Podcasts about tiktok lives

Episode 253 of The Hitstreak, a podcast where we talk about anything and everything!This week we are joined by Southern crossover artist and American Idol Top 30 Bryant Thomas!Episode in a Glance:In this episode of The Hitstreak, I sit down with Bryant Thomas, a Southern crossover artist and American Idol Top 30 who is in Nashville recording his debut album. Bryant was a fire protection inspector in Alabama with no friends his own age and no drive, posting Christmas music in June and playing seven hour TikTok Lives for four viewers, when Alyona Palhof, the woman who would become his wife, found him and believed in him more than anyone ever had. We get into the leap of faith that ended his party band days, how Big Vinnie sent his picture straight to Luke Bryan, the audition where producers had to ask him to act excited, and the moment he got down on one knee on the American Idol stage and forgot to actually ask the question. Plus the album with no genre, nine instruments and a trombone on stage, the Blues Tavern jam family that shaped his sound, his sister beating a thirty percent survival rate as a little girl, and the prayer that took him from 20,000 to 275,000 monthly listeners in one month.Key Points:- TikTok Live takes the gatekeeping out of the industry. It connects you straight to the people.- Somebody believing in you can be the reason you start believing in yourself.- The dice do not work if you do not roll them.- Golden ticket or not, you can walk out of the room a winner.- Nobody can make your art better than you.- Serve the song. The genre is not the point.- You are a songwriter when you are writing songs, so always be writing.- There is no way to succeed following in someone else's footsteps. You will always be behind them.- Everything you learn in life applies to music, and everything you learn in music applies to life.- God does not give you things you are not ready for.About our guest:Bryant Thomas is a Southern crossover artist and American Idol Top 30 from the Gulf Coast, raised on Mobile Bay. Classically trained in music from middle school through college and in jazz band from sixth grade on, he plays nine instruments, including the trombone he brings on stage to set his shows apart. He spent his Monday nights jamming with the old heads of the Blues Tavern, a historic stop on the Gulf Coast blues circuit, and it taught him the thing his music still runs on: it does not have to be perfect, it has to be real.After high school he worked as a fire protection inspector in Alabama, and a TikTok account he started almost as a joke turned into the whole road: a viral Taylor Swift cover led American Idol to reach out, the auditions led to the Top 30, and at his audition he got down on one knee and proposed to Alyona Palhof, the woman who found him on TikTok when he was, in his words, nobody. Now based in Florida and recording his debut album Rock Bottom in Nashville, he has Shoulda Known, Drinking Again and Drunken Denial out now, with the big ballads still to come.Follow and contact:Instagram: @Bryant.Thomas.BandWebsite: BryantThomasMusic.comSubscribe to Nick's top-rated podcast The Hitstreak on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/NickHiterFollow and Rate us on Spotify: https://spotify.com/NickHiterFollow and Rate us on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/NickHiterFollow and Rate us on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/NickHiter

How can you get your books surfaced when readers ask an AI what to read next? What are the hallmarks of authors and businesses that last more than a decade in the indie author industry? Ricardo Fayet gives his marketing tips after more than a decade at Reedsy. In the intro, Expanding Your Book's IP through Merchandising [Wish I'd Known Then]; Guide to writers conferences [Kindlepreneur]; Rick Rubin and Stephen Pressfield on resistance and the muse [Tetragrammaton]; Pulitzer Prize winners disclose AI usage [Nieman Lab]; My new rebuilt fiction site JFPenn.com. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Ricardo Fayet is the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Reedsy, a marketplace for writers to find vetted freelancers, author training courses, and lots more. He's also the author of How to Market a Book and Amazon Ads for Authors. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How AI search actually finds and ranks the books it recommends Why keywords and search volume are disappearing as marketing metrics Building an internet footprint so your book is worth recommending Why Claude leans on Goodreads while ChatGPT and Gemini lean on Reddit Product is more important than marketing, and how to find your comp titles Passion, business sense and resilience in the authors who last You can find Ricardo at Reedsy.com. Transcript of the interview with Ricardo Fayet Jo: Ricardo Fayet is the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Reedsy, a marketplace for writers to find vetted freelancers, author training courses, and lots more. He's also the author of How to Market a Book and Amazon Ads for Authors. So welcome back to the show, Ricardo. Ricardo: Thank you, Jo. It's been a while. Jo: It has been a while. As we were saying, it's been a decade, which is crazy, because you and I see each other at events and things. For anyone who doesn't know you— Tell us a bit more about you, where you're from, and also, what is Reedsy these days and how have things changed? Ricardo: Yes, sure. I think I'm hard to dissociate from Reedsy because my only background really is Reedsy. We started Reedsy right after business school for most of the founders. There are four founders, and I'm one of them. We've been going since 2014, so it's been 12 years. We started around the same time, and you started even earlier than we did, but we've had the chance to meet at quite a few conferences since. I think the main thing we're still known for is our marketplace. Since the very beginning, Reedsy is a curated marketplace where authors can come in and look for editors, cover designers, marketers, ghostwriters, literary translators, author website designers, pretty much any freelancer you would ever need to hire throughout your writing career. That's how we started. That's our main source of revenue and our main business. Since then, as you mentioned, we've also added courses, live events, so we've got a membership under Reedsy Learning. The main thing we're proud of right now is our writing tool, Reedsy Studio, because we've been pouring a lot of engineering talent into it over the past five, six years, and I think it's a really cool writing tool that is 90% free. It also does the formatting, so it's a good alternative to Vellum or Atticus for those who haven't purchased those tools. So there's a lot of things that Reedsy does at this point, which always makes it hard for me to describe what we do. Jo: But you generally serve writers. That's probably the crux of it. Ricardo: Exactly, yes. We're mostly at the production stage. The thing we say is we help authors make beautiful books, right? That's a little bit the tagline that applies to 90% of what we do, though we also help a little bit with the marketing side of things. Jo: And then just tell people where your accent is from. Ricardo: So I'm half French, half Italian from my parents, and I was born in Spain. So depending on my mood and the moment, it might be anywhere from French, Italian, Spanish. It's anyone's guess, really, at this point. Jo: Yes, exactly. You've been part of the indie author ecosystem, as you said, since 2014. You're often at the author conferences, and you stay abreast of everything that's going on. So what are the biggest changes you've seen in the industry since you started out? Like you said, you guys came from business school. You chose to come into the industry at a particular point, and yet things have changed. So what do you think are the biggest changes, and how have you seen authors adapt? Ricardo: It's crazy, the amount of things that happened in the past 10 years. Obviously we came into the industry as a result of Amazon launching Kindle Direct Publishing, and then the Kindle Store becoming one of the number one places where people buy books. That's what enabled self-publishing in the first place as an industry, and obviously we wouldn't exist without self-publishing being a thing. But then I think probably one of the biggest changes that happened was the introduction of Kindle Unlimited and various other subscription models. Perhaps as a response to that, afterwards, I would say direct sales is the other massive change that happened in the industry. The ability for authors to sell direct to their readers via their websites, or running Kickstarters, or basically the ability to reach your customers directly. Now, obviously, artificial intelligence is probably the biggest change of them all, not just in publishing, across every industry, but of course it's going to affect publishing very strongly, or it has already started making big waves. So I would say those are the three main changes that we've seen happening in the industry. Jo: Just interestingly, given that you're French, Italian, Spanish, European— Has the pace of change been the same in mainland Europe? Because you and I have also met up at European conferences, but I just get the sense that each individual European country, the UK included, as I include the UK in Europe, goes at a different speed. Ricardo: No, they definitely do. Our market at Reedsy is all in English. We only have an English website, and I would say 70% of our market is US, then 15% UK, and then Australia, New Zealand, et cetera. We do have clients in continental Europe, but they're mostly going to be American or British expats. A lot of retired people who write books and use Reedsy services. I think the main reason for that is that self-publishing as an industry hasn't really grown in Spain, France, Italy the way that it's grown in the US and the UK, probably because these are countries where book buying habits are a lot more traditional. So all my friends from high school and university in France, they all buy books, they all buy paper books. They all buy from bookstores. They don't really buy from Amazon that much. They love the smell of paper, all these sorts of things. So obviously that makes it harder for indie authors in those countries because they cannot place their books in the places where people buy them, which is traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores, or at least it's much harder. So there is an indie movement in those countries, but it's much smaller. I would say Germany is maybe the exception in Europe, where I've seen more and more full-time indie authors, but I don't think it's a market that's comparable even to the UK. Jo: Interesting. Okay, so let's go to marketing, because you love marketing, you have a newsletter about it, and you have a book, How to Market a Book, same title as mine, and we've found each other in our Also Boughts over the years. You have, however, updated yours several times. 2025 was your last update. Mine was 2016, so yours is definitely the most up-to-date one. So what are your thoughts on how authors can reach readers now? And let's split this into two. Let's start with some tips for new authors who just have maybe one book and are really just starting out. Ricardo: Yes, first of all, sorry for stealing your title. Jo: Oh, you know, it's never been a problem. Ricardo: We were trying to come up with something… I know, I know, I know. But still, we wanted something more original, and then we realised that for SEO purposes, that's the title we should really go for. The good thing is, if you search “how to market a book” on pretty much any retailer, you're going to find your book or mine in any order really, but those are going to be the top two books to this day, thankfully, so I'm good with that. I think in terms of marketing tips for new authors who have just the one book, I'd say, despite all the changes in the industry, the basics of marketing still stay the same. One of my big mantras when it comes to marketing is that product is more important than marketing. So having a great book is going to be more important, in my opinion, than being a great marketer. Having a great product. By that, I generally don't talk about literary value or prose or anything like that, just because I'm not a book critic. I'm not an editor. My opinion on whether a book is good or not is worth zero. From a marketing standpoint, for me, a good book is one that resonates with its intended audience. So the first step for newer authors is to basically figure out who they wrote this book for, right? Have an idea of who their target market is. A great way to do that, without entering into marketing jargon like proto-personas and stuff like that, is to think in terms of comp titles, comparable titles. I think that's probably the base of any marketing, whether traditional publishing houses or indie authors, to think, “Okay, which other books out there are similar to mine?” If your book is completely unique, you have, I would say, 99.9% chance of not selling, because your market doesn't exist, and 0.01% chance of creating your own market and completely dominating it, right? So being unique is not necessarily a bad thing, but I would say 99% of the time, it is. Obviously being unique within an existing niche, within an existing market, that's completely different, but you need to work on some comparable titles. So I would say that's where I would start, and that's one of the things that AI is great at. If you even just plug in your book into an AI chat that has enough context, if you're comfortable doing that of course, or if you plug in a synopsis, like a long synopsis, you can basically ask the AI chats, “Okay, what would be some comp titles?” Either you'll have heard of those books, and you'll think, “Okay, they're good comps,” or you may not have heard of them, in which case I would really recommend buying them and reading them and seeing whether they're comps or not. I think that's where marketing starts. Jo: Yes, and we might come back to that for book discoverability. Well, let's just talk about it now, because I now pretty much use Claude for discovering books as well. I just find that the Amazon search, for nonfiction it works really well, right? As you said, if you want to learn how to market a book, you just search “how to market a book”, and our books are very well titled for that. But for fiction, it's so difficult to find new books and comp titles, especially if you don't write in a clear genre, which I don't. I know lots of people do. So we're writing cross-genre. So in terms of book discoverability, I know you've been looking into SEO for books and all of that. What are your thoughts on how authors can more effectively have their books surfaced if people are using the AIs for finding books? Ricardo: That's a very big topic. That's one of my favourite topics right now. That's what I talk about in my marketing newsletter, and I want to start a Substack on the topic as well, because I think it is the future of book discoverability. As you say, search on Amazon isn't great, and if it's not great on Amazon, you don't even want to imagine on Google Play, Kobo, all these sorts of places, right? If you search on Kobo or Apple Books or Google Play for witch cozy mysteries, the top 10 books are going to have exactly “witch cozy mystery” in the title or the subtitle or the series title, right? Jo: Yes. Ricardo: Search is very simple on those sites, so it's very easy to game, but it's terrible as an experience for readers. So I do think that a big part of search is going to move to AI, and now you have Rufus within Amazon itself that appears as a chatbot and encourages you to talk with it, to ask for recommendations. In the beginning Rufus was really terrible, but now I recommend authors play with it. In general, I recommend when it comes to AI discoverability that authors play with all the AI search tools. So it's going to be Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, Rufus within Amazon. Just like we talked about comp titles, right, ask for something like, “What would you recommend for fans of this book? Which other books would you recommend?” Or if you're looking for something specific that describes your book, what books would you recommend on… I think one of your examples was fiction around masonry or something like that, right? Jo: I always say, for example, if you ask for action adventure thrillers on pretty much anywhere, you're going to get 20 books by male authors. For those of us who are female authors, but also who have female main characters, you can then be far more granular. That's just not something that necessarily works on Amazon. So, action adventure thrillers with female protagonists written by female indie authors, which is very specific. That will work in AI, whereas that definitely won't work on Amazon. Ricardo: Exactly. So one of the great things about AI search, and terrible things at the same time, is that the concept of keyword is lost, right? So we title our books How to Market a Book because the keyword that people would search for is “how to market a book”, or “book marketing for authors”. Those were the two keywords that had the biggest search volume if we looked at Google Keyword Planner, or any search tools that give you keyword volume. When it comes to AI search, since it's conversational, and it's very personalised, and it can go as niche as you want, keywords are going to disappear, and search volume as a metric is going to disappear. The search you just told me about, maybe there are 10 people who are going to run it exactly. Most people are going to run variations of that. Since you can go as granular as you want, it's going to be very long phrases, very long sentences. So the whole concept of keywords, search volume, SEO, is going to disappear in favour of what some people call GEO, generative engine optimisation, AIO, AI optimisation, AI search optimisation. There's a bunch of names for it, but it is a different discipline. It still works on the basis of Google SEO because what most of these search engines will do is they're going to search the internet, right? They've been trained on a lot of information, but not all of that information is current. Most of these models have been trained on documents and web pages before 2021. That's why when you used the very early versions of ChatGPT, and you asked it about current events or current books, it didn't find it. It didn't have that information. Now all these models have the ability to search the web, and they do that really effectively. So the first thing they're going to do if you run a search like that is they're going to run dozens of different searches on Google or a similar search engine. Action thriller books with female protagonists. Action thriller books with female protagonists by indie authors. Action thriller books by indie authors. They're going to create what I call a corpus, so a massive document of information with candidates, books that probably meet those criteria that they have found through regular web searches. Then they're going to go through all those books and determine which are the most relevant to recommend, and they'll return with that. Then they'll usually have a verification layer as well, which is, okay, I have these five books that I want to recommend to this user, but I just want to make sure first that they are written by indie authors, that they do have a female protagonist, et cetera. And if I'm not able to verify that, I'll flag it in my answer to them. So there are these three layers. Web search, then ranking of the book candidates, and finally a verification layer, and then they serve you the answer. Obviously, that's really powerful. If that's the way that search is headed, which I firmly believe, then we as authors need to learn how to get our books in there. Jo: Yes. It's so interesting, and I do this all the time. Really niche stuff, like a thriller about anatomical Venuses, which are these models from anatomy museums and stuff like that, with an edge of the supernatural. What is brilliant is that you can find the books that come up. I actually got one that I read and reviewed, and it was fantastic. So I love the more granular thing, but we're really in the very long tail now, right? It feels like you can write a very nuanced book, and it will be surfaced, but only by a few people. So do we have to write our books and then try to not even retrofit them in the way that we used to? We used to try and figure out the seven keywords and all of that kind of thing, and now I almost feel like we just get to be grownups, where you just get to write the book and put it out there, and these things are more intelligent than the search terms. Ricardo: Yes, absolutely. I think in terms of the variety of books that are going to be read and discovered, that's amazing. A little bit like the whole indie publishing movement was amazing, because if you remove the traditional publishing gatekeepers, then suddenly zombie books aren't dead anymore. Zombies are alive again. They've… Jo: Come to life. Ricardo: They've come alive, and so you get a bunch of zombie books again. It's not a small niche audience. It's actually a pretty big niche audience that loves zombie books, and suddenly they have those to consume. This is a little bit similar on a much, much bigger and more granular scale, because anyone can find exactly the kind of book that they're looking for, with the tropes they want, with the type of characters they want, with the type of author they want, and you can basically use any kind of filter. So for discoverability on the side of the reader, that's great. For the authors, it doesn't mean that you can just write whatever you want and then rest, and readers will find them. Because your books still need to have generated a certain internet footprint and a certain review footprint in order to become interesting or recommendable to AI search engines, right? Unless you're the only book that an AI search engine can recommend for that specific search, and yours was very specific, so it might have been the only one. If there are other candidates, the AI search engines are pretty smart. They're going to recommend the candidates that have more reviews, better reviews, or are more famous, that have more, when I talk about internet footprint, more pages talking about them on the internet. That's for me the big finding I've seen. The more pages you have on the internet talking about your book, so that could be book review sites, that could be Goodreads lists, Listopia lists, anywhere on the internet where your book is mentioned, that creates a footprint for it. The more footprints, the more famous your book looks to AI search engines, and so the more worthy of recommendations it is to them. Jo: Yes, and this is one reason why I now ask people, especially when you sell direct, or say you have a Kickstarter and you want reviews, I ask people if they can review on Goodreads. Obviously Goodreads is owned by Amazon, but it is far more searchable by the bots than Amazon is. I sometimes find that Amazon gets blocked. Or Amazon blocks some of the bots, let's put it that way. They might change over time. They own 15% of Anthropic or something. But Goodreads I feel like does get indexed, and I'm not willing to engage on Reddit. I know Reddit is another popular one. Just be very clear on social media, because some people think, oh, I just need loads of influencers to talk about my book, and that will impact the AIs. But I find that social media just almost isn't even there. Ricardo: It depends on which social media. For me, Reddit is a social medium, right? It's a very weird one, but it's obviously the number one social medium used by AI search engines, and it's pretty dodgy stuff with lots of conflicts of interest, because Google has a paid partnership with Reddit. I think Sam Altman has shares in Reddit. So both OpenAI and Google Gemini heavily rely on Reddit for their AI answers, right? If you ask anything from ChatGPT or Gemini, I'd say there are very high chances that in the sources and the citations of the answer, you're going to find Reddit, right? That goes for books as well. Every time you ask for book recommendations, Reddit is going to be big for those two AI search engines. Claude, it's a little bit different. They do have a little bit of a relationship with Reddit, but I don't think it's as big. I found that Claude relies heavily on Goodreads, not Reddit. To me, Goodreads is another social medium at the end of the day, right? It's not the kind of social medium we think of, like… Jo: It's not TikTok. Ricardo: It's not TikTok. TikTok is surfaced a little bit, but not that much. It might become more surfaced in the future, but right now what I've found is, it's really Reddit and Goodreads. Facebook, LinkedIn, but LinkedIn is big for nonfiction topics more than fiction, because there are just not a lot of fiction readers, sorry, talking about their favourite books on LinkedIn. They usually go to other places for that. Jo: Yes, it's really interesting. So obviously TikTok has its own BookTok thing, so some people are finding books on BookTok, and some people like me are finding books through asking Claude, and that's just my overwhelming feeling about the industry. We talked earlier about what's changed. When I started, so 2006, there wasn't even KDP, and then KDP arrives, then you came in 2014, and probably until maybe a few years after that, there was one way to self-publish. Then what's happened since is this kind of splintering. There are so many ways to self-publish. There are so many ways to reach readers. There are so many ways to market. So someone, for example, could sell direct on TikTok Shop, only market through TikTok, and you wouldn't even know that they existed over in another ecosystem, right? So do you feel like that's happened too, this total splintering? Ricardo: Absolutely. I think there are so many different ways in which you can reach your audience now and monetise it as well, that it's absolutely possible. We both know examples of authors who are only visible to their TikTok niche, right? I think the big difference is also monetisation, because earlier you also had different ways of becoming well-known. Like you had Facebook, you had potentially Twitter, back when it was Twitter. Various social media, word of mouth. But where people bought books was Amazon. So that was your monetisation. It was either selling your book on Amazon, or potentially getting KU reads after that when KU launched. Now you can sell on TikTok, you can sell direct, you can run Kickstarters, you can start a Patreon or Substack and make your money through there. There are pretty much infinite ways through which you can monetise your content as a creator. Most of those places will also have a discoverability engine built in, so you can not only sell through there and make money through there, but also grow an audience there. That's probably the biggest competition that Amazon has ever had to face, is this sort of splintering. For us authors and content creators in general, it's amazing, because it's a bunch of different opportunities. Jo: Yes, and I think probably that's circling back to marketing. As we've said, some things have changed, some things stay the same. Is the email list still the number one way to market, do you think, for authors who want a long-term career? Ricardo: I think so. It's just the one thing you really own that allows you to communicate with readers, right? Because even if you build a following on TikTok, TikTok can change. The things we said about Facebook 10 years ago, if you build your Facebook group, Facebook can change, and Facebook changed. Facebook destroyed the reach of pages, and now groups also aren't amazing, et cetera. So the same thing that happened to Facebook can happen to TikTok, can happen to any other social media. Substack is a bit of a hybrid because it is a newsletter, it is a mailing list, but it also has a discoverability engine built in. So I still wouldn't really go all in on Substack. The great advantage there is that you do own the emails, right? So you can move away from it at some point. For me, the email list is the one thing that you are completely in control of. Personally, the main thing I check is my emails every day. I spend more time in my inbox than anywhere else, and I think that's probably the case for most people. So I do think, despite the influx of mails that readers are getting in their inbox, I still think it's one of the most important marketing tools for authors. Jo: Yes, and I still remember when I started my list in December 2008, and I still have people on the list who've been with me that whole time, and have moved email list services several times as well. So I think that's important too. The care of that list too is so important. One of the things that I am annoyed about with Substack, I don't have a Substack, but when I follow some people's, it's always constantly trying to get you to sign up to other people's lists, trying to subscribe you to this or that or the other. I'm like, “That's so annoying.” Now I've found on all these email services they're trying to pair you with other creators and cross-promote and all of this. So it feels like even the email list is becoming a difficult place unless you really protect it. So just protecting your list, I think, and remembering that those are people. Those are people who've bought your books, or people who read your emails. Like people listening to this, these are humans. Sure, some bot might be looking at the transcript, but humans listening to this are individual humans with individual email lists. We tend to forget that, don't we, as you get a bigger list. You think about it as a big number, whereas it's still individual people. Ricardo: Yes, it becomes a number, it becomes metrics, the open rate, the click rate, and all that. But the great thing about email is that you get replies in your inbox. There you remember that they're actual human beings who write you back. I think for readers, the ability to write back to an author and get a response is just amazing, right? If you write to your favourite author and they write back to you, that's the best feeling ever as a reader. So I think email is still one of the best ways to turn your readers into fans and into super fans of your brand, by just interacting with them and answering them. Because yes, you can answer comments on TikTok, Facebook, and all those places, but it doesn't feel the same as an author answering you in your inbox, I feel. So you do get that ability to create a real connection with readers directly through email. Jo: Yes, and I think that trust and the reputation is so important. Just in terms of seeing the authors that you've seen over the years, like I said, you've been going to a lot of the author conferences. You know a lot of the authors in the industry. A lot of people will know you from events. But you've also seen authors come and go, and you've seen vendors come and go. Both of us have seen people arrive, and we'd be like, “Oh, yes, I wonder how long they're going to last.” Then some people do and some people don't. So what are some of the elements that you've noticed about the businesses that last more than a decade? Ricardo: I think they need to solve a genuine problem, or offer a genuinely better solution than one that already exists. I see a lot of businesses come in and they do what another vendor already does, without doing it necessarily better. Those businesses tend to disappear, or linger there, but you don't really hear about them again. When they solve a real need… I still remember when BookFunnel came out, and they've since become massive with one very, very basic thing, which is, “We will take care of delivering your ebook files to readers.” That's how they started, and that's how they became massive. To me at the time, I was like, “That seems like a very small problem,” because I can just email an ebook file. I didn't realise that it was so complicated for a lot of readers to upload files to their Kindle or other devices, and that having a service that takes care of that for you is just massively helpful. I realised that when I published my books, actually. So businesses that solve even micro or apparently very small problems, but they really solve them effectively, they stay. Others that surf on trends, they tend to disappear when the trend disappears. When there's a new marketing trend, and that trend stops working, then those businesses tend to go. Jo: Yes, and what about the authors who last? Because let's face it, most of us don't solve a problem in a different way. Maybe you could say we solve your entertainment problem in a different version to your last book. What about the authors who last long term? What have you noticed about them? Ricardo: Two things. So the first one… Maybe three things. First one is passion. I always say to people who are looking to start self-publishing, I always say that publishing in general is probably one of the worst ways to make money. It's awful. You can pick up any other occupation and it's probably going to be easier to make money. So writers who make a career do it because they need to write, because they have a passion for writing. So a lot of people who come into the industry thinking, “I've heard about all these self-publishing success stories. Surely I can write a book and I can market it. It's not that hard. So that's going to be a great way to make quick bucks,” those generally don't last, because they don't have that genuine passion. The first hurdle they're going to face—and there's going to be a bunch of them along the way—they're going to quit. The second thing is business sense, or business education, the basics of business, right? Thinking in terms of marketing, thinking in terms of who's my reader, unit economics. If I'm selling my books at $3.99, I shouldn't be spending a ton of money. If I just have one book at $3.99, I cannot afford to pay $5 on ads to generate a sale. So those kinds of basic economics or business knowledge, I think, if not a requirement, it's a massive plus. The third thing is resilience. The industry has changed a lot, as you mentioned. There are a bunch of ways now to reach an audience. There are a bunch of ways to make money. It can also be distracting, because you go to one of these conferences and you go back thinking, “Oh, I've got to create my own website, sell direct. I've got to launch my Substack. I have to use Claude Code for my ads,” and three more things, “and I have to set up my TikTok Shop and do TikTok Lives to sell books,” right? Jo: All of those by next week. That's why we go to the conference. Ricardo: Exactly. All those by next week, right? And during that one week after the conference, you have the energy to start implementing all those things, but afterwards you lose that energy and you go back to, “I just want to quit.” So you need to have some sort of resilience, and the business sense of, “Okay, I'm going to try this for the next six months, and I'm going to stick to it, and I'm going to see whether it works or not. And if it doesn't work, I'm not just going to despair. I'm going to try something else.” That goes for marketing tactics, but also goes for books. Most authors I know who make a living writing, they didn't get there with their first book or even their first series. A lot of times I see authors who write a couple of series, and those series do okay. They sell a little bit, but not much, and it doesn't afford them to quit their day job. Then suddenly, based on what they've learned with those first two series and what they've learned potentially going to conferences or listening to podcasts like this, et cetera, they write a third series that's a hit. That's a hit, and that's instantly much easier to market, and that's when they can afford to go full time and write full time, because they've found that sort of product market fit. And product market fit for me is the main thing for marketing in general and for authors in particular. Until you find that, everything is really difficult from a marketing perspective. But finding it usually requires writing more than one book and more than one series, because you're rarely going to get the big lottery ticket on the first try. Jo: Or ever. I think it's really important. I've never had a breakout book, but I've made good money every year. I think, and Hugh Howey said this, that the real story of self-publishing is not the people who make seven figures a year, it's the people who can go on a holiday once a year, or the people who can just put a bit towards their mortgage or whatever. So you may never have a breakout series. I think that's really important, too. Ricardo: That's true. Jo: That's true. You can just keep writing and make all right money and be what we call in the mid-list. Ricardo: Yes, but you've got to keep going. You've got to have that resilience to keep going, probably because it's your passion. Exactly. You're not chasing that seven figure series. You're writing because you need to write. Jo: Yes, and you can't stop, and you get the bug. I think when you're writing that first book, I'm not sure if people understand that you either get the bug or you don't, I think. You've written a couple of books now. Do you think you have the bug, or is it more about the business? Ricardo: I don't have the bug. I definitely don't have the bug. I would've kept writing otherwise. Jo: You're a technologist, right? Ricardo: Yes. I'm more of a technologist, more of a marketer. To write my first book, How to Market a Book, I actually had to write newsletters, because that I can manage, right? One newsletter a week. Now I don't even manage that. I send it once every two weeks when I can even manage that pace. But back then I did one newsletter a week, and that's how I wrote my first book. I then put all these newsletters together, and that was before the age of AI, so I couldn't just dump all that into ChatGPT and tell it, “Create me a book based on that.” I had to do it myself. Jo: Oh, terrible. Ricardo: Terrible, I know. The days when we had to work. No, but that was a really good experiment. The second book, Amazon Ads for Authors, I actually wrote it from scratch, and I didn't love the experience. I loved the finished product, I'm very proud of it, but I didn't enjoy the experience of writing it. Amazon Ads is not the most exciting topic in the world. Even for people like me, who actually enjoy Amazon Ads, it's not super exciting to write about. The fact of having to write that whole book from scratch, I didn't love the experience. So now I do want to write a third book at some point, but I think it'll probably be in the format of the first one. Like, when I finish my series of newsletters on AI search and AI discoverability, I might do a booklet or something around it, but we'll have to see. It's not my favourite thing. It's a good thing I don't need to. Good thing I'm not an author, basically. Jo: No, but I think that's really great to recognise. You actually have written books that support your business, and that is very common for nonfiction writers. That's completely normal for nonfiction authors. So I think that's another important thing for people to recognise, is that the reasons we write are different, the reasons we market are different, and we all have different approaches. As we wind up, and obviously you talked a bit there about how easy it is to generate books with AI, and that is probably one of the biggest things that people are worried about. Now, those of us like you and I have been talking about AI at conferences and things for years now. Neither of us are afraid of it, I think basically because both of us use it, and we're technologists, so we just get on with it. There is so much fear in the community. There's so much negativity. You mentioned Substack, and now they've integrated Pangram, which is renowned for false positives around what is written with AI, and so people are very worried. If we look forward and we look at the next decade, this is not going away. This is going to change a lot of things. So how should authors be thinking about AI, do you think, if they want to prepare for the next decade? Ricardo: I think they need to play around with it, because you and I know that until you actually use it, you don't realise what it's capable of. We've both had these moments of “Oh my God, I'm going to be out of a job,” or “Oh my God, this is incredible,” the kind of things it's able to do. You also realise by using it the things it's not great at, or the things it can be good at but needing a lot of human input. There are courses out there, there are books, there are a lot of things, but for me, the most important thing is to start playing around with it. So you can pick one specific topic to play around with. Either something that you've been meaning to get into for years and haven't done, or something that really annoys you. Looking at the results of your Facebook ads, for example. If you run Facebook ads in the first place, and when you log into your Meta dashboard you cannot make sense of it, take screenshots or download the data, feed it to an AI chat, and talk with it. One of my biggest tips when talking to AI chats is asking them questions rather than asking them for things to do. Because if you just feed it your advertising data and you tell it, “Tell me what I should do,” the chat has no context about what your ads are about, what your goal is, et cetera, et cetera. If you feed it just a screenshot and you say, “Here are my ads. I would like you to help me make sense of them. What do you need to know from me in order to help me with this?” Then it's going to start asking you questions. “Okay, what are you advertising?” They're books. “Okay, what kind of books? Where are you selling? Are your ads going straight to Amazon or retailers, or are they going to your website? If you sell direct, okay, are these conversion ads?” Et cetera, et cetera. So you build that context, and they can help you with it. So that's just one example, but I would pick one thing that you want to test AI with, with zero expectations. Don't expect that by the end of the week you'll have a full system for understanding your Meta ads thanks to AI. You might get to that or you might not, but at least you'll play with it and you'll understand its capabilities, and have a sort of understanding of how it works and how you can potentially use it for other things. I think that's the best way to adapt, because once you play with it, you start thinking. You're walking the dog and you're just thinking, “Ha, I could maybe use it for this thing or that other thing,” and that's how you progressively become more familiar with it. I think there are a lot of worries around AI, but as you say, it's there to stay. So far, I think I was looking at data this morning, and the unemployment rate in the US has stayed stable ever since ChatGPT was introduced two years ago. So there are a lot of narratives out there around how it's going to replace humans, it's going to replace jobs, et cetera, which it might do. I'm not great at predictions usually, but so far it hasn't. What it will definitely do, however, is completely change the way we work. Obviously AI was one of our big reckonings at Reedsy, because we run a marketplace. Our main business model is the marketplace, where authors come in and look for editors, for marketers, for cover designers, for translators, and some of these domains and services are being transformed by AI, right? AI translations are massive right now. We haven't really seen a decline at all on the Reedsy marketplace, but we're prepared for it. It might very well happen, but what we think is happening, or is going to happen, is professionals using AI tools to provide a better output or a faster output or a cheaper output, or all three of these things. So for example, we now have literary translators who say they're open to editing AI translations, right? So you can come in, you can have your book translated with AI, whichever tool or method you choose for that. Then if you want a set of human eyes on it, you can hire a literary translator who's open to working on an AI-translated manuscript, and that's obviously going to be much, much cheaper than paying 10 cents per word from scratch for a literary translator. I'm not necessarily recommending you completely bypass literary translators, or that you go this way, but you have options, right? You have options for different sets of budgets. I think all these human editors, narrators, translators, designers, et cetera, they're not going to disappear, but they might have to reinvent the way they work in the future. Jo: As we all are doing. As you say, for me mostly it's the business side, getting Claude to help me with business stuff. Like even bookkeeping. There are bills that we've all been paying for years that we can now maybe reduce, and reducing costs as well as increasing profit is obviously good business sense. So, interesting times. But just as we wrap up, what are you excited about in what's coming? How do you see Reedsy shaping up in the next decade? What is coming for you and Reedsy? Ricardo: We're really excited about the decade to come, because obviously 10 years for a startup is a long time. I think most startups after 10 years, the founders are gone. Jo: Yes. Ricardo: Or they've exited or they've sold or whatever. We've stayed, we're the same founders, and we're still as excited because I think we have new products, right? We're working on new things. As I mentioned at the beginning of the episode, Reedsy Studio, our writing tool, is probably one of the things we're most excited about, because first, it's getting adopted very fast. It has startup-like growth that we hadn't seen for other products in a long time, and it has very cool technology built in. We probably have a team of 10, 15 engineers now working full time on it and adding a lot of things. So we've added templates for plotting your book, with relationships within different characters and places and magic systems and things like that. We've added writing goals and writing statistics. We still have the free exports. One very cool thing we've added is real time collaboration. So just like Google Docs, you can write in real time with a co-author, or you can get an editor to work in there live with track changes. So you could have an editor working on chapter one while you're writing chapter three, for example. That kind of thing. It's really powerful technology, and that's one of the things we're really excited about for the future. A business, just like authors, we've got to reinvent ourselves. We've got to find ways to keep things exciting and keep motivated, and that is definitely one of them. When adoption goes along with it, then that's obviously super satisfying. Jo: Brilliant. So where can people find you and Reedsy online? Ricardo: So Reedsy you can find at reedsy.com, R-E-E-D-S-Y.com. And there you'll find the whole suite of tools and services. For me, you can find me mostly by email, as I mentioned. That's the one place I check consistently every day, and my email address is ricardo@reedsy.com. So again, R-E-E-D-S-Y.com and ricardo@reedsy.com. You can email me any questions you have about this episode, about AI book discoverability, about marketing, about Reedsy. I always try to answer every email I get, because I think when we started Reedsy, I really appreciated people like you, and some other agents and editors and authors we contacted who were influential in the industry, who actually answered us and took the time to do that. So now I try to answer every email I get, because I feel like we've been very lucky in the beginning to have those people answering our emails, so we should do the same. Jo: Oh, well, thanks so much for your time, Ricardo. That was great. Ricardo: Thank you, Jo. Thanks for having me again.The post Book Marketing, AI Book Discoverability, And Resilience, With Ricardo Fayet first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Main Topic:  Pockets of Pivots: Pivoting and Tweaking Your Way Through the First Year as a Full-Time Writer with repeat guest JP Rindfleisch IX       PATREON: Thank you to my existing patrons for believing in my work offline and here in the podcast. If you are a patron, in either tier, you get all my content, always. You can support me and my dreams and my writing and my aligned author life for $11.11 USD, and I will be so so grateful. Truly. Heart to heart. Gratitude for your gifts. If you want coaching too (with TWO LIVE CALLS EACH MONTH, you can BACK me at $55.55/mo USD). You will NEVER find coaching sessions for less money than this. If you've ever wanted continued support for your writing and accountability for your projects, this is the way to do it.    Become a patron of the arts and of me at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.    And you can support my friend and colleague and Visiting Co-Host author Erick Mertz at Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.      Announcements/Author Updates: I've started looking into specific venues for the retreat here in Costa Rica, and I'm going to start working on the sales page today. If you are interested in the updates on the retreat, you can subscribe to the waitlist at  https://valerieihsan.com/retreat. And if you are retreat alumni, look for an email coming very soon. UPDATE: Date for Free Mini writing retreat for patron members (paid and unpaid) is Thursday, August 27th at 5:00 p.m. MT. 2 hours long (cozy, candle; oracle card pull to set intention; check-in: 1 struggle, 1 win, what you are working on tonight; guided meditation; writing words; share word count (optional)); The link is in the last post in Patreon. There's a new essay up in Patreon, What are you reading? Just finished:  Mosswood Apothecary (JP Rindfleisch IX) The Reliable Narrator (Grace Sammon) Creative Act (Rick Rubin)  Fiction: Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons) Do Less by Kate Northrup   (Main Topic):   JP Rindfleisch IX (he/they) writes stories where whimsy meets the weird — cozy queer fantasy and strange fiction about grief, transformation, and unapologetic queer joy. Their first solo novel, Mandrake Manor, won the 2025 IPPY Silver Medal in LGBTQ+ Fiction, the 2024 Reader Ready Award TOP PICK, and a 2023 American Writing Awards Finalist nod. Since then, the catalog has kept growing: Mosswood Apothecary (Tales of Valdaes), (Valdayus) a complete six-book dark paranormal academy series co-written with A.B. Cohen, the paranormal comedy NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services with Jeff Elkins, and more still coming. Away from fiction, JP is a Three Story Method Certified Editor and Dialogue Doctor, the author of the craft guide Story Hypothesis: The Missing Piece of Your Fiction Puzzle, and current co-host of Write Wrong Repeat. They also founded Rockford Area Writers — because someone told them writing was a solitary practice, and they disagreed. The community is now 80+ members strong. JP lives in Rockford, Illinois, with a very chatty African grey parrot and a husky with strong feelings about the walk schedule. When they're not writing, you'll find them cooking something vegan or somewhere on a trail. Represented by Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency, who has placed five audiobook deals with Tantor Media and Simon Maverick. "The Post Glam of Full-Time Authoring, One year out"     Good progress with ads, and then paid ads started dropping off, so doubled down on having more presence. TikTok Lives, talking events, book fairs, draining but what I enjoy, revenue vs what am I enjoying. Rediscovered joys Values shifted, Tarot reminds you monthly; want to vs have to;  Body doubles help with accountability. Sunday Social Media, schedule it out, ability to play is most important   Wake up, walk dog, desk work all morning with pomodoro 30/5, body double on Zoom or TwitchStreams; what can I get done or what's loudest. Morning is creative time; afternoons are for TikTok lives, pack orders, talk to people about books. Lives are "in-person" events.  TwitchLives are Virtual Book Events.   Input: JP is reading right now: One Last Stop (sapphic romance by Casey McQuiston); Upgrade (Blake Crouch)   Want to get used to local events. Rule: it's still worth my time if there are authors at the book event that I can network with. What are the good events in the area? Go to more and more selective ones. Look at their past attendance; refine your book pitch (say them fast)(TikTok hook); practice with fast form short videos, do multiple times to see what works. (learn to say No if not well attended) Knowing your why. Goal is to sell. But know the area writers, what works in the area. Friendship with bookstores, ways the city can uplift, arts councils.      Slump, persistence to correct the dip, checks and balances: recognize patterns, being more honest about what's working, not working, overworking, making sure the various things I spend time on will move the needle forward.   How can I have more community - Writer's Ink Podcast sometimes, The Dialogue Doctor sometimes, Write, Wrong, Repeat.  Pre-orders: Belladonna Bed and Breakfast, Bone and Ward; new audiobook: Mosswood Apothecary Family time and vacation time.  Schedule in the free time.         Find Us:   Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan  Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor Tools: ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

How can horror writing help readers — and writers — work through psychological trauma? Why does cross-genre fiction take longer to find an audience, but pay off in the long run? Is running a direct sales store actually worth the inventory, postage, and learning curve? And how can SubStack work for fiction authors? With psychotherapist and award-winning author P.D. Alleva. In the intro, thoughts on why in-person conferences are still worth it, even when they are a challenge for sensitive introverts! and tips for making the best of conferences [Self-Publishing Show]. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn P.D. Alleva is the award-winning author of horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and fantasy books. He's also a psychotherapist. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why horror puts the human condition on display better than any other genre Emotional trauma as the silent psychological killer most people overlook The pros and challenges of cross-genre writing and finding your audience Practical lessons from running a direct store, including integration and signed-copy fulfilment How a 3 a.m. writing routine keeps the writing separate from the marketing and admin Serialising fiction on Substack, multiple newsletters, and avoiding paid subscriber promotions Why Facebook groups, TikTok Lives, and the three-to-one rule are working right now You can find P.D. at PDAlleva.com or on Substack. Transcript of the interview with P.D. Alleva Jo: P.D. Alleva is the award-winning author of horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and fantasy books. He's also a psychotherapist. So welcome, Paul. PD: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. This is a great opportunity. I love doing interviews, and I love talking to great people. Jo: Oh, good. Well, first up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and being an indie author. PD: So I've been writing since I was a kid, at least second grade and more than likely even before that. I've always had that creative itch. Getting into indie author publishing, I published my first book in 2011. At the time I was also operating my own business, which took up about 24 hours of my time every single day. Then I kind of got through that and sold that in 2016, and I'm like, you know what? The time has come. I'd always written books, poetry, short stories, but never really did anything with them because I just didn't have the time. So in 2017, that's when I really came out and said, all right, the time is now. Indie publishing was doing great. The one good thing I do love about Amazon is they allowed us to come out there and start showing our craft to people. So in 2017, I just started—let's do this. Let's write full time. Let's put books out there. Let's be creative. Let's really get those juices flowing. Plus, I was getting a little bit old, and I was like, now is definitely the time to do this. Since then I've been publishing consistently, and most of my books are horror books, but I dabble. I have a sci-fi series, and I'm starting to get into psychological thrillers too. I've got a new psychological thriller that'll be published in early 2027 called Girl on a Mission. For the most part, I'm definitely into the horror genre—books, short stories, all that good fun stuff. Jo: Right, so a couple of follow-ups. You said you're a bit old. Can you give us what decade you're in at least? PD: Well, I'm 51, so born in 1971. Jo: Oh, there you go. Same age as me. PD: All right, good. See that? So we're going head-to-head there. Jo: I don't think that's old at all. Also, you mentioned you sold your business in 2016. So what was your business before? Because I think business experience is so important. PD: Agreed 100%. So I'm a psychotherapist, and I had owned a treatment centre for mental health and addiction. That was started in 2011, and in 2016 is when it sold. Since then, my wife and I started a private practice. So I still, even to this day—well, about a year and a half ago is when I stopped. I specialise in trauma, PTSD, and addiction. Trauma mostly. Most of my caseload has always been trauma, PTSD, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, war-type trauma. I was doing that mostly individually since 2016 in private practice, and I'll still go into treatment centres and see patients there too, specifically for trauma. About a year and a half ago is when I started wanting to do writing 100% full time. I thought about becoming a professor, maybe going to college, but then I wasn't sure if I wanted to get into that full time, as far as a caseload and school and everything like that. So I decided to just do group therapy, group facilitation, and I've been doing that consistently since then. It may be 15 hours a week. I do love to give back, and to me, it's more what I teach. I specialise in neuro-linguistic programming, bilateral stimulation or EMDR, hypnotherapy, science of mind concepts, psychopharmacology, biological bases of behaviour—which is pretty much how your brain works—ancient wisdom, quantum physics. I do this in a drug addiction treatment centre mostly, also mental health. And of course, just living an addictive lifestyle is traumatic, too, in and of itself. So pretty much I'm teaching them. Behaviour modification is a big part of what I'm teaching during that time. You'll see that, too, if you read my books. There's two things you can figure out from my books. You can figure out how to murder people and get away with it, and two, you can figure out how to overcome trauma as well. The whole “murder people and get away with it” comes from my upbringing. I have a very sorted past, let's put it that way. My upbringing was very different than what most people grow up in. Jo: Oh, can you give us any more than that? Now everyone's like, “Oh.” PD: “What's going on with this guy, right?” So I grew up, let's say, quote unquote, “in an Italian New York family.” Jo: Okay. All right. PD: That might give people ideas, right? Jo: That's going to give people a lot of ideas. PD: If you've ever seen the movie Goodfellas, I kind of grew up in that atmosphere, and with even some of those people too. My family had connections to those people in that movie, which I find very funny. If you watch that movie with me, you get a very different perspective on what's going on in the movie. Jo: Wow. So you're an interesting guy with an interesting background, with a very interesting backstory job as well. Some people are like, “Well, of course he's writing horror because horror is just awful and full of slasher gore and all that.” I often have to say to people who don't read horror, “Look, it's not like that.” Maybe some of it is, sure. But most of it isn't. Could you talk about how reading and writing horror can also be psychologically healthy? How do these worlds intertwine for you? PD: Well, sure. It 100% can be healthy. Especially over the last few years, there's a trend going on out there right now where people are taking their trauma and putting it into a creative process through poems, short stories, and even novels. They're taking their trauma and giving it a face, like a monster, where people are overcoming that monster within the creative process. I always say that horror is the genre that puts on display, better than any other genre out there, the human condition. Why is that? When people are in a terrifying situation, you really see who they are. You get to the heart of the matter of who that person is by putting them in these horrific but undefinable situations where it's like, what are they going to come out as? That real true personality needs to come out, and that courage comes out. That's huge in horror, and I think horror gets such a bad name. Now, I know there's the extreme horror and the splatterpunk, and that has its kind of role too in what I'm saying, but that's where horror is getting its bad reputation out there with the over-the-top type of gore. For the most part, that's a small part of the horror genre. It's a subgenre for a reason. It has its readership, and that's fine. Nothing wrong with it. I read it all the time. I find a lot of joy in it, a lot of excitement. However, for the most part, any horror novel that is not completely with the gore and stuff like splatterpunk can be seen as a psychological thriller, and a lot of psychological thrillers can be seen as a horror novel. Look at books like The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon. That's horrific as well, but if you read the novel, it's in there. It just gets that bad rap right now, and it's not all gore. Most horror novels that I read today are psychological horror. It's tame on the gore, and the psychological aspect is there. I always see that psychological aspect—it's like psychological trauma. Most people, even in my industry, when people are out there and you mention trauma, PTSD, they're thinking about sexual abuse, physical abuse, or war-type trauma. The silent psychological one—I once wrote an article called “Emotional Trauma: The Silent Psychological Killer.” The one that's out there is the psychological trauma, the emotional trauma that is widespread. Most people go through that, and it could even be from parent to child, and most people don't understand that that's a traumatic experience. It's like a distortion of reality that you're experiencing that then creates a belief system in your brain, and you're constantly acting out that belief system. That's where the psychological component of horror really comes out. People breaking through that psychological belief system that was created through a traumatic experience by reaching courage and coming out through a horrific situation. Jo: Yes, it really annoys me, because with romance, of course people understand that romance is a huge genre. Something like a small town sweet romance is a world away from the bully romantasy, dark, or mafia. Mafia romance is a really big thing with very dark themes. I'm like, well, how can you understand that romance is a huge genre with all these different subgenres, and not think that horror or thriller or fantasy or sci-fi all have so many different subgenres within them? I personally read a lot of supernatural horror, but rarely the slasher gore kind of stuff. So I'm really glad you said that, and hopefully more people will open up a bit more. I did also want to ask you about what you write. You write all these different things. You write standalone—I mean, often horror is standalone—but you also have some series. How do you balance it? What are the benefits of cross-genre writing, but also the challenges of it? PD: Okay. So obviously I love cross-genre writing. To me, I use fantasy to explain the supernatural elements. I blend mostly a tad of fantasy to help explain the supernatural components in my supernatural novels. When I write sci-fi, specifically sci-fi, that has the fantasy element in it too, but there's also a tad of horror in there as well. It's just who I am. When I grew up, I had a lot of different influences. I had Star Wars on one side, and then I'm watching B-rated '80s slasher films on the other side. Those two mixes just kind of followed me throughout my life, and that's why I like putting them into my novels. As I tell my patients, don't limit yourself. Never limit yourself. If you're just limiting yourself to one genre, you're missing out on so much more that's out there. So I love the blend of mixing genres. It just gets my goat each and every time. It is a challenge though. I remember when I first started getting into indie publishing, I was never big into Facebook and social media up until I started becoming an indie author. Before that, with my type of upbringing, you don't advertise yourself. You don't advertise where you're going. That's a big no-no. So I always had this aversion to social media. I'll tell you a funny story. It was the late 2000s, probably 2006. I was a full-time single father at that time, and I was living in Florida. My family—brothers and sisters-in-law—were living in New York, and my sister-in-law said, “Get a Facebook account so we can see pictures of the kids.” I said, “Oh.” I didn't want to do it, but I said, “Okay,” so I did it. And I'm thinking, looking at this Facebook thing, “How do I put pictures on here?” So I figured out how to put pictures in folders. Then I phone called her, and I'm like, “Okay, so they're on there.” And they're like, “Well, where are they?” I'm like, “I put them in these folders. You can go and look at them.” She's like, “No, you've got to post them.” That to me was like, “I'm not posting pictures of my kids.” That was a big no-no. It didn't click. When I got on there finally in 2016, 2017, I'm like, “Okay, so I need to figure out social media. As an indie author, I need to be on there, so I need to get through this aversion and get on there.” I started noticing how people are so particular with their genres. If they're reading a romance, it had to be very specific with that exact type of romance, and if you deviated from it, they're not going to like it. So that was the challenge. I was like, “All right, number one, I'm not going to dilute myself” and say, “All right, take things out of my writing or out of my novel just so I could cater to a certain type of audience.” I'm like, “I'm not going to do that.” I know with me, myself, as a reader, I'll read everything. I don't limit myself to a specific genre. I'll read psychological thrillers. I'll read romance. I've been doing that all my life. So I'm like, if there's a person like me out there—and look at this, I just met like four other people who also read cross genres—then I know that there's at least another 30,000 people, and I know that at least then there's 300,000, then there's three million people out there. So just write the books that you're writing and find your audience. Now, that takes longer. So you've got to chip away. Chip away. You're going to find readers here and there, and then that reader kind of tells a few people about you, and then you've got a few more readers. Then you keep going, and you go on these Facebook groups, and you do a whole bunch of different things, and then you gather a few more readers. Then they're telling some friends, and then you've got more. The process takes a lot longer, yes, 100% agreed, but I would say be true to yourself and you can never go wrong. Jo: Yes, I agree. I write cross-genre as well, and I've browsed your collection. Golem was the one I was like, “Ooh, yes, I like that one.” I haven't read it yet, it's on my list. I think when you're cross-genre, my people come to my store as well, and it's like, “Okay, I'm interested in lots of things, but this is the one by this author that I'm interested in.” Whereas with other authors who only write one type of thing, then I might not like any of their stuff. So I think there are definitely pros and cons and different ways into our world. I also wanted to ask you about the differences in business. Obviously you ran this treatment centre and there were physical humans on all sides, and now you've got a business as an author. So what have you learned in business from what you used to do and what you do now? PD: Okay. You're right. The treatment centre industry is very different from what I'm doing now, but it's still people. Treat those people right, have integrity. If you say you're going to do something, follow through with it. My word is my bond type of thing. That definitely has fed into the writing and publishing industry that I'm in now in a huge way. Just connecting with people is, to me, the biggest part of it. I mean, treatment centres, you've got to connect with people. When I would market the treatment centre, where would I go? I would go to hospitals, residential facilities, detoxes, and talk to them about my programme and why they should be referring clients there. It's the same thing here. Why should you be reading my books? You get there through interviews like what I'm doing here with you. Other podcasts. You get there by doing Facebook Lives, TikTok. I haven't started TikTok Lives yet, but I actually love that platform. I'm falling in love with it. IG Lives, anything like that where you're talking to people and you're making a connection with those people. Through that, I've gathered so many different types of readers who are like, “Yes, I'll give this book a shot.” And then they read it and they're like, “Hey, this is really good, and I'm going to read another book.” With my books, I have very different books. Golem is my psychological horror novel. It's my slow-burn psychological horror novel, heavily inspired by Frankenstein and the Pygmalion myth. It's my first true horror book that I published. Then there's Jigglyspot and the Zero Intellect, which is inspired by B-rated '80s horror movies and the old grindhouse movies of the '70s, and it's mind manipulation. It's just wild and bizarre. And then The Sleepy Hollow Incident is my Gothic tale—it's like a dark romance mixed in with Gothic horror. So I always try to put something for everyone that's out there. To me, when I'm writing, it's got to be about depth, psychological depth. I always refer to my books to be like peeling layers off a Texas-sized onion. The more you read, the more in-depth you get into not only the characters, but the story. It's just something that comes out of me. It's part of me. That's the way I always have to do it. I always have to put that depth in there. To me, that's good storytelling. When I grew up, I read a lot of classic literature. Yes, Edgar Allan Poe, but also Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Brontë sisters. Keep going. Ray Bradbury, Ayn Rand, Daphne du Maurier, Shirley Jackson. Those to me are my books that I absolutely love. So there's a sweet science in today's fast-paced, social media type of world in marrying the depth of the old classic literature and the entertainment value that is required today for being an author. There's that sweet science behind it, and I love just hitting that nail on the head every time. Jo: So did you ever pitch traditional publishing, or have you thought about going that way? Because I also find that a lot of horror actually sits very close to literary. Like, I read a lot more literary horror than I do in some of the other genres. PD: Correct. So in the beginning, yes. Not in a long time. I maybe went to a couple of indie publishers, but as far as traditional, the Big Five publishers, I have an aversion to them for a big reason. I know people who have worked in that industry that have told me some pretty bad horror stories about those places. So I haven't sent anything to that type of place in a very, very long time. Maybe close to 20 years. Indie publishers, the small presses, yes, here and there, but even then, I'm always moving at a fast pace. So if I've got a book and I'm sending it out as a query letter, by the time that query letter is even read, I'm almost done publishing. I love that aspect of it. The control of my story, where I know where this character's going. And listen, I've got my beta readers, I've got my ARC readers. They're there to tell me, “Hey, maybe you should change this or change that.” Whether I take that advice or not, of course my editor too, is really up to me. I always put out the book that I know is the one I want to read. And to me, I haven't gone wrong in doing so. I know with traditional publishing, you sometimes get too many thoughts in the pot there. Let's put it that way. Jo: Okay, so coming back to being indie then. You mentioned Amazon earlier, but you have a store where you sell direct. Many authors are doing this now, but it can be a challenge. So what have you found are the pros and cons of your direct store? What's working? Any lessons there? PD: Okay. So I use a place called Big Cartel. They're the platform where the books are on. They're hosting my website, PDAlleva.com. The big challenge was actually just starting it. It was so overwhelming. How do I put this on there? At the time, I've got all these books, so how do I present them? I'm even going to be doing another revamp with it too, because I want better pictures—taking pictures of the books, stuff like that, instead of just having the covers on there. I also have a lot of shirts that I'm selling. So I think the biggest challenge is just getting on there and starting it. Then of course, you've got to learn a whole new platform, and the mechanics, and how people are going to be downloading, and how that's done on an e-book versus a print version of the book. So it's a huge learning curve that you've really got to put your focus on and give it time. What most people like in indie publishing is signed copies. It's a huge part of indie publishing, selling those signed copies. People love a signed copy, and that's primarily what my website is for. You can order signed copies from me. I also use a place called IngramSpark, and they're more like a distributor. They're used by everyone. They've been around for a very long time. Traditional publishing uses them too, and they're just distributing your novel. I'd say about a year ago, maybe two years ago, they started where you can sell your books on discount through them as well. So I have that on my website too, where you're just clicking on the book and you're pretty much going directly to their site and you're buying paperbacks and hardbacks at a discount. That's going well too. For the most part, people are definitely coming to my site because they want the signed copies. A good thing with indie publishing is limited editions, first print copies, special editions. That type of stuff really just takes off. People love to see that, especially in the indie community. You can sell them too. I go to a few different book conventions during the year, and the limited editions are there. Like I said, people love the signed copies. They love being a part of that and getting that signed copy. They treasure it, just like I treasure my books too. I'm not referring to my books that I've written, but books that I have as well. I love my e-reader, don't get me wrong, but I still prefer the physical copy—the paperback, and even more so than the paperback, the hardback. So people love those signed copies, and that's why I created the website, to sell on there for them. Jo: Yes, I mean, we're getting to a point now though where I think some people are questioning the pros and cons of it. For example, you doing the signed copies—I don't do that from my Shopify store because I don't want to hold stock and I don't want to deal with postage. So I only do it when I do a Kickstarter. I've just finished one recently, Bones of the Deep, and I'm going up to the printer, and I'm going to sign a couple of hundred copies and then they do the postage. That's the only way I'm willing to do it because of the pain of getting books to your house, signing them, getting them in the post. So how do you manage that practically? PD: Okay, so the inventory's there. I don't go and sign everything right away. I just keep the inventory. Once somebody buys the book, then I'll pull out the book, log it and all that good fun stuff, sign it, and then ship it out immediately. Here in my country, we get discounts at the United States Post Office because they're books. So they pass that shipping cost over to the reader too, so it's a little bit cheaper for shipping. I'll just take books once or twice a week over to the United States Postal Service and ship those books out. I don't sign them until I actually get that order. Jo: How many do you have in your house? It's the holding stock of all the backlist that is the problem. PD: Ooh, gotcha. All right. That's why I have a two-car garage. But here's the thing, I won't order 500 at a time. I'll order 20 at a time. Jo: Okay. Right. PD: When I see that inventory's getting low, I'll order another 20 at a time. Jo: And you get those from IngramSpark? PD: Correct. When the new one comes out, maybe at that time I'm just selling those, bringing those to conventions that I go to. Or maybe doing a sale on those books at that time to get rid of the inventory so it's not sitting around anymore. Jo: I think that's so important. Then like you mentioned, you do T-shirts or shirts. That is also really hard because of sizing. So is that all print on demand? PD: Yes. So I don't really hold the stock on the shirts. When I get an order, whatever the size is at that time, I go directly to the place and order it. I use a place called Sublimation Station that's here in Orlando. They do great all-over print T-shirts. They're fantastic. I just did one for The Sleepy Hollow Incident. So The Sleepy Hollow Incident is one long story, and it's broken up into four books. Each book has its own. The covers are fantastic. I use a lady named Cherie Foxley. She's a phenomenal cover designer. So the shirts are, like, book one is on the front of one shirt with book two on the back, and then the second shirt is book three on the cover and book four on the back. However, I can customise those. I just did a giveaway in my Facebook group and I let people know I could customise them, and she wanted book one and book four, so I just got that and sent it out to her. Now, if people go ahead and order that on the website, I can just order it right away from them, boom, and that place will get it shipped right then and there. Jo: Right, so they do the shipping. These are all sort of practical things that people need to answer because I feel like sometimes it's like, “Oh, yes, having a direct store is great,” but there's actually quite a lot of work that goes into it, isn't there? PD: There is. There's a lot of work. You're pretty much opening almost like your own brick-and-mortar store at that point. You just don't have walk-in traffic coming in—your traffic is all coming online. So there is a lot to it, but it's worth it. If you're a self-published author or even a small indie press, it's good to have. Because like I said, people love the signed copies. Jo: When you say it's worth it, is it worth it financially or just because you like to serve the customers in that way? PD: Both. Jo: Right. So it is financially worth it for you? PD: Yes. Jo: I was talking to a friend of mine and saying, are you valuing your time in terms of things like taking the books to the post office and stuff like that? Do you find it eats into your writing at all, or do you just manage it all separately? PD: No, I manage it separately. So I'm an early morning riser. I get up at 3:00 in the morning, and that's when I write my books or do editing or brainstorming. I'm about to write a new novella now called The Adam and Eve Story, which is actually based on a little-known CIA shelved book from the 1990s called The Adam and Eve Story as well. So I've been brainstorming that, and I was doing that this morning. I get up at 3:00 a.m. and I do my writing, and by the time the kids are up and by the time the wife is up, it's like 8:00 a.m. is rolling around and I'm pretty much done at that point. Then I have my days. Tuesday I'm completely working from home and I do my thing in the morning, and then the rest of the day is marketing, fulfilling orders, stuff like that. On the days when I'm going to do group facilitation, I'll of course still get up at 3:00 o'clock in the morning, and then I'll plan out the day. I've got an hour between this group and I can go ahead and do that, and I'm already there so it's not a problem. The post office is right around the corner. You kind of figure out all the logistics for yourself. There are some days, like on Monday, I don't facilitate groups until the afternoon, so I've got the whole morning to work on marketing and do other things, and fulfilment. Then of course Saturday's a big day for that too. Jo: Oh, that's good. I feel like people always need to know how to balance their time, but it sounds like you manage, because at 3:00 a.m., as you say, there's not much else to do other than write. You mentioned marketing, and you have a Substack, pdsalternativefiction.substack.com. Talk about that and serialising fiction and how Substack works. Because I feel like a load of people are jumping in but might not necessarily know how it works, especially for fiction. PD: Correct. It is becoming quite popular out there. I think the one before that was Patreon, and Patreon is pretty big for that too, kind of the same thing. I wanted to start something and just get the work out there. I was very interested when Amazon came out a few years ago with what was called Vella. They kind of started that. I was like, “This is kind of cool.” Couple chapters at a time. I'm writing the books anyway, so why don't we kick this off and see how it goes—a type of experiment. I had a lot of fun doing it. I started on October 4th, 2024. I've done four novels so far. One is still going, which is Volume 3 of my Dark Veil serie— that's a sci-fi series. I wrote three other novels. The Hypnotist, which is a thriller, heavy on the sci-fi and a tad of horror in there too. And then I wrote Girl on a Mission, which is my psychological thriller, and then Cat Fight, which is a horror novel—all within that time. I think I finished all three of those novels in January, and then the first week of February they were all pretty much done. Now what I'm doing is, I went paid recently on the Substack. It's like everything else that's out there—chip away, chip away. I fell into that hole where they say, “Hey, we can promote you and get people to sign up for your newsletter.” And I'll be honest with you, don't do it. It's not worth it. You spend money, and what happens is they're what I refer to as dead leads. They don't click. You wind up shuffling them off after three to six months, because they're just not clicking. Everybody gets a star rating, so you know—are they clicking, are they staying on, are they not? So I got rid of pretty much all of those people, and I'll never do that again. It's got to be done organically. That's why when you read my books, especially the new books, towards the end it'll say, “Sign up for my newsletter.” I do more with that newsletter too. If you're on the free tier, every month I do a monthly newsletter, which is just me talking about updates, things going on in the publishing industry, things going on with me. My daughter puts together a weekly Horror and Sci-Fi Chronicles newsletter, which gives what's going on in new releases in the industry—sci-fi, horror, books, movies, television. She does deep dives into industry tropes, historical tidbits, and a weekly quiz. I also do a monthly Terrors and Tales newsletter. I started this last year, and it was a quarterly newsletter. It's other authors who are new, upcoming, never been published before, looking to get published. It's a chance for them to be on the newsletter where they have a flash fiction story or poem or even a short story that I publish for them. It's called the Terrors and Tales newsletter. What happened is I would put out calls for submissions. And a place called Duotrope—I don't even know who these people are, but all of a sudden I got an email from them stating, “Hey, we found that you're looking for submissions, and we posted your link. We hope you don't mind.” I'm like, “No, of course I don't mind.” I got so many submissions from that one link. I'm like, “Okay.” Do I really want to deny people? I'm not like that. I want to help promote other authors. I know what it's like when you're new and upcoming, no matter what age you are, to say, “Hey, here's a platform for you to see your stuff in print.” Obviously, I read through them just to make sure they're up to a certain standard, but for the most part, if you submit, you're getting in there. With Duotrope, I'm like, I have enough here to put out one a month. So in May 2026, the first one goes out, and then I'll have one each month until December, and then who knows? In 2027 I might go back to quarterly. I might get enough submissions to just keep it going once a month. So that's the Terrors and Tales newsletter, and it usually comes out towards the end of the month—the last two weeks. I have nothing to do with it in terms of content. None of my stories are on there. None of my poems are on there. None of my flash fiction. It's all other authors, just for them to see their name in print, see their work in print, share it with their friends, and put something on their resume, and to encourage people to keep reading and keep the craft going. Jo: When you say in print, you don't mean in physical print? PD: Oh, I mean in the newsletter. I'm sorry. Jo: I think that's important, or you're going to get a lot more submissions, and you will need to do publishing contracts and all that kind of thing. I think that's the difficult thing with a Substack newsletter approach—it's difficult to know where to categorise it. Is it marketing? Is it publishing? It's all of these things, I suppose. A bit like this podcast, it's all kinds of things. In terms of Substack actually making money on its own or leading to book sales that make money, do you think it does serve that purpose? PD: I think I've gotten more book sales through it, and also ARC readers who are enjoying the books and giving reviews. As far as the paid tiers, that's kind of a little bit slow, and that's where I'm saying chip away at it. Keep it up there. Keep it going. Over time, you're going to build that type of audience where it's going to be like, “Hey, this is financially feasible for me to continue to do this.” That's the response that I'm getting out there. Jo: Yes. Before, you mentioned you were doing Facebook Lives and you're looking at TikTok, but— Is anything else working for you in book marketing? If people have a few books and they're like, “What is working for book marketing right now?”—what do you recommend? PD: Okay. For me, the thing that has made the most sense is making sure the reader knows the book is out there through some sort of social media. I've had really good success on TikTok since the beginning of this year especially. I started it about a year ago, year and a half ago, but then my father got sick and passed away, and it was a new venture and I put it off to the side. I really got the flavour going at the beginning of this year. February, March of this year. It seems to be going really well, and I've noticed an uptick in sales from just getting the videos out there and getting it in front of people's eyes. There's an event I'm going to in August called ShiverCon, which is a pretty big event. After that event, I'm going to look to see what type of inventory I have left over from the event, and I'm going to start doing TikTok Lives. I'm very comfortable being on camera. So I'm like, “Yeah, that seems like a good way to go.” I know there's a few other horror authors who are doing it and having good success with TikTok Lives as well. A guy named Jason Davis is doing really well with TikTok Lives, and a few other authors too. I'm like, “Yes, I could definitely do that.” I want to get up to a certain number of people, and I want these events. I'm going to one in July, and then ShiverCon in August. Once those are done, I'm going to have more time to do the TikTok Lives. As far as Facebook is concerned, what I've had really great success with on Facebook is being in the groups and meeting other authors. That's not always about my book per se, but whatever books I'm reading, I'm posting my reviews about those books in those groups and meeting readers. Then obviously, they always say the three-to-one rule. Post about three different books and then post about your own book, whether you're doing a sale or a new release or a re-release or whatever. I've found success through that just by interacting with readers. When they post a book, I'll comment, “Hey, I've read that book,” or, “Hey, that book looks really cool. I like the review.” Commenting on it so you start these relationships with people who are out there in these Facebook groups. I've recently started my own Facebook reader group. I kind of go with the same thing. Last night, we did a live reading for another author. I like other authors to be on there. I always like to think, what does the reader need? What do I want to see as a reader? I would love to hear live readings from authors. So I kind of learn about them, learn about the book, and get a live reading. To me, that's a good way to go. So I started that recently, and it seems to be going well. I've got a new folk horror coming out soon, and I put out a call for ARC readers and got a fantastic response from that. That kind of drives the sales anyway, because when you get those reviews, then people see it gives credibility to the book, and then other people see it, and then they're buying it too. So that comes from the groups. There's so many wheels to spin in this industry as an indie author when you're doing this, especially when you're doing 99% of it on your own. You've got to get out there. No one's going to know your book exists if you don't get out there and tell somebody about it. Jo: Brilliant. Well, tell us— Where can people find you and your books online? PD: All right. Perfect. So obviously I'm on Amazon like everyone. Most of my books are worldwide, so you'll find them in Barnes & Noble as well. And of course, if you want the signed copies or discount print books, I always lead people straight to my website, PDAlleva.com. Then, of course, if you go to my Substack, you'll get all the updates, and you'll get all the links to purchase or find out where they are on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and things like that too. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Paul. That was great. PD: Thank you very much for having me. It was great chatting with you. The post Writing Cross-Genre, Selling Direct, And Serialising On SubStack With P.D. Alleva first appeared on The Creative Penn.

I spent hours joining random TikTok Lives just to ask them one simple question: "Are you Mormon?" ...The results were absolute chaos.

Sofía Anastasia, mejor conocida como Odiosita, se sienta con nosotros para hablar sobre cómo internet cambió la manera en que crecimos y nos relacionamos con la cultura pop. Recordamos programas de la infancia, audios virales y la obsesión de esta generación con influencers y artistas. También conversamos sobre perder el acento viviendo en Estados Unidos, el mundo de los TikTok Lives, contenido orgánico, fiestas de cumpleaños que parecen eventos y por qué hoy la gente puede ser fanática de alguien que nunca ha conocido en persona. Además hablamos de Danny Ocean, Álvaro Díaz y lo raro que se ha vuelto crecer online.

Are you using flashcards to learn English… but still struggling to remember words or speak confidently?In this episode, I break down how to use flashcards the RIGHT way so you can actually improve your English pronunciation, memory, and speaking skills.Most English learners focus on memorizing vocabulary—but that's not enough. Real progress comes from repetition, speaking out loud, and using English in context.If you've seen my videos or joined my TikTok Lives, you know I use flashcards in a completely different way—through interactive practice and word games that make learning more effective (and more fun).In this episode, you'll learn:✔️ Why most learners forget English vocabulary✔️ How to practice pronunciation with flashcards✔️ The power of repetition (and how to do it correctly)✔️ How to turn flashcards into simple word games✔️ How to actually start using English in real lifeIf you're an ESL learner who wants to speak English more confidently, this episode will change how you study.

At long last, a TikTok deal. Officials urge lawmakers to keep an eye on the quantum ball. Fortinet confirms active exploitation of a critical authentication bypass flaw. Ireland plans to authorize spyware for law enforcement. Okta warns customers of sophisticated vishing kits. Under Armour investigates data breach claims. CISA adds a Zimbra Collaboration Suite flaw to the known exploited vulnerabilities list. Poor OpSec enables recovery of data stolen by the INC ransomware gang. The DOJ deports a pair of Venezuelans convicted of ATM jackpotting. Our guest is Chris Nyhuis, Founder and CEO of Vigilant, sharing practical steps to protect money, identity, and devices.  Curl pulls the plug on bug bounties after drowning in AI slop. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Today we are joined by Chris Nyhuis, Founder and CEO of Vigilant, sharing "practical steps consumers can take in 2026 to protect their money, identity, and devices." Selected Reading TikTok Strikes Deal to Create New U.S. Entity and Loosen App's Ties to China (New York Times) US Officials Urge Congress to Reauthorize Key Quantum Law (BankInfo Security) Fortinet confirms critical FortiCloud auth bypass not fully patched (Bleeping Computer) Ireland plans law allowing law enforcement to use spyware (The Record) Okta SSO accounts targeted in vishing-based data theft attacks (Bleeping Computer) Under Armour Investigates Data Breach (Infosecurity Magazine) Organizations Warned of Exploited Zimbra Collaboration Vulnerability  (SecurityWeek) INC ransomware opsec fail allowed data recovery for 12 US orgs (Bleeping Computer) 2 Venezuelans Convicted in US for Using Malware to Hack ATMs (SecurityWeek) Curl ending bug bounty program after flood of AI slop reports (Bleeping Computer) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry's most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance has struck a deal with US and global investors to keep the app operating in America. But who really comes out on top?Could Japan's interest rate hike offer relief to struggling households?Shipping giant Maersk has sent its first vessel through the Red Sea in two years. And how could a new EU finance deal strengthen Ukraine's defence against Russia?Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Niamh Mc Dermott Editor: Justin Bones

CLASS SLIDES HERE IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE EXAMPLES I MENTION YOU MIGHT WANT TO WATCH THE CLASS INSTEAD! Join here 100% FREE The Rebel AcademyIf you're selling products and not going live — you're leaving money and magic on the table.In this class, I show you how to turn Instagram or TikTok Lives into your own mini shopping show — real, raw, and wildly effective.You'll learn how to build instant trust, create emotional connection, and sell right there on camera (yes, orders rolling in live).Forget perfection — people want you, not polish.I'll show you exactly how to start, what to say, and how one woman in Lisbon turned her tiny shop into a live-stream sales magnet.⚡️JOIN MY FREE REBEL ACADEMY 80+ FREE COURSES https://www.alexhouseofsocial.com/freerebelacademy

Stop Choosing the Wrong People! Compatibility Secrets from Therapist Jena Jakehttps://www.jenajake.com/What if you could build your perfect partner—literally?

The President announced yesterday that a TikTok deal has been reached! There will be a US version of TikTok. The downside to this new is that US users won't get the reach and following from global users.

In this episode, we explore how brands can win with user-generated content, AI tools, and TikTok Live to cut costs and boost sales. Ian Sells, founder of Join Brands, shares why most creators don't drive results, how AI helps pick the right ones, and what makes content engaging. He also explains how brands can launch UGC campaigns fast, protect against fake influencers, and scale with authentic creator content.Topics discussed in this episode:  Why most brands struggle with creators and why only 10% drive 90% of sales.How AI helps brands pick the right creators and generate viral hooks.What makes a strong hook and why engagement beats scripted videos.Why TikTok Live is becoming a must-have sales channel for brands.How to match the right creators to the right platform for real results.What the Join Brands process looks like for launching UGC campaigns fast.Why UGC is powerful for Amazon sellers and how to repurpose it across channels.How creator vetting and certification protect brands from fake influencers.What kind of ROI brands can expect — including 700 videos driving 20M impressions.Why authentic creator content builds trust and outperforms AI-generated videos.Links & Resources Website: https://joinbrands.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iansells/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinbrandsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinbrandsnow/Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes athttps://tinyurl.com/ytkyt5jkSupport the showMORE RESOURCES Get Free Updates: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/ Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts Partner with us - https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/podcast-sponsorship/ Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don't miss out!

Third-generation dealer Paul “PS3” Sansone III joins the Blue-Collar Twins to share how Sansone Jr's Auto Group balances 67 years of family tradition with social-media hustle, deep-subprime financing, and a brand-new Keyport Kia store. From rent-to-own experiments that became New Jersey Auto Lending to “Motivational Mondays” that fire up 25 salespeople, Paul explains the systems—and the mindset—that keep customers, staff, and community in his corner. Buzz EP 206 Paul Sanson… You'll hear: Subprime Mastery – why PS3 built an in-house “lease-here, pay-here” bank that boosts FICO scores by 140 pts on average.EZ Referral & TikTok Lives – turning marathon streams and a debit-card referral app into steady showroom traffic.Rent-to-Own Origins – the 2008 light-bulb moment that reshaped the family's finance model.Keyport Kia Dream – taking an 11-year college project from paper to grand-opening on June 9th.Motivational Mondays – money-green pants, weekly goal-setting, and the “trust the process” mantra.Giving Back – 400-meal Basket Brigade, Hope-for-a-Ride car giveaways, and why single moms stay top of mind.Next-Gen Vision – ten rooftops, nationwide DMS software, and keeping the Sansone name alive for 100 years. From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore www.potomaccompany.com https://bluecollartwins.com Produced by: www.verbell.ltd Timestamps (podcast.co-ready) 00:00 – Cold-open: beach-club memories and the “hot lifeguard” origin story 00:50 – Lifelong car passion & selling hot dogs at the dealership as a kid 03:35 – Sansone family tree: 67 years, three generations, five rooftops 05:55 – Breaking the “snaky car-sales” stereotype with relationship selling 07:00 – Daily training: every up is a coaching moment 08:35 – Presidents-Award Kia store & handing the desk to a new GM 11:00 – Rent-to-Own concept after the 2008 crash 12:45 – Birth of New Jersey Auto Lending: turning renters into owners 14:40 – Hope-for-a-Ride car giveaways to single moms 16:55 – Inside the lease-here, pay-here model and 75 % repeat business 19:10 – Building the Keyport Kia project first dreamed up in college 22:30 – Dealer-Controlled Solutions: exporting their DMS & finance playbook 25:20 – COVID's inventory roller-coaster—down to four cars on the lot 29:20 – Basket Brigade: 400 Thanksgiving meals in Neptune 30:35 – Motivational Monday videos & money-green-pants culture 33:00 – Social media plans with a full-time content team 35:25 – AI's future role in lead follow-up and CRM speed 38:00 – Family dynamics: clear lanes for dad, brother Michael, and cousin Steven 41:00 – Driving the 2025 Kia Telluride vs. a Range Rover—value breakdown 43:40 – Keyport Kia soft opening June 9 and summer car-giveaway promo 47:00 – Final advice: love your employees, community, and customers—success follows 50:00 – Outro and Masterclass CTA

Plus, the Magnificent Seven continue their stock-market slide. And fintechs put their IPO roadshows on hold. Victoria Craig hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I explore whether social media can actually increase productivity, sharing surprising results from a challenge my wife gave me to do TikTok Lives while working. This counterintuitive approach completely transformed my perspective on how social platforms can benefit my business.• My struggle with social media as both necessary for business and a massive distraction• How dopamine addiction creates a cycle of unproductivity and guilt• My wife's challenge to use TikTok Lives while working on hats• The unexpected result: seven straight hours of productive work while building relationships• Discovering that relationship-building online mirrors in-person sales success• The difference between quick dopamine hits versus sustained satisfaction from meaningful connections• How this approach could potentially solve my work-life balance challenges• Building a loyal, positive community across the country through authentic interactionFind me on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube at Loud_Proud_American to connect and watch future lives. I truly thank you for supporting my American dream.If you found value in today's show please return the favor and leave a positive review and share it with someone important to you! https://www.sharethestrugglepodcast.com/reviews/new/Find all you need to know about the show https://www.sharethestrugglepodcast.com/Official Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077724159859Join the 2% of Americans that Buy American and support American Together we can bring back American Manufacturing https://www.loudproudamerican.shop/Loud Proud American Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoudproudamericanLoud Proud American Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loud_proud_american/Loud Proud American TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@loud_proud_americanLoud Proud American YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmYQtOt6KVURuySWYQ2GWtwThank you for Supporting My American Dream!

The Next Jeffree Star: Creator T, also known as Tyler, Reveals the Truth About Society. He began hosting TikTok LIVEs, and it transformed his life. Unlocking Humanity with Host John Edmonds Kozma Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DJ Lovet (@Lovet0124) discovers a new career, mental health clarity, and community through TikTok. She grew up in Memphis, TN, and left home at 13. The trauma she faced as a child led to numerous health problems, and she was diagnosed with MS at 35 years old. She explains how TikTok LIVEs have positively impacted her life. Unlocking Humanity with Host John Edmonds Kozma Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The best brands aren't just broadcasting. They're building with their audiences. Welcome to a special Advocacy 101 episode, where we remix four expert insights on what's next into one tactical guide.  Jo Bird (Creative Consultant | ex-Lounge, ex-Gymshark), Holly Chapman (Head of Brand @ Papier), Victoria Blinova (Senior Strategic Partner Manager @ YouTube), and Lia Haberman (Creator Economy Expert) break down the key shifts shaping content, creators & the social media landscape in 2025. Tune it to learn why you should:  Co-Create at Scale: Broadcast channels, TikTok Lives, and real-time audience input are more than engagement tools – they're shaping the future of brand strategy. Hear how REFY, Gymshark, and Papier are turning everyday consumers into collaborators from Jo & Holly. Balance Short-Form & Long-Form for Maximum Impact: Short form grabs attention, but long form builds deep relationships. Victoria & Holly know the smartest brands are mixing viral moments with docu-series, podcasts, and Substack sponsorships to create lasting impact. Leverage Live Commerce & Personal Branding: Founders aren't just behind the scenes anymore. Ben Francis (Gymshark), Aimee Smale (Odd Muse), and Ben Gallaga (Luxe Collective) prove that when brand leaders step in front of the camera, conversions skyrocket – as told by Jo. Let Go, But With a Process: Handing over creative control to influencers sounds scary, but structured workflows make it seamless. Learn how the best brands are balancing creative freedom with clear KPIs and approval processes via Victoria. Prepare For The Rise of Alternative Content: Carousels aren't just photo dumps anymore. Swipe-left storytelling, Pinterest collages, and mid-form content are on the rise. Find out how to use them to stand out, from Lia. Listen in. Take notes. Evolve your strategy.  Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy: Apple Podcasts Spotify Connect with Jo, Holly, Victoria & Lia: On Jo's LinkedIn On Holly's LinkedIn  On Victoria's LinkedIn  On Lia's LinkedIn  Catch their full episodes:  Jo on Brand Storytelling Holly on Papier's Brand Strategy Victoria on Cracking The Video Code Lia on How To Win On Social in 2025

On January 18th, 2025 at 10:30pm EST Tiktok was executed by the state before the very eyes of it's users. As they sat in their malaise and depression, opening an app that didn't work over and over again through sheer muscle memory, the users mourned. But then at 12:30pm on January 19th, 2025 a miracle happened! Tiktok returned to us all across america! While the FYP was back, with Tiktok Lives and the tiktok shop and so many hottakes, something was different. Something had changed. On this week's episode, Pearlmania500 and Mrs. Pearlmania discuss the Tiktok ban, social media apps that have passed on before (MYSPACE), as well as the dead internet theory and how it's basically just a fact now. To become a Team leader: Join our patreon (not a cult): https://pearlmania500.net The Pearlmans have a NEW Post Office Box: P.O. Box 72151, Thorndale, PA 19372. Follow us on Instagram:  Mr. P: https://www.instagram.com/pearlmania500/  Mrs. P: https://www.instagram.com/mrs.pearlmania500/  Our theme song and all of the music for our show comes from our friend's project called "His Name Was Dusk." Check out his website for more info at: http://hisnamewasdusk.com #podcast #history #married #conversations #haha #comedy #comedypodcast #tiktok #instagram #standupcomedy #standup #cooking #scammers #grifters #booktok #library #leftist #breadtube #hasan #hasanabi #rupaul #

Alright, I'll sum up everything that happened this weekend with TikTik, but also get to all of the changes the new Trump administration has made, which is relating to tech, in just the past 24 hours. How folks are trying to eat TikTok's lunch. Should Apple buy Sonos? And the IMDB loses its founder after 25 years.Sponsors:IQBar text TECHMEME to 640001Password.com/rideLinks:Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days (The Verge)Trump signs executive order to halt TikTok ban, risking legal showdown (Washington Post)President Trump signs exec order to make Musk's DOGE commission more official (TechCrunch)Meta announces a new CapCut rival called Edits (TechCrunch)Bluesky adds TikTok mode while Elon mulls reviving Vine in the latest banning drama (Windows Central)Apple Is Unlikely to Buy Sonos, But Amazon or Spotify Might Consider It (Bloomberg)IMDb Founder Col Needham Steps Aside as CEO, COO Nikki Santoro Promoted to Chief Exec (Variety)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The world is healing and Gary is happy.

now the bs can resume and the tiktok renegades are safe. Today DJT resumes his seat in the oval office and now we gonna enjoy living again. Lawnmower man is paying more attention to me these days ..hmmm

KC Johns music is infectious and with dynamic powerhouse pipes that take you on a whiskey-soaked jaunt to your favorite honky-tonk in the best way possible. Think Miranda Lambert meets Sheryl Crow with a touch of Brandi Carlisle, and you've got an artist with a voice all her own, with songs that make you feel like you've known her forever. Take “Mama didn't raise no big city pretty girl…” for example. Those are the first words sung by rising Country star KC Johns on her 2024 viral single “Rodeo Queen.” It's an upbeat rocker, awash with country steel roaring guitars. It's clear that this is more than just a song. It's a true story written from the heart. KC's mom was a champion barrel racer and her stepdad was a bull rider. They fell in love, and a true love story was born. KC always admired their story. Rodeo Queen is a tribute to their story. Born in Memphis, Tennessee and raised in Hernando, Mississippi, a small town along the Tennessee-Mississippi line, KC was surrounded by music for as long as she can remember. Named after KC and the Sunshine Band and raised on the greats like Led Zeppelin, Stevie Nicks, and Sheryl Crow. Like many successful singers, KC started singing at church, but frequent family rodeo excursions made keeping regular attendance difficult. “My mom is a championship barrel racer and my stepdad was a bull rider,” So, by 17, with her acoustic guitar, KC and her mom headed to Nashville to make her dreams of becoming a recording artist a reality. “I just took my guitar and started hitting all the clubs on Broadway asking people if I could sing on stage,” KC adds. One thing led to another, and ultimately she landed an offer to work on Carnival Cruise Lines as a cruise ship performer. “It was supposed to just be a six-month contract but ended up lasting seven years cruising around the world singing for international audiences.'” she says. Having discovered and honed her stage legs young, KC was featured in Dolly Parton's “Coat of Many Then the pandemic began. KC, along with her fellow songwriters and musician friends utilized social media to grow a new audience. They performed live online and galvanizing new fan bases across the globe. They started playing cover songs and soon integrated some of their own material. “With that whole 2020 year, I just started doing TikTok Lives, Facebook Lives, and started meeting people on the internet,” she recalls. “And they were like, ‘Man, we'd love for you to come and do a private party. Then all of a sudden, we're doing shows in Norway.'” As the world opened back up, KC continued traveling to perform at various venues and festivals. Songs like “Whiskey Break” and later “Confused” fueled the shape of things to come. She released her digital debut album Thunder in 2022 and released her own whiskey line of the same name a year later. By 2024, it was game on. “Rodeo Queen” kissed the airwaves, reaching more than 300,000 streams on Spotify alone. “Rodeo Queen” has gained significant traction reaching #28 on Texas Country radio and being recognized as one of the Top 10 songs by the Texas Country Music Association. KC has recently performed at major events like Texas Motor Speedway, Big As Texas Festival, Idaho's HWY 30 Music Fest and the Grand View Music Festival in Oklahoma. “Texas Country is so much fun,” she says. “It's very genuine, and I felt like ‘Rodeo Queen' captured my story and the passion of so many other country music fans.” As KC gears up for 2025, new songs and performances will follow. KC Johns is a unique musical force, and as she enters the next phase of her career, her mission remains clear. “I honestly just want to continue going out and meeting wonderful people,” she humbly advises. “I love relating to people through my music.” #kcjohns #musician #songwriter #country #chrispomay #livewithcdp #barrycullenchevrolet #wellingtonbrewery https://kcjohns.rocks/ https://beacons.ai/chrisdpomay https://www.cameo.com/chrispomay

In this week's episode, our host shares that due to the holidays and traveling, new episodes will still be released each week despite a break. The episode features an in-depth conversation with TTI Mom as she discusses her experiences with the Troubled Teen Industry (TTI) and her son's traumatic encounter at a program. The heartfelt dialogue covers various aspects of healing, recognizing trauma, and the necessity for support systems. Special mentions include ongoing efforts to shut down harmful programs and individual stories of resilience. The episode emphasizes the importance of recognizing and processing trauma for both personal healing and better parenting. An additional segment includes a fun, reflective conversation on 'adulting,' touching upon childhood expectations versus adult reality, inner child activities, and the complexities of responsibility. Join the discussion and follow our TikTok for more live conversations.#tti #troubledteenindustry #tiktokSupport the show

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit cocomocoe.substack.comBecome a member of the best-selling Substack to unlock the extended version of every episode: cocomocoe.substack.comI went to the TikTok Creativity Summit last week and left disappointed. As someone who championed the platform since you could only upload 15-second videos in 2019, I have seen it's meteoric rise. I loved that TikTok was a disruptor and completely changed the way platforms source content and made it easy for anyone to become a creator.But the magic of TikTok's discoverability became it's achilles heel, as well. The FYP does not prioritize showing users content from their favorite creators. But rather places emphasis on showing hundreds of new creators to users, every day. While this is great for initial exposure, it means that over time the platform's creators are abandoning the platform because they know it is not meant for longevity.In today's episode of “Ahead of the Curve with Coco Mocoe” podcast, I am going to be diving into my thoughts on the grim future of TikTok. Is it even worth it to try and be a TikToker anymore? With a looming TikTok ban and an algorithm that prioritizes off-putting TikTok Lives & concerning TikTok Shop items, has TikTok lost the plot? I wrote more about this in Friday's trend report on Substack, which you can read here.TOPICS DISCUSSED:0:00 - Introduction8:43 - Substack Chat Responses to “Is TikTok Dying?”12:00 - Where did TikTok's algorithm go wrong? 15:15 - Creators are frustrated with TikTok 16:53 - Brittany Brooks's Rise and Separation from TikTok 18:30 - How the potential bans are affecting TikTok 20:12 - “TikTok became boring to me” 23:36 - TikTok's fatal flaw: Short form videos24:27 - Why big creators are no longer reliant on TikTok 29:15 - How TikTok can course correct 33:33 - What other platforms should you prioritize as a creator or brand in 202534:30 - The 5-Year Cycle in Marketing 40:00 - What new platform might “replace” TikTok 42:49 -  The three features you should use to grow on TikTok in 2025 50:31 - How to make content that is bigger than any platform or trend Become a paying member of the best-selling Substack to unlock the extended episodes of the podcast: cocomocoe.substack.comREFERENCE LINKS:* Join my best-selling Susbtack to unlock the extended episodes: cocomocoe.substack.com * My Amazon Storefront for Creators: https://amzn.to/3ltAuqs * “The death of the follower” SXSW Talk: * “This is your sign to start a podcast” episode: https://cocomocoe.substack.com/p/this-is-your-sign-to-start-that-podcast --“Ahead of the Curve with Coco Mocoe” is a marketing podcast that covers internet and pop culture but from a branding angle. Coco Mocoe is a trend forecaster and marketing expert who loves diving deep into why things go viral on the internet and how you can apply that to your own brand or creator journey.Thank you for reviewing the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!Follow Coco Mocoe on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube!* IG: @cocomocoe* TT: @cocomocoe* YT: coco mocoeEmail: cocomocoe@gmail.com

Brand builders, take a peak into our crystal ball.  There's you, your entire marketing team, and a whole lot of TikTok Lives. Social Commerce is growing fast, and it's clear that brands leveraging it early are reaping the rewards.  That's why industry leader, Ben Gallaga, has decided to break his silence – sharing how he's built an iconic brand by going all-in on TikTok Shop, so you can too. Live from the Social Commerce Summit: Autumn Edition, Ben (Founder @ Luxe Collective) sat down with Paul for a conversation equal parts business smarts & real talk. Knowing this space better than most, Ben is fast carving a space for pre-love luxury on TikTok – having turned the channel into 34% of the brand's revenue since launching in July.  By staying adaptable, authentic, and relentless on socials, Luxe Collective has built a loyal following of passionate brand fans & Advocates. Even setbacks – like over-hiring, a break-in & investing in content that didn't work – have been used to take massive steps forward with community connection.  Now, Ben will share how to: Turn Every Live Session Into a “Must-Watch” Show: Ben reveals why TikTok Live sessions should be treated like episodic TV, with new content and offers on set days of the week. Learn his strategies for making each session feel unique, engaging, and worth tuning into, from exclusive product drops to flash sales and live Q&As. “Host the Party” on Social Media: When creating engaging content, think of your brand as the host who brings the latest news, trends, and industry happenings to the table. For Ben, this “hosting” strategy means discussing relevant topics & breaking news while subtly plugging the product — an easy way to establish authority, grow visibility, and consistently offer value to your community. Master the Art of “Irresistible Offers”: Ben explains the psychology behind crafting deals that feel too good to pass up, from limited-time discounts to exclusive bundles. His secret? Make the audience feel like they're getting an offer too good to miss out on. Generosity is key when it comes to building Advocacy, after all.  Here's how you scale on TikTok Shop while staying grounded. Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy: Apple Podcasts Spotify Connect with Ben: On LinkedIn On Instagram  On Luxe Collective's TikTok

GOD BLESS AMERICA!! Hope this episode finds you well! Meredith Lynch is here to fill in for Tiffany, who is at Disneyland Paris with her man. Stories this week: the aggressive Wicked press rollout and merch, a bride who is getting married at Disney World for the sixth time, and the mask fetish role plays that have accumulated a big fan base from BookTok. On The Afters: Jimmy Fallon disrespects The Costco Guys and The Rizzler, Michael Cohen's TikTok Lives, and some Boston barre class drama. LINKS Follow Meredith! Biden  Joe Biden meets baby dressed as a turkey  Has Major been taking the fall?  The Disney Bride TheSerialBride explains her annual weddings at Disney World People Magazine coverage of The Serial Bride Wicked Insane PR “Can you tell me one thing about the other as a scene partner?” Fans react to Cynthia explaining her reaction to seeing an edited fan poster based on the original Playbill Elphaba roulette Cynthia and Ariana arrive at the world premiere in Australia Overstimulated Masked Men A new genre of fantasy is being played out on TikTok called overstimulated masked men “You're in a dark romance and just ran away from the masked character” Follow us on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter Find more of Molly's stuff Find more of Tiffany's stuff

What's better than Return On Investment when it comes to content & community building?  Return On ‘Involvement'.  It's the sweet spot where Advocacy lives, and the household-name brands know it.  Consider this your guide to getting stuck in – to growing personal, niche, and brand communities through the power of true, caring connection.  This week, welcome Author, TEDx Speaker, LinkedIn Top Voice & Creative Consultant, Jo Bird, to the podcast. Her years building iconic brand identities (ex-Lounge, ex-Gymshark) alongside her own make her expertly placed to advise you here, in conversation with Verity.  By now, it's a fact that the brands that win involve their audiences in their journey. The next frontier of engagement marketing will be co-creating with your community, to tell your brand story. Turn this episode on and up to learn how to… Relinquish Control to Creators – Cautiously: Collaborating with creators of all sizes is key to spreading digital word-of-mouth and Advocacy. Jo warns against blindly handing over control, though. Brands need to be mindful of their intention and ensure creators align with their brand's ‘friendship group', so to speak. Otherwise, you could quickly have the wrong person Advocating for you. The right creators can become invaluable Brand Advocates, but the relationship must be carefully curated. Not Just Follow Trends, But Set Them: Brands that excel don't just follow trends – they're creating them. Experimentation is key here, and taking inspiration from successful brands like Gymshark and Duolingo can help shape a unique strategy. In 2025, this will look like prioritizing co-creation, personal brands, TikTok Lives, and embracing content that fosters a conversational, involved community. Prioritize Advocating With Your Brand, Not For It: A brand must have a clear point of view, and share in it authentically with their community. Asking brand fans to Advocate for your brand, instead of with your brand, is a common mistake. Younger audiences expect brands to take a stance on issues, while allowing them to join in the movements made together. Advocacy is a long-term plan; the only one that ensures brand survival for the next 10-20 years, according to Jo herself. Listen. Learn. Take your brand strategy (personal or commercial) to the next level.  Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy: Apple Podcasts Spotify Connect with Jo: On LinkedIn On Instagram On her Website

Melody Rose plays Beverly in The Outsiders she is joining me on this week's episode! We chat all about her Broadway career and how it led to The Outsiders on Broadway. She has become so well-loved not only through her performance in The Outsiders but also by the popularity of her TikTok Lives and Soc Saturday! Melody is a Broadway fan just like you and she raves about her adoration for Hamilton and all things musical theatre. Enjoy the episode!Patreon: www.patreon.com/fromthemezzanineTikTok & Instagram: @fromthemezzanine_broadwayPatreon: Click HERE to become a Broadway Bestie TikTok: @FromTheMezzanine_PodcastInstagram: @FromTheMezzanine_PodcastYoutube: @FromtheMezzanineBroadwayBroadway Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5t55fULcCqN0NMmK4OnfOA?si=89c08b1a8bb34d95

Use 55DOWEKNOW to get 55% off your first month at Scentbird https://sbird.co/42d9vjZ https://linktr.ee/doweknowthem  In today's episode, the girlies finally discuss the allegations against Jojo Siwa and her mom from the former member of the girl group they started called XOMG Pop after being called out yet again by the same member who sparked the Rolling Stones article back in Feburary. Then things take a hard left as we dive into the latest trend taking over TikTok Lives.... "Personal" Shoppers? Except it's probably not what you think... 0:00 Intro 1:13 JoJo Called Out AGAIN 28:51 TikTok “Personal Shoppers”  54:09 We Love the Internet! We hope you enjoyed this episode! Please let us know on Twitter or Instagram if you have any topic suggestions for next Sunday! (@lily_marston & @jessismiles__) Business Inquiries: doweknowthempodcast@gmail.com

DM Jodie on IGIn this podcast episode, the host speaks with Vivian Johns, the founder of the Hairdressers Social Club in the UK, about the evolving landscape of social media for hairstylists, focusing on Instagram and TikTok. Vivian, who has 26 years of experience in the hairdressing industry, shares her journey from starting on Instagram in 2018 to leveraging TikTok for business growth. She discusses the shift from Instagram being a predominantly photo-sharing app to embracing video content through Reels and the importance of static images and carousel posts for engaging existing followers. Vivian emphasizes the role of SEO on Instagram, highlighting how every word on the platform is now searchable, suggesting a move towards optimizing content for discoverability. They also explore the difference in content creation strategies between Instagram and TikTok, noting that TikTok is excellent for reaching new audiences with more raw and engaging content, while Instagram serves as a more polished showcase of work and a learning library for clients. Vivian advises on the strategic use of hashtags, particularly location-based ones, to enhance visibility and attract local clientele on Instagram. The conversation touches on the underused feature of broadcast channels on Instagram and the potential of TikTok lives for salon visibility. Ultimately, Vivian underlines the importance of aligning social media strategies with business goals rather than strictly focusing on platform-specific tactics.00:00 Meet Vivian Johns: The Social Media Savvy Hairdresser01:50 The Evolution of Instagram for Hairstylists: From Photos to Reels09:15 Maximizing Instagram's Potential: Insights and Strategies for 202410:06 Exploring the Power of SEO and Hashtags on Instagram18:18 Broadcast Channels: The Underused Instagram Feature for Stylists22:05 Transitioning to TikTok: Is It Necessary for Stylists?23:22 Exploring TikTok's Potential for Hair Creators24:49 Success Stories: From Skepticism to Client Growth on TikTok26:17 Crafting Engaging Content for TikTok vs. Instagram27:37 The Power of TikTok Lives for Business Growth32:02 Optimizing TikTok Strategy for Salon Owners32:39 TikTok and Instagram: Complementary Platforms for Diverse Audiences40:12 Final Thoughts on TikTok's Value for Local Businesses

This week Kendahl and Sarah dive into all the nooks and crannies of TikTok Live - from sleep depravation livestreams to Jason Nash to that one rock lady (you know the one). TikTok Lives are magical and terrifying all at the same time, and we just can't stop watching them... or sending Galaxy gifts. Follow Sarah: @SarahSchauer Follow Kendahl: @KendahlLandreth To watch the podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzv3r6Vfp3pqrmOIc7m8tuA Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening, or by using this link: https://bit.ly/TheBCCClub If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/TheBCCClub Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rebecca Elie, who hails from Alabama and served in the Navy for five years, is a TikTok creator and licensed pilot. Recently, she became a member of the Bang Productions TikTok LIVE Creator Network Agency. TikTok has had a profound impact on her life, unexpectedly giving her a career that she always desired. She is now able to live the life she always wanted. Her specialty on TikTok is Battles, and she now helps Bang Productions cultivate the Battling creators in the Agency. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/unimpressedpodcast. https://plus.acast.com/s/unimpressedpodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the pod, Anthony and Nour are getting ready to get canceled, because they're finally discussing Wadih El Najjar's insane face and outfits. They're also tasting more Dr. Food products, discussing cursed Tiktok Lives and discovering a Tiktok bathroom review account. They're even trying out a new Italian Croissant trend and talking about Katrexa's new biscuits, and much, much more!

Abby Rosilier, the founder of Abby Rose Cases, shares her journey of starting a successful phone case business and growing her social media presence on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. She discusses the strategies she used to create viral TikTok videos, the importance of posting consistently, and the effectiveness of TikTok Live for boosting sales. Abby also talks about the challenges of editing long TikTok videos and the benefits of switching to a business TikTok account. She shares her plans for the future of her business and offers tips for small business owners and TikTok users. This episode is sponsored by CHARCHARMS 00:00 Introduction and Recording Instructions 01:20 Starting Abby Rose Cases and Getting into TikTok 03:53 Growing on Instagram and TikTok 06:13 Creating Viral TikTok Videos 08:36 Experimenting with Different Types of TikTok Content 11:44 Posting Frequency and Repurposing Content 15:16 Utilizing TikTok Live for Sales 18:10 Using Games and Interactive Elements in TikTok Lives 20:37 Growth Tools: Viral Content, TikTok Lives, and Followers 22:25 Editing Long TikTok Videos 23:46 Switching to a Business TikTok Account 25:22 The Role of TikTok Shop in Sales 26:41 Expanding the Business and Future Plans 30:42 Tips for Small Business Owners and TikTok Users

Em and Mo revisit their discussion on "The Great Migration" of black women: Happy New Year! Em ad Mo saw a TikTok by @crystalluster informing the world that Chili (of TLC) and Matthew Lawrence are an item.  She posed the question:  Is there a great migration of Black women dating White Men? Listen in as Em and Mo answer that question, go on a tangent about blow up dolls, and catch up as they enter 2023!  As always, catch us live Tuesday nights on Instagram 5:30PST | 8:30EST.  Stay tuned for TikTok Lives and YouTube special events by following all our socials! #tgsts --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tgsts/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tgsts/support

https://linktr.ee/doweknowthem In today's episode, the girlies celebrate THE FIRST EPISODE OF DECEMBER!!! But after some brief holiday joy, they then have to try not to lose their minds because... remember Janet? Lauren the Mortician's Lawyer.... yeah, well it turns out Janet (aka Jeanette Braun) has quite a few more clients in the creator space it's becoming clear that this rabbit hole may actually be a black hole. Apologies in advance because it is a bit confusing BUT one thing we know for sure - is that Janet really loves her cease and desists! But don't worry, Janet doesn't get to claim this entire episode like she claims everyone's content (lol) because the girlies also discuss the current whereabouts of the seemingly now defunct Vlog Squad. From podcasts, to snapchat, to TIkTok Lives... let's just say they aren't exactly where they were a few years ago. HUGE SHOUTOUT TO THE LOVELY BEKAH DAY FOR PROVIDING US WITH THE STUFF WE NEEDED TO NAVIGATE THRU JANET'S BS! For more information and detailed up to date coverage on all of the claims that Janet's been doling out to people like she's passing out candy on Halloween, go check out Bekah's tiktok! http://www.tiktok.com/@bekahdayyy If you want to know more about Paige's current Janet issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAhaE738G84 We hope you enjoyed this episode! Please let us know on Twitter or Instagram if you have any topic suggestions for next Sunday! (@lily_marston & @jessismiles__) 0:00 Intro/Rambling 5:09 Topics Intro 7:38 Gerard Cosmetics and Petty Paige 21:58 Janet The Lawyer Update 54:20 Lauren The Mortician Uploads TikTok 1:10:59 Vlog Squad - Where Are They Now? 1:14:40 Jason Nash Cringey TikTok Battles Business Inquiries: doweknowthempodcast@gmail.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

This Podcast is brought to you by our Sponsor: DUBBY: https://www.dubby.gg/?ref=B7wHign54gmO Promo Code: dadsworld Save 10% off Every Order In this weeks episode we talk about TikTok Lives, Trick or Treat & so much more! Interested in some merch?? Check out our merch page here: dadsvstheworld-shop.fourthwall.com Please Like/Sub/Follow us on Twitter, Twitch, IG, Tiktok, Facebook, Spotify & Google/Apple Podcast! Need some advice on something? Submit your videos, audio or text emails to dadsvstheworldpodcast@gmail.com

Jamie-Lee Watts is the Co-Founder of JamieLeeCosmetics, an eCommerce beauty brand that leverages the influence of social media to grow her business. She has taken the TikTok world by storm, using live sessions to not only showcase her passion for cosmetics but also to sell a significant amount of products.  In this episode, Jamie-Lee dives deep into her journey of launching a brand on TikTok and the process of running a live show every day. Plus, she shares some invaluable tips for implementing the TikTok shop into your own brand. From personal anecdotes to the power of authenticity, this episode is filled with inspiration and practical advice for all eCommerce creators. So, if you are interested in making TikTok a profitable channel for you, sit back, relax and listen to this podcast episode. 

For the first time we finally get to talk to a cousin in Kenya when TeaRon (IG: @tearonworld, TT: @tearon__) chats with viral TikToker and aspiring actor, Shadrack "Chesoni" Ochieng (IG:@actor_chesoni, TT: @chessonibaby). Chesoni let's us get to know him beyond the short form content and interactive TikTok Lives as he shares stories of his childhood, the hardships that lead him to where he is today, and how he still manages to dream big while helping those close to him do the same. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––About UBIQUITOUS BLACKS Podcast:Ubiquitous Blacks is an internationally focused podcast that explores similarities and differences of the Black/African diaspora experiences around the world. The goal is to shed light on the differences and similarities between us all, while learning to celebrate those very things.World News, Politics, Pop Culture and More are discussed by host TeaRon and an array of awesome guests.––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Follow our guest:ChesoniInstagram - www.instagram.com/actor_chesoniTikTok - www.tiktok.com/@chessonibabyYouTube - www.youtube.com/@CHESONIMEDIAFollow Ubiquitous Blacks on Social Media: IG - instagram.com/ubiquitousblacks/ , Facebook - facebook.com/UbiquitousBlacks

Ready to transform crisis into opportunity? In this episode, we promise to arm you with practical strategies and cutting-edge tools to navigate the choppy waters of crisis management in contact centers. We use our insights and experiences to illuminate the potential of modern Customer Experience tools to mitigate such crises. With our guidance, you'll learn about setting up minimalistic self-service websites, deploying AI chatbots to deliver vital information, and strategizing to handle customer complaints effectively. We don't stop there! Harnessing social media during crisis communications can significantly make a difference. Listen as we unfold various social media strategies, right from TikTok Lives, Q&A sessions, to effective email campaigns. We also delve into the mechanics of adjusting IVR systems, routing calls to BPOs, and utilizing analytics. We shine light on the importance of maintaining consistent messaging for an enhanced customer experience. By the end, you'll be equipped with the knowledge to not just survive a crisis, but to leverage it for growth. So sit back, and let's change the game of crisis management together!We're gearing up to launch OttoQA, the game-changing QA automation tailored for smaller contact centers. But here's the twist — we want you in our inner circle before anyone else. Sign up at ottoqa.com with your email, and you'll dive deep into our exclusive Discord, join insightful industry AMAs, and be first in line for beta testing when Otto rolls out. Be part of our pre-launch excitement and help shape the next big thing in QA!Follow Tom: @tlaird_expiviaJoin our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeekConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geekLinkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

We are all busy people but if you are looking for an untapped way to make sales and you haven't tried TikTok Shop Lives yet you have only yourself to blame. Lives are also great to connect with a new audience and grow your following if selling on TikTok isn't your goal. In this episode we talk about how we use TikTok Lives as well as fun ways we have seen other businesses use it. Let's Do It!Support the show

Just when you thought the internet couldn't possibly become more like an episode of Black Mirror, Ben is here to introduce you to some chilling TikTok Live money making schemes. Creators are becoming more and more like NPCs and TikTok's payouts are becoming more and more dystopian. Tune in to find out what Ben thinks about the future of monetizing content creation! The Fits Everybody collection and more perfect-fit essentials are available now at https://SKIMS.com. Plus, get free shipping on orders over seventy five dollars! After you place your order, be sure to let them know I sent you! Select "podcast" in the survey and be sure to select Drama Mama in the dropdown menu that follows. Watch the podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/DramaMamaYouTube Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/DramaMamaBENOFTHEWEEK If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be helpful! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/DramaMamaBENOFTHEWEEK Follow Ben on YouTube Follow Ben on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

90 Day Fiancé, Claim to Fame, Vanderpump nominated for Emmy, Melissa's Unisom addiction, Kardashians, Mission Impossible rules, unapologetically loving Tom Cruise, penis enlargement death, guy who posted the viral white/gold dress accused of murder, Long Island serial killer arrested, new cruise ship 5 times the size of Titanic, SAG strike, confusing TikTok Lives, Carlee Russel update, babies thrown at you scam in Italy. Webcrawlerspod@gmail.com626-634-2069Twitter / Instagram / Patreon / MerchSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/webcrawlers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The NBA Draft Lottery is only a week away! The draft is one of our favorite things to follow in the NBA, so today we brought you our tier list for the upcoming draft class. We have our list split into 4 tiers: Franchise Changer, Team Changer, Impactful Players, and Role Players. For each player, we give a little breakdown of their skillset, as well as some potential best fits. We will be back with playoff talk very soon (Possibly Tomorrow) and we will continue to put out more draft content as we get closer to draft night. If you guys are interested in draft content, make sure to join our Tiktok Lives to discuss our Big Board. Enjoy! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thedoubledoublepod/support

Während Post Malone Apache 207 auf die Bühne holt, holen sich eure Lieblingsbrudis wieder einander in die Leitung! Bei Tobias und Stefan geht es diese Woche um Filmen auf Konzerten, Marteria und die Freiwillige Feuerwehr. Außerdem spricht Stefan über seine verschnittene Frisur, Kröteneier im Keller und TikTok LIVEs. Außerdem erwarten euch drei für zwei von Tobias und zum Abschluss diskutieren die beiden noch über den Spruch: Fünf gerade sein zu lassen.

THE FULL MOON IN VIRGO MANIFESTATION READINGS PARTY - Tarot Readings for all Signs and Romance Readings for ALL SIGNS! This was truly A PARTY! We start out MANIFESTING OUR HIGHEST BELIEF IN OURSELVES, then there are TAROT READINGS for ALL SIGNS! I also do ROMANCE READINGS for ALL SIGNS! Plus there is an extensive Question and Answer period which was AWESOME!!! My Psychic abilities were exactly on point. This was recorded during THE WITCHING HOUR during the actual moment of THE VIRGO FULL MOON!!! The FULL MOON formed a GRAND TRINE and a GRAND SEXTILE with my natal planets! The exuberance, singing, and partying that happened was definitely a result of those FEEL GOOD FEELINGS! The emotions were positive and very high! As a result this is MY HIGHEST VIEWED LIVE EVENT with over 4000 LIKES and VIEWERS! We did better than 96% of all other TikTok Lives that night! INSANE!!! I had SO MANY GIFTS! I received so many roses and 80 DIAMONDS!!!! It was truly an incredible experience. I felt tapped in to every single person I read that night!!!! Adrienne (CapricornTigress) Astrology A Look Inside Visit Our Shop Learn More About Astrology A Look Inside Order A Card Reading Become A Member YOUTUBE CHANNEL GREGARIOUS1.com klicktree.com/astrology astrology.mylinkstore.com TIKTOK INSTAGRAM --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adrienne-obey/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adrienne-obey/support

Hey guys, Happy 2023!!  Here we goooo!!  After a month off for Winter Break, I'm back to fill you in on all of life's happenings.  Enjoy and thank you all so much for the incredible love and support that I receive from you through my YouTube comments, IG comments and TikTok Lives. Jenn xoxox  My Links:  Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/jennifervaughan24 Website: https://www.jennifervaughan.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pozjenn Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/jenniferleighvaughan YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7nqJb8dp_5awmBRCKUrTcw Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vongirl Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/vongirl24

Happy New Year! Em ad Mo saw a TikTok by @crystalluster informing the world that Chili (of TLC) and Matthew Lawrence are an item. She posed the question: Is there a great migration of Black women dating White Men? Listen in as Em and Mo answer that question, go on a tangent about blow up dolls, and catch up as they enter 2023! As always, catch us live Tuesday nights on Instagram 5:30PST | 8:30EST. Stay tuned for TikTok Lives and YouTube special events by following all our socials! #tgsts --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twogirlsshootingthesh1t/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/twogirlsshootingthesh1t/support

With new listeners coming in every day, we wanted to highlight a couple of the most important episodes of 2022! This is an episode of Demand Gen Live, where Chris gives his top 6 pieces of advice for success in marketing. *** "Nobody is focused on creating demand. No metrics support demand creation. Everything is about being sales-centric and marketing supporting sales. And the truth is, the only way that you win big, is by going out there and creating demand..." - Chris Walker In this episode, Chris breaks down why companies don't focus on creating demand and instead put all their energy into capturing demand. After laying the groundwork for why companies don't do it, he breaks down why whoever creates the demand, wins. If you have questions for Chris, join his Tuesday afternoon TikTok Lives @chriswalker171, or submit them here! Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

As you probably heard, Paedon Brown did cancel the interview. I completely understand his choice and have offered a safe platform in the future when he is ready.I did promise some requested content in place of the interview. I am asked so many time in TikTok Lives why I even watch Sister Wives, so here I am to give you some insight!Since this is a new year - let's kick off Season 2!Support this Podcast to keep it going!Patreon - https://www.Patreon.com/LesbianSpeaking just $1.00 a month can go a long way!PayPal and Venmo - @lesbianspeakingLinktree - https://linktr.ee/LesbianSpeaking?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=315bb4ef-b886-44bd-965b-e04de3f81a35Rakuten - https://www.rakuten.com/r/LIISAA8?eeid=44749 Act quick for the $30 cash back bonus!Ibotta - https://ibotta.onelink.me/iUfE/1005cd3f?friend_code=otrmwioJust use my referral code 'otrmwio' at registration for your $10Email - li@lesbianspeaking.comWww.lesbianspeaking.comSupport the show

With new listeners coming in every day, we wanted to highlight a couple of the most important episodes of 2022! This is an episode of Demand Gen Live, where Chris gives his top 6 pieces of advice for success in marketing. *** There has never been a better time to be a top-tier marketer. Demand is high and supply is low. But how do you become one of the top 1%? In this episode, Chris goes through his top 6 pieces of advice for marketers that are trying to become the best. These are all tips that he implemented himself and attributes to his own success and the success of Refine Labs. If you have questions for Chris, join his Tuesday afternoon TikTok Lives @chriswalker171, or submit them here! Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

With new listeners coming in every day, we wanted to highlight a couple of the most important episodes of 2022! This is a private keynote Chris delivered in June, with key information on shifting your marketing strategy. *** Now is not the time to slow down your marketing. Many companies pull back spending and go into self-preservation mode in slow economic times. The fact of the matter is, that economic slowdowns create an environment of opportunity for companies that know how to leverage them. In this episode, Chris is going to talk about a 3-step framework to make marketing your secret weapon, not only in a recession but forever. He dives deep into how to create demand in your category by changing your Mindset, Metrics, and Execution; in that order. If you have questions for Chris, join his Tuesday afternoon TikTok Lives @chriswalker171, or submit them here! Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

As the year winds down, we're collected some of the best moments of Chris's past two months of TikTok Lives! Questions covered include: What are the perks of having a fully remote workforce? How do you make the most of scheduled 1 on 1s? Should sales and marketing teams transform into revenue teams? What's the best way to build community that adds value? How to establish a culture of posting on LinkedIn? And more! If you have questions for Chris, join his Tuesday afternoon TikTok Lives or submit them here! Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

As the year winds down, we're collected some of the best moments of Chris's podcast appearances over the last two months. Thanks to the hosts who have reached out to welcome Chris onto their shows, including Tom Hunt (Confessions of a B2B Marketer), Alex Krawchick and Mary Blanks (REVolution Podcast), Michael Pedersen (Dominate Your Market), Pablo Ruiz (Performance Media Podcast), and Asher & Kelly (Unlearn Podcast). Topics covered are: How the overall function of marketing is broken Addressing the hot take that the Revenue Process doesn't need R&D A new way to measure success and ROI The best way "David" can take down "Goliath" in 2023 What's the Beef with SEO? Some things getting in the way of alignment Looking beyond the idea of the Sales Funnel model Going in depth on Damming Demand If you have questions for Chris, join his Tuesday afternoon TikTok Lives or submit them here! Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

Chris sat down with Asher and Kelly of the Unlearn Podcast. Their mission is to challenge perspectives and create space to learn new versions of concepts, driving change. Chris questions companies' reluctance to innovate strategies while it's an offensive move, instead of when they're forced to in an economic crash. He also discusses the fundamental misunderstanding of Demand Gen, how to use Revenue R&D to evaluate the business in a holistic, standardized way, and more! If you have questions for Chris, join his Tuesday afternoon TikTok Lives or submit them here! Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

Chris was invited onto the Performance Media Podcast, hosted by Pablo Ruiz, to discuss the present and future of B2B marketing. He shares insights into Dark Social, damming demand, creating category, Revenue R&D, and more! If you have questions for Chris, join his Tuesday afternoon TikTok Lives or submit them here! Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

“When you find something that works, you need to make it work.” In an appearance on the Dominate Your Market Podcast with Michael Pedersen, Chris announces the decision for Refine Labs to leave the Demand Gen ecosystem and move to a Revenue R&D system. They also discuss ideal investments in marketing and advertising, how to address antiquated views on marketing, CEOs taking ownership of content and visibility, and more. If you have questions for Chris, join his Tuesday afternoon TikTok Lives or submit them here! Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

A little catch-up on how I've been doing. Spoiler alert: not great. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/saddestnightout/message

Viendo directos en TikTokNegocioCrecimientoOportunidadInstagram y su reacciónMercado chinoSuscripciones a 6€/mesClasificación semanal.Insignias que dará Instagram.Ejemplos:1. Escribiendo nombres bonitos2. Péndulo responde preguntas sí, no, quizás3. Jugando4. Reto de clicks. Gamificación. Clasificación5. Encuentra las 3 diferencias. Me recordaba programas tv de llamadas.Patrocinadores y recursos:Prueba gratis Audible y escucha audiolibros desde https://borjagiron.com/audible Prueba Canva Pro 45 días gratis para crear diseños fácilmente: https://borjagiron.com/canva Hostinger: Mejor hosting WordPress al mejor precio: https://borjagiron.com/hostinger Semrush: Herramienta SEO y Marketing Digital todo en uno: https://borjagiron.com/semrush Sendinblue: Herramienta de Email Marketing: https://borjagiron.com/sendinblue Benchmark Email: Herramienta de Email Marketing: https://borjagiron.com/benchmark Manychat: Automatiza mensajes en Instagram: https://borjagiron.com/manychat Spreaker: Crea tu podcast: https://borjagiron.com/spreakerCursos Marketing Digital Gratis: https://triunfacontublog.com Blog: https://borjagiron.com Newsletter Privada: https://borjagiron.com/newsletter

In an appearance on the Confessions of a B2B Marketer Podcast with Tom Hunt, Chris addresses some industry hot takes including: Dark social = word of mouth Lead gen is dead CEO's don't need to create content Revenue doesn't need R&D …and more! Chris also answers audience questions on going international, creating content posts that work for you, and more. If you have questions for Chris, join his Tuesday afternoon TikTok Lives or submit them here! Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

This week, Chris sat down to answer some big picture questions from a CEO perspective on the direction of the Revenue Vitals podcast, setting yourself and your business up for success, staying adaptable, and how to balance spending in a thoughtful way. If you have a question for Chris, you can join his TikTok Lives on Tuesdays, 2pm central, or submit your questions here! Questions include: - How to build routine to set yourself up for success - Why it's important to spend time on yourself as a leader rather than focusing on your competitors - How you find confidence in yourself and your own experiences - What problems Revenue Teams may face in 2023 - and more... Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

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Send us Fan MailLooking to build a solid online community? Then this episode is for you!You won't believe how these bird channels are building one of the biggest communities on TikTok right now!! How are they doing it? Using the TikTok group live feature!!Gizmo the Grey Bird, Cosmo the funny Parrot, and Qbert and Friends have been going live together along with many other bird accounts and through their efforts are starting to build a massive community. This community is having a positive experience not only for the many birds who join and watch, but is effecting the hundreds of thousands of people who watch daily in an incredible way in helping with Mental Health! We hope that this episode brings you a lot of fun, joy, laughter and value on how you can start using TikTok features like the lives to grow your online community! Be sure to Follow the BizTok for TikTok podcast wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss a new episode.Follow us on Social MediaKyle Kaplanis - HOSTLinkedIn - Kyle KaplanisTikTok - @theweb3guyInstagram - @kyle_kaplanisYouTube - The Web3 GuyGizmo The Grey Bird Emily Vincent - MumTikTok - @gizmothegreybirdInstagram - @gizmo_the_greybirdYouTube - Gizmo The Grey BirdCosmo the Funny ParrotCindy - MomTikTok - @cosmothefunnyparrotInstagram - @cosmothefunnyparrotYouTube - Cosmo the Funny ParrotQbert and FriendsBruce - DadTikTok - @qbert_the_greyInstagram - @qbert_the_greyYouTube - Bad Gamer Good BirdSupport the show

Looking to build a solid online community? Then this episode is for you!You won't believe how these bird channels are building one of the biggest communities on TikTok right now!! How are they doing it? Using the TikTok group live feature!!Gizmo the Grey Bird, Cosmo the funny Parrot, and Qbert and Friends have been going live together along with many other bird accounts and through their efforts are starting to build a massive community. This community is having a positive experience not only for the many birds who join and watch, but is effecting the hundreds of thousands of people who watch daily in an incredible way in helping with Mental Health! We hope that this episode brings you a lot of fun, joy, laughter and value on how you can start using TikTok features like the lives to grow your online community! Be sure to Follow the BizTok for TikTok podcast wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss a new episode.Follow us on Social MediaKyle Kaplanis - HOSTLinkedIn - Kyle KaplanisTikTok - @theweb3guyInstagram - @kyle_kaplanisYouTube - The Web3 GuyGizmo The Grey Bird Emily Vincent - MumTikTok - @gizmothegreybirdInstagram - @gizmo_the_greybirdYouTube - Gizmo The Grey BirdCosmo the Funny ParrotCindy - MomTikTok - @cosmothefunnyparrotInstagram - @cosmothefunnyparrotYouTube - Cosmo the Funny ParrotQbert and FriendsBruce - DadTikTok - @qbert_the_greyInstagram - @qbert_the_greyYouTube - Bad Gamer Good BirdTaming the Hustle... or Something of the SortsAn entertaining mix of financial advice, marketing/business tips, and a lot of humour.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

How to make serious money on TikTok in 2022? Get yourself on Lives says DJAONLINE AKA Ash!    Generating $250 per day, Ash shows that hard work and clever marketing pays off on TikTok and has now left his full time job to become a TikTok Influencer!   This podcast was kindly sponsored by Casita Properties who specialise in discreet, off-market buy to let sales! (Get in touch Landlords & Investors) Connect with me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/aaronknightleyofficial & https://www.instagram.com/knightleysroundtablepodcast To book a 1 to 1 strategy call visit www.aaronknightley.co.uk

Chanda and Jamie share their experience of their first TikTok live and what it means to use your gifts and talents for the Lord. 

We have all been watching the tragedy unfold in Ukraine, and there is so much talk about it on the news. However, so much of the information is confusing or incorrect. So today we are going to dig into the origins of this conflict and look into how it could end.Hey everybody, this is Chris Brandt here with Sandesh Patel, welcome to another FUTR video podcast.Today we are having back friend of the podcast, the amazing Lindsey Alexander, or as she is know on social media, @disinfo_gal. Lindsey is former FBI and CIA where she specialized in Russia and the Near Abroad. She speaks multiple languages and is well versed in the history of this region. Lindsey has been producing a ton of content on her TikTok channel and her TikTok Lives are a great source of information on what is happening. We are not going to be able to cover every detail on this podcast, so I would encourage everyone to check out her TikTok channel to get a deeper understanding. There is a lot to cover, so let's get started,Welcome LindseyDonate to Help:the largest patient organization in Ukraine with 20 years of experience in charity and access to treatment:https://network.org.ua/donate-en/National Bank of Ukraine Fundraising Account for Humanitarian Assistance to Ukrainians:https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-rahunok-dlya-gumanitarnoyi-dopomogi-ukrayintsyam-postrajdalim-vid-rosiyskoyi-agresiyiMedical aid and humanitarian relief for front line:https://www.facebook.com/donate/337101825010055UAnimals helps shelters financially, providing them with food and helping to evacuate animals to other countries.https://www.patreon.com/uanimalsFUTRtech focuses on startups, innovation, culture and the business of emerging tech with weekly video podcasts where Chris Brandt and Sandesh Patel talk with Industry leaders and deep thinkers.Occasionally we share links to products we use. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon.

FEATURED GUESTS: Tanya Cole-Lesnick, LCSW PLLC, has been a psychotherapist (licensed clinical social worker) and coach since 1995. She received her master's degree in social work from New York University after group therapy changed her life. She has extensive experience in outpatient hospital mental health, private practice, and wellness center settings. From those experiences over the years she has identified her most important focus—helping people to live lives that light them up. She does this by helping clients to access and honor their truth, to change habits that don't serve them, and to heal faulty narratives so that they are living in alignment inside and out. Her work revolves around intimate groups as the sharing of inner worlds and being human together in a safe space is what she finds to be the most powerful way for lives to transform. LISTEN & LEARN: The importance of finding your growing edge when marketing your practice. How video can accelerate your ability to build and connect with a community of clients. Offering an ongoing therapy group with a commitment of a month participation can allow you to build a cohesive group over time. Why offering a complimentary discovery call is beneficial for both you and the potential client when offering group therapy services. RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW: Follow on Instagram/TikTok for free content + notification of upcoming Instagram and TikTok Lives https://www.tiktok.com/@tanyathetherapist https://www.instagram.com/tanyathetherapist www.tanyacole-lesnick.com free discovery sessions if interested in my Seekers Circle Groups are available there & her upcoming documentary short. InShot App https://inshot.com/

Welcome to Week 2 of the Reverse Your Insulin Resistance Challenge (RYIR challenge). The focus for Week 2 is stop overeating and power of choice. It’s all about individual autonomy. Sounds redundant! Everyone asks me and I get a lot of emails and requests for coaching for adults. I get to help everyone with reversing insulin resistance and reaching health goals on TikTok and IG, but coaching teens is my favorite. It’s why I started IME Community and it’s my dream and vision. So, if you’re a teen 12 to 18 or parent of a teen, check out IME Community and Join the Community to get life and weight coaching on zoom with me! It’s only $24.95 per month. I also coach parents to help support your teen’s health independence. If you’ve done week 1 of the RYIR challenge, awesome, and if you are getting started now, then, great. You can catch up easily. I would encourage you to get do Week 1 of the challenge because it sets the stage for a lot of the important goal slaying! I’m giving away a Free one on one life and weight coaching session with me every week to participants who post on TikTok or IG. So, post and get in the giveaway drawing. I’ll also be giving IME Community merch and my children’s book, “the magical everywhere”. For week 1, the most powerful why was from Anne who shared about her 16 year-old twins who are on the autism spectrum and are dependent on her and she said, “I want to feel like ME again.” So awesome! Anne, get ready for your life coaching session! Here’s how you can participate in the challenge! Get on IG for daily posts, follow IME Community on TikTok watch the daily videos and participate on TikTok Lives. Next week, I’ll start doing IG Lives. Follow on YouTube, Like and Subscribe to YouTube channel and IME Community Podcast. Get an accountability partner or group. It’s fun! Ready for week 2? I’ve got your back this week. We are going to learn why we overeat, how to stop overeating and Level Up with food with the power of choice. We all come in different shapes and sizes. Let’s celebrate that. What a boring world we would be living in if we bought into our society’s messed up external standards. For many of us, we want to create a healthier and more fun life for ourselves. We have to take a look at the root causes of overeating. One of the simplest ways I’ve heard we are overweight is because we overeat. That sounds so simple and we’re talking reversing insulin resistance which is more complex. To say we are overweight because we overeat is kind of like the old calories in calories out mentality that I keep encouraging us to stay away from. There so much cool science behind hunger and appetite and the hormones and neurotransmitters that keep our bodies at our current weight set point. That doesn’t mean we’re stuck. Genetics, including what we’re learning about epigenetics, our environment, and behavior all contribute to our health. But, the reality is we do overeat and overeating is one of the contributors to weight gain. Everyone overeats sometimes. There’s no shame in it. I’ve really had so much desire to overeat in my life. I still have it at times. There are many factors that contribute to why we are overweight. We are not cause and effect machines. I’m going to talk about how to get to the root cause of our overeating and ask that you create some self-discovery and self-awareness which is the most powerful thing ever we could do. So why do we overeat? We overeat because we have over-desire. I did a few tiktok videos on this and specifically on what I think are the top three reasons we over-desire food. I want you to spend some time on this because I had many more than three reasons, but I picked out what I believe are all of our top three reasons. Why do we over-desire food? We are conditioned to over-desire and overeat food because of the added sugars in our foods and beverages and all of the marketing. This is brain science. Please have grace and compassion for yourself. We haven’t been taught the skill or given permission to allow or feel our emotions. Instead, we are taught there is something wrong and we fix or numb out with food. We are stuck in fixed and limited diet culture and thinking which drives a restriction and indulgence cycle and creates over-desire for foods our society tells us are “bad”. One of the ways to get out of our over-desire for food which causes us to overeat is to recognize that you always have the power of choice. You get to own your power to make choices that serve you and your health goals. Individual autonomy means you are deciding for yourself and that means you are owning your choice. Week 2, I’m going to help you Level Up with food choices and you always get to decide! Let’s go! Monday Motivation: I would love for you to enjoy food and eat food that serves your body and your health goals. This all starts with self-love, which I believe is the only superpower you need. Self-love starts with full or unconditional self-acceptance. I would love for you to check out the IME 5 steps to full self-acceptance. Self-acceptance is always available to you. It doesn’t even take action. Just take your warm self-acceptance blanket and wrap it around yourself whenever you need it. Say to yourself, I fully love and accept myself. I accept that I am worthy of my healthy life. I accept I have the power to choose what I want! What are the reasons I overeat? What relationship do I want with food? On a scale of 0 to 10, how important is it for me to make changes in how I am eating? On a scale of 0 to 10, how confident am I that I can make changes in how I am eating? What’s in my way? Tuesday Tracking: Today is when you Level Up (Gamer talk) with the power of choice! Woot! Woot! All levels are taking massive action. Where are you on your stage of change and what makes sense to you? Level Up with Mindful Eating- hunger scale pre and post meals, plan one day ahead of time, gather data, simple eating guidelines; Level Up to crush your sugary beverage habit and drink more water- replace with the positive and create SMART goals; Level Up to healthful balanced meals where you keep it simple-transition to eating complex carbohydrates (like vegetables and whole grains) instead of simple sugary carbs that keep us in craving mode and increase IR. Make sure you are eating protein and healthy fat whenever you eat. Want to Level Up to trend low-carb? At this level, you are ready to remove flour and sugar and create a low-carb lifestyle. Keep it really simple and take out flour and sugar from what you usually eat for meals. Don’t overconsume recipes. Instead, just think of low-carb substitutions. Wednesday Wisdom: What to expect? Your brain is going to tell you to eat sugary foods. That’s what happens when we are conditioned or habituated to eating sugary foods. There’s nothing wrong. It’s okay. It’s transitional. You may feel more emotional or irritable because your body and brain are used to numbing out and getting dopamine zings. This is an opportunity to create self-awareness. Go at your own pace. No timeline or urgency. It’s all learning. Research shows practicing stimulus control and contingency management is helpful to keep you on track. That may mean removing sugary drinks at home, driving a different route home instead of by the fast food restaurant you go through after work, or recognizing the time of day when urges and cravings come up for you, and creating a pause and practicing self- compassion instead of resisting the urge and white knuckling through it. Create plans A through G for your eating. You are making decisions ahead of time that will keep you on track. Thursday Thoughts: Keep up with your daily thought downloads where you do a brain dump. Start noticing your three top feelings of the day. It’s our thoughts that create our feelings. What are your thoughts that are creating the top three feelings of the day? You may be judging yourself. Start creating awareness of self-judging and shaming. We have to bring this into the light to disrupt it. Friday Fun: Do you have an active gratitude practice? Everyday write down three things you are grateful for in the morning and three amazing things that happened today before you go to bed. Cultivating an active gratitude practice creates a joyfully abundant life. We have to be intentional with the practice. Saturday Success: You are worthy of your health goals. Some people I coach want to create a cheat day on the weekends. They spend a lot of the week creating more over-desire for the sugary foods they eat on the weekend and then end up binging. I would encourage you not to do this. When you make a decision and like your reasons and love your choice and it fits into your why and your Future Self, you can love your decision, have self-integrity and create evidence that you can trust yourself to keep promises you make for yourself. Sunday Strategy: Rest, relaxation, self-care, connect with nature. To set yourself up for success for week 3, I want you to calendarize (yes, this is a verb) self-care. My husband asked me if I wanted to get a massage and I said, “No, I’m really not into those.” Self-care for me is getting outside, writing, getting some time alone, eating yummy food, taking a shower. What does self-care mean to you? Get it on the calendar for week three. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the IME Reverse Your Insulin Resistance Challenge (RYIR)! It’s the Kick Yourself in the RYIR Challenge! Yes, my children who are 20, 17, and 14 are making fun of the name. That’s their job to make fun of their Mom! I’m so excited! I’m having a blast with this. IME Community is up to nearly 30k TikTok Followers from all over the world, so let’s really move the needle and create a healthier path! I’m sharing with you all of the details of the RYIR Challenge starting with this email, and then suggest you check out the IME Community podcast and YouTube video, which I will be doing weekly, so make sure you like and subscribe to the IME Community YouTube channel and podcast on Apple or Spotify. Make sure you follow @imecommunity on TikTok and/or ime_community on IG. The RYIR Challenge is on TikTok, and I will share on the other IME platforms. It’s 12 weeks, starting this Monday, so get excited! It’s 12 weeks because that’s what it takes to create a habit stick. All you need is a notebook, journal or binder and I also suggest an accountability partner (s) if that works for you. No problem, if not. Here’s what I focus on: self-love superpower or the tools of self-compassion; the science behind how to reverse your insulin resistance; and the coaching tools you need to achieve your goal. Starting Monday, I will be posting a daily video and do TikTok Lives daily. Teens, 12 to 18, and parents of teens, you can have me as your life coach, so go ahead and Level Up and join the IME Member Community. I created accessibility for the membership, which is only $24.95/month. I coach parents of teens to support their teen’s health independence, in the member community, so awesome deal for the whole family! Week 1: Let’s get this party started! The theme of this week is take action! Action is how we learn and discover ourselves, grow and evolve, but only if we are creating awareness and putting in the thought work along the way. Action will not be served up or delivered in a nice little package. It doesn’t matter what action you decide to take. Just take action and commit to loving your decision. If self-doubt, fear of failure, imposter syndrome, beliefs about your past self are coming up, there’s nothing going wrong. That’s just what our brains do when we decide to take action. The first week, we are focused on taking action and then starting to plan one day ahead of time, but won’t be focusing on food changes, more like getting an assessment of where you are. Don’t send me your food. I don’t care what you eat. This is you figuring this out. You own this. You can ask me questions, but I don’t give grocery lists. Be a curious observer of your mind! You are creating self-awareness. Here’s the breakdown of Week 1: Monday Motivation: What do you want? What’s your desired outcome? What’s your why? What’s your commitment? What do you have to lose if you don’t take action? What will you gain if you take action? What’s in your way? Tuesday Tracking: Let’s learn to make decisions ahead of time. Making decisions from your higher brain, executive functioning or pre-frontal cortex means you won’t be making impulsive in the moment decisions about food. Plan one day ahead what you will eat and just write down what you are eating on a typical day. We are only learning to plan one day ahead and show up for a plan we created for ourselves. If you want to write your food down at the end of the day, that’s fine too. It’s data. Wednesday Wisdom: Are you owning your health power? Have you seen your doctor, had your labs, and know your risk factors for insulin resistance? You’re not stuck, even if you have a strong family history or have had insulin resistance for a long time. You can optimize your health. It’s good to have a baseline and embed goals in reality. Thursday Thoughts: Start daily thought downloads or brain dumps for a few minutes. What are your beliefs about your past self? What about your health now? Your weight now? What are your beliefs about your past weight loss? What are you making it mean about you and achieving your health goals now? Friday Fun: Here’s my favorite work. Visualize your Future Self who has arrived at your goal! How do you feel as your Future Self? That feeling is what drives the actions to create your results. Our thoughts create our feelings, so, what is a thought that creates that feeling? Think of three Future Self guidewords that motivate you. Mine are Funny, Unapologetic, Firestarter. What are yours? Put them on a post-it note and stick them everywhere and look at them every day. Saturday Success: How do you measure success? You get to decide. How do you celebrate in ways that don’t involve food? We are learning to lead an exciting life and be in the moment and eat food that fuels our exciting life. Sunday Strategy: Spend some time reflecting on the past week. What was hard? What was easy? What are you proud of? Remember, to practice self-compassion. Now, put week 2 on your calendar! You will learn a lot. This is a fun challenge. I will not be giving you medical advice. I encourage you to go to your doctor, to address diagnoses related to weight first, and to go to your therapist, have your own coach, all the things. This will be a fun add-on. What about fitness? Keep doing what you are doing. I believe in all movement counts fitness. Sometimes, at least I know I was, stuck in thinking about exercise the same way I thought about food. So, movement counts. You are an exerciser no matter how much you are moving. Let’s get this party started! Stay tuned for week 2! Teens and Parents, don’t forget to Join the IME Community by clicking below! Self-love superpower, Dr. Karla, ActivistMDSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're not on TikTok yet... you're missing out! Carrie Izzo and Kaggan Parker got 1,400 new customers in 30 days through TikTok! And no, they're not doing silly dances... (ok, maybe a few...). So what's the secret? You find the type of content that you like and you put your own spin on it. TikTok is an opportunity for you to learn how to make videos! "This type of content is here to stay. Learn it now and make the best of it!" 00:00 – Episode intro 01:02 – How did Carrie Izzo acquire 817 customers in a month? 01:53 – Mastering TikTok & Batching Content 05:34 - Why TikTok is like a lottery ticket 07:20 – The power of TikTok Lives and Giveaways 12:30 – Why you should always turn on comment filters + how to hire a moderator 13:25 – What happens if you get shadowbanned? 14:09 – How Carrie captures her leads 16:57 – Meet Kaggan Parker 17:24 – Content creation tips: Follow accounts that you resonate with 20:04 – How to go Live and get more promotional on TikTok 23:33 – Kaggan's lead capturing system 25:39 - You're sleeping if you're not on TikTok! 26:58 – The unexpected way TikTok helps you build your brand 30:57 – Repurposing your TikTok videos for other platforms 33:12 – The best way to transfer people from TikTok to other platforms 37:18 - Episode Outro More juicy resources:https://mylifestyleacademy.com/blog/ https://mylifestyleacademy.com/download/ https://mylifestyleacademy.com/masterclass/

Leila Kimiai-Nia is a business coach at Emoceansdeep, and a former TikTok Shop seller turned trainer. She now helps her clients build their TikTok Shop sales for the long term via livestreams.Dive in:[05:01] TikTok Shop Success Through Consistency[06:51] Bridging Sales and Wellness Gaps[12:33] "Sustaining Live Streaming Success"[14:06] Consistent Branding with Multiple Presenters[18:01] Nervous System Regulation for Burnout[21:33] Expanding Capacity Through Small Moments[25:17] Pace Yourself in Content Creation[28:02] Insider Tips from Leila!Consistency is the Key to TikTok GrowthTikTok's algorithm rewards brands that show up regularly. Daily live streams can boost traffic, but only if you can sustain them. Consistency keeps your audience engaged and teaches the algorithm to send you more of the right shoppers. Even if you can't start daily, stick to a regular schedule that you can handle. Build slowly to avoid overwhelming yourself and losing momentum.Energy Management Directly Impacts SalesLive streaming is not just a technical task — it's a performance. If you are tired or stressed, it shows, and your conversion rates will drop. Leila teaches that nervous system regulation is critical for long-term success. Breathwork, short breaks, and even music can help you reset between streams. Protecting your energy means better results and a business that can grow without burning you out.Scale with a Team and a PlanOne person cannot handle endless live streams alone. As you grow, bring in affiliate creators and presenters to share the load. Keep everyone aligned with your brand style so the algorithm doesn't get confused. Use multiple “cogs” — live streaming, affiliates, ads, and content — to scale sustainably. This approach keeps sales strong and prevents you from hitting a plateau.Takeaways:TikTok Live isn't just about sales—it's about emotional stamina. Burnout can kill the vibe, so taking care of your energy and mental health is essential if you want long-term success in live eCommerce.Consistency on TikTok Live powers growth, but don't let hustle culture push you too far. Start with what you can handle, set boundaries, and scale your frequency only as your capacity grows.Success on TikTok Live isn't just algorithms and content—it's knowing yourself. Self-awareness helps you notice stress before it becomes burnout, so you can show up strong and sustainable.Nervous system regulation is the secret weapon for live sellers. Small daily rituals, like deep breathing or a quick dance, train you to handle pressure and stay grounded when the spotlight's on.Think TV shopping for a new generation—but with fewer breaks and even more pressure. If you want sustainable TikTok Live sales, build a team, rotate hosts, and prioritize wellness alongside revenue. Find the notes here: https://keepopt.com/279**** Get all the links and resources we mention & join our email list at https://keepopt.com Love the show? Chloe would love your feedback - leave a review here: https://keepopt.com/review or reply to the episode Q&A on Spotify. Interested in being a Sponsor? go here: https://keepopt.com/sponsorAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy