Brought to you by Baxter Research

Welcome to The Niche Fix. Each week, we will share insights from experts and professionals in the niche publishing industry. Have questions or thoughts about the industry? Reply to this email, and let’s chat!

But first…

The Holiday season is upon us, and we’re feeling extra festive this year…

So we decided to release our Christmas promo code a little early to our Niche Fix readers. When you register for the Niche Media Conference, use code SANTA at checkout to get $200 off your ticket.

You’ll join hundreds of niche media pros for three days of killer sessions, real-talk sales training, and networking that actually feels human. But act fast—this limited-time discount won’t stick around for long.

Ryan Dohrn’s Sales Corner: The Best AI Prompts for Smarter Selling

Billion-dollar sales coach Ryan Dohrn says if you’re not using AI to supercharge your sales workflow, you’re already behind. But before you start panicking, Ryan’s quick to remind us—it’s not about replacing yourself with a robot. It’s about teaching one to do the boring stuff for you.

Ryan breaks it down into a few of his go-to AI prompts that every salesperson should know:

1. “Summarize this:”
Perfect for when you don’t have time to read the 47-page deck your client sent over. Drop a URL, a Word doc, or even a newsletter link into ChatGPT or Perplexity, and let it do the heavy lifting. “You can literally paste in an entire book and get a usable summary,” Ryan says.

2. “Research this:”
This one’s a favorite. You can upload PDFs, pitch materials, or product sheets and tell the AI exactly what you’re looking for—market insights, competitor info, or sales trends. “The more context you give it, the better your results,” Ryan explains. “Tell it who you are, what you sell, and your tone. The AI starts writing in your voice.”

3. “Prospect this:”
AI can help build targeted lists if you train it properly. “You can even tell it to return the data in an Excel sheet,” Ryan says. “If you want lists, contact names, or company types—it can do it all.”

4. “Strategize this:”
Need to know the best time to email lawyers? Or how to approach a specific niche market? Just ask. “You can strategize about anything,” Ryan jokes. “Even when to buy a house or get plastic surgery—but I stick to sales strategy.”

His bottom line: AI isn’t a trend. It’s here to make you faster, smarter, and more effective. “The key,” Ryan says, “is to feed it with context and let it amplify what you already do best.”

Now, let’s talk artificial intelligence…

Building an AI Playbook for Your Niche Media Company

By Zach O’Brien

By now, every publisher in America has an AI story. Some are experimenting. Some are panicking. Most are quietly pretending that “AI doesn’t really apply to us.”

But according to media consultant David Arkin, 2026 will be the year when every media company—big or small, print or digital—finally has to decide what role AI plays inside their newsroom.

And spoiler: it’s not as scary as it sounds.

Step 1: Make a Policy Before the Robots Do It for You

Arkin’s first piece of advice is simple: get your AI policy in order—yesterday.

“You have to determine what tools people can use, how you’ll label AI-assisted content, and what transparency looks like,” he says. “Right now, everyone’s using something different. One person’s using ChatGPT, another’s using Jasper, another’s pretending they’re not using anything. That’s not good.”

Creating a company-wide policy doesn’t just reduce confusion—it builds trust. Your audience, your editors, and your advertisers all want to know that you’re using AI responsibly. Think of it like a style guide, but instead of commas and semicolons, it’s about prompts, permissions, and disclosure.

Step 2: Use AI to Fix the Boring Stuff

Once you’ve got the rules set, the fun begins. Arkin says the best place to start with AI is in the weeds.

He and his consulting firm help publishers use AI to eliminate inefficiencies—like building proposal generators for sales teams or creating prospecting GPTs that pull advertiser lists directly from CRMs. “The first step,” he says, “is asking: what takes too long? What could be done faster or better with the right tool?”

The result isn’t about replacing people—it’s about saving them from the tedious stuff so they can focus on more creative, original work.

Step 3: Show Editorial Teams It’s a Tool, Not a Takeover

Let’s be honest: the phrase AI in the newsroom still makes some editors twitch. But Arkin says that’s because most people still think of AI as a content robot instead of a collaboration partner.

“When I show teams how GPTs can be trained on their own editorial standards and ethics, it clicks,” he says. “They realize they’re not giving up control—they’re teaching the system what good journalism looks like.”

Instead of asking ChatGPT to write stories, publishers can use AI for story briefs, first-pass edits, or formatting print content for the web. “It’s not rewriting,” Arkin says. “It’s repurposing. You’re taking a strong print story and figuring out how to make it perform digitally without changing a single fact or quote.”

Step 4: Remember That Originality Still Wins

Here’s the irony: the more publishers rely on AI for automation, the more original, human creativity becomes their superpower.

Arkin predicts that by 2026, media companies will have a clear line between what AI handles (routine tasks, SEO formatting, social scheduling) and what humans focus on (deep reporting, creative storytelling, authentic voice).

“AI will make us double down on what we do best—originality,” he says. “The winners will be the ones who use AI to get faster, not lazier.”

The Bottom Line

AI isn’t here to replace your newsroom. It’s here to organize it. But if your company doesn’t set the ground rules, you’re just inviting chaos with better grammar.

So make a policy. Train your team. Use AI for the grunt work. And let your editors do what they do best—create stories so good that even ChatGPT can’t replicate them.

David Arkin is the founder of David Arkin Consulting. You can find him at davidarkinconsulting.com or on LinkedIn.

This issue of the Niche Fix is brought to you by Baxter Research

Baxter Research Center (BRC) is a marketing research firm whose fieldwork and analysis serves a wide range of successful media companies, magazines and professional journals.

BRC conducts custom and branded specialty surveys that provide actionable advertising and brand metrics for magazines and media companies, professional associations, advertising agencies, and advertisers. Our research-based audience metrics help businesses build market share, achieve advertising goals and develop brand value for greater profit.

They’ve been helping businesses understand their market landscape by providing data-driven analysis and intelligent reporting since 1989.

Let's Connect!

New to the newsletter? Subscribe for free.

Are you following Niche? You can find our content on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X.