Personal Branding & Founder-Led Marketing in an AI Trust Recession

E-commerce Growth Strategy: Why "Best Quality" Won't Sell

Most e-commerce brands don't have a product problem. They have a focus problem. They try to sell to everyone, list every variation, chase every platform at once, and lead with "we have the best quality." That's the most boring pitch in the world, and it's usually the reason growth stalls. In this episode of Humans of Growth, I sit down with Michael Jordan, founding partner at BAD Marketing, to break down what actually separates e-commerce brands that scale to eight figures from the ones that flop. Michael has run this from both sides: as an agency operator managing Amazon and Meta accounts for hundreds of brands, and as a founder who's launched, scaled, and shut down his own. We get into why subscription and repeat purchase products stack the odds in your favor as CAC keeps climbing, why TikTok is the cheapest place to test which hook and avatar your market actually responds to, and why too many product options quietly kill conversion rates. Michael also breaks down his insert card system, the one he built into his own book, for turning anonymous Amazon buyers (whose data Amazon keeps for itself) into an owned email and SMS list worth 30 to 40 percent of total revenue. In this episode, we cover: ✔ Why founder involvement is the biggest predictor of whether a brand scales past seven figures ✔ Subscription and repeat purchase products vs one-off items: why CLTV matters more as CAC rises ✔Why "we have the best quality" is the weakest marketing angle you can run ✔ How to use TikTok to test 50 hooks and let the market tell you your winning avatar ✔ Why Instagram has gotten harder to test organically compared to TikTok ✔ Meta vs TikTok vs Amazon: why Michael tells brands to start on the platform with less competition ✔ How too many product variations create decision fatigue and kill conversion rates ✔ Amazon's five keyword rotation strategy: how to actually rank a listing over time ✔ What data Amazon gives sellers, and what it deliberately keeps from you ✔ How insert cards turn Amazon buyers into an owned email and SMS list ✔ Why a 50 percent discount doesn't convert anymore, and what offers do instead ✔ How brands are cutting wasted branded ad spend without losing revenue If you're an e-commerce founder, Amazon seller, DTC brand owner, or marketing lead trying to figure out why growth has stalled, or why your ad spend keeps climbing without the results to match, this conversation will change how you think about product, platform, and customer data. Because the brands that win aren't the ones with the best product. They're the ones with the sharpest focus. ______________________ RESOURCES: Get help finding the right marketing partner. [https://perissonnetwork.com/] Learn more about BAD Marketing here. [https://www.badmarketing.com/]

The Biggest AI Mistakes Businesses Are Making Right Now

Everyone is talking about whether AI will replace jobs. The better question is: what happens if you refuse to learn it? In this episode of Humans of Growth, I sit down with Jason Neman, CEO of Good Brand, to discuss how AI is changing marketing, branding, business growth, and the future of work. We break down how successful companies are actually using ChatGPT, Claude AI, and other AI tools to become more productive, without replacing human creativity. In this episode, we cover: ✔ AI marketing vs. human creativity ✔ Using AI for business & how to train it on your brand ✔ AI prompts that produce better content ✔ AI automation vs. human strategy ✔ Why AI integration is becoming essential ✔ The future of marketing jobs & marketing agencies ✔ How content marketing is changing ✔ Why brand voice still matters ✔ CEO leadership in the AI era ✔ The future of digital marketing Whether you're a CEO, founder, marketing leader, or agency owner, this episode offers practical advice for using AI to grow your business instead of fearing it. ______________________ RESOURCES:  Get help finding the right marketing partner. [https://perissonnetwork.com/] Learn more about the Good Brand here. [https://goodbrandcompany.com/]

Influencer Marketing: How to Make Paid Creator Partnerships Actually Work

Influencer marketing is not “send free product and pray they post” anymore. Creators know their worth. Consumers know when they are being sold to. And brands that still treat creator marketing like a one-off transaction are usually the ones wondering why the campaign looked good on paper but did not actually move the business. In this episode of Humans of Growth, I sit down with Tommy Johnson, Senior Director of Partnerships at Open Influence, to unpack what modern influencer marketing actually takes to drive awareness, trust, engagement, and real business results. We talk about the shift from gifting to paid creator partnerships, why bigger creators are not always better, and how brands can build influencer campaigns that feel real instead of over-scripted. In this episode, we cover: ✔ Why influencer marketing has moved beyond free product gifting ✔ How creators and influencers actually build trust with their audiences ✔ The difference between macro influencers, micro influencers, and niche creators ✔ When brands should focus on awareness versus bottom-funnel results ✔ How to measure influencer marketing campaigns using impressions, engagement, affiliate, brand lift, and smart commerce links ✔ Why over-scripted influencer content usually performs worse ✔ How much creative control brands should give creators ✔ Why paid amplification matters in creator marketing ✔ How to build long-term creator partnerships instead of one-off campaigns ✔ Why consumers trust creators who show up consistently with the same brand If you care about influencer marketing, creator marketing, influencer marketing strategy, UGC creators, paid creator partnerships, social media marketing, TikTok marketing, brand awareness campaigns, and measuring influencer marketing ROI, this episode will help you think more strategically about how creators can actually support business growth. Because the future of influencer marketing is not just finding someone with followers. It is finding the right creator, the right audience, the right message, and enough trust to make people care. ______________________ RESOURCES: Get help finding the right marketing partner. [https://perissonnetwork.com/] Learn more about Open Influence here. [https://openinfluence.com/]

Pet Influencer Partnerships: A Marketing Crash Course

Pet influencers are adorable but not always profitable. A lot of brands see a cute dog with a big following and assume they’ve found the perfect influencer. But just like with humans, follower count is one of the least useful numbers on its own. The real value comes from audience demographics, engagement, platform fit, usage rights, content quality, and the person behind the pet. In this episode of Humans of Growth, I sit down with Colleen, founder of Pets on Q, to break down what brands need to understand before hiring pet influencers, animal talent, or UGC creators. In this episode, we cover: ✔ Why follower count is not enough when choosing pet influencers ✔ How audience demographics can make or break an influencer marketing campaign ✔ The difference between pet influencers, animal talent, and UGC creators ✔ Why pet accounts often drive brand awareness more than direct sales ✔ How usage rights, exclusivity, and platform choice affect influencer pricing ✔ Why Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook all carry different value in creator partnerships ✔ What brands should evaluate before spending money on pet influencer marketing ✔ Why the human behind the pet often matters more than the pet itself ✔ How trainers, vets, groomers, and working-animal owners are changing pet marketing ✔ Where AI-generated creators fit, and why pet content is harder to fake convincingly If you’re a brand, marketer, or business owner trying to understand influencer strategy, social media marketing, UGC, creator partnerships, or how to work with pet influencers without wasting your budget, this conversation will help you see what actually makes a campaign work in the pet space. ______________________ RESOURCES: Get help finding the right marketing partner. [https://perissonnetwork.com/] Learn more about Pets on Q. [https://www.petsonq.com/]

Personal Branding & Founder-Led Marketing in an AI Trust Recession

Most founders are wrong about personal branding. They think it’s about ego, selfies, and posting your life story online. But according to Rachel Gogos, CEO of The Brand ID, your personal brand is not about being louder. It’s about making your business feel more human, more trustworthy, and more real. In this episode of Humans of Growth, Aly Hathcock sits down with Rachel Gogos to talk about the role of personal branding in modern business growth, why every company brand starts with the founder, and how leaders can build trust without turning themselves into full-time influencers. Rachel breaks down why founder branding matters even when the founder is not the public face of the company, how AI marketing is making authenticity more valuable, and why businesses need to move away from faceless, generic content. They also discuss the difference between being personal and being too personal, how to make your ideal customer feel seen, and why your website should feel less like a brochure and more like a real-life experience with your business. This conversation also digs into brand strategy, content marketing, website copy, customer pain points, and the importance of creating a consistent customer experience across every touchpoint — from your social media content to your sales calls to your website. If you’re a founder, CEO, marketer, or business owner who wants people to trust your company before they ever get on a call, this episode is for you. In this episode, we cover: ✔ Why personal branding is not about ego ✔ How founder values shape company branding ✔ Why faceless marketing is losing power ✔ How AI is changing authenticity in marketing ✔ What CEOs misunderstand about branding ✔ How to balance professionalism with personality ✔ Why your website should focus on the customer, not just the company ✔ How to make your ideal audience feel seen ✔ Why branding is more than fonts, colors, and logos ✔ The underrated power of in-person connection If you've been thinking about building a personal brand and not just a company, this episode is for you. ______________________ RESOURCES: Get help finding the right marketing partner. [https://perissonnetwork.com/] Learn more about The Brand ID here. [https://thebrandid.com/]