Recapping CEX 2025: Un-hyping AI, Community Moats, and the Future of Newsletters

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new product —The Growth Vault— is here. Filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“If content is king, AI is storming the castle." — Darren Vesterfelt, Mighty Networks

Chenell was just in Cleveland for the annual CEX conference. And she wasn't *just* in attendance—she was also a speaker!

So we're recapping the biggest lessons and takeaways from Chenell's experience at CEX (Content Entrepreneur Expo) — where she basically opened the conference with her keynote, traded notes with some content economy heavy hitters (like Jay Acunzo, Ann Handley, Mark Schaefer, Robert Rose), and soaked up the big trends.

We dig into why slowing down beats AI-first content, the power of community and IRL relationships, how to think about discovery vs. relationship platforms, and why some SEO pros are betting on social over search.  

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The case for “as slow as possible” content: let ideas marinate; don’t outsource your thinking to AI. 
• How to use AI as an editor rather than a first-draft brain replacement—and why this matters more than ever. 
• Driving audiences from discovery platforms → relationship platforms. 
• Community is a durable moat when content sameness rises (AI is “storming the castle”). 
• Social > Search (sometimes): comments from real humans can beat 10k empty pageviews. 
• Testing ideas fast with social media—and how commenting sparks even more ideas.
• IRL still trumps all: stages, dinners, and small masterminds create outsized serendipity. 
• Are physical newsletters back? 
• Should you try AI sobriety?

LINKS MENTIONED

• CEX
• Ann Handley
• Jay Acunzo
• Mark Schafer
• Growth In Reverse PRO Community
• The GIR Social Growth Challenge 
• Get Chenell's brand-new course: The Growth Vault — newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.
• Want your newsletter roasted? Submit it here. 
• Ask us a question or submit a podcast topic idea: growthinreverse.com/questions
• Check out past Growth In Reverse Deep Dives: https://growthinreverse.com/archive/

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn | Substack
• Dylan: LinkedIn | Bluesky

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

If you found this episode valuable, take a second to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! It helps more newsletter creators find the show. Plus, if you submit a review, you’ll get priority for your own newsletter roast!