If you teach, coach, sell information, or run an online business, this episode is a wake-up call. In this episode of Marketing Misfits, Norm Farrar and Kevin King sit down with Dan Ashburn, founder of Titan Network, to break down how AI, agentic systems, personal brand, and community are reshaping marketing, e-commerce, and education at a speed most businesses are not prepared for.

Dan explains why creators, educators, and consultants who don’t integrate AI into real-time execution will end up like Blockbuster, while those who do will build the next Netflix. This is a deep, practical conversation about what’s actually changing, what still matters, and where the real leverage is right now.

This is not surface-level AI hype. It’s about systems, trust, proof, and execution.

What You’ll Learn:

- Why AI must deliver learning while users take action

- The real difference between agents and agentic systems

- Why trust in AI answers is already outperforming Google search

- How AEO (AI Engine Optimization) is driving 10–15% conversion rates

- Why community matters more in an AI-driven, non-personal world

- How Titan Network structures masterminds by business maturity

- Why authenticity and proof now outperform hype marketing

- How personal brand beats company brand at the top of funnel

- Why “standing for something” is required to build community

- How polarization helps cut through AI-generated noise

- The biggest shifts in performance marketing over the last 5 years

- Why content volume now matters more than polish

- How AI is collapsing weeks of work into hours

- Where AI avatars, IP, and personal brand are heading next

- What most people misunderstand about compliance and AI

- How businesses should realistically get started with agents

- Why AI will reward early adopters and widen the gap fast

00:00 Intro

03:56 Introducing Dan Ashburn

04:54 Dan’s Early SEO and Affiliate Marketing Days

09:39 From Trouble to the Military and Business Discipline

12:57 Discovering Amazon and Escaping Agency Life

15:25 China Trips and the Birth of Titan Network

16:25 What Titan Network Is and Why It Works

18:18 Proof, Credibility, and Selling High-Ticket Communities

24:20 How to Build a Community in an AI World

30:27 Major Shifts in Performance Marketing

33:45 How AI Is Compressing Marketing Timelines

39:46 Personal Brand as the New IP

49:25 What Agentic AI Actually Means

01:00:18 AI Compliance, Risk, and Regulation Reality

Dan Ashburn Founder, Titan Network

E-commerce, AI systems, performance marketing

Instagram: @danashburnuk Email: [email protected]

Website: https://titannetwork.com

About Marketing Misfits Marketing Misfits features real conversations with operators, founders, and marketers who actually build businesses — not just talk about them. Hosted by Norm Farrar and Kevin King. New episodes every Tuesday.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What does it take to build a million-dollar online business before you turn 18? In this episode of Marketing Misfits, Norm Farrar and Kevin King sit down with Makenna Riley, entrepreneur and co-founder of GSD, to break down how she started making money online at 12 years old, launched profitable businesses during COVID, and helped her mom, infomercial legend Forbes Riley, pivot online when the world shut down.

This is not a hype story. Makenna walks through the exact sequence of skills, mindset, marketing systems, and execution that turned webinars, funnels, and paid ads into real revenue, fast. If you care about online business, funnels, Meta ads, selling knowledge, building systems, or scaling without formal education, this episode is packed with practical insight.

What You’ll Learn:

- How Makenna made six figures by 17 and hit $1M before 18
- The webinar that closed $25,000 with just 25 attendees
- Why beginners often outperform “experts”
- How she learned funnels, ads, and marketing at 12 years old
- Why most people fail after buying courses
- The real difference between feeling productive and producing results
- Why websites don’t convert (and what works instead)
- How to structure funnels, offers, and product pipelines
- The biggest mistakes people make with thank-you pages
- Why low-ticket offers beat “free”
- How Meta ads still scale fast when done right
- How to build a business without college or formal training
- What actually separates successful students from everyone else

📚 Chapters

00:00 Early Business Start

04:20 Internet Exposure

09:03 Marketing College

14:17 Millionaire Goal

18:30 GSD Company Launch

23:47 No Formal Training

27:57 Passion for Business

33:17 GSD Launchpad Training

37:24 GSD Launchpad Goal

41:40 GSD vs ClickFunnels

46:12 Confidence & Success

50:15 Client Success Story

55:16 Marketing Diversify

01:01:26 Marketing Mistakes ‍️

01:05:18 Email Marketing Power

01:09:31 Russell Brunson's Work

01:15:51 Marketing Misfits Outro

Guest Makenna Riley Entrepreneur | Funnel Builder | Co-Founder of GSD Website: https://gsdyourbusiness.com Instagram: @themakennariley

About Marketing Misfits
Marketing Misfits features unfiltered conversations with founders, marketers, and operators who built real businesses by testing, failing, and executing — not following trends. Hosted by Norm Farrar and Kevin King.

This episode is brought to you by:
- Sellerboard: https://sellerboard.com/misfits
- House of AMZ: Elevate your brand today at https://www.amazonseo.com/
- 8fig: Get 25% off 8fig off at https://8fig.co
- Stack Influence: Use code MISFITS for 10% off at https://stackinfluence.com/ - Levanta: Get 20% off Levanta's gold plan and book your call today - https://get.levanta.io/misfits

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What happens when you lose your money, your health, and almost your life — all at once? In this episode of Marketing Misfits, Norm Farrar and Kevin King sit down with Ingrid Macher, a fitness entrepreneur and global influencer who went from being broke, overweight, and facing a near-death asthma attack… to losing 50 pounds in 90 days and building a multi-million-dollar wellness business serving millions worldwide. This is not a surface-level influencer story. Ingrid breaks down the exact mindset shift, health reset, and marketing strategy that changed everything — and why most people fail to grow an audience or business even when they have “followers.” If you care about organic growth, paid ads that actually work, audience building, fitness transformation, or monetizing influence, this episode delivers real lessons.

What You’ll Learn

- How Ingrid lost 50 pounds in 90 days and kept it off for 14 years

- The near-death moment that forced a complete life reset

- Why most people fail at weight loss and content creation

- How losing everything in the 2008 crash led to her biggest opportunity

- The real difference between followers and buyers

- Why you only need 1,000 raving fans to build a million-dollar business

- How Ingrid built massive reach organically on Facebook and beyond

- When to use paid ads — and why boosting organic winners works best

- How TikTok Shop is changing monetization right now

- Why knowing your avatar matters more than going viral

- The hidden opportunity in underserved markets (especially Spanish-speaking audiences)

- How fitness, family, faith, and finances all connect to long-term success

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:05 Guest Introduction: Ingrid Macher

08:09 Ingrid's Journey to America

10:54 Overcoming Challenges

13:31 The Turning Point

15:36 Transforming Health and Fitness

18:14 Maintaining Weight Loss

33:50 Becoming a Wellness Influencer

34:32 A Million Dollar Product Idea

36:04 Entering the Info Product Industry

37:09 Building a Social Media Presence

38:08 Organic Growth and Marketing Strategies

43:34 The Power of Community and Faith

48:05 Adapting to Social Media Changes

56:08 Final Thoughts and Reflections

Ingrid Macher Fitness entrepreneur, author (7 books), global wellness leader Instagram (English): @ingridmacherofficial About Marketing Misfits Marketing Misfits features real conversations with founders, operators, and creators who built businesses the hard way — through failure, pivots, and unconventional strategies.

This episode is brought to you by:

- Sellerboard: https://sellerboard.com/misfits

- House of AMZ: Elevate your brand today at https://www.amazonseo.com/

- 8fig: Get 25% off 8fig off at https://8fig.co

- Stack Influence: Use code MISFITS for 10% off at https://stackinfluence.com/

- Levanta: Get 20% off Levanta's gold plan and book your call today - https://get.levanta.io/misfits

Hosted by Norm Farrar and Kevin King.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Most creators have no idea how powerful newsletters are right now. In this episode, you’ll learn why email is outperforming every social platform and how top operators are turning simple weekly emails into six-figure profit machines. Kevin King and Norm Farrar break down their own newsletter playbooks (including selling $4,500 dedicated sends and hitting 62 percent open rates) and sit down with Matt McGarry, widely regarded as the newsletter expert behind The Hustle, HubSpot, and Newsletter Operator. Matt reveals exactly why newsletters outperform every other channel for trust, retention, monetization, and audience ownership. You’ll hear the mistakes beginners make, how to actually grow a newsletter, and what it takes to turn email into a real business. If you’re a marketer, founder, creator, or ecommerce operator, this will change how you think about email forever.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why newsletters outperform social and YouTube for monetization

• How Kevin charges $4,500 per email and sells out months in advance

• Newsletter vs. marketing email: the real difference

• How Matt built newsletter systems from The Hustle to HubSpot

• Why most newsletters fail after 10 issues

• How to grow from 0 to thousands of subscribers

• How to design newsletters people actually read

• Deliverability tactics to stay out of Promotions

• How to segment your list for 5–10x higher revenue

• How to blend AI with human writing without sounding robotic

• Why churn kills paid newsletters and what to do instead

• How to use LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram to grow email fast

• Real-world monetization strategies that actually work in 2025

Chapters

00:00 The Power of Newsletters

00:46 'Email is Dead' Myth

01:43 The Billion Dollar Sellers Newsletter

03:29 Introducing Matt

04:22 Matt's Journey

08:54 Consistency in Newsletters

14:10 Editorial vs. Promotional Emails

27:52 Effective Newsletter Strategies for Beginners

39:57 LinkedIn Newsletters: Are They Worth It?

40:38 LinkedIn Newsletters

43:04 Organic vs. Paid Newsletters

43:18 Challenges of Paid Newsletters

48:26 Newsletter Design Tips

50:29 AI in Newsletter Writing

01:01:24 Deliverability Strategies

01:11:09 Power of Email Segmentation

01:19:55 Final Thoughts

This episode is brought to you by:

- Sellerboard: https://sellerboard.com/misfits

- House of AMZ: Elevate your brand today at https://www.amazonseo.com/

- 8fig: Get 25% off 8fig off at https://8fig.co

- Stack Influence: Use code MISFITS for 10% off at https://stackinfluence.com/

- Levanta: Get 20% off Levanta's gold plan and book your call today - https://get.levanta.io/misfits

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this episode of Marketing Misfits, we break down why podcasting is becoming one of the most powerful trust-building tools in the age of AI and how brands can use it to stand out instead of blending into AI sameness. Our guest Eric Ryan went from LinkedIn Live to a cable TV show, built a 19-person podcast production team, and developed a framework for becoming “niche famous” so clients come to you.

We dig into:

• Why most podcasts die after 7 episodes

• How to turn a podcast into a client-acquisition machine

• Why you must be omnipresent to win in 2025

• How AI is destroying bad content and elevating real voices

• The exact formats, lengths, and clip strategies that perform best

• Why “don’t be gentle with your list” is the most important marketing advice you’ll hear

• The truth about going viral on TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube Shorts

• How to become niche-famous (not Joe Rogan famous) and still print money

• The #1 thing that separates successful podcasters from quitters

If you're building a personal brand, running an agency, launching a show, or trying to build authority online, this episode gives you the playbook.

Timestamps

00:00 Why Eric Started a Podcast to Get Clients

01:52 Why Most Creators Fail at Email + Podcasting

03:10 Competing With the Entire Internet (Not Your Industry)

05:12 “Podcasting Makes You Famous”

07:44 Becoming Niche Famous

09:20 How Eric’s LinkedIn Show Led to Cable TV

12:52 Land High-Value Clients

15:31 Editing + Distribution

17:44 Authority vs. Views

21:40 Why TikTok Is Beating Every Platform

24:20 Holding Creators Back

26:10 Being Actually Interesting

28:30 Why Most Interviews Are Terrible

32:18 Building a Multi-Platform Content Engine

35:44 Consistency vs. Perfection

38:05 How Long Should a Podcast Really Be?

41:22 Cutting Content Into Clips That Actually Perform

44:58 Managing Expectations: What “Success” Really Looks Like

49:10 The Hidden Work Nobody Talks About

53:12 The One Strategy Eric Says Will Make You Stand Out

56:40 Should Everyone Start a Podcast in 2025?

59:02 Final Takeaway: Be Different or Be Invisible

This episode is brought to you by:

- Sellerboard: https://sellerboard.com/misfits

- House of AMZ: Elevate your brand today at https://www.amazonseo.com/

- 8fig: Get 25% off 8fig off at https://8fig.co

- Stack Influence: Use code MISFITS for 10% off at https://stackinfluence.com/

- Levanta: Get 20% off Levanta's gold plan and book your call today - https://get.levanta.io/misfits

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

From sourcing 24-karat gold iPhones for Real Madrid stars to navigating the chaotic landscape of new Trump Tariffs, Kian Golzari has seen it all. In this episode of Marketing Misfits, Norm Farrar and Kevin King sit down with one of the world's leading sourcing experts to break down exactly how smart brands are adapting their supply chains in 2025. Kian reveals his "insider" strategies for legally reducing tariff costs, why the "China +1" strategy is non-negotiable, and the massive mistakes Kickstarter creators make that leave them bankrupt. Plus, find out why top entrepreneurs are flocking to Dubai.

🕒 In This Episode: 00:00 - Sourcing 24k Gold iPhones for Lamine Yamal, Mbappé & Jude Bellingham

04:15 - Sourcing from the Crib: Kian’s early start in China

09:30 - The Tariff Hack: How to split "Product Development" from "Unit Cost" to save thousands

13:45 - China +1 Strategy: When (and where) to move your manufacturing

19:20 - Why you must visit the factory (The "Face-to-Face" Advantage)

26:50 - Direct vs. Sourcing Agents: Which is right for you?

33:10 - The Kickstarter Curse: Why creators fail to deliver (and how to fix it)

45:00 - Currency Exchange Hacks: Using RMB vs. USD to get discounts

51:30 - Why entrepreneurs are moving to Dubai (Tax-free living & safety)

💡 Key Takeaways: The Tariff "Consulting Fee" Strategy: Learn how to separate your R&D costs from your COGS on the commercial invoice to legally lower the value of goods subject to tariffs. Don't Ghost Your Supplier: When tariffs hit, don't panic. Use the "50/50 Split" negotiation tactic to share the burden of rising shipping or tariff costs with your manufacturer. Kickstarter Reality Check: Never launch a crowdfunding campaign without a final production sample in hand. The "Coolest Cooler" disaster is a lesson for everyone.

This episode is brought to you by:

- Sellerboard: https://sellerboard.com/misfits

- House of AMZ: Elevate your brand today at https://www.amazonseo.com/

- 8fig: Get 25% off 8fig off at https://8fig.co

- Stack Influence: Use code MISFITS for 10% off at https://stackinfluence.com/

- Levanta: Get 20% off Levanta's gold plan and book your call today - https://get.levanta.io/misfits

#SourcingTips #ChinaTariffs #AmazonFBA

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

This episode breaks down what’s actually working on YouTube right now, and why most creators still miss it. Marley Jaxx joins Kevin King and Norm Farrar on Marketing Misfits to explain how hooks, open loops, storytelling, and disruption are rewriting the entire playbook for creators, entrepreneurs, and brands. Marley also shares the viral story behind her latest project.

She’s selling tickets to her wedding. Yes, really. And it’s blowing up across national news. Inside this episode you’ll learn how she did it, why it works, and how creators can use the same storytelling mechanics to explode their own content, build community, and stand out in an AI-saturated world. If you’re trying to grow on YouTube, turn attention into revenue, or understand why viral moments happen, this conversation is a blueprint.

What You’ll Learn:

- The real reason hooks matter more than ever

- How to build “open loops” that keep people watching

- Why search-based content alone doesn’t work anymore

- How Marley went viral selling wedding tickets

- Disruptive ideas that cut through crowded platforms

- Why authenticity beats perfect production

- How to survive trolls and negative comments

- What YouTube wants in 2025 (and what it punishes)

- How to warm up cold audiences without killing retention

- Why entrepreneurs must treat YouTube like a long-term asset

- When to use ads (and when NOT to)

- The truth about 180-day YouTube growth patterns

Guest: Marley Jaxx, YouTube strategist, filmmaker, creator, and the viral marketing mind behind the “ticketed wedding” trend.

Follow Marley:

Instagram: @marleyjaxx

YouTube: youtube.com/marleyjaxx

Chapters

00:00 What’s Actually Working on YouTube

01:12 The Viral Wedding Ticket Story

04:20 The Misfit Joining the Show

05:02 From Teeth to YouTube

07:45 The Content Strategy Shift

10:18 The Real Hook Formula

12:40 Trolls, Hate, and Staying Sane

14:55 The Video That Blew Up Years Later

16:33 One Channel or Two?

18:08 Driving Traffic the Right Way

20:31 YouTube Mistakes People Keep Making

22:44 Selling Tickets to Your Wedding

26:10 AI vs Human Content

This episode is brought to you by:

- Sellerboard: https://sellerboard.com/misfits

- House of AMZ: Elevate your brand today at https://www.amazonseo.com/

- 8fig: Get 25% off 8fig off at https://8fig.co

- Stack Influence: Use code MISFITS for 10% off at https://stackinfluence.com/

- Levanta: Get 20% off Levanta's gold plan and book your call today - https://get.levanta.io/misfits

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

AI isn’t coming. It’s here. And most e-commerce brands are sleepwalking straight into extinction. In this episode of Marketing Misfits, Norm Farrar and Kevin King talk with Lutz Finger, Cornell faculty member, AI researcher, and former Google & LinkedIn exec, about how AI is rewriting the rules of e-commerce, branding, and marketing. Lutz breaks down what 99% of sellers don’t understand: ChatGPT and Perplexity are the new gatekeepers of visibility. Aggregators like Amazon and Google? Their model is breaking.

You’ll learn:

✅ Why brands that rely on Amazon will vanish.

✅ What “Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)” means and how to rank in AI results.

✅ Why AI-generated content can hurt your visibility.

✅ How real human communities are the new algorithm hack.

✅ What OpenAI’s deal with Walmart means for sellers.

✅ The 3 things every brand must do before 2026 to survive.

Featuring:

🎙️ Lutz Finger – Head of AI at XGen AI, Cornell University Faculty

🎙️ Hosts: Norm Farrar & Kevin King

00:00 Introduction to Chat GPT in Investment Management

00:50 Welcome to Marketing Misfits

01:00 Discussion on AI and Coffee

01:17 The Evolution of AI Terminology

01:53 The Rise of AI in Agencies

02:21 Introducing the Guest Speaker

04:31 Guest Speaker's Background and Experience

06:42 The Impact of AI on E-commerce

12:15 The Future of AI in Various Industries

29:19 The Role of AI in Marketing

32:31 Debt Quality and Control

32:52 The Pitfalls of AI-Generated Content

33:20 Model Decline Explained

34:50 Influencer Marketing with Stack Influence

35:49 Human vs AI-Generated Content

39:28 Novelty in AI Training

41:28 Building Brand Authority

46:35 The Future of Brand Communities

51:40 Adoption of AI in E-commerce

54:54 Avoiding Shiny Object Syndrome

57:29 Final Thoughts and Outro

This episode is brought to you by:

- Sellerboard: https://sellerboard.com/misfits

- House of AMZ: Elevate your brand today at https://www.amazonseo.com/

- 8fig: Get 25% off 8fig off at https://8fig.co

- Stack Influence: Use code MISFITS for 10% off at https://stackinfluence.com/

- Levanta: Get 20% off Levanta's gold plan and book your call today - https://get.levanta.io/misfits

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Former eCommerce powerhouse Mike Jackness went from owning multiple 7-figure Amazon brands to running one of the fastest-growing YouTube gambling channels in Las Vegas. In this episode of Marketing Misfits, hosts Norm Farrar and Kevin King unpack how Mike turned his decades of Amazon and affiliate marketing experience into a completely new media business and how it’s already breaking even in just six months.

You’ll learn:

✅ Why Mike sold all his Amazon brands and what he saw coming before tariffs hit again

✅ How he built a content machine that posts daily long-form videos + multiple Shorts

✅ The monetization math behind YouTube RPMs, merch sales, and sponsorships

✅ What it really takes to build a loyal community (and why women over 50 are driving his views)

✅ Why owning your audience email, community, and content is the ultimate business asset

Featuring:

🎙️ Mike Jackness – Former eCommerce CEO, creator of Desert Degens

🎙️ Hosts: Norm Farrar & Kevin King

00:00 The Pivot No One Expected

01:40 Meet Mike Jackness

03:52 Million-Dollar Affiliate Days

05:43 From Affiliates to Amazon

08:14 Amazon Reality Check

16:23 Building Superfans Online

26:44 Gambling on YouTube

39:11 Selling for Freedom

39:34 What YouTube Really Pays

42:08 Daily Grind of Creation

43:49 Personality Over Perfection

45:12 Who’s Actually Watching

47:24 Expanding Beyond YouTube

53:20 Turning Fans Into Buyers

58:18 What’s Next for Degens

01:04:09 Lessons for Every Creator

This episode is brought to you by:

- Sellerboard: https://sellerboard.com/misfits

- House of AMZ: Elevate your brand today at https://www.amazonseo.com/

- 8fig: Get 25% off 8fig off at https://8fig.co

- Stack Influence: Use code MISFITS for 10% off at https://stackinfluence.com/

- Levanta: Get 20% off Levanta's gold plan and book your call today - https://get.levanta.io/misfits

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What happens when a Canadian entrepreneur flips broken PlayStations into millions, gets a $10M buyout, then loses almost half to taxes and builds again? In this episode of Marketing Misfits, Norm Farrar and Kevin King sit down with Peter Kostandenou to uncover the highs, lows, and lessons of his unconventional journey from eBay hustler to tech exec.

Peter shares how he:

- Accidentally went viral on TikTok by falling asleep as a DJ 🎧

- Scaled Hostopia from $3M to $60M and sold to Deluxe for $124M 💰

- Built a full AI marketing suite (Mopro) for local businesses 📈

- Lost $4M from bad tax planning — and what he’d do differently 🧾

- Built an offline car club community to test real-world brand loyalty 🏎️

You’ll learn:

- Why Google and ChatGPT rely on real reviews and social signals to rank your business

- The critical difference between automation and AI agents

- What GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) means for your SEO strategy in 2025

- How to build trust signals through structured data, social media, and review responses

- What a roofing contractor can teach you about the power of a single bad review

This episode is packed with branding gems, ecommerce evolution, and raw business truth. If you’re an entrepreneur, agency owner, or tech builder, you need this one.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:43 A Tech Entrepreneur's Journey

09:38 The PlayStation 2 Resale Success Story

21:38 The Rise of Hostopia

31:47 The Evolution of Small Business Marketing

34:04 The Future of Websites: AI and Social Media

35:14 The Role of AI in Content Consumption

40:06 The Importance of Reviews for Small Businesses

42:46 Effective Review Strategies for Local Businesses

49:35 Managing Negative Comments and Social Mentions

58:29 Automation vs AI: Understanding the Difference

01:01:27 Branding Stories: Car Club and DJing

01:09:48 Final Thoughts

This episode is brought to you by:

- Sellerboard: https://sellerboard.com/misfits

- House of AMZ: Elevate your brand today at https://www.amazonseo.com/

- 8fig: Get 25% off 8fig off at https://8fig.co

- Stack Influence: Use code MISFITS for 10% off at https://stackinfluence.com/

- Levanta: Get 20% off Levanta's gold plan and book your call today - https://get.levanta.io/misfits

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.