The Digital Marketing Loop: Unpacking the Infinite Funnel

Social media is currently inundated with a peculiar trend: an endless stream of “digital marketing experts” hawking their PDF guides, online courses, and coaching programs. At a glance, it’s all about digital marketing. However, the focus often shifts from helping actual businesses enhance their performance to teaching others how to market the same courses. This phenomenon gives rise to what can be termed the “infinite funnel.”

The Reality of Digital Marketing

While many influencers present digital marketing as a novel concept for 2025, they overlook the fact that the fundamental aspects—value creation, targeting, and conversion—have been around for decades. They position themselves as pioneers exploring an untouched niche, but in reality, they’re recycling content that countless others have already made available for free.

What They’re Really Selling

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that their primary product is not a valuable resource for businesses but rather a course on how to sell other digital marketing courses. This creates a pyramid scheme of information without any real user benefit, viable client services, or practical business applications. The audience attracted are merely those looking to learn how to sell the same thing, perpetuating a cycle of recycled content masquerading as entrepreneurship.

An often-overlooked element is the format of this content. PDFs—clunky and outdated—are particularly ill-suited for mobile consumption, yet many “experts” fail to account for this basic digital principle.

AI’s Role in Digital Marketing

The rise of generative AI has simplified course creation, allowing anyone to produce a polished-looking “course” in a matter of hours. With a few prompts in ChatGPT and a couple of graphics from Canva, anyone can become an educator. However, this speed does not equate to quality. Many of these courses lack depth, often filled with superficial content and created without any substantive experience.

Instead of focusing on how to simply churn out marketing funnels or PDF guides, there’s an opportunity for businesses to tap into AI’s true potential. Here are some practical applications:

• Automation Tools: Build tools to save businesses hours of repetitive tasks.
• Customer Support Scripts: Generate tailored chatbot flows and conversational guides.
• Data Analysis: Analyze trends and create insightful reports for informed decision-making.
• SEO Optimization: Write and optimize copy that actually ranks on search engines.
• Personalized Marketing: Scale personalized marketing campaigns based on audience behaviors.
• Prototyping: Create AI-generated mockups and user flows for product ideas.
• Localization: Translate content to appeal to global markets.
• Software Development: Assist in coding, debugging, and other tech-related tasks.

By employing AI creatively to solve real-world issues, one can stand out in a crowded marketplace filled with generic, AI-generated courses.

Leveraging AI for Real Value

Those interested in AI should view it as a tool for innovation rather than a shortcut to a quick buck. Explore, experiment, and build something impactful instead of merely regurgitating existing content. Free and paid resources abound—platforms like YouTube for tutorials, OpenAI’s documentation for using ChatGPT, and online communities like Hugging Face for deep learning.

Devoting time to understand AI’s capabilities will empower you to develop something far more valuable than yet another templated course.

The Lack of Real-World Experience

When assessing the credibility of these self-proclaimed experts, ask them about their actual client work. Inquiries about running digital campaigns in diverse industries or managing ad spends for legitimate businesses typically elicit vague responses or a change of subject. The focus often lies not on demonstrating genuine marketing success but rather on revenue generated from selling the courses themselves. This practice falls short of what true digital marketing should encompass.

YouTube: The Free Alternative

Surprisingly, nearly all the information these “experts” are selling is freely available on YouTube—often of higher quality, featuring detailed tutorials, case studies, and expert interviews. Why pay for a simplistic PDF when you can watch someone build an actual campaign step by step?

The Branding Game

What many influencers excel at is self-branding rather than delivering real marketing services. Their skills are rooted in aesthetic curation—posting glamorous images in exotic locations or curating motivational videos—rather than imparting actionable insights that can truly help businesses grow. This focus on image rather than substance creates a vast echo chamber, replete with recycled ideas that give an illusion of success without concrete value.

Targeting the Vulnerable

Many of these programs target individuals seeking quick wins—young people, exhausted professionals, and stay-at-home parents captivated by the promise of passive income. They’re lured in by enticing claims: “Quit your job in 30 days!” or “Make $10k/month just using your phone!” Yet, they’re not informed about the reality of digital marketing, which demands learning, testing, and, occasionally, failing.

Common tactics include webinars or strategy calls advertised as opportunities for personalized guidance. However, these often turn out to be polished sales pitches—pre-recorded or led by generic representatives. Once a participant buys in, the personal mentorship evaporates, replaced by a barrage of generic upsells and superficial content.

To enhance their perceived authority, these influencers often utilize reputable platforms to host their content, creating the illusion of depth and professionalism. Yet, when delving deeper, users frequently discover shallow videos, recycled templates, and surface-level advice that lack real substance.

The Pitfalls of Easy Success

Buying into the idea that success can be achieved without effort or the need for comprehensive research makes you vulnerable to scams. There’s a fundamental belief being perpetuated: that you can forgo the arduous process of learning and experience. This is the core deception at play.

Where’s the Real Value?

Authentic digital products are those that genuinely solve problems—helping businesses grow, improving workflows, acquiring leads, and enriching customer experiences. Courses that are merely designed to instruct others on creating the same course do not contribute meaningfully to the industry. They do not enhance operations, create jobs, or drive genuine progress.

Investing in true learning and innovation is the key to navigating this digital marketing landscape effectively. Those willing to delve into real-world applications of AI and digital marketing will find opportunities to not only stand out but also add genuine value to businesses and clients alike.

Thanks for reading. Please let us know your thoughts and ideas in the comment section.

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Emmanuel Kesse

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