The Agents of Change Digital Marketing Podcast

Hosted by Rich Brooks | Interviews with Marketing Experts | SEO | Social Media Market

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640

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Discover how to increase your online visibility, drive more qualified traffic to your site and convert that traffic into leads and business! In The Marketing Agents Podcast, we'll interview leading marketers from around the globe to get their insider tips and tricks on SEO, social media and mobile marketing. If you've been looking to reach more of your ideal customers and build your business, be sure to subscribe to The Marketing Agents Podcast today!

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 26, 202623 min

Turn AI Into Your Best Referral Source with Vivienne Wagner

Every time you ask ChatGPT or Claude for a recommendation, you're training it to know you better, and that changes everything about how customers find your business. My guest this week is Vivienne Wagner, founder and CEO of Houndstooth Media Group, and she's built her entire practice around helping business owners get recommended by AI the same way you'd ask a friend "who should I call for this?" We get into why clarity beats volume, how Google Business Profile reviews are quietly becoming AI training data, and why a bridal shop's "ultimate guide to summer weddings" outperformed anything her competitor across the street was doing. If you've been wondering why some businesses seem to show up in every AI conversation about their industry while others are invisible, this episode breaks down exactly what's happening behind the scenes. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/636 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

August 19, 202628 min

Why Your Google Ads Keep Underperforming with Jeff Coleman

If your Google Ads budget keeps climbing while your results stay flat, you're not alone, and you're probably starting in the wrong place. My guest this week is Jeff Coleman, founder of Factor Four Marketing, who has spent more than two decades building results-driven Google Ads campaigns for everyone from local service companies to Fortune 500 brands. Jeff makes the case that most businesses jump straight into keyword research when they should start with their ideal customer profile instead, and once you make that shift, everything from your ad copy to your landing pages gets easier to build. We dig into what really makes your business remarkable (hint: it's probably not "great service"), why Jeff builds landing pages before finalizing keywords, and how to train Google's algorithm to send you better leads instead of just more of them. If you've ever looked at your ad spend and wondered whether it's working for you, this episode is for you. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/635 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

August 12, 202626 min

How to Turn Website Traffic Into Leads with Irwin Hau

Here's a question I ask every business owner who complains their marketing "isn't working": when's the last time you actually looked at your website like a stranger would? Because nine times out of ten, the traffic is fine. It's the website that's dropping the ball. My guest this week is Irwin Hau, founder of Chromatics and Conversion Cow, who's analyzed close to 70,000 websites (yes, 70,000) and built an entire framework around the psychology of trust and conversion. Before he was auditing websites for a living, he was a card illusionist, which honestly explains a lot once you hear him talk about how easy it is to manipulate attention online. If you've ever wondered why people aren't calling, filling out your forms, or sticking around past the homepage, this episode hands you the four questions your website needs to answer, and the simple, often free fixes most businesses are missing. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/634 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

August 5, 202632 min

How to Build Trust on LinkedIn with Kaila Vander Horn

LinkedIn is the one social platform that hasn't burned me out yet, and after this conversation, I understand why a lot more businesses should be paying closer attention to it. My guest is Kaila Vander Horn, head of content at Speedwork, a LinkedIn advertising agency where she runs organic strategy for B2B companies and the leaders behind them. We get into what thought leadership really means (spoiler: you don't need a corner office or a Fortune 100 badge to claim it), how often you really need to post to see results, and why LinkedIn has quietly become one of the most cited sources for AI tools like ChatGPT. If you've been putting off posting because you don't think anyone cares what you have to say, this episode, and this recap, is for you. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/633 NY Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/technology/personaltech/chatgpt-gemini-prompts-privacy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0FA.zhw-.mAZ5BSDr9qg7&smid=url-share Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

July 29, 202638 min

The Neuroscience of Storytelling with Jennifer Gardner

You already know stories beat spreadsheets when it comes to winning people over. But what if the story itself isn't even the most important part? This week I'm talking with Jennifer Gardner, a Los Angeles trial lawyer, persuasive communication speaker, and administrative law judge who's spent three decades convincing juries to see things her way. Jennifer breaks down what's actually happening in the brain when a story lands, why admitting your flaws builds more trust than any case study, and why the AI-generated content flooding your feed is missing the one ingredient it can't fake: you. If you've ever wondered why some stories grab you instantly while "important" ones put you to sleep, this conversation gives you the answer, and a few techniques you can start using today. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/632 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

July 22, 202633 min

Beating Big Competitors through Local SEO with Nick Cohen

If you've ever felt like local search is a game rigged for the big guys with bottomless ad budgets, this episode is going to change how you think about winning. My guest, Nick Cohen, is a rare combination: a practicing attorney and the COO of Matador, where he helps over 180 law firms compete against much bigger competitors in local search. But don't let the law firm focus fool you. Everything Nick shares here about reviews, backlinks, content, and the wild new world of GEO (that's optimizing for AI search) applies just as much to your HVAC company, your dental practice, or your marketing agency. We get into why reviews might be the single highest-leverage thing you can do this month, how to figure out exactly which keywords to target with his refreshingly simple "what you do, where you do it" framework, and why showing up in ChatGPT might convert better than showing up in Google. Let's get into it. GEO Audit: https://www.takeflyte.com/geo-audit?utm_source=aocp&utm_medium=id3&utm_campaign=aocp GEO Snapshot: https://www.takeflyte.com/geo-snapshot?utm_source=aocp&utm_medium=id3&utm_campaign=aocp https://www.theagentsofchange.com/631 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

July 15, 202635 min

Email Welcome Sequences That Convert with Allea Grummert

Most of us obsess over growing our email list, then greet new subscribers with... nothing. Maybe a generic "thanks for signing up" if they're lucky. Allea Grummert, email marketing strategist and owner of Duett, says that first stretch after someone joins your list is where relationships (and revenue) are won or lost. In this episode, she breaks down how to build a welcome sequence that answers your subscribers' biggest questions, shows off your best content, and quietly identifies your hottest leads, all on autopilot. If your welcome email still says "welcome to the community," this one's for you. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/630 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

July 8, 202635 min

Simplify Your Marketing Analytics with Kyle Akerman

If you have ever opened your Google Analytics, felt your eyes glaze over, and quietly closed the tab, this episode is for you. I sat down with Kyle Akerman, a digital measurement consultant in Nashville who helps small B2B marketing teams turn data into decisions without the overwhelm. We get into why your analytics should work like a feedback loop, why three good questions beat thirty random metrics, and how 25 minutes on a Friday (beer and tacos optional) can tell you more about your marketing than a year-end report ever will. If measurement has always felt like the punishment for loving the creative side of marketing, Kyle has a simpler, saner way in. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/629 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

July 1, 202641 min

NotebookLM for Marketers AI Workflows with Lisa Monks

If you've been using ChatGPT or Gemini and quietly wondering whether you can trust everything it tells you, there's a Google tool built to solve exactly that problem. NotebookLM only works from the documents you give it, which means it's grounded in your own content instead of guessing at the entire internet. This week I'm joined by Lisa Monks, an Australian social media strategist and AI educator, who has spent the last few years figuring out how to put that grounded approach to work for real businesses. We talk about everything from repurposing podcasts and building staff training quizzes to creating fully branded slide decks, and by the end of this episode you'll have a clear list of ways to put NotebookLM to work in your own business this week. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/628 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact

June 24, 202634 min

Creating Better Graphics with AI with Jeff Sieh

If your AI-generated images are starting to look like everyone else's, you're not alone. The problem isn't the tools. It's the approach. Jeff Sieh, visual content expert and host of Creator News Live, has been deep in the AI image generation world long enough to watch it transform from a novelty into a genuine workflow essential. In this episode, we get into how to develop your own visual style, how to use tools like Midjourney and Nano Banana for very different jobs, and why the best prompt you'll ever write is the one you let AI help you write. Whether you're creating YouTube thumbnails, social graphics, or just trying to figure out where to start, this one's worth your time. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/627 Need help with your branding, website, or digital marketing? Reach out to me (Rich Brooks!) today at https://www.takeflyte.com/contact