I kept on running experiments and showing that to people, one day I had a conversation with my friend, he runs a marketing agency for DTC brands, and he needed some creatives for Black Friday.

Here’s the situation:

A marketing agency needed a full UGC campaign for a clothing brand…
But there was no creator content, no shoots scheduled, and no time to source influencers.

So instead of chasing creators…
I created them.

Using AI-generated models and virtual try-on tools, I produced branded UGC featuring real pieces from their collection modeled by influencers that don’t exist.

No shipping logistics.
No reshoots.
No scheduling headaches.

Just fast, scalable, perfectly-on-brand content.

In this post, I’m breaking down exactly how I did it:
- the creative strategy
- my AI workflow (quick + repeatable)
- tools I used
- delivery format + results
- what we learned for future campaigns

The goal?
Show how AI is rewriting the rules of UGC, turning one brand shoot into hundreds of customizable, high-conversion assets.

The creative strategy

I knew I needed the real products to appear on every shot for the Ad to work, I started researching online how to achieve this with current tools and tech and if I could do this locally without subscriptions.

I also researched the brand and the campaigns they ran in the past, so I can have the look and feel of the brand itself. Since the campaign was for Black Friday, I looked at previous ad creatives from last year (2024) to understand the vibe they were going for and how the type of shots they were using, I made sure I followed brand guidelines, exact color palettes, fonts and graphics they normally use.

With this done, I started creating a concept. In my head, I could see a young woman on a cloudy day in a European village wearing the winter boots and the bag the brand is known for.

Once I had the layout and the types of shots needed, I picked my tools and started creating draft images to then later turn into videos.

Tools I used

For this project I used: ComfyUI, Midjourney and Freepik

ComfyUI

Purpose in the project:
To generate the hyper-realistic model face used across the campaign.

With ComfyUI’s node-based control, I could dial in realism, refine facial features, maintain identity, and produce a consistent human look that feels believable in UGC-style content.

Result: A high-fidelity, photoreal base model ready for styling and outfit variations.

Midjourney

Purpose in the project:
To maintain identity consistency while generating the model in different outfits, poses, and settings.

Using Midjourney allowed me to:
✔ Keep the same model face across all shots
✔ Explore multiple looks and camera angles
✔ Produce social-native lifestyle shots quickly

Result: A full library of variations optimized for brand storytelling and ad testing.

Freepik AI

Purpose in the project:
To apply actual merch from the clothing brand onto the AI model.

With Freepik’s virtual try-on tools, I ensured:
✔ The clothing was accurate to real products
✔ Fabric details and fit looked authentic
✔ The visuals aligned with the brand catalog

Result: Fully-branded creatives that look like real influencer content without shipping samples or scheduling shoots.

Why this pipeline worked

A hybrid workflow that combined:
→ ComfyUI for realism
→ Midjourney for scalable variations
→ Freepik AI for brand accuracy

This let us deliver a complete creator-style ad campaign in a fraction of the time, no human influencers needed (yet).

My workflow

For creating the model face, I used ComfyUI with a custom prompt, specific values and LORAs to achieve the most realistic look I could.

A couple of iterations later, I had my model. Then I would bring the model to Midjourney to generate images of the model with a pair of random boots and a random bag first, (later I will swap these for the original product shots) and then I used a tool called Freepik to put the brand boots and bag to that specific picture Midjourney generated.

After I was happy with the initial pictures I downloaded them and upload them to midjourney, but this time I used them as reference to create a video.

The good thing about Midjourney is that it gives you 4 variations every time you write a prompt and hit on generate. Like this I made sure I was using the best takes for the final project.

I repeated the same steps over and over again, playing with prompts and real life references from screenshots from previous campaigns.

At the end, I ended up with this.

Still not perfect but I’d say good enough for a piece of creative you can test as an ad.

And that’s the point.

We now have the ability to produce:
On-brand creator content
Without creators
In hours, not weeks

This project proved something important:
AI isn’t replacing human creativity; it’s removing the bottlenecks that slow creative teams down. Brands can validate ideas faster, iterate more, and launch without hesitation.

As AI try-on, motion, and identity-continuity tools evolve, brand UGC will shift from a human-dependent workflow to a hybrid production system where AI handles the heavy lifting, and creators focus on storytelling.

If you’re a marketer, founder, or creator… pay attention.
AI-generated UGC isn’t a future trend, it’s a competitive advantage today.

UGC and the Shift to AI Creators

To briefly explain UGC, here’s a little bit of context:

UGC - short for User-Generated Content, has become one of the most effective ways e-commerce brands sell products online. Instead of big-budget commercials, companies partner with everyday creators who film short, authentic videos showing themselves using a product. These feel more real and relatable, and they often convert better than traditional ads.

But there’s a shift happening. With AI avatars, the cost of having a “creator” drops dramatically. These digital faces don’t sleep, don’t get tired, and can generate endless variations of content on demand available 24/7. For brands, it means scaling campaigns faster and cheaper than ever before.

Enter Open Source Models

So… how did I ended up down a rabbit hole into the world of generative AI and open-source models and what did I do with that?

What I discovered was an entire ecosystem and even an economy around training, sharing, and using AI models to create ultra-realistic results, all driven by the quality of the data they were trained on.

That’s when I stumbled on ComfyUI. Unlike most AI apps with fixed features, ComfyUI is an open-source platform that lets you build your own workflows for generative AI. It works through a visual interface where you connect “nodes”, each representing a model, tool, or operation to design exactly how your pipeline runs.

From image and video generation to face swapping and restoration, animation, lip-syncing, upscaling and even 3D, ComfyUI gives you fine-grained control. And with custom nodes and LoRAs (Low Rank Adaptation models) created by the community, the possibilities expand even further.

Diving in

Before I threw myself into ComfyUI, I wanted at least a foundation. I spent one hour on a mini-course from Google as an introduction to generative AI, read through documentation, and even listened to a 40-minute podcast about how ComfyUI works.

Then came the YouTube rabbit hole a couple of tutorials later, I understood the basics. That same day, I was already generating my first realistic AI avatars with just prompts, simple nodes and encoders.

And honestly? They looked great.

But I wanted to keep going.

I downloaded models from the community, some only a few weeks old, representing the cutting edge of generative AI. What struck me about ComfyUI was the level of control: instead of typing a prompt and hoping for the best, I could adjust parameters directly in the workflow like sampling, de-noising, steps and so on.

Later that night, I pushed further. Using reference images from Pinterest and a specific LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation) model, I generated avatars so realistic I had to double-check whether they were AI or actual photographs.

"A low-rank adaptation (LoRA) model is a technique for efficiently fine-tuning large, pre-trained machine learning models for specific tasks without retraining the entire model from scratch. It works by freezing the original model's weights and instead training small, lightweight matrices called low-rank adapters, which are added to the model. This method significantly reduces the number of trainable parameters, saving computational power and memory, and allows developers to quickly adapt models to new contexts"

The results were magnificent.

Now, every person you see here is AI generated, the reference images were downloaded from Pinterest. These LoRAs let you generate a certain output, the specific LoRA I’m using is for Wan 2.2, an AI model trained to reproduce hyper-realisitc social media native images that are nearly indistinguishable from reality.

You also need to know that generating these images are pretty resource intensive, so you need to have a GPU capable of handling this, the graphics card I’m using is the Nvidia RTX 4060 with 8GB of VRAM. Not bad to start but if you want to create more complex generations like videos, lipsyncs, 3D, etc, you will need more graphics power, even GPU’s with 32-48GB of VRAM are standard now for training these Gen AI models.

The applications are wide, you can use these Generative AI models for Content creation, character design, Advertising campaigns, prototype developments like websites and User Interfaces.

From Images to Video: The Next Challenge

Of course, the next logical step was to move beyond still images. I wanted to take a video, swap a face into it, and render the results.

This is where my smooth progress turned into a five-hour debugging marathon multiple reinstalls, endless dependency errors, CUDA issues, and black screens before I finally reached a working output.

Here’s what I ran into:

• Install confusion: The desktop app (Electron) wouldn’t load custom nodes. I reinstalled everything into C:\ comfyui and committed to running it via command line.

• Python versions: Some nodes didn’t work with Python 3.13. I downgraded to Python 3.12 and pinned installs with py -3.12 -m pip.

• CUDA errors: Torch wasn’t compiled with CUDA, so my GPU wasn’t being used. Fixed it by installing GPU-enabled PyTorch and NVIDIA CUDA runtime packages.

• Dependencies hell: Every node had its own requirements.txt Some needed C++ build tools, others broke with version mismatches. Iteration was key.

• NSFW filter trap: My outputs were just black screens until I realized ReActor had an NSFW detector filtering everything. I swapped to the Codeberg fork without the filter, and it finally worked.

This wasn’t just installation, it was a crash course in environment management, debugging, and persistence.

After hours of trial and error, my minimal workflow finally ran:

Load Video → ReActor → Video Combine

And for the first time, I watched my target face realistically mapped into a video clip.

It wasn’t perfect, there were artifacts and noise to clean up but the core workflow worked.

Here’s what that looked like

Here’s the final video

As you can see, the faceswap works amazing, I wouldn’t believe this is AI. This is how you are able to create consistent characters that maintain the same style throughout multiple iterations and generations, just look at the most famous AI influencer right now Aitana Lopez, look her up on instagram.

This opens up a new era of posibilities for brands, creative directors and IP studios looking to use these tools to tell their stories, accelerate their creative workflows and iterate faster, because AI is not here to replace art, is here to be used as a tool and expand our creative capabilities.

Lessons Learned

Here are my biggest takeaways from this experiment:

1. Environment setup is 80% of the work. Once that’s right, workflows run smoothly.

2. Logs don’t lie. A black screen might just be a filter, not a broken node.

3. Resilience matters. Reinstalling 3 times wasn’t failure it was progress.

4. Folder hygiene is everything. Models must be in the right directories, or nodes won’t find them.

5. Iteration beats perfection. Testing with short clips saved hours of frustration.

Why This Matters

This wasn’t just about swapping faces in a video. It’s about what tools like ComfyUI represent:

• Running AI models locally (no reliance on closed APIs).

• Fine-tuning workflows to your exact needs.

• Generating ultra-realistic personas and avatars that could power the next wave of UGC, storytelling, and virtual creators.

The economy around generative AI is only growing, and learning to navigate these tools is like learning to code in the early internet frustrating at first, but a gateway to huge creative potential.

What’s Next

Now that I’ve got the basics working, here’s what I want to try next:

• Using CodeFormer or GFPGAN for face restoration to reduce artifacts.

• Testing different detectors (YOLO vs RetinaFace).

• Automating workflows for batch video runs.

• Exploring 3D + avatar pipelines using ComfyUI.

If you want to work with me for creating AI images, AI influencers or UGC videos you can get in touch with me via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juancalara/

If you enjoyed the read, subscribe to see more of my work and future experiments.

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In baseball, wins are the ultimate measure of success. For your content, “wins” could mean achieving key business outcomes such as generating leads, increasing conversions, or boosting brand awareness. Your content isn’t just about the creative process; it’s about driving measurable results.

Runs = Foundational Engagement:
In Moneyball, runs are the building blocks that lead to wins. In content creation, think of “runs” as the smaller, foundational metrics like engagement (views, likes, shares, comments) and reach. These are the elements that, when optimized, cumulatively drive your larger business outcomes.

Application:

• Analyze Your Metrics: Start by identifying which foundational metrics (runs) most closely correlate with your business objectives (wins). For instance, if a high engagement rate on LinkedIn posts consistently leads to more business inquiries, then that engagement is your “run.”

• Invest Strategically: Just as the Athletics sought undervalued players who could reliably produce runs, focus your energy and resources on content strategies that boost these key engagement metrics, even if they might seem less flashy initially.

Test and Learn:
Just like adjusting strategies based on player performance in Moneyball, regularly review your metrics. Test different content styles, formats, and CTAs to see which combinations yield the best conversion rates.

Focus on Data-Driven Decisions:
Use the data from your impressions and lead conversion rates to continuously refine your approach. The aim is to find the sweet spot where the number of impressions (runs) consistently results in engagement (likes, comments) or quality leads (wins).

Think of these successful posts as your “high on-base percentage” players, like how the Oakland A’s looked for players who consistently got on base. You want to replicate what makes these posts engaging, then refine and repeat.

Some posts are “super insightful” but don’t perform as well. Often, if the hook or headline doesn’t grab attention in the feed, people simply scroll by.

1. Lack of Immediate Relevance

   • If the topic isn’t obviously linked to a known figure, trending issue, or a strongly felt pain point, it may be harder for your audience to connect with it in a quick-scroll environment.

2. Presentation Format

   • Even if the content is gold, a big block of text can be intimidating. On LinkedIn, short paragraphs, bullet points, and whitespace can improve readability.

Key Insight:
These posts are like players with potential but a lower on-base percentage. They may have great “fundamentals,” but if they don’t catch the audience’s eye (the pitcher’s pitch they can actually hit), they won’t get on base.

Double Down on “Hook + Insight”

• Hook: Start with a bold statement, surprising stat, or trending topic. Use numbers and facts.

• Insight: After you’ve hooked them, deliver your valuable insight.

• Action Step: Test headlines that reference timely, high-interest topics (public figures, current events, big numbers), but still tie back to your core message.

Leverage Trending & Evergreen Topics Together

• Trending: Mention relevant figures or current events to ride the wave of existing interest.

• Evergreen: Add your deeper, timeless insight to give the post substance.

• Action Step: If you talk about a public figure or brand, connect it to a principle or lesson that remains useful long-term.

Use Visuals & Formatting

• Visual Thumbnails / Memes / GIFs: Visuals can significantly increase impressions and shares on LinkedIn.

• Bullets & White Space: Break up text to be skimmable. People often decide in seconds whether to keep reading.

• Action Step: Whenever possible, include an image or short video (like you’ve seen with memes or public figure clips).

Ask for Engagement

• Call-to-Action (CTA): Ask a direct question or prompt at the end of your post. LinkedIn’s algorithm boosts content that sparks comments and conversations.

• Action Step: End each post with something like, “What’s your take on this?” or “Have you tried something similar?”

Experiment with Post Timing

• Track When Your Audience Is Active: If your target audience is online at certain times, posting then can give you an initial engagement boost.

• Action Step: Test different posting times and compare impressions.

Cross-Pollinate

• Tag People & Pages (Where Relevant): Mention others in your niche or industry, this can bring in their audience too.

• Comment on Others’ Content: Being visible on popular threads can drive more profile visits and impressions for your own posts.

Iteration & Data Tracking

1. Set a Baseline

   • Over the next week or two, track the performance of each post, impressions, likes, comments, and click-throughs.

2. Create a Simple Spreadsheet

   • Columns: Date, Topic/Headline, Format (text, video, meme), Impressions, Engagement (likes/comments), Observations (why you think it worked/didn’t).

   • This is your “sabermetrics.” You want to see patterns in how certain “stats” (format, headline style, topic) correlate with “runs” (impressions).

3. Review & Refine

   • After you have a few weeks of data, look for patterns: Do short videos with a bold opening line outperform text-only posts by 2x? Do posts mentioning a known figure consistently hit higher impressions?

4. Scale Up What Works

   • Once you find a winning format + hook, replicate it with different topics. If your “public figure + brand lesson” formula gets 2-3x more impressions, do more of that.

Moneyball Phase 2 - Building a Winning Streak

In the movie, once they nail the metrics, they:

1. Commit to the system: no panic changes mid-season, trust the data.

2. Motivate & align the team: make sure every player understands why they’re doing this. This is where something like Employee advocacy comes in.

3. Fill the gaps strategically: pick up players who fit the system (even if unconventional).

For content, that’s:

1. Commit to the Playbook
Once you’ve identified 1–2 winning formats, don’t scatter.
→ E.g., If “public figure + lesson” and “carousel brand breakdowns” outperform by 2x, keep publishing them weekly.

2. Build a Support Team
In baseball, no player wins alone. In content, no post wins in isolation.
→ Support posts with comments on relevant accounts, repurpose winners across channels, and collaborate with partners for amplification.

Encourage your employees to start posting too; this is how brands like ColdIQ are booking hundreds of calls. Each member of the team is encouraged to drive growth by consistently putting out content.

3. Fill the Gaps → Allbound System
Content gets you inbound, but the “wins” (revenue) happen when you pair it with outbound:

• Inbound: Your content builds trust + awareness.

• Outbound: You proactively connect with people who engage or fit your ICP.

• Allbound: The hybrid: using content as the opener in outreach (“Saw you liked my post on X, here’s a deeper resource”).

Identify these types of signals to increase the chances of success when you do decide to outreach to your ICP, it will make your message stronger and the timing better.

Moneyball Phase 3 - The Postseason Mindset

At the end of Moneyball, the A’s didn’t stop because they had a formula, they kept evolving:

• New data sets, new ways to find undervalued plays.

• Building depth in the roster so a single player’s slump didn’t tank the team.

For you, that means:

• Always testing 10–20% of content outside your proven formulas (to avoid stagnation).

• Documenting your process so someone else can run it.

• Scaling with additional distribution: podcasts, guest features, webinars, etc.

Key takeaway:
The “wins” in LinkedIn content Moneyball come from pairing your data-driven content engine with a proactive pipeline system. Without Allbound, you’re like the A’s hitting singles but never sending runners home.

"Turn your voice into visibility.
Most founders know they should post on LinkedIn, but few have the time to write, edit, and publish consistently.
That’s where we come in.

In just 60 minutes a week, we turn your ideas into a steady stream of strategic, founder-led content that builds authority, attracts inbound leads, and grows your personal brand, without you lifting a finger on editing or posting.

Want to see how this works for you? Send me a message, let’s talk, connect with me on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juancalara/ 👈

Let’s unpack the insights from our conversation and explore what it means for founders, marketers, and aspiring creators.

The LinkedIn Revolution: From Job Board to Creator Platform

For years, LinkedIn was seen as little more than a digital resume database. But over the last decade, the platform has transformed into a hub for thought leadership and professional development.

Aneesh shared a striking statistic: only 2-3% of LinkedIn users create content. The other 97% are lurkers, consuming, learning, and making decisions silently. This imbalance means LinkedIn rewards creators disproportionately. A single post can reach tens of thousands of professionals, from decision-makers to future collaborators.

This presents a massive opportunity for professionals and companies alike. As Aneesh puts it, “LinkedIn is the only social media platform where the creation ratio is so low relative to its audience size.”

What Makes B2B Influence Different?

Unlike the B2C influencer world dominated by entertainment and lifestyle, B2B influence is built on expertise and credibility. Creators in this space aren’t selling products with flashy aesthetics. They’re sharing frameworks, lessons, and insights from their craft.

Think about it:

• Sales influencers share cold-calling strategies.

• Marketing influencers dissect landing page optimization.

• RevOps experts talk automation and systems.

These micro-influencers often have smaller audiences compared to TikTok stars, but their communities are highly engaged and, more importantly, full of buyers.

Aneesh saw this gap early. “You have all these subject matter experts on LinkedIn with massive influence, but no one was helping them build media kits, newsletters, or brand partnerships. That was the white space.”

Today, his agency reps 17 creators and manages $150K-$200K/month in campaign spend for them.

The Playbook for Aspiring B2B Creators

So, how do you grow on LinkedIn?

Aneesh suggests starting with three content pillars:

1. Technical Expertise

   • What are you uniquely good at? For example, are you a sales closer, a cold-calling machine, or a RevOps wizard?

   • Share actionable frameworks, lessons learned, and real-world stories.

2. Social and Personal Values

   • People connect with people, not just information.

   • Share personal interests, life lessons, and values.

3. Cultural or Topical Content

   • Engage with broader discussions like remote work, mental health, or career growth.

Start with a 60-30-10 split: 60% cultural/topical, 30% technical, and 10% personal. Over time, tweak based on audience response.

Most importantly, don’t forget video.

LinkedIn is doubling down on short-form, vertical video. Similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels, the algorithm favors micro-learning clips. Aneesh’s advice: start posting 2-3 video clips per week. It doesn’t have to be overly polished; authenticity wins.

For Brands: Why B2B Creators Matter

If you’re a B2B marketer still skeptical about influencer campaigns, consider this:

One of Wishly’s creators recently drove a $200K deal for a client from a single referral. The ROI for brands can be huge, but only if done right.

Here are some common misconceptions brands have:

• "Can LinkedIn creators actually drive influence?" Yes. They have built trust and authority over years of sharing expertise.

• "How do I measure ROI?" Upper funnel metrics like impressions and engagement are easy. Lower funnel metrics require creativity: track webinar signups, pipeline activity within 60 days, or referrals.

• "Can’t I just send them a script?" This is where most campaigns fail. Influencer marketing isn’t about renting an audience; it’s about collaborating with a creator’s voice and style.

As Aneesh explained, “The magic happens when you marry the brand’s story arc with the creator’s natural messaging. Otherwise, it feels transactional and falls flat.”

What B2B Can Learn from D2C

Consumer brands have long understood the power of storytelling and cultural relevance. B2B companies are finally catching up.

Some lessons:

• Think like a D2C brand: What resonates in pop culture often influences corporate buyers.

• Experiment with physical products: Aneesh highlighted brands like Fermat that launched physical merchandise for a software product to create buzz.

• Invest in aesthetics and emotion: Professional buyers are still humans; they respond to beauty and story.

The GTM Engineer: A New Role in Modern Sales

Switching gears, we talked about an emerging role in SaaS and tech: the GTM (Go-To-Market) Engineer.

In the old model, sales, marketing, and systems worked in silos. Now, the GTM engineer unifies these functions with tools like:

• Clay for data enrichment and social selling.

• Dialers like Orum for smarter outreach.

• Intent data platforms to track buyer behavior.

This role isn’t just about technology; it’s about aligning strategy and execution across channels.

If you’re a software company, Aneesh’s advice is clear: “Master cold calls, cold emails, and social selling. But don’t forget live events. People are craving in-person connections more than ever.”

What’s Next for B2B Influence?

Aneesh predicts three major shifts:

1. More Regulations: Expect FTC-style guidelines to apply to LinkedIn creators.

2. D2C Brands Entering LinkedIn: Airlines, luxury retail, and consumer tech will target business professionals.

3. Creator Boom: More professionals will commercialize their LinkedIn presence.

For aspiring creators, this is both an opportunity and a warning: competition will rise, and authenticity will be the differentiator.

Final Thoughts: Intention Over Motion

Aneesh left us with a powerful reminder:

“It all starts with mindset and goals. Don’t just post because someone told you to. Set your intention, then build your work-life integration around that.”

Whether you’re a founder, marketer, or creator, this principle applies. LinkedIn isn’t just a place to play the algorithm. It’s where you shape how the world perceives you.

So what’s stopping you from sharing your expertise and building influence today?

If you enjoyed this issue, subscribe to Autodidactaz to get more insights on how to grow, create, and thrive in the new digital economy.

Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juancalara/

Share this with someone who needs to start creating on LinkedIn!

“You sitting in your coach, drinking redbull and vibing with code? what does that even mean, letting AI do the coding for you while you listen to a podcast and acept all the changes the AI makes?

You might be wondering, “Is this really coding? You sitting in your coach, drinking redbull and vibing with code? What does that even mean? letting AI do the coding for you while you listen to a podcast and accept all the changes the AI makes? Well, yes and no. The vibe part is the exciting shift from traditional coding practices to a world where you describe what you want and get the base. You refine it. You ship it. All in record time.

The Evolution of SaaS and Tools at Your Fingertips

For those unfamiliar, SaaS (Software as a Service) is a model where you’re renting access to software instead of owning it. Think of platforms like Canva or Microsoft Excel, tools that provide you a service in the form of software. Sure, there are free versions, but most of the value comes from the premium offerings.

But here's where vibe coding comes in. Imagine a world where you don’t need to learn complex coding languages to build a SaaS product. Instead, all you need is an idea, some basic knowledge of how things work under the hood (like APIs and authentication), and a handful of AI tools to pull it all together.

You don’t need to worry about writing long lines of code or managing backend servers. You can simply harness the power of AI-driven platforms that build apps for you, based on your description. These platforms like Bolt.new, Cursor, and Vercel are revolutionizing how products are built, allowing even the most novice user to bring ideas to life faster than ever before.

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The Importance of the Basics

While AI can help you rapidly create your product, you still need a basic understanding of the infrastructure that supports your app. Things like authentication (making sure the users are who they say they are), APIs (which let your app talk to other services), and databases (where all the user data is stored).

For example, if you want to integrate a weather widget, you’ll use an API key from an external service to pull weather data into your app. You don’t need to know how to build the API yourself, just how to integrate it properly. It's not hard, but it's vital to know these components to get started and make sure your app functions smoothly.

But I’m not gonna lie, putting this all together for someone that does not know how to code like myself is quite difficult, the good thing is that by learning a few things you can set things up with the help of AI.

So I created a meme generator app with the help of Bolt.new one of these tools, you can check the entire process by clicking here.

The Rise of Vibe Coding

Tools are accelerating product development in ways we could only imagine a few years ago. What used to take months or even years can now be accomplished in days—or even hours. The idea → product gap is shrinking fast. No more waiting for months of development cycles.

Now, you can:

• Write what you want

• Get the base

• Make small tweaks

• Ship it

This speed, this efficiency, is why vibe coding has become so popular. It’s not just coding; it’s creating at the speed of thought.

Why You Still Need Taste and a Personal Brand

However, just because tools make the process easier doesn’t mean that everyone will succeed. The winners won’t be the ones who simply build; they will be the ones who solve real, core problems for people. The ability to distribute your product to the masses is where personal branding and audience engagement come into play.

You can’t just launch an app or a product and expect success. To truly win, you need to know your audience, understand their pain points, and be able to distribute your solution effectively. This is where personal branding comes in. Having an audience gives you a competitive edge. By sharing your journey, whether through TikToks, LinkedIn posts, or other platforms, you create a foundation that you can leverage to gain feedback, iterate faster, and sell your products before anyone else.

The Game-Changer

Let’s face it, we are at a unique moment in time. The ability to go from idea to product in a weekend is a game-changer. Whether it's an MVP for a new SaaS app or a meme generator, the gap between inspiration and execution has never been smaller. With the right tools and mindset, almost anyone can bring a product to life.

But just as important is understanding that this new era of development requires more than just coding skills. It requires creativity, vision, and a deep understanding of your audience. With AI and the right tools, we’ve entered an era where the barrier to entry has collapsed, but the real magic will still come from those who can solve problems that matter to people.

How I created a climate skin-care app with AI

In under 12 hours, I created an MVP for a skincare app that gives you personalized recommendations based on the UV real time data so people can take care of their skin.

It started like a weather app but then naturally transitioned to this idea. So I knew I needed an open API to get real time weather data and I decided to gowith Openweather’s API. I created an account and got my API key

Also one of the features I wanted to have is to be able to search for a location and have the map of that specific location so again I decided to use an open source service, in this case for the map I used OpenStreetMap, with these accounts created let’s go build this thing.

I created an account on Bolt.new to help me write the code and an account on Vercel.io to deploy the application to the web. These tools make everything so easy and fast. I also made sure to set up my GitHub account and linked it with Vercel so that way it would be easier to update the app, where I get the code from bolt and upload it into GitHub as a new version.

Building with Bolt

Bolt is really simple to use, you just give it a prompt and the AI codes and gives you a live view of what your app is looking like, from there is just working with boltto test, add new features and fix bugs and errors.

I also used Claude to help me fix bugs and to explain Bolt what could be done to fix the issues if bolt still had problems because sometimes changing stuff like the UI can mess up some parts of the code and change the way your app looks and works.

Link Vercel to your Github account so any updates can occur automatically when you push a new version to GitHub.

After a lot of back and forth I was able to come up with a functional piece, so I downloaded the package from Bolt, unzipped it and added that unzipped folder containing my app into GitHub.

Whenever I upload to GitHub, Vercel updates automatically, and like that I can see my app on the web.

And that’s it!

This way you can build a simple MVP in 4 -12 hours, the next step is adding user Authentication and creating a database which you can do with Supabase.

Here’s another fun project I built

My Steam Bot Project

Honestly, this whole "vibe coding" thing hit me hard when I tried to build my Steam deals bot.

At first, it felt simple. Fetch deals, forward them to Discord. Done, right?
But reality? Reality slapped me.

I thought it would be a weekend project, but I ended up facing all kinds of hurdles like managing APIs, dealing with token errors, configuring environments, fixing polling conflicts on Telegram, even battling Heroku and Railway weird deployment issues. I had to dive deep into the docs, tweak the requests, debug crashes that made no sense. It wasn’t just "describe what you want and ship it." It was a full-on trenches experience.

There were moments I wanted to quit. Moments when everything broke just because a requirements.txt file was wrong or a folder wasn’t structured properly. Moments where the bot was running but not really doing what I wanted.
But every single problem taught me something about how things actually work. APIs, tokens, Webhooks, Polling, Git conflicts and more.

The best part? I figured out a system to filter out DLCs, get real Steam games, curate better deals, and now I have a working bot that can send users to my Discord and newsletter. It’s not perfect, but it’s mine and it’s running. It's already doing marketing for me 24/7 without me lifting a finger. (Not really lol).

You still need to get the word out there!

That’s when it clicked: building today isn't about knowing everything. It’s about solving one problem at a time, shipping anyway and building distribution.

If I learned all this from just one project, imagine what’s possible if I keep stacking projects like this. That's the real edge today, not just building faster, but learning how to survive in the trenches and come out smarter every time.

So, what’s next for vibe coding? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: the future is exciting, and we’re just getting started. The era of build fast, fail fast, and iterate fast is here. Time to start building.

Here are the key Features of GPT-4o's Image Generation:

• Integrated Multimodality: GPT-4o seamlessly combines text and image generation, allowing users to create detailed visuals directly within the ChatGPT interface. This integration streamlines workflows, eliminating the need for separate tools. ​

• Enhanced Precision and Realism: The model delivers photorealistic images with improved accuracy in rendering text and symbols. This advancement ensures that generated visuals meet professional standards required for diverse applications. ​WSJ

• User-Guided Customization: By inputting descriptive text prompts and reference images, users can guide the AI to produce tailored visuals that align closely with specific brand aesthetics and messaging.​Wikipedia

Practical Applications:

• Marketing and Advertising: Marketers can swiftly generate compelling advertisements, social media content, and promotional materials, reducing reliance on extensive design teams and accelerating campaign deployment.​

• Product Design: Companies can visualize product concepts and variations efficiently, facilitating faster prototyping and market testing.​

• Content Creation: Content creators and publishers can enhance articles, blogs, and multimedia projects with bespoke visuals, enriching the audience's experience.​

I spent 40 minutes vibe graphic designing and playing around with this new model, and I was blown away with the results

Here are some examples of what I made

OpenAI’s March 2025 image generation model is a creative engine.

Here’s why it matters:

🎨 A Design Studio in Your Pocket

This model can instantly generate:
→ Product mockups
→ Event banners
→ Ads & posters
→ Comics, tattoos, and even graffiti

Visuals are shockingly high-quality, complete with accurate text, symbols, and design elements.

🔍 Control Meets Creativity

You can guide the AI with:
→ Text prompts
→ Reference images

This means you don’t just get cool results
you get on-brand, intentional visuals that align with your message.

Perfect for creative teams, solopreneurs, and anyone short on time but big on vision.

💼 Practical for Brands & Marketers

This isn’t just fun, it’s functional.

For D2C brands, this means:

• Faster product concepting

• Ad creation at scale

• On-the-fly visual A/B testing

In short: Less waiting, more iterating.

Why This Matters for You:
We're entering a new era of on-demand creativity.
No Photoshop? No team? No problem.
The tools are smarter. Now it’s about how you use them.

If you’re building, marketing, or designing
this is the edge.

Stay creative

Want a deep dive or a visual breakdown of how we’re using it live?
Reply with “SHOW ME THE GOODS” and I’ll send you a behind-the-scenes exclusive video I put together.

Four days. That’s all it took me to add 200 new subscribers to my newsletter, without ads, without cold outreach, and without an existing audience.

The secret? I didn’t try to build an audience from scratch. Instead, I tapped into an already thriving community, provided value with a free guide, and redirected that attention into my own ecosystem. A few months later, I repeated the same process and gained another 100 subscribers.

That experiment proved something I’ve been thinking about for a while: in 2025, the fastest way to grow isn’t by grinding out endless posts hoping the algorithm notices you. There are many ways to do it but for me, It’s by positioning yourself as a thought leader inside existing communities, then channeling that trust and engagement into your own audience, products, or offers.

In this article, I’ll break down the 5-step framework I used to make this work, and how you can replicate it to grow an audience (and business) without starting from zero.

The landscape

Content creators have become pivotal in attracting and engaging audiences, leading to the creation of numerous communities. These communities thrive on the content provided by individual creators, who often serve as the focal point of the community.

While individual content creators are highly effective in building and monetizing their audiences, the sustainability of such communities can be limited by the reliance on a single person’s content and influence.

Content creators often monetize their own communities by providing a solution to a problem for their audience, for example; A fitness content creator develops a routine to trim fat in 90 days through calisthenics, this is their core offer.

what? A routine, time-frame: 90 days, how? Calisthenics

One of the best ways to build and launch a digital product nowadays (software, agency, newsletter, course, mentorship, templates, etc) and have a significant amount of users or customers at launch is by having an audience and building a community for that audience, where you have your most dedicated followers in one place. This is called community based products and it looks like this.

Audience Community Product

This is one of the best ways to find Product Market Fit.

In the near future people are going to leverage already established communities and position themselves as leaders inside those communities. Communities are not only about one person, if you can establish yourself as a leader inside a community you’re going to be able to influence other like minded people and create your “own audience” inside a group of people. This will allow you to redirect that attention into anything you want; a private community, a podcast, a software product, mentorship, etc.

Why would you bother in audience building from scratch when you can leverage already existing audiences that are already engaged.

Current trends in content creation and community building

Content creation has evolved significantly over the past decade. Initially dominated by blogs and then influencers, the rise of social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and later on TikTok has democratized content creation, allowing individuals to reach large audiences with relative ease. Key trends in content creation include:

Short-Form Video Content: Platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels have popularized short-form videos, which are easily consumable and shareable. Studies show that these formats drive high engagement rates and are particularly popular among younger audiences.

Personal Branding: Establishing a strong personal brand that reflects one’s values, expertise, and personality is key to building trust and recognition. A well-defined personal brand can enhance credibility and attract a loyal following.

Community building: The importance of community building has grown alongside content creation. Successful creators often cultivate dedicated communities around their content, which can enhance engagement and loyalty.

Building an audience from scratch in 2024 is a challenging endeavour that requires significant effort, strategic planning, and adaptability.

The high competition and constant evolution of digital platforms necessitate a well-thought-out approach and persistent effort to get eyeballs and traction on social media nowadays, it may take you multiple months or even years to have a significant engaged audience. Imagine all the work you have to put in to make people start noticing you.

Challenges new content creators face when building a successful following online in 2024

Saturated Market:

• High Competition: With millions of content creators vying for attention on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, standing out is incredibly challenging. Each niche is crowded, making it difficult to attract and engage a loyal audience.

• Content Overload: Audiences are constantly inundated with content, making it hard for new creators to capture and maintain their attention.

Algorithm Dependency:

• Platform Algorithms: Social media and content platforms use complex algorithms to prioritize content. Understanding and leveraging these algorithms is essential but challenging, as changes can drastically affect a creator’s reach and engagement.

Consistency and Quality:

• Content Quality: Creating high-quality content consistently requires significant time, skill, and investment. High standards are essential to attract and retain an audience.

• Consistency: Regularly posting content to maintain audience interest can be exhausting and time-consuming, leading to potential burnout.

Engagement and Interaction:

• Active Engagement: Building an engaged audience requires active interaction with followers through comments, live sessions, and social media engagement, fostering a sense of community and loyalty.

• Community Building: Creating a connected community around content is crucial for sustained engagement.

Alternative Approach: Leveraging Established Communities

From the current trends in content creation mentioned above, there is only one we are going to tap into, this is the one key aspect to focus on for easy audience building in 2024 and beyond.

Personal Branding: Establishing a strong personal brand that reflects one’s values, expertise, and personality is key to building trust and recognition. A well-defined personal brand can enhance credibility and attract a loyal following.

Instead of building an audience from scratch, positioning oneself as a thought leader within an already established and engaged community can be a more efficient and effective strategy. This approach leverages existing networks and credibility to gain visibility and influence.

Benefits of Leveraging Established Communities

Immediate Access to Engaged Audiences:

• Pre-existing Engagement: Established communities have already cultivated a dedicated and engaged audience. By entering these spaces, individuals can tap into a ready-made pool of potential followers.

• Focused Interest: These communities are often niche-specific, ensuring that the audience is interested in the content and topics being discussed.

Credibility and Trust:

• Established Trust: Members of established communities tend to trust the community members and its leaders. By positioning oneself as a thought leader, individuals can benefit from this pre-existing trust.

• Authority and Expertise: Contributing valuable insights and expertise can quickly establish an individual as an authority within the community.

Efficient Use of Resources:

• Reduced Time and Effort: Building an audience from scratch requires significant time and effort. Leveraging established communities allows individuals to focus on providing value and engaging with the audience rather than starting from zero.

• Strategic Focus: Resources can be directed towards creating high-quality content and engaging with the community to drive traffic to your own creations, rather than marketing and audience-building efforts.

Thought leadership is the practice of positioning oneself as an authority and influential figure within a specific field or industry. A thought leader is recognized for their expertise, innovative ideas, and ability to provide valuable insights that address the challenges and needs of their audience. Thought leadership goes beyond sharing information; it involves influencing opinions, driving conversations, and setting trends within a niche.

Thought leadership is integral to personal branding and the current content creation sphere. It establishes credibility, enhances visibility, fosters engagement, and opens up diverse opportunities. By positioning oneself as a thought leader within established communities, individuals can effectively build their personal brand and attract a loyal, engaged audience without starting from scratch. This strategic approach leverages existing networks and credibility, offering a more efficient path to influence and success in the digital age.

How to leverage thought leadership and Cultivate Influence for Easy Audience Building

Let’s use the analogy of the “Tribal Wars Hierarchy of Needs” to outline the steps necessary to leverage thought leadership and cultivate influence for easy audience building. Each block of the pyramid will represent a foundational element in this process.

Here’s a 5 step process for you to cultivate influence and become a thought leader in your niche

Fundamentals: Master the Rules

Get experience and develop your skills

Imagine playing soccer. Now imagine how difficult it would be to get out of a high press if you had no ball control skills or transition from a 4–3–3 formation to a 5–3–2 in defense without awareness skills. Those latter two elements make up the fundamentals of the game. Like any game, every niche has a set of basic rules and skills that must be mastered before going any further in the game. Before you can become a thought leader, you must first understand the basics:

• Knowledge and Skills: Develop a deep understanding of your niche. Stay updated with the latest trends and advancements.

• Personal Brand: Clearly define your personal brand. Understand who you are, what you stand for, and what you offer.

• Platform Familiarity: Familiarize yourself with the platforms and communities where your target audience is most active.

This is key, if you don’t have this, it’s going to be impossible for you to get results.

Invention: Generate Ideas Based on an Assessment of the Landscape

Creating Valuable Content and Innovative Ideas

Once you have a solid foundation, start generating ideas:

• Content Strategy: Develop a content strategy that aligns with your expertise and the interests of your audience.

• Innovative Ideas: Identify gaps in the existing content landscape and create innovative solutions. Offer unique perspectives that differentiate you from others.

• Content Formats: Experiment with sharing various content formats like blogs, videos, podcasts, and social media posts to find what resonates best with members in niche communities.

Here is where you will listen to what other members are saying, what does a day to day look like inside these communities, what are the struggles members are going through? Identify a problem most people have and provide actionable steps to overcome these issues.

Rhetoric: Convince Others to Agree with and Follow Your Plan

Engaging and Persuading Your Audience

Next, focus on engaging your audience and building trust within a community:

• Communication Skills: Hone your communication skills to effectively convey your ideas and persuade your audience.

• Engagement: Actively engage with members in communities through comments and discussions Respond to their queries and feedback.

• Building Trust: Share authentic stories and experiences to build trust and credibility. Position yourself as approachable and relatable.

Get yourself seen as a friend, an active and trusted member of the community that also provides value will always be seen with good eyes and will increase your chances of converting those people into “followers”.

Will: Have the Fortitude to Follow Through with Your Plan

Maintaining Consistency and Persistence

Building influence requires persistence and consistency:

• Consistency: Regularly post high-quality content. Consistency helps maintain audience interest and engagement.

• Resilience: Stay committed to your plan despite challenges. Be prepared to adapt and refine your strategies based on feedback and performance metrics.

Be consistent with your efforts and don’t stop engaging with the community specially on the DM’s with other members.

Execution: See the Plan Through to Success

Implementing Your Strategy and Achieving Results

Finally, execute your strategy effectively:

• Measurement and Analysis: Continuously measure the performance of your content and engagement strategies. Use analytics to understand what works and what doesn’t.

• Optimization: Optimize your strategies based on data insights. Make necessary adjustments to improve engagement and reach.

• Scaling: As you gain traction, look for opportunities to scale your efforts. This could include expanding to new platforms.

Once you’ve found Product-Market-Fit the goal here is to foster engagement inside established communities to generate trust in order to get people to TAKE ACTION, such as joining separate private groups, making members sign up for a newsletter, joining a waitlist for a product, etc.

I’ve been experimenting with this on a smaller scale myself, one of the growth hacks I’ve been using to grow my newsletter consists in providing valuable content inside a facebook group for people that want to achieve a specific result, (become a digital nomad in my case). Apart from providing actionable steps and personal insights I created a free guide for the members of this facebook community, I was not expecting a lot of engagement on my post but in 4 days I managed to add 200 newsletter subscribers just from one post, at the end of this guide people could also find a link to sign up for my newsletter, I did the same thing 3 months after and added close to 100 more sign ups.

If you can do this long enough with these 5 steps and in multiple already engaged communities you’re going to be able to generate trust, emotion and scale your products and offers in a simple way without the need of short or long form video content creation or advertising.

Next steps

Like Alex Hormozi said, the secret to my success is delaying gratification.

Being ok with repeating this 5 step process over and over again until you’ve amassed a following, build trust and relationships with people + delaying your ask, is crucial in order to drive traffic to your products and offers without the need of starting from scratch as a creator.

By cutting out the time it takes you to build an audience online and jumping straight into an engaged audience, you’re basically time traveling.

If you’re developing a product, start funneling people in through warm Dm’s, it’s going to be more likely people end up subscribing or buying from you than a stranger.

Utilize Launch-Based-Marketing to launch your product or offer and let inside a pool of people on your wait list, let them know you’re going to make a first launch and open limited spots.

Once people use your product or solution, get customer feedback and iterate.

Encourage satisfied community members to refer others and share their positive experiences.

Share case studies and success stories from community members who have benefited from your product or insights.

Provide exclusive offers, discounts, or early access to community members as a token of appreciation and to incentivize action.

But this is another topic for another time, if you would like to know more about how to make a successful launch through “Launch-Based-Marketing” shoot me a message.

What’s new?

• My latest article: The Distribution and Attention Era: Unlocking Success in the Age of AI
  

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The digital landscape is undergoing a shift. AI has democratized the creation of software, drastically reducing time-to-market. However, the ease of creation has also intensified competition. In this environment, the biggest lever for success isn’t just building innovative products, it’s mastering distribution and capturing attention.

Software is easier to build now with tools like Bolt, Cursor, Vercel, Lovable, etc. It is easier than ever to create and deploy a SaaS product, non technical people are building cool things, but is the thing you are building really a good product?

You need to have a good product, while building can be done fast, having software development basics are a must have. AI coding assistants aren’t mind readers, and they are not always thinking about user experience, security, optimizing egress and ingress transactions, and overall stability of your products code base.

Getting the basics right is important, you have to know what you’re doing, otherwise you’re going to have a hard time solving problems.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s say that you have a decent product that took a week to build, now what?

This democratization comes with a trade-off: a saturated market. The question is no longer, “Can you build it?” but “Can you get people to notice it?”

Why Distribution is the Game Changer

Distribution: the ability to deliver your product, service, or message to the right audience at the right time is now the ultimate differentiator. A brilliant product without visibility will fade into obscurity, while a good product with strong distribution can dominate its niche.

How do we get people to notice our product?

There are a couple routes you can take with this one, for me it’s very clear and it depends on the type of product you have; B2B, B2C, B2B2C, C2C. I’m going to provide a small guide for B2B and B2C, the last 2 can be one with a combination of these 2 tactics.

B2B

Traditionally for B2B software the best thing I’ve found that works very good is building a personal brand. The amount of founders building in public on platforms like X and LinkedIn has grown a lot over the past few years

Personal branding has proven to be highly effective for B2B software founders

• Employee-shared content receives eight times more engagement than brand-shared content, highlighting the power of personal accounts

According to Forbes people are 77% more likely to buy from a company if the CEO uses social media, which is particularly important in the B2B market.

Ever noticed company pages flop on LinkedIn while founders thrive? We’ve all seen it, company pages get so little engagement, but why?

People are in tune with people, we love seeing founders share their vision and life through posts, podcasts and videos, we want to know about them.

People buy into people before they buy products. Don’t believe me? just look at this post.

I analyzed 20 top LinkedIn content creators and this is what I found

Average Engagement Rate

• The average engagement rate across creators is a benchmark for comparing individual performance.

• Creators with a higher engagement rate often have more focused content and dedicated audiences.

Follower Count vs. Engagement Levels

• Creators with fewer followers but high engagement rates show strong audience loyalty.

Categories for engagement levels:

○ Low (0–1%): Indicates either a mismatch in content or less engaged followers.

○ Moderate (1–2%): Reflects balanced content with decent engagement. ○ High (2–5%): Strongly engaged communities.

○ Very High (>5%): Typically niche or highly relatable content.

Style Patterns

• Storytelling

• Posts often start with a compelling hook (e.g., “In 2008, I was broke…”).

• The body of the post takes readers through a journey or transformation.

• Ends with a relatable lesson or actionable takeaway.

Actionable Advice

• Successful creators provide clear steps or frameworks that readers can immediately apply.

• Example: “How to use AI to save 5 hours a week.”

• Actionable content builds trust and positions creators as experts.

Authenticity and Vulnerability

• Sharing failures, struggles, and lessons creates deeper emotional connections.

• Posts that say, “Here’s what I learned when I failed,” tend to be highly relatable and shareable.

Engaging Visuals

• When images are included, they’re often custom-designed graphics or attention-grabbing visuals that reinforce the post’s message.

• Charts, diagrams, or screenshots (e.g., of tools in action) provide visual clarity and add value.

Data and Evidence

• Posts that include stats, case studies, or performance metrics tend to attract more comments and shares.

• Audiences appreciate tangible proof of effectiveness or results.

Community-Centric Approach

• Creators ask questions, involve their audience, or share follower success stories to foster a sense of community.

• Engages audiences by making them feel seen and valued.

Key Patterns That Drive Success

1. Relatability: Posts that reflect shared experiences (e.g., struggling with self-doubt, learning something new) resonate deeply.

2. Educational Value: Audiences seek creators who teach or share insights.

3. Call to Action: Top posts often end with a question or invite engagement (e.g., “What’s worked for you?”).

4. Consistency: Frequent posting helps build momentum and keeps creators top-of-mind.

B2C

If you have a B2C offering like Loom, Notion, Tinder, Strava, Midjourney then you’ll have to take a different approach, while having a personal brand is goated, because the fact that you can be seen by a lot of people makes distribution easy, this is not always the case and if you’re starting from scratch why would you bother on creating a personal brand, building a personal brand is a long game and for B2C there are better strategies.

Building an audience from scratch is a challenging endeavour that requires significant effort, strategic planning, and adaptability. The high competition and constant evolution of digital platforms necessitate a well-thought-out approach and persistent effort to get eyeballs and traction on social media nowadays, it may take you multiple months or even years to have a significant engaged audience. Imagine all the work you have to put in to make people start noticing you. Instead leverage already established and engaged audiences.

Leverage already established communities and position yourself as a leader inside those communities. Communities are not only about one person, if you can establish yourself as a leader inside a community or a tribe you’re going to be able to influence other like-minded people and create your “own audience” inside a group of people. This will allow you to redirect that attention into anything you want; a private community, a podcast, a software product, mentorship, etc.

The best platforms for this are Reddit, Discord, Facebook groups, IndieHackers, launching on Product Hunt, etc.

Once you’ve found Product-Market-Fit the goal here is to foster engagement inside established communities to generate trust in order to get people to TAKE ACTION, such as joining separate private groups, making members sign up for a newsletter, joining a waitlist for a product, etc.

Like Alex Hormozi said, the secret to my success is delaying gratification. Being ok with repeating a process over and over again until you’ve amassed a following, build trust and relationships with people + delaying your ask, is crucial in order to drive traffic to your products and offers without the need of starting from scratch as a creator.

By cutting out the time it takes you to build an audience online and jumping straight into an engaged audience like a group or community and position yourself as an authority there, you’re basically time traveling.

If you’re developing a product, start funnelling people in through warm Dm’s, it’s going to be more likely that people end up subscribing or buying from you than a stranger.

Utilize Launch-Based-Marketing to launch your product or offer and let inside a pool of people on your wait list, let them know you’re going to make a first launch and open limited spots. Once people use your product or solution, get customer feedback and iterate. Encourage satisfied community members to refer others and share their positive experiences.

Share case studies and success stories from community members who have benefited from your product or insights. Provide exclusive offers, discounts, or early access to community members as a token of appreciation and to incentivize action.

My newsletter subscriber count after experimenting with this idea, providing value on Facebook groups.

Attention: The Scarcity Economy

Attention has become the most valuable currency in the digital age. With consumers bombarded by content, brands must compete fiercely to stand out. Winning attention requires a blend of creativity, timing, and consistency.

Key strategies for capturing attention include:

• Storytelling: Crafting compelling narratives that resonate emotionally with your audience.

• Personal Branding: Building a recognizable and trusted voice that adds value to your niche.

• Memorable Design: Investing in distinctive visuals and branding that command interest.

• Real-Time Engagement: Actively participating in trending conversations and cultural moments.

Why do Narratives matter?

Have you heard the term “Demand generation”

Demand generation is not just a marketing tactic; it is the orchestration of curiosity that naturally transforms into need. At its core, demand generation asks us to reflect on how value is perceived and how trust is cultivated in a world saturated with options.

Effective demand generation introduces an unmet need in a way that feels deeply personal to the audience. The aim is not to sell immediately but to awaken a latent curiosity that whispers, “There’s something more for you here.” Take a look at the whole Red Pill movement that’s been going on for years and subcategories like “Looks maxing” it is all a construct, a narrative designed to infiltrate your mind and slowly manipulate you to take action, in order to fix your life whether you want to see it as good or bad, we are all influenced every day to make decisions, at the end we are all consumers and people buy into narratives.

Trust is the cornerstone of demand. Without it, even the most ingenious strategies crumble under the weight of skepticism. Demand generation, then, is not just about telling a story but ensuring that every touchpoint of that story reinforces credibility.

Think of trust as a series of small commitments. A free resource, an insightful webinar, a conversation on social media, each interaction builds a bridge between you and your audience. The audience does not need to be dazzled, they need to feel understood. By empathizing with their struggles and speaking to their aspirations, you become more than a brand or a product; you become a partner in their journey.

Demand generation is not all about pushing but more about pulling.

Instead of convincing the audience to want something, the goal is to reveal how your offering aligns with what they already desire.

True influence is not about bending others to your will, but about guiding them toward their own truth.

How would I practice demand generation?

I would start by asking and answering these questions

• What problems keep your audience awake at night?

• What values resonate deeply with them?

• How can your message make them feel seen, heard, and empowered?

Use these insights to craft narratives that evoke curiosity and empathy. Share stories that illuminate, educate, and inspire. Be present where your audience gathers, not to broadcast, but to engage. And above all, remain authentic.

Do you know what industry is the best when it comes to narrative building?

Crypto and Blockchain.

The crypto market is speculative, and a powerful narrative can pump prices significantly, even in the absence of substantive updates. Investors often buy into the story rather than the product itself. The narrative around Solana meme coins and the shift away from Ethereum tokens is a fascinating example of how storytelling and community-building drive attention and adoption in the crypto space.

The narrative begins by framing Ethereum as the incumbent. While Ethereum has historically been the dominant platform for meme coins and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) projects, it is often criticized for high gas fees, slower transaction speeds, and scalability issues. This sets the stage for Solana to present itself as a challenger.

Solana meme coins, such as Bonk and others, leveraged this blockchain’s narrative to position themselves as the “next big thing” in the meme coin market. They built on the following key storytelling elements:

• Community Ownership: Projects like Bonk airdropped tokens to Solana users, creating an immediate sense of inclusivity and loyalty.

• Rebellion Against Ethereum: By framing themselves as the underdog, Solana meme coins positioned Ethereum as the “old guard” while portraying themselves as fresh, agile, and community-focused.

• Meme Culture: Solana coins embraced irreverent, humorous branding, which resonated with younger, digitally native investors looking for the next viral opportunity.

The migration from Ethereum to Solana isn’t just technical; it’s ideological. The story taps into broader crypto narratives of decentralization and accessibility. Moving away from Ethereum is framed as:

• Escaping Elitism: Ethereum’s high fees and institutional focus are contrasted with Solana’s more “grassroots” approach.

• Adopting the Future: By switching to Solana, developers and users align themselves with an ecosystem that prioritizes innovation and inclusivity.

• Creating New Opportunities: The Solana ecosystem is positioned as a less saturated, lower-barrier market for new projects and traders looking for high growth potential.

The strength of this narrative has had tangible impacts such as Massive User Adoption, Mainstream Recognition and Developer Migration.

The narrative of Solana meme coins and the migration away from Ethereum tokens is a masterclass in storytelling and narratives It combines:

1. A clear antagonist (Ethereum’s high fees and inefficiencies).

2. A strong protagonist (Solana as the agile, scalable alternative).

3. Emotional resonance (community ownership and rebellion against the status quo).

In crypto the narrative today is agentic AI

Speed as a Competitive Edge

content creation has changed a lot with the arrival of AI, what would take days or weeks to craft now we can do in a couple of minutes.

Image generation, text generation, video generation, music and audio, we can even create digital versions of ourselves. Now we have people creating AI UGC content creators and scaling content on TikTok for brands and pages, you can generate hundreds of static images in seconds.

While this is great, we need to take into account the human element, the best personal brands are the ones that create the best connection/relationship with their audience. content needs to be personal, and have a personality.

While AI allows you to scale content output, more isn’t always better. High-quality, thoughtful content that sparks conversation and connection will always outperform sheer quantity.

In an era where AI-generated content floods every corner of the internet, the most valuable creators and brands will be those who can marry speed with substance. They’ll leverage AI to enhance their efficiency but maintain a strong human connection in every interaction. The brands that succeed won’t just be the fastest or the loudest, they’ll be the ones that listen, empathize, and engage meaningfully.

Final thoughts

As AI continues to democratize tools and processes, the competition for attention intensifies. The market is now saturated with products and content, and the differentiating factor isn’t innovation alone, it’s the ability to tell compelling stories, foster trust, and create meaningful relationships. Distribution, engagement, and authenticity have become the cornerstones of sustainable growth.

The key to thriving in this environment is balance: leverage AI for its unparalleled efficiency while doubling down on the human touch. Create content and products that resonate on an emotional level. Build narratives that align with your audience’s aspirations and struggles. Remember, people buy into people and stories — not just features or speed.

That’s all, I hope this article inspired you to take action and provided some insights

• I launched the Autodidactaz Podcast!

• Weekly Digest

In this first episode, Yaniv shares his journey as an e-commerce growth expert. This first episode is full of insights on optimizing ad campaigns, user-generated content (UGC) and marketing strategies.

Content is king and Yaniv talks about the importance of controlling the creative.

Key Takeaways

• Content creation is as important as paid advertisement in today's marketing landscape.

• Static images still have a place in digital marketing despite the rise of video content.

• User-generated content (UGC) allows brands to maintain control over creative output.

• Feedback loops between creative and analytics are vital for campaign success.

• Seasonality is crucial for e-commerce revenue generation.

• Email marketing is essential during high-traffic seasons.

• TikTok is changing the landscape of marketing and sales.

• Attention is the new currency in the digital age.

• Personal development and planning are key to success.

Content creation has evolved from an optional marketing strategy to a critical business imperative. In a world saturated with advertising noise, authentic, engaging content cuts through the clutter and builds genuine connections with audiences.

Now with the rise of AI we are seeing more content generated than ever, you use this technology to speed up the process of creating and updating creatives, if I would use AI for content creation and distribution it would be to generate creatives and automate the batch uploads to google Drive or your ad manager.

Weekly Digest

• Google Releases Gemini 2.0

Google has launched Gemini 2.0, its most advanced AI model to date, featuring multimodal capabilities and seamless integration with tools like Google Search and Maps.

• Amazon Enters Car Sales

Amazon has officially entered the online car sales market with the launch of Amazon Autos, a new e-commerce platform that allows customers to find, order, and purchase new vehicles directly from dealerships. As reported by TechCrunch, the service initially partners with Hyundai in 48 U.S. cities, with plans to expand to more locations and manufacturers in 2025.

• Singapore’s first intergenerational co-living space to open in 2025

The Singapore Land Authority is transforming a former primary school site into Singapore’s first intergenerational co-living space. Scheduled to open in 2025, it will feature 107 rooms with shared facilities designed to cater to older residents and students.

• OpenAI launches $200/mo. Pro Plan:

OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Pro, a $200 monthly subscription plan designed for power users, offering unlimited access to its most advanced AI models, enhanced computational capabilities like o1 Pro Mode, and future productivity features, making it ideal for researchers and professionals tackling complex challenges.

That’s all for now! See you next time with more insights and trends.

Juan Carlos Lara | Autodidactaz