The Influential Personal Brand Podcast

While it seems glamorous to have a personal brand, the most successful brands have earned their appeal through consistent hard work. That’s one of the main takeaways from our informative conversation with Chris Ducker. In this episode, we recap Chris’s many insights, including how you can highlight your unique value by focusing on being someone’s favorite resource within your niche. Another key lesson, we dive into why Chris never discounts his products, with host Rory Vaden discussing how discounts cut into your profits. After sharing brilliant alternatives to offering discounts, we look at how Chris built his company through commitment and hard work. As Rory explains, if you follow these same steps, then success will follow. Tune in for more of our top takeaways as we unpack our talk with Chris Ducker.  

Author and serial entrepreneur, Chris Ducker has built an income stream by following a simple formula — show up every week and create content that answers a question or solves a problem. This insight comes from today’s conversation with Chris, in which he candidly explains the steps he’s taken to create his successful subscription service, Youpreneur Academy. Early in our discussion, we talk about his subscriber numbers, retention rates, and what he does to manage his website. From video training to blog posts, we chat about what his members get out of his service and why he no longer needs to upload huge amounts of content per month. After touching on why he charges dollars for subscriptions, we dive into a key part of his offering — the community aspect. As Chris explains, entrepreneurs need to speak to and learn from their peers. In his case, this includes mega-successful business people who have only started to build their personal brands. We then discuss his tiered subscription model, why email is the king of his marketing funnel, and why you should aim to get users onto your website and away from social media platforms. Tune in for more on what you can do to nail your online subscription model. 

When Rebecca Louise answered a casting call to appear in a YouTube video, she never knew that it would set her on the path to owning a fitness empire, complete with an app and YouTube channel. Today we recap our key takeaways from our conversation with Rebecca, whose story highlights that starting something is often more important than knowing the direction that you’re headed. An early takeaway, we discuss how YouTube has become a driving force behind business success. After touching on how YouTube rewards creators who deliver content that their audience wants to see, we dive into the power of having a ‘can do’ mindset. We then explore how Rebecca’s direct sales and personal brand feed into each other before chatting about Rebecca’s road to success. We wrap up the episode by talking about Rebecca’s content and how it reflects the lesson that people pay for organization and application. Tune in to hear more of our chief learnings from Rebecca Louise, a master of both direct sales and personal branding. 

Turning your content into a hefty and steady income stream is an eternal challenge, especially when you’re competing with ‘free.’ Today we speak with author and fitness coach Rebecca Louise about how she blended her personal and network marketing brands to make money through her fitness app. After chatting about her start on YouTube and how she first discovered the power of network marketing, we discuss the process of building your YouTube channel from zero followers. A key insight, Rebecca talks about how she first developed her brand by offering free content on YouTube before creating her subscription model. We then dive into her philosophy on what she gives away, and what she doesn’t, while highlighting the importance of consistency, and offering ‘community as a service.’ Rebecca provides listeners with tips on using YouTube’s algorithm to your advantage before we explore what she’s done to balance her personal and network marketing brands. Near the end of the episode, we ask Rebecca about It Takes Grit, her new book, and how she’s bringing valuable lessons about mindset to her audience. Tune in and hear more on the links between personal branding and network marketing — and how you can sell your content by merging the two.  

When we’re thrust into uncertain times, your mindset is often the deciding factor on whether your business survives or fails. Today we recap our inspiring conversation with Dan Thurmon, a mindset champion and keynote speaker whose source of income was taken away by the pandemic. We reflect on the devastating effect that uncertainty can have in our lives before reflecting on our first key takeaway from Dan — that having a disciplined mind can help you embrace change. After all, as Dan explained, you’ve been adapting your whole life. Following this, we discuss the power that comes from leaning into change and up-leveling your business. The perfect example, Dan has used technical innovations to bring his live speaking practice to the virtual world. Our final takeaway, we dive into Dan’s mindset to serve. A fantastic content pathway, we talk about how Dan prioritizes serving his audience and striving to make an impact in their lives over making money. We then chat about why this is such a successful model and that when you take action and consistently add value, the money will naturally follow. Tune in to hear how your mindset can help you develop the confidence and ability to weather any storm.  

We always face a level of uncertainty. But the more we improve ourselves, the more certain the future becomes. Today we talk with phenomenal keynote speaker, Dan Thurmon, who has given keynote addresses for some of the world’s biggest companies. A driving theme in this episode, we dive into what Dan has done to improve his business as he transitions from event speaking to giving talks in the virtual world. Before getting into that, we chat about Dan’s mega-success creating TikTok videos with his daughter. Although Dan has connected with a new audience and has found clients through his TikTok videos, he shares how his videos are made to give joy on a huge scale. After chatting about the value of giving back to your community, Dan walks us through his studio — follow the link below to our YouTube channel to see the tour. As a famously dynamic speaker, Dan explains how his studio set up allows him to maintain his out-of-the-box style. He then provides specifics on how he uses different backdrops, performative set pieces, and camera angles to structure his talks and make them more compelling. Near the end of the episode, Dan opens up about uncertainty and how we can overcome difficult times through self-improvement and adaptability. Tune in and hear more of Dan’s insights on scaling joy, being a dynamic speaker, and dealing with uncertainty. 

While many see public speaking as an art, Vanessa Van Edwards has reduced it to a science that can be taught. Today we recap key insights from our conversation with her on what you can do to be a more effective speaker. Our first takeaway, we talk about how hand gestures can build trust with your audience and how your body can be used to convey your message. After touching on Vanessa’s data-driven process, we discuss what she did to make her Ted Talk go viral. We review her actionable steps before focusing on an important lesson — that how you use the stage can either diminish or empower your presentation. We then chat about the benefits of standing and delivering your message versus intentionally moving across the stage. Our last takeaway centers on why you should get your content on YouTube, a recurring theme among our latest episodes. Tune in to hear how you can level up your speaking game, along with specifics on what YouTube can do for your brand. 

From Simon Sinek to Sir Ken Robinson, the most charismatic speakers have used the same secrets to captivate audiences and create viral videos. Today, we speak with behavioral investigator and incredible speaker, Vanessa Van Edwards, about what you can do to become a more effective speaker. After introducing Vanessa, we dive into her work analyzing TED Talks, and what factors separate the most and least successful speakers. She highlights the importance of non-verbal communication, including gestures, and how you can use the stage to structure your content.

From how you define success to the limits that you set yourself, it’s liberating to know that you have a huge amount of control over your branding journey. As we recap our episode featuring Hal Elrod, this key theme appears throughout our conversation — that you’re in the driver’s seat. Our first takeaway centers on how Hal is the poster-child for successful self-publishing, a path that is not recommended by conventional wisdom, which stresses the importance of traditional publishing. Following this, we discuss Hal’s insights into how you’re in charge of your internal-world, along with what making an impact means to you. We then reflect on Hal’s journey and how he survived a horrific accident, helping him to develop his positive and grateful outlook. While tracking the business steps he took, we highlight how Hal’s consistent hard work eventually led to skyrocketing book sales. Near the end of the episode, we explore the strategy of building a community around your message, and how your community can end up being your greatest salesforce. Tune in to hear more of our top takeaways from our incredible discussion with Hal.

A simple approach, creating the perfect morning routine will help you tackle the rest of the day as your best self. Starting every morning like that has a ripple effect with life-changing results. Today, we speak with the creator of the Miracle Morning, best-selling author and keynote speaker, Hal Elrod. But Hal wasn’t always a morning person. Early in the episode, he talks about the events in his life that transformed him, including how he experienced a horrific accident at 20 years old.