Building community: who over what

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: dan@titannetwork.com

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.

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