In this episode of The Agency Hour, we sit down with Brad Smith, longtime agency owner and marketing innovator, to unpack how he scaled a $3M business by focusing on relationship-driven marketing, patient growth strategies, and systems that actually work.

Brad shares his wild journey from running a health and fitness business to pivoting into digital marketing after a life-changing accident. He breaks down his unique ad strategy on X (Twitter) that helped one client turn $3,600 in ad spend into $3M in annual revenue—all without sending a single click to a landing page.

We also dive into:

• Why most agencies fail at follow-up (and how to fix it)
• How to run hyper-effective profile visit ads that build trust before selling
• The magic of combining organic content with paid amplification
• The patience required to build lasting brand equity
• The power of staying focused instead of chasing shiny objects
• Lessons from scaling YouTube, X, and referrals into million-dollar channels

Key Takeaways

• Follow-up is everything. It now takes an average of 24 touches across 3 platforms before someone buys.
• Ads aren’t for selling upfront. Brad uses ads to drive profile visits, not clicks, building long-term trust through organic content.
• Be ready to pivot. Brad’s agency started after a devastating accident forced him to rethink his future.
• Content compounds. Eight years, 900+ YouTube videos, and $1M+ ARR later—consistency pays off.
• Focus wins. Agencies get stuck by chasing too many services. The winners get known for one thing.

Links & Resources

• Guest: Brad Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hylthlink/

• Brad’s Agency: AutomationLinks.com

• Sponsor: Opal – Spend management for performance marketing teams: https://www.opalspend.com/