Journalists and writers are leaving major publications for Substack. Shoud brands follow? Helen Tobin discuss Substack's Unicorn rise, how brands can use the platform to reach new audiences and what not to do.

Starting out as a monetizeable newsletter platform, the company has added video, podcasting and feed-style social media. What are effective brands doing on the platform? How do they protect users from Ai slop? Will they license user content on LLMs?

Find the video at https://justinbradyshow.com

Chapters: 01:09 - Have DTC platforms like Substack killed media? 04:35 - A brief message from me on podcasting 05:25 - Tobin's strategy of amplifying writers, not execs 07:50 - Can brands use Substack or just citizen journalists? 10:50 - Best practices for Substack. Tailor to audience. 14:17 - What if you don't want to monetize? 16:24 - With new features, is there risk of going to broad? 18:19 - With user growth, does individual user reach decrease? 25:10 - Brand and marcom best practices for Substack 30:17 - Plans on combatting AI slop 32:35 - Will Substack license written content to LLMs?

Andrew Zimmern didn't stumble into media success—he sprinted toward it with intentional risk, relentless work, and zero entitlement. In this episode, the chef-turned-storyteller breaks down how he went from unpaid internships to national stardom by "running at" opportunities when clarity struck. He shares why brands fail at content (they're afraid to tell stories), the real skill behind great interviewing (deep listening), and how to spot the moment when a conversation can turn meaningful—then push. "If the road is flat," he says, "go deep."

Zimmern reveals how he prepares for interviews with everyday people who have no public bios, why he sometimes splits families apart mid-shoot to extract honest stories, and the subtle tactics that turn small talk into substance. From mastering local live news with no script or lighting, to using food as a cultural Trojan horse, Zimmern offers a clinic on authenticity, narrative craft, and creating emotional connection—skills every marketer and founder should be learning right now.

Video releases soon here: https://justinkbrady.com/Andrew-Zimmern

Founders, you kinda suck at SEO, content, and communications. That's tragic because many of you have incredible brain-frying technology and ideas the world wants to hear about. Marcus Sheridan, author Endless Customers describes why AI has made web content more important than ever, and explains why YouTube is just as important as your own site.

Sheridan's first book They Ask, You Answer detailed the process he followed to become the #1 website in the world... for pools. You read that right. He ended up ruling the internet for a heavily commoditized business. He explains how to increase "signals" increasing AI's likelihood of recommending you, and warns founders and CEOs on getting in their own way, killing inbound content marketing strategies that could bring them... ahem... endless customers.

See the video at justinkbrady.com/marcus-sheridan

IBM Technology's YouTube channel just hit 1 million subs last week and show host Martin Keen explains how they create content, where they get their ideas, how they promote, and how they create "broad" content to engage, and then drill down into the niches to build relationships. Keen also explains how their team collaborates to ensure content stays on track.

Keen focuses mostly on AI content. He's an expert communicator and is skilled at breaking down complicated topics into a format that is understandable for a more general business audience. He leaves us with his top AI trend of 2025 as it relates to communicators and marketers.

See the video: https://justinkbrady.com/martin-keen-IBM-technology

YouTuber Mike Russell hit 300,000 subscribers which is an incredible accomplishment. Justin Brady sits down with the media mastermind and founder of Music Radio Creative, to discuss content creation, productivity, and the long road to success in the digital landscape.

Mike, a veteran in audio production and YouTube content creation, shares valuable insights on how to grow a YouTube channel organically and maintain a steady content workflow. He explains tactics to grow his channel, how to hook viewers, how to handle never-ending deadlines, AI's role in his process, and the resource he taps for fresh high-value content ideas.

I've noticed brands give up on content strategy after 6 months. Is that a mistake? YES. He posted consistently for years before it resulted in profitability. Watch the video: https://justinkbrady.com/notes/who-is-mike-russell-music-radio-creative

Many founders or CEOs dreams of a big, earned media hit in The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. But are these big wins really the best target for outbound communications? That depends, says Eleanor Hawkins who leads the Axios Communicators newsletter.

Hawkins covers communications trends, future uses of AI in marketing communications, and explains why smaller networks and niche audiences may be a better choice for your overall marketing strategy. If you're in marketing or communications and want to make your operation more efficient, listen!

See the full show notes here: https://justinkbrady.com/eleanor-hawkins

Psy was a psyop created to make South Korea cool. Soap operas were created to sell soap. And the Grand Ole Opry, the longest running radio show in history, was a marketing play for insurance. Joah Santos, founder of Warhol is a tribalism nerd who consulted for Unilever, ABInBev, Airbnb and others. He tells me underlying structure of how information spreads.

"The majority of decisions are made by following other people we trust," says Santos. He's right. We offload the intellectual hard work of finding new ideas and products that will benefit our lives to various influencers and opinion leaders. "We couldn't survive if we didn't," he says. Listen to the interview to understand how founders, CMOs, and inventive people can tap into this to disrupt the big brands.

See the full show notes: https://justinkbrady.com/joah-santos

If you're an X user (fka Twitter) you know the name Mario Nawfal. Nawfal hosts the largest spaces on X, and his guests include Elon Musk, Michael Bay, Mark Cuban, Andrew Yang, and many others. After taking a break from interviews, he shares his thoughts on the future of X, CEO Linda Yaccarino, his new show Killer Whales, and a media hit piece about him.

Nawfal got his start creating a blender company, but today he's the Founder of IBC Group, and the King of Spaces on X/Twitter. He explains how his spaces caught on and his secret sauce and explains why other tech founders and startups should be doubling down on X.

We also discuss his personal life, background, and the state of citizen journalism and corporate journalism. Plus, he shares his frustration at the constant attacks against X, and their odd obsession with it's founder Elon Musk.

See the full show notes at: https://justinkbrady.com/mario-nawfal

As the state of the economy looks shakier by the day, Allison Braley head of marketing at Bain Capital Ventures gives founders critical advice on where to spend their marketing dollars. She explains the value earned media, and how to balance spend on brand and product.

It's a whole new world and although there's plenty of cash for early stage founders, late stage founders are feeling the crunch as VCs prioritize earlier profitabaility and low burn. Braley explaind the new marcom flywheel and where to focus as a founder.

See the full show notes at https://justinkbrady.com/notes/allison-braley-bain-capital

Jake Slatnick, CEO of FreePower discusses the process in creating Tesla's new free position device charger and overcoming engineering hurdles—how did he succeed where Apple failed? I also ask the direction question everyone wants to know: will this charger be on the new Cybertruck?

We also discuss how he captured massive amounts of earned media and press attention. Not to mention top YouTubers like Marques Brownlee, known as MKBHD, and Justine Ezarik, known as iJustine. Was it just luck? No. Turns out he took specific steps to get the right journalist's attention.

See the full show notes at https://justinkbrady.com/jake-slatnick-freepower