The conversation began, as many of mine do, with a topic I think we already understand. This time it was influencer marketing. But before I could even roll my eyes at another mention of hashtags and brand deals, the discussion took a sharp turn toward something far more interesting: trust, storytelling, and what it really means to build relationships in a digital world that doesn’t trust much anymore.

That shift came courtesy of Sarah Stahl, co-founder of Market Movers. She’s knee-deep in the world where AI, marketing, and hospitality overlap—a place where the glossy brand voice is fading fast, and authentic creators are taking the spotlight. Listening to her, I realized this isn’t just about influencers. It’s about how we all show up as marketers.

What Makes a Good Creator Partnership

Sarah’s approach to creators feels refreshingly human. She doesn’t chase follower counts; she looks for people who know how to build relationships. She compares choosing a creator to hiring an employee—sometimes you think you’ve found “the one,” and then day one tells a different story. That hit home for me. I’ve hired those “perfect” people before too, only to realize the chemistry wasn’t there. Her advice? Start small, watch how they work, and build from there.

The Power of Storytelling

We talked about how hard it is to sell something you can’t touch or taste online. Think about restaurants—how do you market flavor through a screen? The best creators don’t just post photos; they tell stories that make people feel the experience. Sarah shared a beautiful story about one of her creators who found healing while working on a campaign. That moment of real emotion became part of the brand story—and honestly, that’s the kind of marketing that stays with people.

When Things Go Sideways

At some point, every brand faces it: a creator says something that doesn’t quite fit. My instinct as a business owner is to cringe, but Sarah made me pause. “Perfection breeds mistrust,” she said. And she’s right. People don’t expect flawless; they expect real. When something uncomfortable happens, it’s an opportunity to step into the conversation—not hide from it.

The New Rules of Visibility

Sarah also made a point that stopped me in my tracks. AI tools like ChatGPT aren’t pulling most of their information from your shiny website—they’re pulling from stories. Creator content, real conversations, reviews. If your brand isn’t in that mix, you’re invisible. That’s a wake-up call for every business owner clinging to the “if we build it, they will come” mindset.

Key Takeaways

• Build trust first. Pick creators who care more about their audience than their follower count. • Find your storytellers. The ones who can make your product or service feel real. • Don’t panic over imperfection. Use it as a chance to connect, not retreat. • Invest in the relationship. The best results come from creators who grow with you. • Stay part of the conversation. The future of search and AI belongs to brands that keep showing up authentically.

Influencer marketing isn’t about trends or chasing the next viral post. It’s about people—real voices telling real stories. And if you treat it that way, marketing starts to feel a whole lot less like work and a whole lot more like a conversation.

And if that sounds a little too simple—good. Because simple usually works.

Sarah Stahl, co-founder of Market Movers lives at the intersection of AI marketing and hospitality. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn “just another rental” into a brand guests remember (and actually book direct), that’s my sweet spot. I’m obsessed with helping property owners cut through the noise, escape OTA dependence, and build systems that truly sell themselves. These days, I’m 100% focused on agentic search and direct booking strategies because the future of hospitality marketing isn’t about chasing algorithms, it’s about building brands guests can’t forget. Always creative, always candid—that’s me.

Go to : https://sarahstahl.com/

Sometimes, early success can fool you into thinking you’ve built the perfect business. That’s what happened to Danny Kirk, who launched a software-as-a-service company right after finishing a music degree. He and his co-founder found a great niche, landed a $4,500 sale on a $300 MVP, and took off fast. The catch? Neither of them could actually build the product beyond that first version.

They were great at selling and marketing but never filled their technical gap — and that’s what cost them. Five years later, they sold the business, while a competitor in the same space sold to Oracle for $200 million. Same idea, different outcome.

Here’s what Danny learned:

1. Find your missing piece early. Whether it’s a technical co-founder, a contractor, or even AI tools to bridge the gap, make sure every critical skill is covered before you scale.
2. Build a team that makes you uncomfortable. The best collaborators are the ones who spot problems you don’t want to see and tell you the truth, even when it stings.
3. Reward people who speak up. Create systems or incentives that encourage team members to flag issues — big or small — before they turn into disasters.

As Danny put it, success isn’t about doing everything yourself. It’s about knowing what you can’t do, and finding the right people (or tools) to fill that gap.

Danny Kirk is a classically trained trumpet player, turned entrepreneur and small business owner. He’s started and grown multiple companies over the past decade, and now does growth marketing at ReddiReach for startups and SMBs, 500+ and counting.

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Building custom GPTs for real work, not just party tricks is tricky. That's why I invited Len Ward to sit in my guest chair. He's a former Wall Street pro turned agency builder, now leading Comexis, and he has the scars to prove what works and what does not. We covered where these tools shine, where they trip you up, and how to keep them sounding like you, not a committee of the internet.

• The idea Build a focused GPT that acts like a virtual team member. Feed it your processes, products, locations, and goals so it can help with tasks like onboarding, strategy, and client communication.

• What can go wrong Trusting outputs without review, letting the model drift from your voice over time, and uploading sensitive info or leaving training on so your data fuels everyone else’s bot.

• What we would do differently Lock down privacy settings, create prompt playbooks, retrain with fresh voice samples on a set schedule, and keep humans in the loop for approval.

I learned the hard way that voice drifts. I had the GPT read my work, it started strong, then wandered off into generic advice land. Len called out why. If we keep feeding broad material and never course correct, the model forgets our tone. Another stumble is data carelessness. Uploading client details or financials, even as examples, can create risk. One more trap is blind faith. These tools are fast, not flawless. They still need a final pass from human eyes.

1. Scope the job Name one clear role for each GPT, such as Onboarding Coordinator or Content Draft Assistant. Narrow focus leads to better answers.

2. Set privacy controls In settings, turn off training on your data. Do not upload personal or financial info. If you must, scrub names and use your own codes.

3. Build a prompt playbook Ask the GPT to write the top ten prompts it responds to best. Save them and start sessions with those prompts to keep work on track.

4. Refresh the voice Every few weeks, feed three to five recent posts, emails, or show notes and say, learn this voice again. Then ask for a short style checklist it must follow.

5. Require a human check Before anything goes public, the content owner signs off. Think of GPT as the fast assistant, you are the editor in chief.

6. Collect and centralize content Keep a clean library in Drive or Dropbox. Use clear folders for articles, FAQs, product sheets, and case studies. These become your training set.

7. Answer real questions Watch chatbot logs or support tickets. Turn every repeated question into a page, a post, or a short video. If your site does not solve a problem as fast as ChatGPT, visitors leave.

8. Forget silver bullets Old school SEO tricks are not the ticket. Strong brands with deep, helpful content win more often in AI answers. Keep writing, keep linking, keep it useful.

We are shifting from search and retrieve to solve my problem. Custom GPTs, used wisely, can speed that shift inside your business, from onboarding to content to customer care. Used carelessly, they dilute your voice and increase risk. The good news is the fix is simple habits, not magic.

About Len Ward

Len Ward is a former Wall Street institutional equities professional, agency builder, and now Managing Partner of Commexis—an AI consulting firm helping businesses replace outdated marketing with intelligent systems that think. With over two decades of experience spanning finance, e-commerce, and digital marketing,

Len brings a rare perspective on disruption cycles. He believes traditional agencies are finished and that AI is the operating system for the next decade of business. Known for his straight talk and contrarian edge, Len makes AI real, actionable, and impossible to ignore.

Visit our website for a free consultation on AI. https://www.Commexis.com

I sat down with Cara Chatellier, the founder and creative director of Bubbly Creative, to talk about something that hits home for every small business owner, the little things. You know, those simple, doable tweaks that don’t require a rebrand or a six-month strategy sprint, yet somehow manage to make your marketing sparkle. Cara calls them her “five tiny fixes,” and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

Cara’s agency focuses on helping women-led service businesses stand out with personality and polish. Her approach is rooted in storytelling, strategy, and plenty of real-world experience. What I love about her “tiny fixes” is that they’re both practical and immediately actionable, the kind of steps that give you momentum while you’re building toward the big picture.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

Cara’s first piece of advice is one that makes many small business owners squirm: put yourself out there. Literally. Swap the stock photos and text-heavy posts for images of you and your team. A professional photo shoot is worth the investment, not just because it looks great, but because it builds trust. When people can see who they’re working with, they’re more likely to connect and buy.

Think of your Google Business Profile as a free billboard that most folks forget to update. Add photos, post updates, and ask for client reviews. Even with AI changing how people search, Google still looks inward first. Keeping your profile fresh helps you stay visible and relevant.

Sometimes, the best marketing insights come from the people you want to reach, not the ones already on your team. Cara suggests gathering a small group from your target audience, maybe five to ten people, and asking them to look at your content, website, or social posts. No sales pitch, just honest opinions. You might be surprised by what they see that you don’t.

This is the one that makes even confident entrepreneurs gulp: video. Cara swears by it because it humanizes your brand faster than any post or blog ever could. Start small, a short clip about your founder story or a behind-the-scenes look at your work. If you’re nervous, use a teleprompter app or jot down a few bullet points to stay on track. And if you really can’t face the camera yet, write out your story and share it with a few photos. Then revisit it every six months as a reintroduction to your audience.

Cara’s fifth tip was the one we didn’t have time to cover on the show, a little mystery to encourage you to head over to Bubbly Creative and discover the rest for yourself. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Key Takeaways

• A few small tweaks can give your marketing fresh energy without overwhelming your to-do list.

• Personal photos and video build connection and credibility faster than any stock image ever will.

• Google Business is free, underused, and powerful, make it part of your content routine.

• Feedback from your ideal audience is marketing gold; you just have to ask.

• The more you share your authentic story, the more magnetic your brand becomes.

If you want to dive deeper into Cara’s “tiny fixes,” head over to Bubbly Creative and check out her insights. Because sometimes, it’s not the sweeping overhaul that changes your business, it’s the little things you finally take the time to do.

Brands are personal. AI is not. So how do you use a tool that has no feelings, no experiences, and no voice of its own to help you build a brand that feels deeply personal and unmistakably you?

It starts long before you ever open ChatGPT.

Before you hand anything over to AI, take time to define your brand yourself. Ask:

• Who are my customers?

• What do they think about me now?

• What do I want them to say about me?

That clarity becomes your North Star. Otherwise, you’re just asking AI to aimlessly generate words without direction.

Once you know who you think you are, find out what the internet thinks you are. Instead of Googling your name or company like we used to, go to ChatGPT and ask:

• “What is the brand perception of [Your Name or Company]?”

• “What is [Brand] known for?”

• “What do people say about this brand online?”

Then compare what comes back with your original vision. That’s where the human part of branding kicks in. You have to decide: Do I adjust my message to match this audience, or do I refine my audience to match my message? That’s not a whim—it’s a business decision.

Forget what you want to be true. Who’s actually opening their wallets? Sometimes your real buyers don’t match your target persona or AI’s assumptions. Analyze the overlap and decide:

• Who do I really want more of?

• Who do I actually have now?

You can’t market to everyone. Pick your lane.

Next, upload three pieces of your own writing—blog posts, service pages, whatever—to ChatGPT and ask:

“If you were another AI tool writing for this brand, how would you describe this tone and voice?”

That gives you a practical, data-driven description of your style—something you can reuse for consistency across content.

Once you’ve defined both your customer persona and brand voice, everything you produce should be filtered through those two lenses.

Now get specific about what makes you different. Ask:

• What problem do I solve?

• What pain does my customer feel?

• Why do they come to me instead of someone else?

You can even ask ChatGPT to analyze common pain points for your audience—but always check it against what your actual customers tell you.

That becomes the foundation for your positioning statement—your internal compass for marketing, not a fluffy public mission statement.

Then, ask AI for a competitive analysis within your market or niche—set clear parameters like geography or audience size. Use that list to identify where you stand, what gaps you can fill, and how to differentiate.

Finally, make changes slowly. Update your copy, tweak your visuals, and every few months, check:

• Am I attracting the right audience?

• Is engagement improving?

• Are leads getting better quality?

That’s how you use AI without losing yourself in the process.

• You can’t outsource identity—AI refines it, not defines it.

• Use AI as a mirror, not a mask.

• Always verify what AI says about your brand with real human data.

• Voice + audience clarity = consistent brand growth.

• Branding is evolution, not automation.

Angel Tuccy is an award-winning speaker, radio host, TV producer, media specialist. She's the author of 15 bestsellers, and hosts multiple successful online events. A recent one had 6,000 attendees. So this girl knows how to throw a party. So I was surprised, when we talked about the first party she tried to throw which didn't go the way she hoped.

Angel wanted to create a space where podcasters and potential guests could connect. In 2020, she launched the Need a Guest Facebook community. It took off like wildfire, growing to 10,000 members in just two years.

Angel built the community but forgot one very important piece: the email list. Ten thousand people in her group… and not a single email address. No opt-in. No funnel. Nothing. As Angel put it, that number was a big fat goose egg. Cue the collective groan ... and laughter.

She started by adding a Chrome extension to collect emails as new members joined and sent a personal welcome message. That simple change meant every new connection is automatically added to her CRM, where she can follow up directly. Within two years, the group grew from 10,000 to 40,000 members, and this time she captured emails from every single one.

Then came the second pivot. With the help of copywriter Jamie Atkinson, Angel went from sending no emails at all to sending a daily message. The result was immediate. Her audience, who had been waiting to hear from her, started responding. In the first month, six new clients signed on. From there, daily emails turned into conversations, conversations turned into sales calls, and sales calls turned into revenue.

Building systems that connected the dots between community, communication, and clients was a game changer.

Angel Tuccy is an award-winning Speaker, Radio Host, TV Producer, PR Media Specialist, and author of 15 bestsellers. She is known for her exceptional expertise in helping her clients with media exposure. With a track record of personally securing thousands of media interviews for her clients, she also spearheads the online podcast network needaguest.com

With over a decade in broadcasting, Angel’s accolades include being named “Most Influential Woman of The Year” and winning awards for “Best Morning Talk Show” and “Best Talk Show Team”.

Her bestselling book, “Get Discovered”, offers a step-by-step guide to achieving media exposure in under 90 days, drawing from her extensive experience hosting over 2,500 broadcasts and interviewing over 5,000 guests. Known as the Media Matchmaker, Angel’s unique approach to media engagement sets her apart in the industry.

I might have been a little late getting started today because I fell down a rabbit hole on Reddit — and let me tell you, it was worth it.

If you’ve never explored Reddit, think of it as a sprawling collection of dinner parties happening all at once. Each “subreddit” is its own table — one might be deep in marketing trends, another swapping cat photos, and a third arguing about the best way to brew coffee. You can learn a lot about human behavior (and marketing) by paying attention to what people are talking about at each table.

To explore what Reddit can teach marketers, I sat down with Flynn Zaiger, CEO of Online Optimism — a marketing agency that knows a thing or two about digital communities, employee culture, and, yes, the occasional office cat.

• Reddit as a Listening Tool: Forget the focus group. Subreddits are where your customers speak freely — unfiltered, passionate, and brutally honest. If you want to know what real people think about your industry or brand, start lurking.

• Authenticity Wins Every Time: Redditors have a built-in radar for fake marketing speak. If your post sounds like an ad, they’ll downvote it into oblivion. The brands that thrive on Reddit are the ones that genuinely engage — answering questions, sharing insights, and adding value to the conversation.

• Community Before Conversion: Flynn reminds us that on Reddit, connection comes before conversion. You build trust by showing up consistently and contributing meaningfully — not by dropping links and vanishing.

• Cats Still Rule the Internet: Yes, we took a short detour to talk about pets in the workplace. Turns out, happy office cats (or dogs) can improve morale and your Reddit karma.

1. Listen before you speak. Spend a week just reading Reddit threads related to your industry. Notice what people are actually complaining about or celebrating.

2. Be human, not a headline. When you do engage, drop the corporate voice. Talk like a real person — the way you’d comment on a friend’s post.

3. Find your people. There’s a subreddit for nearly every niche. From r/marketing to r/smallbusiness and r/entrepreneur, hang out where your target audience already gathers.

4. Share useful insights. Don’t pitch — teach. Share lessons learned, data, or stories. The value you give away becomes the credibility you earn.

5. Bring that community mindset home. Whether it’s your internal Slack, your LinkedIn presence, or your podcast audience, think like a community manager — not a broadcaster.

You can find Flynn and his team at OnlineOptimism.com — and if you want to see their agency’s blend of creativity, culture, and data-driven optimism in action, check out their blog or find them on LinkedIn.

Reddit: once the quirky cousin of the internet, now a front-row player in the SEO and LLM (large language model) game. If your carefully crafted blog posts are suddenly being outranked by Reddit threads, you’re not alone. That’s exactly what sparked this week’s conversation with Danny Kirk—musician-turned-marketer and the founder of Reddit Reach.

Lorraine sits down with Danny to ask the question on every marketer’s mind: Are we ready for Reddit? Together, they explore why Reddit is suddenly everywhere, how it’s being used to train AI tools like ChatGPT, and what marketers can do to adapt and thrive in this new digital landscape.

• Reddit is no longer niche. It’s showing up in Google’s top search results and training AI models—which means it can’t be ignored.

• Reddit’s ad platform is cheap and underutilized, making it a hidden gem for budget-conscious marketers.

• Subreddits are their own little countries. Each one has different rules, moderators, and expectations. If you want in, learn the local customs.

• Organic participation matters. You need “karma” to post effectively, and that only comes from genuine interaction—not self-promotion.

• Warm up your Reddit account. Comment, contribute, and build karma before dropping any links or promotions.

• Start small. Join subreddits that align with your interests—personal or professional—and spend one minute a day reading and commenting.

• Check your LLM rankings. Use a tool like Peekaboo to see how generative search engines (like ChatGPT) are interpreting and indexing your site.

• Map SEO to Reddit. Once you know which phrases are trending, find those conversations on Reddit and contribute thoughtfully.

• Customize your content per subreddit. A copy/paste job won’t fly here—each subreddit requires its own approach and voice.

About Danny

Danny Kirk is a classicly trained trumpet player, turned entrepreneur and small business owner. He's started and grown multiple companies over the past decade, and now does growth marketing at ReddiReach for startups and SMBs, 500+ and counting.

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