roll-inducing, save for this bit about not relying on anything you don’t own. PREACH. I can’t say this enough. Thought experiment: Could you ever envision a political candidate doing this? Announcing he/she was going to boycott social media as a matter of principal and campaign purely the old-fashioned way? Is that even doable in 2025? Just a thought!
Who’s Doing What
—Cotton’s Announcement
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton announced his re-election campaign this week. The announcement video is fine, but what I really love is his website - and specifically the donation form. I wish it were a little higher on the page, but that aside, it’s pretty clever. Yes, a form can be clever. I like how large the donate buttons are, and that they include what the contribution will be used for. #Winning. I also love that there’s a button at the bottom that says “text me a reminder in 30 days.” Very nice. Also, yes I did text “STRONG” to his short code, and was almost immediately sent his contact card to save to my phone. Nicely done! Now, let’s just get that merch store up!
—Hey, hey, ho, ho, the income tax has got to go!
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who’s reportedly considering a bid for governor, is running a Facebook ad featuring a 30-second video about how she personally stopped Tennessee from implementing a state income tax. Pretty brilliant. She got involved! She stood up to her own party! She gets stuff done! Great ad for someone who may or may not be gearing up for something :cough cough:.
—For real?
Is the White House really putting out ASMR videos? LMAO. No trend is TOO trendy for the online right, amirite? Apparently, and this is purely anecdotal, ASMR videos are getting pretty popular with younger kids. My cousin, who is all of 10, legit loves them. 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
Who’s Spending Where
P2P
A group called Protect and Serve PAC sent a very clickbait-y text this week about something Tucker Carlson said that I just HAVE to read. The text is so-so, although you all KNOW it’s a huge pet peeve of mine when senders don’t identify themselves. Anyway, what really caught my attention (h/t a loyal reader) was the recurring donation call-out on the WinRed page. In exchange for making it recurring, donors are promised they’ll receive 90% fewer texts. If Protect and Serve follows through on that promise, then great. But will they? Call me skeptical.
Industry Watch
Patreon just released its State of Create report. If you have the time, it’s worth diving into. If not, allow me to share some key takeaways, starting with the report’s overarching theme: Content creators care the MOST about connecting deeply with their fans. Why? Because they don’t trust social media platforms - or “the algorithm” - not to screw things up for them.
Case in point: the report points out that these days, creators feel that having a ton of followers doesn’t matter because their content doesn’t reach them consistently (that darn algorithm!). In fact, 53% of respondents said it’s harder to reach their followers today than it was 5 years ago. Of course this is true. When I open X, Instagram or Facebook, I’m flooded with posts from people or pages I’ve never heard of and never followed! So I get it. 60% of creators surveyed singled out Instagram for not showing their followers their content.
Another takeaway? Content creators spent way too much time focusing on short-form content - but mainly because that’s what platforms started incentivizing. That makes sense for the platforms (more engagements = more ad revenue), but maybe now we’re starting to realize that the overcorrection on short-form video comes at a cost? Namely, the ability to ::checks notes:: build deeper relationships with audiences.
Biggest takeaway: We ALL need to prioritize relationship-building with our audiences (the voters), and really hone in on what the report calls “core fans.” You know the ones…they’re the activists who play an outsized role in your success. The ones who are 86% more likely to join a dedicated online community and take action.
So…yeah. Go forth and make those relationships happen! Ha, it’s so easy, right?
2025-2026 Watch
Pres. Trump went ahead and endorsed Byron Donalds for governor of Florida.
Doug Mastriano seems to be considering another gubernatorial run in Pennsylvania. Super.
Is Eric Hovde going to run for governor of Wisconsin? I wouldn’t hate it!
A new poll out of Arizona shows GOP primary voters are still searching for their frontrunner. It asked voters about a hypothetical matchup between Karrin Taylor Robson, Andy Biggs, Charlie Kirk (wtf?!) and a few others.
Looks like there’s gonna be a GOP gubernatorial primary in Virginia after all… Le sigh.
DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick is running for governor in Illinois
The Grapevine
Ok, ya’ll what is going on at ActBlue?! The below screenshots are posts from the IG account, dear_white_staffers. Clearly, the kids are not alright.
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
Two big-name Dems are stepping in to fill the party’s leadership void and the BOTH got some glowing coverage this week.
Exhibit A: This New York Times profile of Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy. Here’s a snippet that caught my attention:
But a constitutional crisis can offer an opportunity for a civics refresher, and Mr. Murphy appears to be breaking through. Over the past two months, he has doubled his Instagram following on both his official and political accounts. Since Jan. 1, Mr. Murphy’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have racked up 29.2 million impressions. On Substack, Mr. Murphy’s subscribers have increased by 223 percent. His campaign has spent more on fund-raising ads on Meta in 2025 than it did in the entirety of the 2023-24 cycle, when he was running for re-election.
Exhibit B: Politico’s “breaking news” coverage of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new podcast! I loath Gavin Newsom. I mean, what’s to like about a guy who’s destroying his state, personified the hypocrisy of the elite during COVID, had an affair with his best friend/campaign manager’s wife, and faked going to rehab?
But even I have to admit…this is kind of a genius move? Podcasts are in. He’s doing something “different” AND creating content that can be reused and re-posted as much as his heart desires. There’s very little downside here, and so much to gain.
From the other side of the tracks:
It may come as no surprise to long-time readers that I’m a little obsessed with finding lessons from the corporate world and applying them to politics. Our industries may be different, but at the end of the day we’re all marketers, right? We’re trying to sell something here! Anyway, one of my favorite newsletters on B2B digital marketing is Social Files by Tommy Clark. Last week, he wrote about the genius thought process behind PMF or Die, and had this piece of advice when it comes to creating content your audience_actually_wants_to_see (a novel concept, right??):
Use narrative in your ‘normal’ posts. Instead of saying “Hey we just launched this feature,” write up a story about the lightbulb moment that inspired the feature. Instead of writing a basic post about an industry myth, record a talking head video telling the story of how you learned it the hard way.
It seems so simple, but I love this advice. Instead of writing another email about how “it’s time to secure the border,” write one about why or when you realized secure borders are necessary. That’s just an example. I’m not saying this is the most novel concept in the world or that no one in our industry has tried this, but it’s easy to forget what separates great content from ok content. Especially when you’re churning out a ton of it. Narrative. Storytelling. Boom.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!