Sweat Equity

What makes a brand memorable? In this episode, we dive into the power of community-driven content. From organic content challenges to cause-driven marketing, this episode is all about standing out and building loyal communities. We discuss how a viral “Hit the Goal with Me” campaign —created by an intern—turned the small brand “Smashd” into a massive success.

Plus, why do mission-driven brands inspire such strong customer loyalty? We also explore how to differentiate your brand by tapping into causes, building character-based narratives, and engaging with your audience creatively.

Don’t miss this masterclass on growth and community building.

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Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcast

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In this episode, we talk about mechanics of successful affiliate partnerships and community-driven marketing strategies. We explore how brands use communities and creative incentives to drive real ROI. From tiered commission structures to gamified rewards.

We discuss how a strong brief with clear expectations is crucial in guiding creators to align with brand goals, and we touch on why bonuses tied to engagement metrics—like views and shares—can amplify brand visibility beyond just direct sales.

This episode also highlights how brands like 75 Hard and Bandit Running leverage long-term commitments and challenges to transform their audience into loyal advocates, creating a powerful emotional connection through shared goals and accomplishments.

Got a brand? Leave it in the comments, and we’ll brainstorm ways to engage your audience with challenges and competitions on a future episode!

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🔥Want Free Game?

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📈Growth Playbooks, Directly To Your Inbox

For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed at

https://www.marketingexamined.com

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CHAPTERS:

0:00 Intro

01:45 – The Importance of Incentives in Partnerships

03:20 - Different Kind of Incentives: Comissions

05:15 – How to Keep the Appetite High

07:00 - Bonuses Tied to Non-revenue Generating

09:11 – Grow Faster With Wix Studio

09:45 – Intersection Between Brand Marketing and Performance Marketing

13:10 –Having a Strong Brief: Differentiation

14:15 – Having a Strong Brief: Inspiration

16:30 – Including Ideas and Tips for Creating a Strong Brief

18:45 – Setting Clear Expectations with Content Creators

21:00 - Boosting Engagement with Competition/Commitments

22:00 – The OG of Brand Competitions: The 75 Hard Example

24:40 - Commitment-Based Marketing: Case Study of Bandit Running

27:11 - Bandit’s Marathon Training Program: Building Forever Fans

29:20 – Understand What Your Community Buys from You

30:00 – Find the Underlying Goals Behind Your Product

30:58 - Center Your Customers Around a Common Goal

In Episode 52, we dive deep into what it takes to create a brand with a cult-like following. Alex breaks down the four essential pillars of brand loyalty: values, story, community, and characters.

Starting with the importance of clear values and a strong brand story, we share examples of companies like Seed, Yeti, and Muscle Milk and how their origin stories connect deeply with their audience. Next, Brian dives into brand lore, and how your brand cause lore to tell a brand story.

This episode is packed with insights on creating a loyal customer base, with actionable tips on building long-term brand success. Don’t miss it!

Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and support our journey to hit 10,000 subscribers before the year ends!

As always, appreciate you all listening, and don't forget to leave us a review and submit your questions for Alex and Brian at the email address below. See you next week.

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WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?

Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcast

OR email us at [email protected]

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WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:

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NEWSLETTER:

For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed at

www.marketingexamined.com

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Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IG

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In episode 51, we explore the effectiveness of sweepstakes as a marketing strategy in today's landscape. Brian delves into case studies of HexClad and Ridge Wallet, showcasing how these brands leveraged giveaways and sweepstakes to generate millions in revenue during traditionally slow periods. Alex then shifts focus to middle and bottom-of-funnel content strategies, emphasizing the importance of landing page funnels in nurturing leads and driving conversions. He discusses how to create effective landing pages that guide potential customers through each stage of the buyer's journey, from consideration to purchase.

This is a jam-packed episode filled with bangers! Thanks for watching!

📱Follow Us On Social:

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Alex https://www.instagram.com/alexgarcia_atx/

Brian: https://www.instagram.com/brian_blum/

Twitter

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www.twitter.com/@brian_blum1

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🔥Want Free Game?

Send us a picture of your Apple & Spotify reviews to [email protected] and we'll make you a playbook in a future episode.

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🎥Checkout Brians Content Agency

https://www.nibble.studio

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📈Growth Playbooks, Directly To Your Inbox

For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed at

https://www.marketingexamined.com

--------------------

CHAPTERS:

0:00 Are Sweepstakes back?

2:11 Hexclad’s Gordon Ramsay Sweepstakes Strategy 9:06 How Ridge Wallet $10M Giveaway Strategy

16:15 Marketing Examined Ad

16:53 The Content Funnel Strategy

17:54 Creating Middle & Bottom of Funnel Content

19:35 Banter about Diddy LOL

21:23 Creating Middle & Bottom of Funnel Content

23:15 Landing Pages for Middle of Funnel

24:12 How Position Your Brand Against Competitors

26:13 Turning Reviews & Comments into Content

28:47 Organic Content for Testing

29:37 Buying Behavior is Changing

31:38 When a post doesn’t do well…

33:10 Ending Thoughts

In episode 50, Alex and Brian interview Courtney Johnson, An ex account manager who quit her job and become a full-time content creator making $40K+/mo. She dives into how she formulates her viral videos, how to "bait the fish" and how women can use their unique skills to succeed in business.

Checkout Courtney on Instagram:  [ / courtlynnjohnson  

Thanks for watching!

📱Follow Us On Social:

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Alex  E / alexgarcia_atx  

Brian:  P / brian_blum  

Twitter

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www.twitter.com/@brian_blum1

--------------------

🔥Want Free Game?

Send us a picture of your Apple & Spotify reviews to [email protected] and we'll make you a playbook in a future episode.

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📈Growth Playbooks, Directly To Your Inbox

For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed at

https://www.marketingexamined.com

--------------------

CHAPTERS:

0:00 Intro - Courtney Johnson

1:20 Working on Marketing Team of Cowboys

2:26 Idea Generation for Viral Video

8:24 Why Courtney Wen’t Full Time Creator

9:45 How To Find your Content Niche

12:10 How to find Content Series

13:58 How to find Hooks & Hook Forumla

17:20 The “Baiting The Fish Technique”

18:29 Sweat Equity Growth

19:28 2 Ways to do Podcasting

20:42 Content That Can Be Monetized

21:58 Going Viral is Less About Money

22:50 Posting on LinkedIn

24:20 Working with LinkedIn HQ

26:20 Testing Content with LinkedIn

27:27 Brainstorming Brian’s Spicy Takes

29:20 Very Spicy LinkedIn Post

30:48 How to Structure Video Concepts

33:55 Men or Women Employees?

35:02 Why Are Men More Inclined to Entrepreneurship?

36:20 Leverage your unique skills

37:30 Courtneys House

38:12 How The Cooperate world is Fake

41:14 Advice on stuck in a 9-5 role

42:00 Advice on starting to make content

42:54 Rich vs Poor habits

46:48 Advice to women breaking into Entrepreneurship

48:50 Skills Women need to prioritize

51:09 Ending Thoughts

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are right around the corner. And the brands that are prepared with a solid strategy will really stand out from the competition. If you play your cards right, Black Friday can be a game-changer for your brand. In this video, we’re diving into just that.

Alex breaks down his Black Friday playbook, sharing fresh ideas for emails, ads, and promotions, plus key pitfalls to avoid. Then, Brian dives into Heart & Soil Supplement's organic content framework and how use of "tent pole" marketing to create content and sell their products.

Thanks for watching! Support us by clicking subscribe and sharing with a friend.

📱Follow Us On Social:

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Brian: https://www.instagram.com/brian_blum/

Twitter

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www.twitter.com/@brian_blum1

--------------------

🔥Want Free Game?

Send us a picture of your Apple & Spotify reviews to [email protected] and we'll make you a playbook in a future episode.

--------------------

📈Growth Playbooks, Directly To Your Inbox

For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed at

https://www.marketingexamined.com

--------------------

CHAPTERS:

0:00 Intro - What to expect this episode

2:42 Refining Your Black Friday Offers

6:01 How Brands Loose integrity During Black Friday

6:45 SMS & Email Black Friday Strategy

9:58 Using Influencers Email List

12:04 How Athletic Greens Uses Their Influencers

12:55 Ad Content Strategy for Black Friday

17:15 Lead Capture Strategy for Black Friday

18:55 How to Gamify Black Friday

21:40 Abandoned Cart for Black Friday

23:30 DM Waitlist Strategy

25:08 Organic Content Strategy for Black Friday

27:50 How to Build Your Audience "Interest Graph"

32:26 Breaking Down Heart & Soil Supplements Content Playbook

35:10 Using the "Tent Pole" Strategy for a Footwear Brand

39:24 Simple Ways to Use The Founder for Content

40:50 Ending Thoughts

As always, appreciate you all listening, and don't forget to leave us a review and submit your questions for Alex and Brian at the email address below. See you next week.

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WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?

Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcast

OR email us at [email protected]

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WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:

For full video versions, and short highlights of every episode, head to

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NEWSLETTER:

For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed at

www.marketingexamined.com

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Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IG

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Let’s assemble a 95’ Chicago Bulls Dream Team, but for content! Content has never been more crucial for brand growth, yet many brands are still in the dark about what it takes to create compelling, viral, shareworthy content. In this episode, Alex breaks down the ideal content team you need to build based on your company size. He dives into the $0M to $1M, $1M to $5M, and $10M+ categories, highlighting the specific roles and salary ranges for each position. Then Brian dives into his Brand Activation Playbook, diving into brands that make there way into the US Open and the NFL. This is one of my favorite episodes. If you like it, share it with someone who needs to build a bada** content team.

Checkout our sponsor SARAL https://l.marketingexamined.com/saralpodcast

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WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?

Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcast

OR email us at [email protected]

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WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:

For full video versions, and short highlights of every episode, head to

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NEWSLETTER:

For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed at

www.marketingexamined.com

--------------------

Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IG

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In episode 46, Alex puts down a masterclass around developing your brand content strategy. He dives into developing brand narratives, testing videos, pillars, content themes, and everything you need to know to create an 8-figure content strategy. Let us know if you liked the solocast style!

As always, appreciate you all listening, and don't forget to leave us a review and submit your questions for Alex and Brian at the email address below. See you next week.

Checkout our sponsor SARAL https://l.marketingexamined.com/saralpodcast

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WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?

Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcast

OR email us at [email protected]

--------------------

WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:

For full video versions, and short highlights of every episode, head to

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NEWSLETTER:

For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed at

www.marketingexamined.com

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Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IG

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In episode 45, Alex dives into Johnny Valentine and how he constantly goes viral with a skit concept promoting his song. Then Brian dives into Goli's insane affiliate marketing strategy for TikTok shop, creating over 17K videos in 30 days. He also breaks down one of the videos that drove $350K for Goli. Alex then goes into how to create 8 figure funnels and why they're crucial for success. This episode is one of my favorites, hope y'all enjoy. Send it to a friend.

Checkout our sponsor SARAL https://l.marketingexamined.com/saralpodcast

📱Follow Us On Social:

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Brian: https://www.instagram.com/brian_blum/

Twitter

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www.twitter.com/@brian_blum1

--------------------

🔥Want Free Game?

Send us a picture of your Apple & Spotify reviews to [email protected] and we'll make you a playbook in a future episode.

--------------------

📈Growth Playbooks, Directly To Your Inbox

For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed at

https://www.marketingexamined.com

--------------------

🎥Checkout Brians Content Agency

https://www.nibble.studio

--------------------

CHAPTERS:

0:00 Intro + Johnny Valentine Viral Reels

03:35 Skit breakdown visual hook, slow mo, iPhone reaction

10:25 Goli Nutrition’s TikTok Affiliate Strategy That Drove $4.1M in 30 Days

26:37 SARAL - Influencer Marketing Tool

27:52 TikTok Building Search Volume

31:00 Where to find creator communities?

31:34 Scaling & Creating 8 Figure Funnels

40:46 Ending Banter & Final Thoughts