#285: Personal branding, building trust, and why most creators fail | Influence Anyone
Before I went on my current podcast guesting hiatus, I sat down with Howie Chan. I met Howie in person earlier this year at Matt McGarry’s Newsletter Marketing Summit. I thought he was fun, friendly, and thoughtful — just like he is in his podcast, Influence Anyone.
This podcast is all about applied influence psychology. Each episode, Howie sit downs with experts and practitioners to uncover the hidden psychology that helps you influence yourself (mastering your mindset, habits, and decisions) and get buy-in from others (your team, clients, and audiences.)
In this episode, we talk about my recent topic of study: trust. We break down what I’m learning about how trust works, what it looks like to build a trust-first creator business, and why some creators frankly don’t care about that.
We also talk about personal branding — Howie dug up a cringe video I made in 2012 — and what I’d do if I were starting over in 2026.
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Full transcript and show notes
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TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Trust, Branding, and Starting Over
(05:39) Sentiment and Expectations Scatterplot
(12:01) Declining Trust in Modern Society
(19:49) Key Traits of Trustworthiness
(24:08) Building Trust Through Consistency
(27:37) Trust Over Manipulation
(35:18) Think Big, Stay Persistent
(40:58) Understand Your Audience Through Interviews
(43:37) Understanding Buyer Hesitation
(51:06) Pushing for Growth and Goals
(55:30) Building Trust to Expand Business
(01:00:05) Creating Your Own Path
***
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WHEN YOU'RE READY
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1:03:36
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1:03:36
#284: I helped a YouTuber design his membership
Meet Tommy. Tommy has a YouTube channel dedicated to helping Americans retire in France.
Tommy’s done an incredible job attracting nearly 30,000 subscribers and 2 million views on his channel, but he needed help dialing in his product offer.
Tommy is a member of The Lab, my invitation-only membership community for 6-and-7-figure creators. He scheduled a coaching call with me to work out how he can take his growing audience and design his product offers to both serve that audience and bring in serious revenue.
This is that coaching call, where we discuss how his membership, cohort-based courses, and retreats to France all work together.
→ Join the Signature Product Bootcamp
→ Join The Lab
Full transcript and show notes
Tommy's Website / YouTube
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TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Intro to American to France
(06:11) Membership Focus: Retreats or Access?
(08:03) Retreats and Membership Marketing Strategy
(11:32) Membership Value and Retention
(17:18) Time-Bound Experiences & Memberships
(20:38) Strategic Event Video Planning
(23:04) Ticket Sales Strategies
(27:24) How Bootcamps Tie In
(28:36) Community Engagement and Membership Disconnect
(34:24) Selling Evergreen Memberships
(36:22) The Power of Community
(40:25) Building Community in New Locations
***
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE
→ #260: Detailed Breakdown: Our First Offline Event (And What We’ll Do Differently Next Time)
→ #271: Coaching: Helping a Lab member design their product suite | Hot Seat with John McBride
***
ASK CREATOR SCIENCE
→ Submit your question here
***
WHEN YOU'RE READY
📬 Creator Science Newsletter
🚀 Get CreatorHQ (creator operating system)
🧪 Join The Lab (private membership community)
🧞♂️ Get a Personalized Offer
***
CONNECT
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***
SPONSORS
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43:16
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43:16
#283: I’m launching my new offer TODAY!
Today, I’m launching my first-ever Signature Product Bootcamp: A four-week, live course for developing YOUR signature product (that you can sell with confidence for years).
Program Dates: December 4, 2025 — December 29, 2025
Registration closes Dec. 1 at 11:59pm PT.
→ Enroll Now in the Signature Product Bootcamp
→ Learn More about the Signature Product Bootcamp
→ Join The Lab
Full transcript and show notes
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Creator Science: Signature Boot Camp
06:13 Building Mindshare Through Focus
08:25 Product Clarity Bootcamp
13:01 Building Your Signature Offer
14:07 Bootcamp: Plan, Not Build
17:20 Signature Product Bootcamp Info
***
ASK CREATOR SCIENCE
→ Submit your question here
***
WHEN YOU'RE READY
📬 Creator Science Newsletter
🚀 Get CreatorHQ (creator operating system)
🧪 Join The Lab (private membership community)
🧞♂️ Get a Personalized Offer
***
CONNECT
🐦 Connect on Twitter
📸 Connect on Instagram
💼 Connect on LinkedIn
📹 Subscribe on YouTube
***
SPONSORS
💼 View all sponsors
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18:35
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18:35
#282: David Altizer — How to Make Great Thumbnails (For Non-Designers)
David Altizer is the co-creator of Thumbnail Academy and has quickly become one of the most sought-after thumbnail designers around. David’s clients include Kurtis Connor, Jolly, Max Fosh, Hayden Hillier Smith, and now me.
David’s thumbnails have earned nearly 350 million views—and in this video, he’ll show you why creating thumbnails is actually easier than you think.
Full transcript and show notes
Hire David
Join Thumbnail Academy
David's Website / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube
***
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Intro to David Altizer
(05:20) Rule of Thirds Explained
(06:26) The Key to Composition
(11:07) Special Offer on 1of10
(15:02) Different Styles of Thumbnails
(19:39) Clickbait is Good, Actually
(22:05) The Key to More Clicks
(24:27) Thumbnail Text Strategy
(29:44) Learning from Far Side Comics
(32:57) Mastering Thumbnails and Outliers
(35:41) Working With Thumbnail Designers
(45:46) AI's Role in Thumbnail
***
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE
→ #280: How to LEGALLY Protect Your Channel (YouTube Lawyer Tyler Chou Explains)
***
ASK CREATOR SCIENCE
→ Submit your question here
***
WHEN YOU'RE READY
📬 Creator Science Newsletter
🚀 Get CreatorHQ (creator operating system)
🧪 Join The Lab (private membership community)
🧞♂️ Get a Personalized Offer
***
CONNECT
🐦 Connect on Twitter
📸 Connect on Instagram
💼 Connect on LinkedIn
📹 Subscribe on YouTube
***
SPONSORS
💼 View all sponsors
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51:18
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51:18
#281: A question about the future of this podcast... [Voice Memo]
If you enjoy this episode, please leave a comment on Spotify or a review on Apple Podcasts!
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Creating content has never been easier—but breaking through the noise has gotten harder.
The only reliable way to grow as a creator is through systematic observation, experimentation, and iteration. This podcast is your weekly guide to evidence-backed strategies you can test in your own business.
Each episode features candid conversations with creators like James Clear, Ali Abdaal, Tim Urban, and Codie Sanchez. We explore what's actually working for them: the experiments they're running, the data they're tracking, and the frameworks they use to grow their audience, build trust, and increase income.
We dig into why it worked, how you can adapt it, and what constraints or anti-goals helped them stay focused and avoid burnout.
Hosted by Signal Award-winner Jay Clouse, this is a show about the business of content—from a place of curiosity, transparency, and a commitment to sustainable growth.
It's growth for creators, down to a science.
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