{"id":1367,"date":"2025-12-22T14:24:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T14:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/?p=1367"},"modified":"2025-12-22T14:27:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T14:27:33","slug":"4-steps-to-build-real-ai-skills-in-2026-even-during-christmas-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/22\/4-steps-to-build-real-ai-skills-in-2026-even-during-christmas-week\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Steps to Build Real AI Skills in 2026 (Even During Christmas Week)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1367\" class=\"elementor elementor-1367\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-95f5749 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"95f5749\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1494426 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1494426\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image1-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"400\" \/><\/span><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0364281 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0364281\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-03d40bf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"03d40bf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welcome back to the <\/span><b><i>Weekly Side\u2011Income Roundup<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christmas week is one of the rare moments when the world slows down, which makes it the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">perfect<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time to reset, rethink, and make a few strategic moves that set you up for a stronger 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s what we\u2019re covering today:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83c\udf84\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f384.svg\"> A simple 4-step AI upskilling plan you can start this week<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83d\udccc\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f4cc.svg\"> Pinterest\u2019s new 2026 trend predictions report<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\u26a1\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/26a1.svg\"> The data problem slowing down most marketers (and how to avoid it)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83e\udd1d\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f91d.svg\"> Creator deals and affiliate opportunities surging next year<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83e\udd16\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f916.svg\"> The latest signal about how AI is reshaping jobs and roles<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s dive in.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>THIS WEEK\u2019S BIG IDEA<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc49\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f449.svg\"> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/4-steps-to-building-real-ai-skills-without-waiting-on-leadership\/\"><b>The Simple 4-Step Framework for Building Real AI Skills<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leaders everywhere keep saying \u201cuse more AI\u201d without giving anyone a roadmap.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But this new article breaks down a practical, four-step approach that finally makes the process doable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll learn:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where to look for the right AI use cases in your field<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to carve out practice time that actually sticks<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why the smartest approach starts with tiny workflow tweaks<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mindset shift that separates casual users from real practitioners<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s simple, clear, and honestly the perfect Christmas-week exercise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Our Take: <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You don\u2019t need to \u201cmaster AI.\u201d You just need a repeatable system for getting better at it. This article hands you that structure without the overwhelm.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/4-steps-to-building-real-ai-skills-without-waiting-on-leadership\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read The Full Guide!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><b>TOOLS OF THE WEEK<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83c\udfaf\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f3af.svg\"> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.socialmediatoday.com\/news\/pinterest-publishes-2026-trend-predictions-report\/807452\/\"><b>Pinterest Releases Its 2026 Trend Predictions<\/b><b><br><\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pinterest just published its annual future-trend report, and it\u2019s packed with early signals across style, home, wellness, events, and consumer tastes. These reports have an uncanny track record for predicting what will hit mainstream 12\u201318 months later.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83d\udccc\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f4cc.svg\"> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/almcorp.com\/blog\/december-digital-marketing-round-up-key-updates-you-need-to-know\/\"><b>ChatGPT Launches Dedicated Shopping Research Feature<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OpenAI\u2019s new shopping research tool lets users engage in a conversation to find personalized product recommendations. This could be huge for marketers testing shopping behavior and product messaging.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/almcorp.com\/blog\/december-digital-marketing-round-up-key-updates-you-need-to-know\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Our Take:<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If you sell anything visual or create content, steal one emerging theme and craft a post, pin, or product around it this week.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><b>TODAY\u2019S QUICK WINS<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83d\udcca\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f4ca.svg\"> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/marketers-are-drowning-in-data-but-starving-for-insight\/\"><b>Marketers Are \u201cDrowning in Data, Starving for Insight\u201d<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teams are collecting more numbers than ever, yet very few know how to turn that data into next steps. This piece breaks down why clarity is the new superpower.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83d\udcb8\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f4b8.svg\"> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingbrew.com\/stories\/2025\/12\/11\/creator-deals-affiliate-arrangements-increasing\"><b>Creator Deals + Affiliate Arrangements Are Surging<\/b><b><br><\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Marketing Brew reports a big rise in creators earning through hybrid deals\u2014part upfront, part performance-based. More freedom for creators, more efficiency for brands.<br><\/span><br><b><i>Our Take: <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pick one: simplify your metrics or pitch a hybrid affiliate deal. Both can move revenue before the year ends.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><b>FROM OMC<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83d\ude80\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f680.svg\"> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/01\/affiliate-marketing-for-2026-how-to-use-ai-to-find-niches-write-funnels-scale\/\"><b>Affiliate Marketing for 2026: How to Use AI to Find Niches, Write Funnels, and Scale<\/b><b><br><\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our newest breakdown walks you through choosing winning niches, building lean funnels, and scaling with AI\u2014without working more hours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Our Take: <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most people chase niches. The better move is letting AI surface angles you\u2019d never see manually. This guide shows you how.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><b>AI SPOTLIGHT<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83e\udd16\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f916.svg\"> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/12\/15\/ai-chatgpt-jobs\"><b>AI Is Redefining Jobs Faster Than Expected<\/b><b><br><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Axios reports that AI isn\u2019t \u201creplacing\u201d workers outright, it\u2019s restructuring roles, eliminating repetitive tasks, and increasing the value of anyone who knows how to guide or collaborate with AI tools.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Our Take: <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the moment to lean in. AI-literate workers will have an unfair advantage in 2026. Don\u2019t wait for January to get ahead.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3><b>UNTIL NEXT WEEK\u2026<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christmas week is your chance to reset without pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try one small move<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pick a 2026 trend and build a post around it<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cut your metrics down to the three that matter<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read the AI niche guide and test one angle<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Block two \u201cAI practice\u201d sessions on your calendar<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tiny moves now create huge acceleration in January.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talk soon,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Aidan<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>P.S.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> We have something absolutely MASSIVE coming your way next week. One of the biggest GIVEAWAYS we\u2019ve ever done. Trust me, you don\u2019t want to miss this\u2026<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Make these moves before the week gets crazy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-letter"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image5-3.png",1536,1024,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image5-3.png",1536,1024,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image5-3.png",1536,1024,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image5-3-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image5-3-300x200.png",300,200,true],"large":["https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image5-3-1024x683.png",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image5-3.png",1536,1024,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image5-3.png",1536,1024,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Aidan","author_link":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/author\/admin_omc\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/category\/news-letter\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Newsletter<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Make these moves before the week gets crazy","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1367"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1374,"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions\/1374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinemarketingclassroom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}