Empire Secrets of Digital Marketing with Mariana Henninger

Hosted by Brandmagnetic

Business Marketing

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Episodes

149

Latest episode

Sep 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Think digital marketing and entrepreneurship... but FUN as heck! I talk to a savvy, growth-minded, established online business owners looking for sharp, often overlooked marketing tactics — stuff that cuts through noise and makes you go wait, what?! Come along on my online business journey as I build Brandmagnetic.com... I'm your untraditional host, Mariana Henninger -- an EMMY® award-winning director turned *online empire builder* and this show is me, documenting the wins, fails and secrets I learn along the way -- keeping it real and holding nothing back. If you want to be part of my story, the raw, honest and unfiltered journey from nothing to something -- follow this podcast! In my own lighthearted geriatric millennial mom fashion (!), I share my wins and lessons, tears and laughs, and also interviews with other badass founders along the way, revealing their own secrets to massive success. It's real, it's raw. It's funny! It's personal. But most importantly, empire secrets are laid bare that will help you in your own business. If you are looking for a fun online business bestie, you’re in the right place, fellow empire building rockstar. Lesssssgo! And if you want to ever chat with me directly, just DM me! ✨>> http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 29, 202617 min

Speakers With A STORY: How to Land More Speaking Engagements Without More Stage Footage (Revolutionizing the Speaker Reel)

Text me! Many of you might know me for our emotion-driven Brand Trailers™ … Now I want to bring that same storytelling and depth to speaker reels . Event managers aren’t only looking for speakers who can deliver a great talk. They're looking for someone who can move a room, connect with an audience and inspire action… And when your application is sitting under a big pile of other submissions, the only way you can set yourself apart, unless you have a powerful network that can vouch for you… is through your speaker reel. But right now, the traditional speaker reel is a flashy montage of clips from different stage appearances that shows you’ve been on stages… it works to “hype” you up, but doesn’t capture WHO you are. I want to disrupt that. And if you don't have enough professional stage footage to create one? Welcome to the speaker reel catch-22! How fun. :/ My vision is to create speaker reels that make event organizers FEEL the person behind the microphone, and immediately forward the link to everyone on the team. Your story. What drives you. What you believe in. Why your message matters. In a way that’s truly differentiated and compelling. Something that lets event managers not just recognize you as a great speaker, but connect with you as a person. An asset you can use over and over to surface you to the top and help you land bigger and better stages. In this behind-the-scenes Empire Diaries episode, I'm sharing why I'm on a mission to reinvent the traditional speaker reel, how I'm bringing my signature Brand Trailer™ approach to speakers, and why the response to this new idea has been absolutely bonkers. Plus, how to stand out to event organizers and land bigger speaking opportunities—even without a library of professional stage footage. 👉🏻 I’m looking for 5 speakers who want to be a part of this pilot. I’ll use my Emmy-winning storytelling expertise and work closely with you to develop your new speaker reel so that it actually reflects your depth and caliber… and then my team will edit everything for you. Offering this at a greatly reduced pre-launch price for the first 5 only. If you're interested, reach out to my team at hello@brandmagnetic.com and we'll chat to see if there's a fit! If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

September 3, 202616 min

Marketing Automation vs. Human Connection: What Actually Builds Trust? | Ep. 148

Text me! There’s a certain kind of marketing that makes my skin crawl. You follow someone interesting. Maybe you’re genuinely curious about their work. And suddenly you’re being marched through a series of questions designed to figure out whether you’re a qualified lead. What do you do? How big is your business? What are you struggling with? Hello??? Did you see my last message??? No curiosity. No actual connection. Just a "sales process". I'm talking about it. In this episode, I share: Why automating the human parts of your marketing can actually repel the premium clients you’re trying to attract. The difference between shortening your sales cycle by building trust faster — and trying to force people through a sales process faster. How to use AI + automation behind the scenes while making your customer experience feel more personal, curious and genuinely human. I LOVE automation. I want to automate as much of the backend of my business as humanly possible (irony?). But when automation starts replacing the places where our future clients actually expect to encounter an actual human? It's BAD. Especially if you sell something premium. In this episode, I’m sharing a recent DM interaction that took me from genuinely interested in someone’s work to unfollowing and blocking them — and another interaction that did the exact opposite because of one ridiculously small human detail. Your prospects aren’t names on a spreadsheet with a timer next to them. They’re people. :) If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

August 6, 202618 min

Why I Turned My $5K Curriculum Into a $97 Workshop | Ep. 147

Text me! We’ve all been there. You buy the low ticket thing, a workshop, or a mini-course because it sounds so good in the moment… …and then three months later, you’re doing your bookkeeping and realize you never even opened it? Same. This is the problem I’ve been thinking about as I build the next evolution of my business. It’s great when people buy your stuff. But more than that, you want them to actually EXPERIENCE it, understand it, and feel the magic of what’s possible when their story starts doing the trust-building for them. In this behind-the-scenes Empire Diaries episode, I’m sharing what’s been happening inside Brandmagnetic this year — from sunsetting the final cohort of Brand Video Accelerator, to building my new program Presold Clients , to packaging the Human Connection Video curriculum into a $97 workshop I’m calling The 3-Minute Trust Machine . This is the system I’ve been using to help brilliant coaches, experts, and online business owners build trust faster, shorten their sales cycle, and create a top-of-funnel trust asset that helps dream clients feel connected before they ever get on a call. I’m also sharing why I decided to make the workshop both instant-access and live once a month — because the goal isn’t just to make another sale. The goal is to get people in the room, teach the mechanism, answer questions, and give them a real peek inside the bigger Presold Clients ecosystem. Inside this episode: 📌 Why I paused selling in Q2 to rethink the next evolution of my business 📌 Why Brand Video Accelerator became Presold Clients 📌 The difference between a “brand video” and a Human Connection Video 📌 Why I packaged my signature curriculum into a $97 workshop 📌 How The 3-Minute Trust Machine works as a trust-builder gateway offer 📌 Why I’m keeping the live workshop component even though buyers get instant access 📌 How I’m thinking about ads, low-ticket offers, and scaling the second half of the year If you’re brilliant at what you do but your magic still feels too hard to explain in a 15-second reel, this episode will show you the bigger trust ecosystem I’m building — and why I believe your story might be the most powerful sales asset you’re not fully using yet. Sign up my 3-Minute Trust Machine workshop >> https://brandmagnetic.com/trustmachine If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

July 17, 202615 min

"Magic In The Room" - Why People Instantly Trust You in Person But Not Online | Ep. 146

Text me! Have you ever walked away from an in-person conversation thinking… "If people could just meet me, they'd get it." But the internet sucks the magic out of who you are... and your dreamiest clients can't feel: Your personality. Your passion and drive. Your mission. WHY you do what you do. Those are the things that make people want to work with you. In this episode, I'm sharing the biggest lesson I took away from two networking events that completely changed the way I think about trust, introductions, and why traditional marketing so often falls flat. You'll learn: Why elevator pitches make everyone sound the same. The networking exercise that created instant connection. Why you're far more memorable in person than you are online. How to package the "magic in the room" so strangers can experience it before they ever meet you. The simple shift I made to my own introduction that changed how people responded. If you've ever felt like your expertise is obvious once someone talks to you... but definitely does NOT translate online... this episode is for you. 🎥 Get my complete Human Connection Video system! https://brandmagnetic.com/humanconnectionvideo If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

July 9, 202611 min

How To Makes Sales Calls Easy... The Digital Marketing Strategy That Gets Clients Who Are Ready To Buy | Ep. 145

Text me! *DM me "HUMAN" on Instagram @brandmagnetic to get the full blueprint of how to create a Human Connection Video that builds trust before you ever get on a call. * Have you ever gotten off a sales call and thought... "Why did that feel so hard?" I've been thinking a lot about that lately after my husband (who spent years in sales) looked at me and said: "You're not a closer." Honestly? He wasn't wrong. I've never loved the idea of convincing someone to buy from me. I don't want to overcome objections or pressure someone into making a decision they're not ready to make. Instead, I've spent years building my business around a completely different philosophy: I want my dream clients to show up already believing. Already trusting. Already feeling like, "This is my person." In this episode, I break down why I think so many coaches are solving the wrong problem when they focus on becoming better closers—and what I believe actually creates easier sales. Inside, I share: Why I don't want to "close" people on sales calls The hidden cost of convincing someone who's not truly ready Why pre-sold clients become your easiest and most rewarding clients The two ingredients every buyer needs before they're naturally ready to say yes How trust and belief shifts work together to eliminate sales resistance Why your marketing should be doing the heavy lifting—not your sales calls If your dream is to have people show up saying, "I'm in. Where do I sign?" instead of, "I need to think about it..." I think you're going to love this conversation. Ready to build that kind of trust? DM me the word HUMAN on Instagram: 👉 https://instagram.com/brandmagnetic I'll send you all the details for the Human Connection Video system, the exact framework I previously only shared inside my $5K program. Connect with me Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandmagnetic If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you subscribed, left a review, or shared it with another coach who's ready to stop chasing clients—and start attracting people who already believe before the call even begins. ::: I actually think this version sounds much more like you're talking directly to one person, which has been working really well for your recent episodes. If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

June 25, 202621 min

Empire Secrets: The 3-Part Trust Ecosystem I’m Building Right Now | Ep. 144

Text me! Your work is incredible. You know it. Your clients know it. But somehow, cold people still need a whole journey before they feel it. The annoying and painful gap between how good you actually are and how fast people trust you online... is really what this episode is about. A lot has shifted over here. Brand Video Accelerator is officially sunsetted. It worked ( beautifully! ) but is even better now that it's evolved (my new program is called Presold Clients™). In this Empire Diaries episode, I'm sharing the full evolution: what Brand Video Accelerator was and what it became, and why Presold Clients™ is the system I was always building toward: the human connection and trust-based way to help coaches get dream clients arriving already sold, already trusting, already asking logistics questions instead of needing to be objection handled for 5 hours. I also tell the client story that made me tear up again just thinking about it. He showed his Human Connection Video to three people. Two grown men cried. That's not a testimonial. That's proof of what the right story, told the right way, actually does to people. Inside this episode: The real reason BVA sunsetted (and why it was the right call) Why "brand video" had to go — and what Human Connection Video actually means The 3 C's of the Presold Clients ecosystem How belief-shifting content + retargeting collapse the sales cycle The 3 engines I'm building: long-form content, my Miracle Hour (kudos to Kelly Roach), and an upcoming Human Connection Video workshop New era. Fewer moving parts. More trust assets that actually do the heavy lifting. Want more info on Presold Clients™? DM me PRESOLD on Instagram and my automation will get you everything, what's included and pricing, all of it: https://instagram.com/brandmagnetic Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@brandmagnetic If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

June 11, 202634 min

How To Get Premium Presold Coaching Clients in 2026 (Full Blueprint) | Ep. 143

Text me! WORK WITH ME: 👉 DM me "PRESOLD" on Instagram go.brandmagnetic.com/instagram for details on our private coaching program. If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

May 28, 20261 hr 12 min

The “Hidden” ROI of Speaking That No One Talks About — With Heather Sager | Ep. 142

Text me! So, you want to get on more stages? Cool. But let’s get real for a sec—visibility alone won’t grow your business. You don’t need more eyeballs. You need the right ones. And that? Is where today’s guest, Heather Sager, comes in. We’re unpacking: 🎤 The BIGGEST mistake people make when trying to land speaking gigs 🎯 Why “getting visible” is a waste of time (unless you do this) 🤯 The secret to making stages come to you (instead of constantly pitching) 💡 The real reason big podcasts and events might not bring the ROI you expect 🔥 How to turn speaking gigs into actual sales (without sounding salesy) Heather drops SO many truth bombs about landing high-impact speaking gigs, how to make your message unforgettable, and why most entrepreneurs are going about visibility all wrong. 📌 Heather’s Free Profitable Speaking Guide – Grab it here: https://heathersager.com/profitable-speaking-guide 📌 Liz Wilcox’s $9 Email Marketing Membership – Check it out: https://lizwilcox.com/ 📌 Heather’s Podcast “Hint of Hustle” – Listen here: https://heathersager.com/ If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

May 21, 202623 min

Why More Visibility Won’t Fix Cold Buyers — From Content Machine to Trust Machine | Ep. 141

Text me! Most coaches think they have a visibility problem. More leads. More eyeballs. More content. More stages. More podcasts. But if your sales calls still feel like emotional CPR — pulling out testimonials, over-explaining your method, proving why you’re different, trying to create certainty in 45 minutes — the real issue probably started long before the call. In this episode, I’m walking you through the exact map I use with clients to build a Trust Ecosystem that gets dream clients arriving already pre-sold — before they book the call, before they hear the price, and before you have to drag them across the finish line. I also share the sales call that changed everything for me: the one where I coached too much, gave too much, explained too much… and still didn’t make the sale. That call made me realize my sales process wasn’t the problem. The missing piece was everything that should have happened upstream . Inside this episode: 📌 The 5 stages coaches move through before clients start arriving pre-sold 📌 Why the “content machine” playbook keeps so many brilliant coaches exhausted 📌 The difference between content that creates attention and assets that create certainty 📌 The 5 Trust Gaps that keep your dream clients from choosing you faster 📌 Why your sales calls should feel like confirmation — not convincing If you’re tired of creating more content, carrying the emotional weight of every sales call, and watching the right people take months to decide, this episode will show you the system that makes trust compound. DM me “pre-sold” on Instagram for more info: https://instagram.com/brandmagnetic Grab my Ultimate Cheat Sheet For A Brand Story That Converts: https://brandmagnetic.com/cheatsheet If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

May 14, 202614 min

Why More Content Isn’t Shortening Your Sales Cycle… How Trust Actually Works | Ep. 140

Text me! We’ve been told that trust takes forever. Seven hours of content (although more likely seventy!). Six to twelve months of nurturing. Constantly provide value and create a gazillion posts so people can “know, like, and trust” us. And sure… people need touch points. But your dreamiest buyer is not seeing every single thing you post. She’s catching a post here, a story there, maybe a webinar, maybe your pinned video… and quietly building a picture of who you are, what you stand for, and whether she trusts you enough to pay you. In this episode, I’m breaking down how trust actually works online — and how to create the exact pieces of content that move your perfect client toward the trust tipping point much faster. I also share the story of a client, Katie, whose Human Connection Video became the centerpiece of her trust ecosystem — pinned on social, living on her About page, sitting in her email signature, and now running through retargeting ads so the right people keep seeing the story that makes them feel safe, seen, and ready. Inside this episode: 📌 Why more content doesn’t automatically create more trust 📌 The four Trust Triggers every premium buyer needs to feel 📌 Why sophisticated buyers need more than familiarity 📌 How the right stories shift beliefs before the offer is ever made 📌 Why a Human Connection Video can become the trust asset that does the heavy lifting You don’t need a million pieces of content. You need the right stories, in the right order, in front of the right people. That’s the precision game. If you want to learn more about how we help clients create a trust ecosystem that presells premium clients without having to post a million pieces of content, DM me “PRESOLD” on Instagram – @brandmagnetic. If we haven't yet - let's connect on Instagram! Find me at http://instagram.com/brandmagnetic

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