The Agents of Change Digital Marketing Podcast

Stop chasing the "AI-first" dream. After a year of experimenting with every AI tool, framework, and workflow I could find, I learned that building a human-first company that smartly uses AI beats trying to become an AI company every time. In this solo episode, I walk through seven lessons from 2025 that completely changed how I think about AI in marketing—from why perfect prompts don't exist to why you should use AI in your personal life. Whether you're drowning in AI hype or just getting started, these insights will help you use AI more strategically in 2026. Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

If your lead magnet is a beautifully designed PDF that no one reads, congratulations—you're normal. Also: that thing isn't working anymore. In this episode, Maeve Ferguson explains why traditional lead magnets are failing and how diagnostic assessments can attract better leads, pre-sell your expertise, and stop wasting your time on bad-fit prospects. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/611 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

Melina Palmer, an applied behavioral economist and bestselling author, dives into the psychology of change. She discusses why our brains resist new ideas, emphasizing status quo bias and loss aversion. Through engaging examples, including the infamous Tropicana and New Coke failures, Melina highlights the importance of framing change effectively. She offers practical tips for marketers, like addressing key pain points and utilizing social proof, to motivate customers to embrace transformation and reduce resistance.

Let's be honest: social media can feel like a hamster wheel. You post on Instagram or LinkedIn, get a few likes, and 24 hours later, that content is dead and you're back to square one. But what if your content worked for you, building momentum over months and even years? That's the promise of YouTube. In this episode, I sit down with YouTube strategist Jerry Potter, who breaks down exactly how busy business owners can build a lead-generating channel in just 90 minutes a week—without becoming a full-time content creator. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/609 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

Most of us think our websites are working just fine. They look good. They're fast. They have all our information right there on the homepage. But here's the problem: your website isn't about you. If you're standing on your digital rooftop shouting about how awesome you are—your 15 years in business, your features, your awards—you're doing inside-out marketing. And it's probably why your growth has stalled. James Hipkin has been building businesses with digital marketing since 2010, and he's here to flip the script. Today, we're talking about the shift from inside-out to outside-in marketing, why your website needs to engage visitors in six seconds or less, and how to stop wasting money on tactics that don't work. This is the conversation that might finally make your website work as hard as you do. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/608 Rich's AI Workshop on 12/11/2025: https://www.takeflyte.com/flyte-school-live Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

Mike Allton, an AI architect and creator of The AI Hat, shares his journey into the world of custom AI assistants. He explains how these tools can handle repetitive tasks and challenge your thinking, acting like strategic partners rather than just responders. Mike provides a step-by-step approach to building your first assistant, highlights the importance of documentation, and discusses how to iterate and improve outputs over time. He emphasizes the value of using AI to free up your time and enhance productivity for solopreneurs and small teams.

Tamsen Webster, a message designer and author, shares her insights on crafting effective marketing messages. She explains why messages often fail—by only addressing one part of the brain. Tamsen introduces her ITBA framework, illustrating how to create impactful messages using clear if-then logic. She emphasizes the importance of using familiar language and grounding messages in your organization's core rationale. Tamsen also encourages discussions to reveal messaging gaps and offers free resources to help listeners implement her strategies.

Look, I get it. You've got a modest marketing budget, and every time you hear about Google Ads, you think: "That's for the big players with deep pockets." But here's the thing: paid search can absolutely work for small budgets—you just can't play by the same rules as enterprise brands throwing around unlimited cash. Brooke Osmundson, Director of Growth Marketing at Smith Microsoftware, joined me to break down exactly how small businesses can make paid search work when you're working with $20 to $50 a day (or even less). She's been in the trenches on both the agency and in-house side, managing everything from local clinics to Fortune 100 companies, so she knows what actually works—and what's just burning money. If you've been frustrated by rising costs, spread-thin budgets, or campaigns that seem to eat cash without delivering results, this conversation will change how you think about paid search. No fluff, no impossible tactics—just practical strategies you can use today. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/605 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

You know that sinking feeling when you realize your carefully crafted content sounds exactly like everyone else's? (Yeah, me too.) Here's the uncomfortable truth: expertise has been commodified. You can share everything you know, and it still won't be enough to stand out because a hundred other voices are saying the same thing—just maybe with different GIFs. Jay Acunzo spent years building a speaking career without a book, without fame, just by owning a singular premise that made people stop and think differently. Now he works behind the scenes with executives and entrepreneurs, helping them transform generic advice into intellectual property that actually resonates. In this conversation, we dig into how you move from talking about topics to owning a perspective, why "unsolicited response rate" matters more than reach metrics, and what it really takes to become the voice people seek out instead of scroll past. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/604 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

Melanie Deziel, a creative systems architect and award-winning content creator, helps businesses transform complex ideas into memorable frameworks. In the conversation, she introduces her IRON process, explaining how frameworks enhance communication and retention. Melanie highlights the importance of striking the right balance between simplicity and detail, as well as avoiding common pitfalls in framework design. She offers actionable tips on organizing thoughts and emphasizes how a well-structured framework boosts brand awareness and credibility.