“AI will make affiliate marketing irrelevant.”

Our new research shows the opposite.

Levanta surveyed 1,000 US consumers to understand how AI is influencing the buying journey. The findings reveal a clear pattern: shoppers use AI tools to explore options, but they continue to rely on human-driven content before making a purchase.

Here is what the data shows:

Download the full report to see what this shift means for brands navigating the AI era.

Readers,

Welcome to The Starting 5 Newsletter! The 30 Second Newsletter with stocks, motivation, and tunes! Hope you enjoy!

1. Stock Performance 📈

DIA: $487.15 ↑ 0.60%
NASDAQ Composite Index: 23,537.31 ↓ 0.10%
S&P 500 (SPY): $690.58 ↑ 0.38%
AMZN: $232.71 ↑ 0.25%
AAPL: $275.23 ↑ 1.05%

“If I hear bad news about the stock market one more time, I’m gonna be sick.”

We get it. Investors are rattled, costs keep rising, and the world keeps getting weirder.

So, who’s better at handling their money than the uber-rich?

Have 3 long-term investing tips UBS (Swiss bank) shared for shaky times:

The catch? Most alternatives aren’t open to everyday investors

That’s why Masterworks exists: 70,000+ members invest in shares of something that’s appreciated more overall than the S&P 500 over 30 years without moving in lockstep with it.*

Contemporary and post war art by legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and more.

Sounds crazy, but it’s real. One way to help reclaim control this week:

Skip waitlist.

_{*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd}

2. Crypto Check-In 🪙

BTC: $87,332.00 ↓ 0.44%
ETH: $2,941.63 ↓ 0.03%
SOL: $122.56 ↓ 1.34%
LTC: $75.75 ↓ 2.14%

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3. Motivation Of The Day 💭

“Action is the foundational key to all success.”
— Pablo Picasso

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5 Referrals - 1 Month Access To The Backup 5 (Premium Section of our Newsletter)

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4. Term Of The Day 📚

Operating Leverage

📖Definition: How sensitive a company’s profits are to changes in revenue, driven by fixed costs vs variable costs.

📊Why it matters: High operating leverage can make profits explode when sales rise—but it can also hurt fast when sales fall because fixed costs don’t shrink quickly

💡Example: A software company with mostly fixed costs (engineers, hosting contracts) grows revenue 15% and operating profit jumps 30% because costs didn’t rise much

Smart Brevity is the methodology behind Axios — designed to make every message memorable, clear, and impossible to ignore. Our free toolkit includes the checklist, workbooks, and frameworks to start using it today.

Access the free resources

5. Song Of The Day 🎧

🎧Song: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
Genre: Pop
Why it hits: Super catchy, confident, and upbeat—an instant mood lift that makes even boring tasks feel lighter

5 New Additional Sections of information for Premium Subscribers!

1. Understanding the stock market - 1 to 2 facts a day that will help you understand how stocks works, about the stock market, or about certain stocks

2. Understanding Crypto - 1 to 2 facts a day that will help me understand how crypto works, about the crypto market, or about certain coins

3. Personal Finance Tips - 1 tip a day to help with your personal finance needs

4. AI Facts & News - 2 AI facts or AI news that you would like to see and enjoy

5. 1 Side Hustle - 1 side hustle a day that you can start today with details on how to do it

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Thanks For Reading,

The Starting 5 Team