2026 Business Predictions (Part 1 of 5): The Contributor & Correspondent Collab Era

This is Part 1 of a 5-part series on what I believe will shape online business in 2026.

After completing 58 collaborations in 2025, speaking at events, and being deep in conversations with business owners behind the scenes, one pattern is impossible to ignore:

We’re entering the Contributor & Correspondent Era of collabs.

In this episode, I break down why one-off collaborations are going to slow down a bit and why recurring collaborators inside newsletters, podcasts, and content ecosystems are becoming the real growth lever.

Instead of constant new guest swaps, summits, or short-term promos, creators are building trusted “casts” of experts who show up consistently and serve their audience together.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Why recurring collaborators outperform one-time collabs
2. How podcasts and newsletters are quietly shifting to a “cast” model
3. The difference between sponsors vs contributors (and why it matters)
4. Why service providers are uniquely positioned to win in this era
5. Real examples of this working in podcasts and email marketing
6. How burnout, capacity, and predictability are reshaping collaboration strategy

This episode sets the foundation for the rest of the series and explains why collaboration itself is changing, not disappearing.

This is Part 1 of 5.

Tomorrow’s episode dives into what may be my most controversial prediction for 2026.

👉 DM me on Instagram @systemssavedme and tell me:

Are you seeing this shift too or something different?