You Don’t Need Charisma to Build a Personal Brand

Summary

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Special Ops with Emma Rainville

Episode Summary: "You Don’t Need Charisma to Build a Personal Brand"

Date: March 17, 2026
Host: Emma Rainville
Guest: Mitch Barham, Agency Owner and Personal Brand Builder

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into debunking a much-held myth: that you need to be naturally charismatic or outgoing to build a successful and profitable personal brand online. Emma Rainville invites agency owner and friend, Mitch Barham, who openly jokes about his lack of "personality," yet has built a personal brand that has generated millions in revenue. Together, they break down tactical, actionable steps that anyone—even introverts or those uncomfortable on camera—can use to build an authentic brand that sells. The content is direct, witty, and loaded with practical playbook elements, focusing on authenticity over polish, batching content, multi-channel distribution, and simple frameworks that make personal branding accessible to all.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Myth of Charisma in Personal Branding

• Mitch’s Success (00:00): Mitch opens by stating he added $1M in top-line revenue from organic content alone.
• Emma’s Intro (00:38): Emma sets the tone: “[Mitch] has probably the worst personality of anyone I've ever met. And he has a personal brand that has generated him millions of dollars. So we're going to break down for you how he did it, what he does and why you should too.”
• Theme: Charisma is overrated; authenticity and problem-solving content are what drive results.

2. Real, Raw, and Relatable Content Creation

• Mitch’s Recording Process (02:12):
  • No detailed scripts, just phone-in-hand, idea-driven, and batch-recorded.
  • “I just give. And then I suck at asking.” (02:21)
  • He’ll record 4-21 videos at a time, wearing the same shirt—no fuss about appearances.
• Emma’s Reluctance and Routine (06:39):
  • Removed social media from her phone to reduce anxiety and doom scrolling.
  • Created structured routines and practices single-tasking for efficiency.

3. The ‘Problem, Agitate, Solution’ Framework

• Framework Breakdown (08:24):
  • Mitch’s go-to structure: “Problem, agitate, solution. Like, that's king. I don't care what anybody says.” (08:54)
  • Example (08:59): “Do your Facebook ads fall off a cliff after seven days?...Then I roll into the solution. Well, here's why.”
• Emma’s Application:
  • Suggests application in niches—operations, leadership, etc.—using relevant hooks (“You hired all these people and they can't keep up with you. You have an operations problem...” –09:27)

4. Distribution Automation and Repurposing Content

• Automation (04:40):
  • Mitch built automations to redistribute content across platforms (TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, Threads, Facebook).
  • Utilizes AI tools to turn videos into written posts in platform-appropriate styles.
  • Posts 18-40 times daily across accounts, plus 5-10 times on his personal Facebook profile.

5. Detachment from Perfection & Repetition of Core Messages

• Platform Nuances (11:17):
  • TikTok and YouTube as discovery engines; Facebook & Instagram are nurture platforms.
  • Algorithms reward repetition—personalities like Gary Vee, Tony Robbins repeat core messages for years with success (28:34).
• Notable Quote (21:07): “People crave authenticity, especially as we move more into the AI era... It's going to come down to trust.” —Mitch

6. Tactical Content Creation Tips for Reluctant or Private People

• Recording Tools:
  • Phone, iPad, simple tripod—avoid overproduced setups for authenticity.
  • CapCut and Descript recommended for fast, simple edits (16:08–16:35).
  • Emma often recorded in Zoom for ads, but Mitch recommends switching to Descript.
• Visual and Verbal Hooks (23:00):
  • Use small props or gestures (combing beard, putting on glasses, sitting in a chair) as visual hooks.
  • Maintain a clear, attention-grabbing verbal hook to maximize engagement.

7. Dealing with Criticism and 'Hatertainment'

• Engagement Over Approval:
  • Negative comments still help push content further in algorithms.
  • "It doesn’t matter if it’s bad because the algorithm can’t tell whether they say screw you or I love you.” (24:50)

8. Niche Focus & Audience Cultivation

• Stay Focused (27:07–27:45):
  • Stick to a tight topic cluster to avoid confusing your audience—and the algorithm.
  • For new topics, build a new profile/page.
• Leads Over Platform Monetization (29:01):
  • You don’t need a massive following; “You can get leads and sales from 100 followers.”

9. Efficiency, Automation, and AI Integration

• Using AI in Content Repurposing (04:40, 32:22):
  • AI tools convert video snippets into different written and visual formats, increasing omnipresence and authority online.
  • "All the AI platforms are gobbling up all this technology... videos, shorts, posts show up in the Google feed already." (17:11)

10. Content Strategy: The Power of Repetition

• Repetition is Key (28:34):
  • Audiences need to hear/sense the same knowledge repeatedly for your authority to stick.
  • “Tony Robbins has got the same thing for how many years? … Like forever.” (29:01)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Charisma:
  • Emma: “You’ve actually done a really great job for someone with no personality whatsoever.” (00:05)
• On Content Essentials:
  • Mitch: “It’s all problem, agitate, solution. Like that’s key.” (00:14)
  • Mitch: “People aren’t connecting with perfect scripting and acting. People are connecting with the help that you’re providing.” (00:17; also paraphrased at 35:32)
• On Authenticity:
  • Mitch: “People crave authentic, especially as we move more into the AI era.” (00:25; 21:07)
  • Emma: “I’ve absolutely filmed with no makeup because I didn’t care to ruin my hair in a ponytail because I had really important stuff to say.” (21:48)
• On Negative Feedback:
  • Mitch: “The algorithm can’t tell whether they say screw you or I love you... It’s just watch hours.” (24:50)
• On Building Trust in the Age of AI:
  • Mitch: "You have to show up authentically… it’s going to come down to trust." (21:07)
• On Audience Building:
  • Mitch: "You will suck the first time you sit down to do videos… That's okay, you suck now." (34:54)
• Emma's playful zinger:
  • “...your content sometimes feels like someone is holding a gun to your head when you're talking.” (35:21)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamps | |----------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Introduction and the charisma myth | 00:00–01:54 | | Emma and Mitch: Reluctant content creators | 01:15–03:28 | | Batch production and untidy authenticity | 03:28–04:34 | | Distribution automation and AI | 04:40–05:27 | | Emma’s social media detox and routines | 05:27–07:15 | | 'Problem, Agitate, Solution' Framework | 08:18–09:40 | | Editing and repurposing basics | 10:11–11:17 | | Platform differences: Discovery vs. Nurture | 11:17–12:01 | | Hooks: Visual and verbal engagement | 23:00–24:50 | | Managing negative feedback | 24:50–25:00 | | Niche focus and audience curation | 27:07–27:45 | | Repetition and message consistency | 28:34–29:40 | | AI, omnipresence, and Google search | 17:11–18:00 | | Handling haters and building audience trust | 21:07–22:25 | | Monetization: Leads vs. Platform Payouts | 29:01–33:08 | | Generating content topics with AI/clients | 33:40–35:21 | | Closing thoughts on authenticity | 36:04–36:39 |

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Quick Action Playbook (From the Episode)

1. Batch Record When Inspiration Hits: Record 4–21 short videos at once. Don’t stress about wardrobe or scripting.
2. Use the Problem, Agitate, Solution Framework: Grab attention with a relatable problem, agitate the pain, provide a solution.
3. Edit Fast & Light: Use tools like CapCut or Descript; don’t over-produce. Authenticity wins.
4. Automate Distribution: Leverage apps and AI to repurpose and distribute your content across multiple platforms (YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads).
5. Engage Both Positive and Negative Feedback: All engagement boosts distribution. Don't let haters intimidate you.
6. Niche Down and Repeat Core Ideas: Consistency and repetition build authority and accelerate trust.
7. Practice Single-Tasking for Time Efficiency: Remove distractions (including social apps if needed) and create regular routines to maximize content creation.
8. Use AI for Content Ideation: Repurpose client Q&As/calls—feed transcripts to ChatGPT to spark new video topics.
9. Don’t Stress Over Perfection: Launch now—refine as you go.

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Wrap-Up

This episode is a masterclass in building a high-impact personal brand without relying on charisma or “influencer” energy. Mitch and Emma’s candid discussion demystifies the process for everyday business owners and founders, stressing that showing up imperfectly, serving your audience, and distributing consistently will outperform polish every time. Whether you’re an extrovert, introvert, or simply not a fan of social platforms, the actionable tactics and honest commentary make this an episode every business owner trying to establish (or revive) their personal brand should hear.

For more tactical playbooks and resources:
Visit specialopspodcast.com

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Transcript

[A]

I added $1 million in top line revenue in a year from just organic content.

[B]

You've actually done a really great job for someone with no personality whatsoever. Seriously, what's your strategy? Do you turn the camera on and go, what is the thing? What do you do?

[A]

It's all problem, agitate, solution. Like that's key.

[B]

People aren't connecting with perfect scripting and acting. People are connecting with the help that you're providing.

[A]

They will resonate with every single person differently. And that is fine. People crave authentic, especially as we move more into the AI era.

[B]

Hi and welcome to another episode of Special Ops Podcast. I'm your host, Emma Rainville and here is where we give actionable insights to direct response marketers and e commerce sellers. Today I have my good friend Mitch Barham who is here talking about personal branding. While he doesn't do personal branding for a living, Mitch has probably the worst personality of anyone I've ever met. And he has a personal brand that has generated him millions of dollars. So we're going to break down for you how he did it, what he does and why you should too. All right, so, Mitch.

[A]

Oh, hi.

[B]

One of the things that I'm actually excited to talk to you about is personal branding. So you and I both have like this self defecating aura about us because we really don't like and which is why we're really good at our jobs too. We really don't like being in the spotlight or having like all eyes on us. But at the same time, we're both agency owners that have to have content and have to be out there. And so you and I have been on the same journey. I've like gotten 2,000 subscribers. You've gotten subscribers. You've gotten like 79,000, Sarah. So you've clearly done better than me combing your disgusting beard.

[A]

That's how you do it. You gotta grow a beard.

[B]

So you've actually done a really great job for someone with no personality whatsoever.

[A]

Seriously.

[B]

And tons of self defecation. I'd love to. Like, what's your strategy? Do you just turn the camera on and go? Do you write scripts? Do you have like, what is the thing? What do you do?

[A]

I literally am just turning my phone on and recording, so I'll have no

[B]

idea what you're gonna say. It just kind of comes out.

[A]

No, I have a, like, okay, so a lot of it is like in the moment. If I have the opportunity to like document it or talk about it, like something just happened or I just had a call and it was a great idea. I can share this with people. My personal brand is built a lot around education, giving everything away, building that authority in whatever space I'm in at that moment. And so I just give. And then I suck at asking. So, like asking for the sale. But it. A lot of it is literally I'm doing something and then I record it. Or at the end of the day, I'll batch record like four or five, six. I've had days where I've literally batch recorded 21 videos. That's because I had 21 ideas. So you can go to my pages and find where I'm wearing the same shirt for 21 videos. I don't change my shirt. I don't care. Like, I'm not trying.

[B]

I wear the same clothes every day.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I wore this, like, this is not the same black shirt that I've wore for a couple days. It's just the same black shirt that you've. But I've not.

[B]

Ten times. Yeah, same.

[A]

And so I will batch record those because I had the idea, I have literally no idea the words I'm going to say. I know the topic and the outcome that I want to talk about. And then I just go, trust me, my bloopers are epic if I actually saved them. But I will record them in app. So like in tick tock in Instagram. And so I just quickly record them next. I want them very real, very raw with those ones.

[B]

Who edits them?

[A]

I do those ones. Ew. But. But that's only go. All I'm doing is I'm doing the jump cuts, meaning I'm just taking out the spots where all of a sudden I run out of air and then I'm like. Because I'm a fat kid and need to breathe, that I, you know, add a text overlay and captions. Because depending on the app, they watch with sound off or with sound on. So you want to be able to have people watch. It helps increase distribution. The longer your watch time is on every platform. And then that gets redistributed across all, you know, YouTube, YouTube shorts, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn threads, Facebook.

[B]

So after you film in the app, your team takes it and puts it elsewhere.

[A]

Yep. I actually built an automation that does it all now. But yes, they were originally downloading the video and then redistributing it and then adding captions everywhere else. And then we take that same content and we'll turn it into written posts. We use AI and created an AI, little internal tool to use so it'll create a unique LinkedIn post that's just words and an image and then for Facebook as well and thread style. Over time we've been able to basically develop this system that my brands and my pages. All in all we're posting anywhere from like 18 to 40 times a day. That's not even including my personal profile on Facebook that I'm posting anywhere from like five to ten times a day to the point where now I get comments of like fuck, stop with all the posting. And I just say no, I'm good, thank you for the recommendation.

[B]

Here's my problem. I don't have social media on my phone.

[A]

So you don't need to.

[B]

You want to know why?

[A]

Because it's very addicting.

[B]

Doom scroll. Oh yeah, I'll sit down.

[A]

Problem.

[B]

I'll sit down to check comments to make sure they've been answered. On my like only day off in 10 days and 17 hours later, I realize it's time to go to bed because I have to go to work the next day. And I have just watched Ray Williams man who tells like true crime stories.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[B]

And Charlotte Dabri who tells wedding stories and like all these influencers who have just sucked my face out.

[A]

I mean all the platforms are designed

[B]

to do that and my husband will be like what are you doing? And I'm like, I'm looking where to place ads cuz he doesn't know what the hell's going on. And so he, he's like are you sure you're not just doom. Like no, of course not. I'm working.

[A]

No, I'm working market research.

[B]

I, I took Facebook, Instagram and TikTok which I was never really into TikTok anyway but Facebook, Instagram and TikTok off my phone. I actually have a 15 minute limit just so I can go in there and like I have so much anxiety around it. I just quickly view it. My team is posted, right. And then I get off because I'm gonna get locked out.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I want to beat the clock every day. I don't want to get, I don't want to get locked out. If I get locked out, I feel embarrassed and ashamed of myself. But because of this, you notice you're in my group. So I picked 60 books to read this year because last year I read 52 and it was hard. I bet I met 25 books. 24. 24 books. But it's because I, I don't watch TV. I'm not on social media wasting my life. I created a Morning routine and an evening routine that takes care of me. And I'm not allowed to have my phone around during that time anymore.

[A]

Smart.

[B]

Well, dude, it really is to take a shower, brush my teeth, do my hair, do my skincare routine, which is very quick, and put my makeup on, which you watched me do today. Very, very quick, very quick. He watched me just do my makeup, not the rest. But to do all of that would take me like an hour and a half because I was answering slack in between and I was looking at email in between. And it. Like we talked about this. Multitasking is not a thing. Single task. Single task. I can get in the bathroom and get out of the bathroom completely ready for my day in 20 to 25 minutes. Whereas it used to take me an, at the end of the day, 30 minutes max. 30 minutes. And that's with my 15 minutes red light and a shower. And it's like by single tasking everything. Removing social media. So what, what do you say to someone like me who's terrified of the idea of going into Facebook, going into TikTok, going into Instagram and filming every day.

[A]

So you don't. Yeah, you don't have to film in app every day.

[B]

But it's better. You just said.

[A]

Well, no, it's not necessarily that it's better. It's it's. You could do the same thing. So you can literally grab your phone. Like, you don't need to record in app. What makes it better, in my opinion is that real, raw, authentic feel to it. So let's say you, Emma, or like I'm going to make, I have all these different ideas. I'm going to just record these quick videos about their quick snippets. 30 to 45 seconds. You got a hook that's going to make them stop, you know, and they're all, it's all problem agitate solution. Like that's king. I don't care what anybody says.

[B]

Problem agitate solution.

[A]

Yeah. So here's your problem.

[B]

Give us, give us an example.

[A]

Do your Facebook ads fall off a cliff after seven days? And then I agitated. So you start your ads that do really good and then they just fall off a fucking cliff. And you're wondering what the hell do I do? And then I roll into the solution. Well, here's why. And then maybe a little soft CTA at the end or no CTA at the end. But it's so for like you. It could be operations based. So you have the hook. It's literally, I mean, you have 2.3 seconds now to grab.

[B]

You have the whole team and they can't keep up with you.

[A]

100. Yeah. Yep. You hired all these people and they can't keep up with you. You have an operations problem, something like that. And you know, you poke it a little bit. So it's like poking the bear. And then here's the solution. But for somebody like you who doesn't have social, you don't need to have social. You can.

[B]

I have tons of social. I just don't get on social. I'm not the one on social.

[A]

You're not on social. So you don't have the social apps on your phone. You could still record using your iPhone or Android or whatever phone you have on your phone, so it's still the same style. And then drop it in a drive folder for somebody else to edit or use something like Cap Cut. There's Camtasia, all kinds of like, I would just highly recommend Cap Cut because you could literally all. Well, I don't know what it is on Mac, but on Windows it's Alt B to just.

[B]

I got, I got Marlo and Jay.

[A]

Yeah. So the Marlo and Jay.

[B]

But you do. You do Cap Cut.

[A]

Yeah, if I need to really do something like that. Like my video editor for the most part uses. He repurposes long form stuff into shorts. He uses Cap Cut and we'll throw in some B roll. So that repurposed.

[B]

I'm pretty sure it's what Jay does too.

[A]

Yeah. But for these shorts, you're just taking out the gaps and where you mess up. So like if you mess up, just keep going like there. I can't tell you how many times I've been recording a video and been like stumble over my words or you literally watched me forget what I was

[B]

going to say in the mid sentence.

[A]

Mid sentence blank. And I'm like, what words? And then I remember it and it's like, oh yeah, okay. And then I keep going. So then I'm just quickly chopping those out and then posting those because it's like Emma in her natural habitat. It's not blazer dressed up fancy or anything like that. So you still want that Roth in. Because then that's going to build that personal connection. Like I like that she's awesome. I say in a nice way. So same thing with like me. Like that is what's helped me. Like I added a million dollars into top line revenue to the agency in a year from just organic content. And yes, people will tell you, well, you need different content for Instagram. And tick tock and blah, blah, blah. I will tell you right now, it is super, super hard to organically grow on Facebook and Instagram because it is saturated as fuck. They're nurture platforms, so that's people just end up there and they'll see your shit over and over and over again. TikTok is a discovery platform, just like YouTube. It's a discovery platform. YouTube shorts are especially discovery. First time they see you. But because of the way the algorithms, all the algorithms work, they don't have to follow you. They start to see more and more of your stuff.

[B]

What's funny is I haven't cut YouTube from my life.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

But I have noticed. I'll go into YouTube. And YouTube, for me, has two primary functions. The first one is the fireplaces.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Anyone who knows me knows that, like, I constantly am actively trying to seek out a state of calm because I'm a 10. When things are calm, my brain is at a 10.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

When everything around me is at a 10, my brain is at a 1. I'm completely calm. It's weird. So YouTube is number one for me for that. The second thing that YouTube is for me is I can't listen to podcasts after a while. I'm one of the few people on the planet that watch podcasts. I watch Diary of a CEO. We do hard things. I really like that one too. And occasionally I'll find, like, someone from A Diary of a CEO. Like, there's that divorce lawyer. I can't remember his name right now, but he has. He has a podcast. I saw him and he kind of cried like a girl. Girl. I didn't really like that very much. But there were things. There were elements of things that he said that I was very interested in. And I went and found his podcast, started listening to that. I'll listen to Brene Brown sometimes. She's a little bit too feely for me, but she's got great literature. But it's just the way she comes off is a little faily for me. So that's what I try and do. So I'll open up said premium. So I'll open it up and I'll be like, oh, my God, how did Jelly roll? You lose so much weight? And it'll be like, daddy roll. But here's what will happen.

[A]

Yep. Every night.

[B]

Turns out you can still get a ticket. Nine hours later, it's bedtime. I remember that I actually had to do today.

[A]

You actually had a business. Yeah.

[B]

And I have this thing called the business and employees and all these things.

[A]

So anyway, but grab your goddamn phone, record the videos. Have your video editors record.

[B]

Would you record on a phone or an iPad?

[A]

Either one. Doesn't matter. It's just going to still have that, like, you holding it style feel.

[B]

Oh, so you actually hold it? You don't put it on one of those.

[A]

Oh, no, I actually hold it. I mean, you can put it on the tripods and stuff like that. I find the minute I try to do something with a tripod, I try to get way too professional.

[B]

Oh, do you?

[A]

And so if I'm holding it, I can't. And then I can. I'm. I don't know how to do the, like, the Gen Z or Millennial zooms that they do and stuff, since I'm doing the edits. So I can, like, move it in and be dramatic about stuff. Or.

[B]

Oh, I just use my hand.

[A]

Yeah, that's what I'm doing.

[B]

Or. Or my favorite way to record is. Is either this or zoom. You know this about me because I recorded all my ads on Zoom, which I'm pretty sure pissed you off. It's like my favorite. Just because it's super easy. But. But this. This is better. This is more authentic.

[A]

Yeah. Am I. Yeah. 100 and all the engagement that I've gotten, you know, and the young bucks will call me the old boomer, and I'm like, that's fine. But I'm making money from this content that I'm putting out, and people will get on this. Putting out this kind of content literally allows you to then get on a sales call or a discovery call with a lead with the prospect, and they

[B]

feel like they know you.

[A]

They literally are like, oh, my God. I like, you're a celebrity to them. And I'm like, no, dog, you. Yeah, right. I know. I literally tell them I'm just some dude who lives in Spokane.

[B]

Spokane, Washington, that has a beard.

[A]

I've had people stop me in the Miami airport.

[B]

No, no.

[A]

Like, they know my name. I'm nerd famous. So, like, I'm not famous famous, but I'm nerd famous. But they were, like, deep enough in the marketing world that, yeah, she was waving at me. And I'm thinking, they're probably somebody behind me. And then they said my name. I was like, what the. Like, this is wild.

[B]

How'd you explain it to your wife?

[A]

She wasn't with me.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

But I told her about it and she was like, yeah, she calls me tick tock famous. And I'm like, I'm not famous.

[B]

You have 78, 000 followers?

[A]

Yeah, I have 70.

[B]

Oh, I see. Like some of your views, your older views have like way higher 2200 views. 2273, 2271. And then your newer ones have like 130.

[A]

Yeah, but yeah, no, like you can record it even if you like. If you feel more comfortable at your desk, you can record, say, descript. Fuck Zoom, please go and use Descript. You can have it so it records the script. Yeah. D, E, S, C, R, I, T script, Descript. Yeah. And you can change the frame up so it's not recording wide, it is recording vertical. Then you just do a bunch of videos right there, download them, send them to your video.

[B]

Don't use Zoom.

[A]

Don't use Zoom, please, for the love of God.

[B]

Yo, we interrupt this pod to tell you like and subscribe. What are you doing? Why haven't you liked? Why haven't you subscribed? Just subscribe. What's the problem? In all seriousness, subscribe so that you get notifications every time we drop new content. Additionally, if you have not signed up for our visionary vault, what the hell? Www.specialopspodcast.com Go sign up. It's free. We never try and sell you and we're putting all kinds of stuff in there to help you with the operations of your business because we're passionate about it and we want to share operational excellence with our direct response. E commerce and online selling, family building, your personal brand.

[A]

I mean like, not only is it going to help from just the discoverability on social, but not to throw this in the mix too, but all the AI platforms are gobbling up all this technology, like these tick tock videos, your YouTube shorts, Facebook posts, show up in the Google feed already. So like an organic Google search, if people are looking for something already shows up in an organic Google search, then you throw in the aeo, the answer engine optimization side of things where it's also gobbling up all of this. So you're building your authority there and then you have your website and everywhere else. So you're just like being super omnipresent. It's the easiest way. I don't care who you are, and trust me, you will suck the first time you sit down to do videos. I used to have to drink three beers before I could do any recording or take like a shot or two.

[B]

When did you stop drinking?

[A]

Three years ago.

[B]

Oh, you've been making content that long?

[A]

I've been making content since 2021, consistently.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Prior to that, for some reason, I

[B]

Thought it was new for you.

[A]

No, 2021 is where I got a lot of the followers. So I. I got on Facebook reels when it first came out to actual Facebook. I have videos with over 2 million views.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

I have 40, 000 followers on my personal Facebook profile page. I don't give a about my fan page.

[B]

I actually got rid of. So I had. I think. I don't remember how I had a reasonable amount. It wasn't 40,000, but it was. It was up there. And Molly Mahoney told me to get

[A]

rid of was the fan page or a personal profile.

[B]

My fan page. Show me to get rid of it. Stop messing with it. Just go with your personal. Open your personal completely up.

[A]

Yep. Go to professional mode. Open it up, post to the public. That's 100% way to do it. Because the business pages and fan pages, they're pay to play. Yeah, just it's.

[B]

And even when you pay it still it's not. It doesn't do what?

[A]

No, your personal will do 100%.

[B]

Yeah. So we just stopped. I think Miho still posts over there a little bit. And then she'll post like, go friend Emma. Because you want people to friend you, but then you don't accept their friend request so that you just have them as followers.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I already have 5,000 friends. I had 5,000 friends for like ever and ever never. Just like industry people that have friended me throughout the years. And so I was like, I can't get any more friends. How is that gonna be good? And she's like, followers, followers.

[A]

Yep. Nope, that's a hundred percent. And now it doesn't even matter. People aren't going to follow you because the algorithms just start.

[B]

Well, when they. When they. Well, when they friend you, it automatically follows you.

[A]

Yeah, but I'm just saying, like the algorithms will naturally start showing your content to them more and more and more after they watch. Like even just one piece. There's a lot of people on Instagram and tick tock and YouTube that I don't subscribe to, but I see their stuff all the time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Diary of a CEO is a great example. I thought I was subscribed to him based on how much you were saying were being put.

[B]

I was seeing his stuff all the time. Like all the time. And then I subscribed and I stopped seeing it.

[A]

Your train wreck podcast with Perry. I thought I had subscribed to that. Your YouTube channel. Even though I'm like commenting and liking all the time, but because I was doing that Your guys's new episodes pop up all the time in my feed. Hmm. But then I noticed one day I was like, oh, I'm not actually subscribed. I actually, like, these people subscribe. But that's just how the algorithms work. So personal brands, like, everybody overthinks it. And I know I said this to a guy. I bought some when we were talking about personal brands. You know, like, trying to curate the perfect feed and the perfect videos and, you know, saying the right things. Like, no. People crave authenticity, especially as we move more into the AI era and the AI age of hey Gen and 11 labs and seed dance. All these videos that nobody's going to be able to distinguish. Is that the real Mitch? Is that the real Emma? Is that the real anybody? You have to show up authentically with the AI Era, like, it's. It's going to come down to trust. Like, you're already building that trust, but even more so going the next 18 months, if that is going to be huge. Showing up in your natural state. Who cares if your makeup's not done? Who cares if your hair doesn't look perfect? My beard has looked like a crazy homeless person before, and I still record the video when, like, the rare times I don't comb it.

[B]

I will say that there is. So here's what I'll say about that.

[A]

Well, I got some tricks for you too.

[B]

I have absolutely filmed with no makeup because I didn't care to ruin my hair in a ponytail because I had really important stuff to say. There's, like, this whole thing happening with Texas sms.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And while I was in here, I decided to record several podcasts. People absolutely lost their minds, and I don't have a big following. I have a very, very, very, very, very small following. I got. I got messages. My husband got messages. Perry got messages. Is. I'm sick. Is she okay? I don't think she's. Well, like.

[A]

Well, thank you for your concern, but

[B]

don't worry about looking perfect.

[A]

Yeah, don't worry about looking perfect. Like, you're going to. And the other thing, too, to, like, go along with your point. You're always going to have haters or

[B]

people who think, well, you don't want to look sickly. There's another time I took a gummy right before I went on vacation, and I was talking, like, really slow, and the podcast guys could have sped me up a little bit. They chose not to. And they were like, what? People were like, seriously, like, what the hell is going on? The five people that watch Shimori battle.

[A]

Thank you, Shimori. Hell yeah. Love that guy.

[B]

He watches all my stuff. He's so nice.

[A]

So when you're making the videos, you also. So you have your vocal verbal hook. Visual hook is another way your brain can only focus on so many things at one time. Right. So I know you hate it, but I. My beard combing is done for a reason.

[B]

No, I. I absolutely know that. And it's why women put on lipstick or throw things or catch things.

[A]

Setting down a glass of water, sitting in the chair. But it's not like the entire process of sitting in the chair. It's that last second of you dropping your ass in the chair. Putting my glasses on. I've done that before. Just popping into the video real quick, like moving. Right. So there's some sort of visual and verbal hook. And it makes it so your brain can't think of something else. Like we can only think of kind of like two things at one time or focus on two things at one time. That's why videos, you don't see them. She's done a social. But if everybody's ever seen the videos of somebody talking down below and then like a video. Oh, I've definitely seen some bullshit up top.

[B]

They're watching something. Yeah, but they're still are the women who laugh while another video goes on. But it's the same laugh loop.

[A]

Yeah, they're so annoying with a laugh loop.

[B]

Can't stop watching.

[A]

But you can't stop watching it.

[B]

You can't.

[A]

Your brain can only focus on two things. So the thought of moving on is too hard and you're just watching it. But like, that's why I always tell people. It's like you need to have a verbal and some sort of physical hook. I get hate. And how dare you comb your beard. You're so unprofessional. Blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, but you know what? You paid attention, engaged on my video. You watched it, which helps to get pushed out more. And then you commented, doesn't matter if it's bad because the algorithm can't tell whether they say screw you or I love you.

[B]

It doesn't matter.

[A]

It's just.

[B]

It's watch hours.

[A]

Right. And so it's keeping somebody on the platform. So then the platform is going to push it out further.

[B]

And engaging in the platform.

[A]

Right? 100.

[B]

No, I agree completely. I mess with you about the comb. I've always understood exactly why you do it when you are creating your content. Like when you're creating the. What did you call it, problem, agitate, solution. When you are creating that, what is your end goal? Is it just sheer engagement? Is it to get people to notice you, subscribe, buy your stuff? Or is it. Or are you just making content because you know you need content?

[A]

No, I mean obviously it's to build an audience of people who have this problem and then to go, oh, hey, he's got the solutions.

[B]

So you wouldn't want to go talk about the bananas that went bad today.

[A]

No, nobody's gonna care. And it confuses the algorithm, but nobody's gonna care that follows me about the bananas. So you do have like your niche. So, so. And you could have like a couple niches that you, you talk about or you do, but you'll notice like I only ever really talk about paid ads or AEO stuff. You'll probably only ever talk about operation stuff and leadership. Leadership. And like that's the key. And then if you start to get too far away, where I've watched, you know, coaches go from teaching people how to grow on TikTok and then all of a sudden they realize I really love teaching people how to actually do sales. They have to go create a whole new profile on every platform to re cultivate an audience who's interested in that? Because everybody you already built. If I decided to start talking about supplements, my audience would all be like, what? Totally turned off. Would get no views. Yeah, they'd be like, what the is going on? And it would be a waste of time. So I need to go make another page to actually talk about that stuff and cultivate that audience that's interested in that I can build my authority in it and that I'm a go to and then get them to purchase. I mean the goal of everybody's audience should always be to sell them something. Like whether it's a low ticket item, a high ticket item, a course, get leads, whatever, comment on something. And then many chat grabs them, puts them into a DM flow and then you jump in, you know, as that DM integration is happening.

[B]

Are you using many chat?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

How do you use it?

[A]

So I have it set up for multiple different cases. So like when I post to my stories, if they reply certain words, it starts a conversation with them and then we jump in and take over. So then they're actually talking to me. I have an automation set up for obviously like they leave certain comments, it replies to them and then sends them a dm and then the last one is just for new followers. So people who actually follow my pages, it automatically sends out A dm. It's kind of corny, but it's like, hey, thanks for the follow. Are you here for the content or the beard? And they reply to it. Like, that's my goal to get them to reply. Whether it's, oh, the content, but the beard's awesome, or oh, just the beard. Like, it breaks that ice. And we can then have a conversation of like, okay, cool. It just opens up the breaks down that wall that they are probably going to have. But, like, I'm also welcoming them to my community. And thanks for following me. It works pretty well. And you can do that on your Facebook pages. Not your personal pages, though. It's dumb. But your fan pages, your Instagram page, your TikTok, a couple other ones as well. If you do Snapchat, you can do it on Snapchat. But yeah, interesting. We got to build you a Emma personal brand. I'll get you. Recording crazy videos and getting the ideas is where people also struggle. So I was just thinking about this. Like, you know, that's where I mean, even. Even myself, like, you feel like you're repeating yourself. Himself over and over and over again.

[B]

But people want to hear the same thing. Like, I, that is something that's super annoying. If you go to Alex Shamozi, Jason Fladlin, Gary V. Yeah, Gary V. They repeat the same. Tony Robbins, Gary Vee. It's the same thing over and over again. Cut the cancer. If they're a bad employee, cut the cancer. I get rid of them.

[A]

Like, you want to hire fast and fire fast picking my nails. And then that's what he does.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Tony Robbins has got the same thing for how many years?

[B]

55.

[A]

Yeah, like forever. Alex has got the same kind of thing too. And like, he experimented with. Alex actually experimented with doing vlogs. They got more views, but guess what? Less leads. Then they him talking about working out shitload more views, way less leads. Way less qualified people behind the scenes with him and Layla again, they grew the channel. So if you're just after monetization, like, yeah, do your thing like on platform. But if you're after what I believe is the true monetization, which is actually getting leads, why don't you want to

[B]

monetize first, which will help you get leads. No, that's not true.

[A]

No, you can get leads and sales from 100 followers. Like, you don't need to be monetized. The platform doesn't really care about monetization. Whether, like you have a thousand followers or 10,000 watch hours. It doesn't give a shit. All that matters is like I have people who are actually interested in my stuff watching and then hitting me up to pay for my service and have me do that for them. So even the crappy new TikTok algorithm as an example, I. It sucks. My views are lower, but at the same time, that's likely. You know, a thousand people who actually give a shit about marketing stuff.

[B]

Right. What do you have to do to increase that? Spend time in it?

[A]

Dance, show my dad bod?

[B]

No.

[A]

Yeah. So what do I have to do to increase.

[B]

It's just not our platform. Is that it?

[A]

No, it's, it's. It's the subject matter. I mean, you think about it like how interesting is marketing to the average person?

[B]

Is it not interesting?

[A]

It.

[B]

I come from operations, so I think that marketing is super sexy in comparison.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

For no one wants to hear about operations. No one cares about operations until they're going out of business.

[A]

They will care about it when you call out the problems because they're. They're feeling it. Yeah, they're feeling those problems. They may not know the. That what it is, but when you're calling it out, like you laying in bed at night freaking out about tomorrow because you don't know where the hell your cash is, blah, blah, blah, blah blah. Don't ever do that. Well, I'm Emma Rainville, the owner of Shockwave and I can fix your. Like that. Don't introduce yourself. That is the dumbest thing in the world. They will go to your profile and see Emma Rainville, Shockwave. Click the button below to work with me. Like, I hate that. It's so gross. Where was I going? But no, it just has.

[B]

So it's just. What we should do is make a who am I video and post it every day, ten times a day, a hundred percent. Okay, I got it.

[A]

Yes. And pin every single one of them.

[B]

I'll tag you in each one.

[A]

If you could, that'd be great. Yes, yes, that would be amazing. But no, like the operations isn't sexy. But like I said, if you, if you're after being monetized, like tick tock paying you, YouTube paying you, Facebook paying you. You know Austin Armstrong, it's got what, three point some odd million followers? Dude makes decent money from Facebook. He's really good, but at the same time he knows the game. Like we're posting this stuff to educate and build that trust, our authority and our show you our expertise to get you to sign up with us.

[B]

Whether that's for the product that we're making money on. Yeah. So the monetization is just an extra bonus.

[A]

Like my Facebook post. I could stress all on the ones that only get like 800 views, but like, who the hell cares? I could tell you I've actually made money from those.

[B]

Do you get stressed on about it?

[A]

I could, but I don't.

[B]

I'm gonna say you don't seem to stress about much.

[A]

No, no, I do, but I internalize it really good. But I don't give a about the views because I'm making more money than Meta and tick tock and YouTube could ever pay me. I will never be Mr. Beast. I'll never be Joe Rogan. Sorry. Or Diary of a CEO. And that dude is making money from all the companies he's a VC guy in now.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So it's not just YouTube paying him. Same thing with Mr. Beast.

[B]

Anyways, is Mr. Beast still a thing? I thought we canceled him.

[A]

No, no, he's.

[B]

I thought he had like a pedophile on staff and we canceled him.

[A]

Yeah, but then south park came out and said cancel culture was over, so.

[B]

Oh, cool. Do we not get canceled for saying things anymore?

[A]

They try. I almost did recently.

[B]

What you say?

[A]

I'm not saying it. You can't get me to do it.

[B]

What you say?

[A]

Not going to say it. But south park said cancel culture is over, so cancel culture is over. So he's back. He had a Super bowl commercial. You don't watch tv, so you probably

[B]

didn't see it, but definitely didn't watch Super Bowl.

[A]

Yeah. Anyways, like, we're all playing the long game. You'll eventually. You got to learn to just deal with saying the same thing over and over again and the same topics, but you're hitting the same outcomes that get in front of newer people and gets them into your ecosystem on the platforms. But to come up with ideas like literally think about the problems that your customers if you're a physical product, like what are the problems that these people have that your solves? You know, so like supplements, e tool, whatever. Like what do these things fix? How can you actually help them solve a problem with it? Show it, demonstrate. Like demonstrating it behind the scenes, packing orders like it's reality tv. And then if you have a service, it's the same thing. Go take all your client calls if you're smart and recording them with like an otter or fireflies or zoom. Shove them into chat GPT have it give you a list of all the issues and like problems. And then there are your topics to talk about. Because these are the people you already serve. You want. Hopefully you want more people like that. They're not the pain in the ass clients. But you hit on those outcomes over and over and over again or those problems and then like, you agitate it. And then here's the solution. Case studies we came in helped completely redid their org chart. Streamlined operations on the back end. And because of that, within six months, this client made an extra million dollars. People love that. Like, you're giving that authority and proof all in the same video. Build your personal brand. You're gonna suck at first. That's okay, you suck now.

[B]

But you still have. You still have a following. You just have a great following. You're still making tons of money. Your content sometimes feels like someone is holding a gun to your head when you're talking.

[A]

Sometimes they are, but.

[B]

Yeah, but it doesn't. My point is, and I don't mean to like, dish you in any way, my point is people aren't connecting with perfect scripting and acting. People are connecting with the help that you're providing. 100 the message that you have. They don't care that you seem to be horrified by the fact that you're filming or uncomfortable. They are happy to receive the education that you're giving them on the thing that they're struggling with.

[A]

Yep. And they will resonate with every single person differently. And that is fine. So my will hit differently for somebody. Emma and I could say the same exact thing and somebody could not care that I said it because I don't. I just don't resonate with them because somebody's holding a gun to my head.

[B]

Well, it's probably gonna be me because I'm a female and a Jew.

[A]

Well, yeah, that too. But like.

[B]

And a touch of black. So they really don't like that.

[A]

No.

[B]

Black, Jewish female, white guy with a gross beard with corn in it. Absolutely.

[A]

Sign me up.

[B]

Thank you for tolerating this episode of Special Ops Podcast. It was great to share some laughs with Mitch and hear about all the things that he's doing with his personal brand to generate lots of money. If you're new here, go ahead and head over to www.special ops podcast. We have a members area. It's called the Visionary Vault. And there's loads of stuff in there. Courses, checklists, all kinds of templates and everything in there is designed to help you get your business functioning at operational excellence. It's always free and we never try and sell you anything. Mitch, thanks for being here today. I hope you come back many, many, many times. I hope you all had as much fun as I do. See you next time.