Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi

Linkifi
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Welcome to the Market Movers: Building Brands and Links with Linkifi podcast, the go-to spot for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand. Dive into the world where branding meets SEO and link-building, and unlock the secrets to becoming more visible, credible, and downright irresistible to your audience. Ready to rise above the noise and make your mark?

  1. 5D AGO

    £1M Year One to £30M Today: How Fantastic Services Scaled With Franchising

    Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi! Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs. In this episode we welcome Rune Sovndahl, co-founder of Fantastic Services, the UK’s one-stop platform for home and office services. Rune breaks down how the company scaled from a laptop-on-a-sofa startup to a multi-country operation doing 400–500 jobs per day, with thousands of cleaners and teams in the field and a presence in the UK, US, Australia, and parts of Europe.   Key Talking Points ✅ Scale Snapshot. Fantastic Services is ~16–17 years in, doing about £30M annual revenue, operating across the UK, US, Australia, and parts of Europe, and completing 400–500 jobs/day. In London alone, they’re in ~500 homes every day. ✅ The Origin Story: A Carpet-Cleaning Problem. Rune couldn’t find transparent pricing or reliable providers. Missed appointments and “call for a quote” chaos created the gap. ✅ The Trust Shift (17 Years Ago). Rune spotted the early internet transition where people began trusting online booking, similar timing to the rise of Airbnb/Uber-style behaviour. ✅ “Be Where Customers Are Looking”. Early growth was driven by obsessing over discovery channels. Back then it was Google and directories (even Yellow Pages logic). ✅ Answer the Phone. A surprisingly massive differentiator: competitors often didn’t respond. Reliability became a growth lever. ✅ Transparent Pricing as a Conversion Weapon. They built systems to quote accurately upfront, avoiding end-of-job arguments and surprise upsells. ✅ Marketplaces Failed Because Quality Failed. Rune explains why “random amateurs” don’t work for services. Real pros show up with tools, training, and standards. ✅ Operations Wins (Not Vibes). They built hands-on processes. Even devs spent days with cleaners to design workflows that match reality. ✅ Franchising Improved Quality. Local ownership made standards stick. Franchisees know the team, the area, and the real-world friction points. ✅ The UK Franchise Problem (And How They Approached It Differently). Rune was skeptical too. They made it pragmatic: unit economics first, realistic timelines, and systems that reduce guesswork. ✅ It’s a 2–3 Year Journey. Rune is blunt: this isn’t “buy a franchise and print money.” It’s work before it becomes leverage. ✅ Bootstrapped and Scrappy Growth. Classic early hacks, including using promotional ad credits at scale and building thousands/millions of pages (then learning what actually matters long-term). ✅ ServiceOS + Field Management Systems. Their operational engine evolved into ServiceOS, built for onboarding, scheduling, field tracking, and reducing customer disappointment through smart workflow logic. ✅ Hiring Reality: Pre vs Post Brexit. Labour supply changed dramatically. Retention and people management became a key differentiator for franchise success. ✅ Modern Focus: AI + Efficiency. Rune’s current interest is less “publish endless content” and more AI applied to customer service, cost reduction, and workflow improvements.   Quotes from Rune Sovndahl 📢 “Be where your customers are looking for you.” 📢 “If you haven’t been banned in SEO, you’re not doing SEO.” 📢 “It’s an operational business that’s extremely hands-on.” 📢 “It’s not a one-year thing. It’s a two or three-year journey.”   Actionable Insights 🔎 Win the Discovery Game First Show up where intent already exists (Google, directories, local platforms). Don’t overcomplicate it. Visibility beats perfection early. 📞 Reliability Is a Growth Strategy Answer the calls. Confirm bookings. Reduce uncertainty. Most service businesses lose before they even compete, because they don’t respond. 💷 Make Pricing Transparent (And Stick to It) Accurate quoting builds trust. Avoid the “argue at the door” experience that kills repeat business. 🧰 Quality Needs Systems, Not Hope Skilled operators + proper tools + training beats “marketplace randomness.” Build feedback loops and on-the-job coaching, not just reviews. 🤝 Franchising Works When Unit Economics Work If the franchisor makes money mainly on franchise sales, it’s a red flag. The long-term win is in royalties, operational support, and franchisee success. 🧠 Don’t Overspend on “Tech Advantage” Most founders think they’re building a tech company when they’re really building an acquisition + operations machine. Use proven platforms where possible and put budget into acquisition and retention. About Rune Sovndahl Rune Sovndahl is the co-founder of Fantastic Services, a leading home and office services platform operating internationally. With a marketing background (including experience at lastminute.com), Rune helped build Fantastic into a multi-market, franchise-driven operation with a strong operational backbone and field management systems. 🌍 Fantastic Services: fantasticservices.com 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/runelondon/   🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today: 🔗 https://book.linkifi.io/widget/bookings/pr-discovery-call   👋 Connect with your hosts: 👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn 👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn 🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes: 🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com

    39 min

  2. FEB 5

    He Sold Thinkorswim for $750M, Then Built a Billion-Dollar Trading Empire. Now Tom Sosnoff Is Doing It Again

    Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi! Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs. In this episode we welcome Tom Sosnoff, trading legend, serial founder, and one of the key figures behind the retail options boom. Tom shares the real story behind building thinkorswim (sold to TD Ameritrade), creating tastytrade (acquired by IG Group), and why he’s now all-in on Lossdog, an AI-powered platform designed to help people understand what they’re worth and negotiate fair pay.   Key Talking Points ✅ A Lifelong Derivatives Builder. Tom started as a market maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), then built trading platforms, brokerages, and even exchanges. ✅ “Only Two Paychecks”. Tom says he’s only ever received two paychecks in his life, tied to the acquisitions of thinkorswim and tastytrade. ✅ Exits Don’t Change the Builder. Selling a company for $750M (thinkorswim) and later a reported ~$1.1B (tastytrade) didn’t change his identity. The fun part is building. ✅ Why Tasty Happened. Tom believed finance content was painfully boring. He wanted to create fun, practical, hands-on financial media and built the first digital streaming finance network in the process. ✅ Branding With “Weird Names”. thinkorswim, tasty, Lossdog. Tom explains how offbeat names create memorability, signal disruption, and can become a brand asset even when people hate them at first. ✅ Serious Tech Behind Playful Branding. Tom’s philosophy: make the name and vibe fun, but make the underlying product world-class. ✅ Media as the Growth Engine. Tom was on the road for decades, answered emails personally, and built trust by making complex strategies understandable and usable for everyday traders. ✅ The Goodwill Model. Tom gives education away for free. The “payment” is simply using the platform. That trust loop created durable distribution. ✅ Beware the Influencer Era. Tom acknowledges there’s more noise and questionable advice online, but overall he prefers free education existing over paywalled gatekeeping. ✅ Owned Distribution vs Algorithms. Tom prefers controlling the ecosystem and keeping the message consistent, even if it limits some growth. ✅ Lossdog: A New Kind of Fintech. Lossdog is building a platform to help people know what they’re worth using massive datasets, resumes, and AI models, with a goal of improving pay fairness. ✅ AI Made It Practical. Lower costs, faster compute, and multiple AI models (not one vendor) make the “what you’re worth” engine feasible at scale. ✅ Free First, Monetize Later. Tom plans to keep the product free initially while validating how the market responds, then build a broader digital ecosystem around it.   Quotes from Tom Sosnoff 📢 “The fun part is building something.” 📢 “You never build what somebody else wants.” 📢 “Have some fun branding, but build a really serious kick-ass piece of technology.” 📢 “I believe in a goodwill model. I’ll tell you everything I know.” 📢 “Whatever you do, don’t pay for anything. There’s so much free education out there.”   Actionable Insights 🎙️ Build Trust Through Practical Education Teach what you actually do, not theory. Make complex ideas usable, not “dumbed down”. Consistency + competence beats polish. 🧲 Use a “Goodwill Model” to Win Distribution Give value away aggressively. Let the platform be the “ask” in return. Most people want to reciprocate when the value is real. 🧠 Choose a Name People Remember “Good” names are often boring. Memorable names create conversation, even if some people hate them. The product quality is what ultimately makes the name stick. 🤖 AI Opportunity = More Data, Lower Cost, Faster Iteration Multi-model stacks can keep you flexible and cost-efficient. AI can unlock use cases that were previously too expensive or slow to compute. Ship, test, and learn. Don’t over-commit to a monetization model before users prove the value. 💸 Empower People With Real Context “You’re underpaid” means nothing without numbers. Real benchmarks (role, location, experience) create leverage and clarity. Showing “lifetime money left on the table” can be the spark that drives action.   About Tom Sosnoff Tom Sosnoff is a trading industry pioneer and serial entrepreneur. He helped reshape retail trading by co-founding thinkorswim and later building tastytrade, blending entertainment, education, and serious technology into platforms used by millions. He’s now building Lossdog, a new AI-driven platform focused on helping individuals understand compensation benchmarks and negotiate fair pay. 🌍 Join the waitlist: https://lossdog.com/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-sosnoff-047627293/  🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today: 🔗 https://book.linkifi.io/widget/bookings/pr-discovery-call   👋 Connect with your hosts: 👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn 👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn   🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes: 🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com

    49 min

  3. JAN 29

    Julian Goldie Reveals His AI Clone Workflow. How AI SEO Agencies Scale to 100M+ Views/Year

    Julian Goldie Reveals His AI Clone Workflow. How AI SEO Agencies Scale to 100M+ Views/Year Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi! Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs. In this episode we welcome Julian Goldie, CEO of Goldie Agency, published author, and founder of the Julian Goldie SEO YouTube channel (300,000+ subscribers). Julian breaks down how his AI avatar content system now outperforms his “human” output, how he distributes content across a huge network of channels without getting banned, and why brand trust is quickly becoming the biggest moat as search fragments across Google, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and beyond.   Key Talking Points ✅ AI-First Operator. Julian runs an agency and a community focused on AI SEO and AI automation. He documents the systems he builds and ships them across social, video, and community platforms. ✅ The AI Avatar Is Real (And It Wins). Julian’s AI clone has improved to the point where many people can’t tell the difference. It also consistently outperforms his own manual videos. ✅ The 4-Step Content Machine. Julian’s workflow: Claude for scripts → HeyGen for the avatar video → ElevenLabs for voice cloning → CapCut for editing and B-roll. ✅ Scale Creates a Data Advantage. Publishing 8–12 videos per day creates a feedback loop. The team quickly learns what hooks, thumbnails, and topics drive the most reach. ✅ YouTube Fuels Everything. One core video becomes multi-platform distribution, plus secondary assets like articles, newsletter posts, and short-form clips. ✅ “50 Platforms” Isn’t 50 Social Networks. It’s multiple accounts, channels, newsletters, and websites. The strategy is to expand distribution without reinventing content. ✅ Facebook Is Back. Julian says Facebook organic reach is surprisingly strong again. Posting consistently can drive millions of monthly impressions without paid ads. ✅ Reddit as a Visibility Engine. Julian grew a subreddit to meaningful monthly reach by posting daily. He uses it to distribute videos and articles that funnel to offers. ✅ Manual Posting Beats Automation. Julian avoids automated posting on some platforms because it can throttle reach or trigger bans. Instead, the team posts manually and tracks everything in spreadsheets. ✅ Community Growth Flywheel. The AI Profit Boardroom scaled fast by driving traffic from content and letting the community answer many questions. Julian stays involved without becoming the bottleneck. ✅ SEO Is Still a Superpower. Julian is still bullish on SEO, especially when paired with brand. Repurposed video + articles can rank quickly across multiple surfaces, including AI discovery. ✅ AI Search Is a Conversion Upgrade. Julian believes AI recommendations will carry more trust and intent. If your brand is cited or recommended, conversions can be stronger even at lower volume.   Quotes from Julian Goldie 📢 “My AI clone beats me hands down every single time.” 📢 “Facebook is highly underrated right now.” 📢 “We post across like 50 different platforms per day.” 📢 “I don’t like automating posting. You can get throttled or banned.” 📢 “If you combine brand with SEO, it’s a superpower.”   Actionable Insights 🎥 Build One Core Asset, Then Multiply It Start with one high-quality video. Repurpose into short clips, newsletter posts, and articles across multiple channels. Let distribution compound instead of constantly reinventing. 🧠 Use Volume to Build a Performance Engine Publishing daily creates data: hooks, topics, packaging, and formats. Identify winners fast. Then push the “greatest hits” across more channels. 🧲 Balance CTAs for Different Buyer Types Offer “book a call” and “buy now” options. Reduce friction for people who hate sales calls. 🗂️ Avoid Platform Risk With Manual Distribution + Tracking Automation can throttle reach or trigger bans, especially on X. Use a simple spreadsheet tracker for consistency and accountability. 🌐 Optimize for Search Everywhere Reddit often appears in ChatGPT citations. Videos often power AI Overviews and Perplexity results. Publish across multiple “indexable” surfaces to increase your odds of showing up. 👥 Don’t Become the Bottleneck in Your Community If you answer everything, others won’t. Let the community help itself, and step in where your leverage is highest.   About Julian Goldie Julian Goldie is the CEO of Goldie Agency and the creator behind the Julian Goldie SEO YouTube channel (300,000+ subscribers). He’s known for building scalable AI-driven marketing systems, teaching AI automation playbooks, and growing communities through high-volume, high-distribution content strategies. 🔗 LinkedIn: Julian Goldie 📺 YouTube: Julian Goldie SEO 🌍 Community: AIProfitBoardroom.com   🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today: 🔗 https://book.linkifi.io/widget/bookings/pr-discovery-call   👋 Connect with your hosts: 👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn 👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn   🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes: 🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com

    38 min

  4. JAN 22

    Joe Serafin: How AI Fueled Our Best Year Ever in Commercial Real Estate

    Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi! Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs. In this episode we welcome Joe Serafin, owner and principal broker of Serafin Real Estate, a Northern Virginia commercial real estate firm focused on Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties. Joe breaks down how AI-driven market analysis, custom GPT workflows, and precision targeting are giving brokers a real edge. He also shares a surprisingly effective authority play. A premium quarterly print magazine that directly generated a deal now closing around $14M.   Key Talking Points ✅ Why Niching Wins. Joe went from being licensed in six states to narrowing down into Northern Virginia, proving that geographic focus plus asset specialization makes dealmaking easier and sharper. ✅ Commercial vs Residential. Commercial is not MLS-driven. Marketing is targeted. Buyer lists matter. Data and outreach strategy become the differentiator. ✅ Market Recalibration in NoVA. Post-COVID office has shifted. Class A “trophy” buildings with amenities are holding up better, while Class C assets without improvements are taking the biggest hit. ✅ Cap Rates and Confidence. Joe explains how pricing per square foot and cap-rate movement reflect investor confidence and why that matters for sellers, buyers, and underwriting. ✅ Proprietary Data as a Moat. In niches like childcare centers, many deals are confidential, so Joe built a private buyer and comps database that now supports pricing, forecasting, and appraisal conversations. ✅ Custom GPTs for Zoning (Seconds, Not Hours). Joe uploads zoning ordinances into custom GPTs so his team can answer “is this use allowed” and special exception questions in near real time. No web search. Just trusted internal data. ✅ Quarterly Magazine = Authority + Deal Flow. A 32–40 page print and digital market magazine goes to past clients and ideal portfolio owners. Print has shelf life and it produced a deal now closing around $14M. ✅ Proof-Stacking Visibility. Joe turns closings into success stories and distributes them across LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, social, and press releases. The goal is being “everywhere” so the market can’t ignore you.   Quotes from Joe Serafin 📢 “If you dive down to a geographic niche and some product specialization, that’s a huge benefit.” 📢 “We’re only letting the custom GPT use what we provided. That’s why it works.” 📢 “Digital is great. Print has shelf life.” 📢 “People tell us, ‘You guys are everywhere.’ That’s the goal.”   Actionable Insights 🧠 Build a Real Data Advantage Pick a niche where data is fragmented or confidential. Then build your own buyer list, comps, and benchmarks over time. Track what actually moves your market: price per sq ft, cap rates, leasing norms, and deal velocity. ⚡ Use AI for Speed Without Losing Trust Create internal-only GPTs for high-frequency questions like zoning, use permissions, buffers, and special exceptions. Keep the model grounded by restricting it to your uploaded source docs, not open web browsing. 📬 Use Print to Reach High-Value, Old-School Audiences If your ideal clients are portfolio owners, print can outperform digital because it’s hard to ignore and hard to throw away. Tie the magazine to deals by mailing to a curated list and tracking inbound conversations that reference it. 📣 Proof-Stack Your Authority Turn every closing into a mini case study: challenge, strategy, result, testimonial. Distribute across multiple channels. LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, Facebook, and press releases to build consistent brand and entity signals.   About Joe Serafin Joe Serafin is the owner and principal broker of Serafin Real Estate, specializing in commercial real estate across Northern Virginia. With a focus on data, technology, and precision outreach, Joe helps investors and business owners source, value, and transact commercial assets more intelligently. 📬 Connect with Joe: linkedin.com/in/joeserafin · serafinre.com (Company) joeserafin.com/ (Personal)   🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today: 🔗 https://book.linkifi.io/widget/bookings/pr-discovery-call   👋 Connect with your hosts: 👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn 👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn 🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes: 🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com

    40 min

  5. JAN 15

    Tom Haylock: How SEO Is Finally Driving Growth in Heavy Industry Software

    Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi! Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs. In this episode we welcome Tom Haylock, Chief Commercial Officer and former CEO of Sharecat, a chartered mechanical engineer turned growth leader in industrial digitalization. Tom breaks down why inbound SEO is still massively underused in heavy industry, how to align content with long, cautious buying cycles, and why “document problems” are often really data problems in disguise (and vice versa).   Key Talking Points ✅ Engineer-to-Growth Journey. Tom started in major energy projects offshore West Africa (BP and others), moved into business development, then jumped into industrial digitalization about five years ago with Sharecat. ✅ Selling Is Still Selling. The mechanics of growth and differentiation are universal. What changes is culture, modernization, and how fast an industry adopts proven playbooks. ✅ Why Heavy Industry Moves Slowly. Customers invest on 20–40 year horizons. Some facilities operate for 100+ years. That caution shapes buying behavior, tooling, and internal change management. ✅ Inbound Is the Sleeping Giant. Industrial firms rely heavily on outbound relationship selling. Inbound is often ignored, creating a wide-open lane for SEO-driven demand capture. ✅ Outbound vs Inbound. Outbound is still essential for blue-chip, long-burn deals. Inbound is the scalable pipeline engine because it captures buyers when timing is right and intent is high. ✅ The Timing Problem. Many enterprise conversations end with “this is relevant, but not right now.” Outbound deals can take 1–2 years to close. Inbound leads arrive closer to readiness. ✅ Project Horizons Are Massive. From idea to producing output can be 6–7 years for major industrial builds. Final investment decision often precedes a ~4 year execution window. ✅ Who Searches in Industrial? Engineers (curiosity + improvement mindset), digital transformation teams, and modernization leaders. Decision-makers often still rely on Google, not AI chat tools. ✅ AI Adoption Is Cautious. Industrial customers have strict security and licensing constraints. Many will adopt Microsoft Copilot before public LLMs due to safety and compliance realities. ✅ From Documents to Data. Industrial orgs think in documents because that’s how information has historically been delivered, but the operational need is often structured, connected, validated data. ✅ Content Strategy: Early but Working. Sharecat focused first on core, high-intent terms and foundational optimization, then moved into ramping volume with webinars, how-tos, testing, and conversion improvements. ✅ Industry Initiatives as Demand + Authority Drivers. Tom highlights standards and working groups (and regulatory shifts like the EU digital product passport) as opportunities to educate the market and build authority in advance of change. ✅ The Mid-Market Opportunity. Enterprise logos are big wins, but scale comes from the thousands of under-served smaller industrial suppliers still stuck in Excel, SharePoint, and manual processes.   Quotes from Tom Haylock 📢 “Selling stuff is selling stuff in principle.” 📢 “Inbound is largely ignored across industrial sectors.” 📢 “Timing is the hardest thing. Inbound means they’re ready.” 📢 “Humans love documents. You’ll never kill documents.” 📢 “Our customers are cautious. Safety and control matter.” 📢 “It’s different flavors of the same issue. Understanding the problem is part of the fun.”   Actionable Insights 🧲 Use Inbound to Beat the Timing Game Outbound is relationship-heavy and slow. Inbound captures buyers when urgency and budget are already aligned. Build content for “ready-to-buy” searches, then qualify hard on positioning, differentiation, and cost. 🧠 Translate “Document” Pain into “Data” Clarity Meet buyers where they are (document language), then educate them into the real root cause and a clearer solution framework. Create content that explains relationships: metadata, tagging, validation, handover requirements, and downstream impact. 📈 Scale Beyond Enterprise Logos A few big wins can transform revenue, but consistent growth comes from the long tail of under-served industrial suppliers and contractors. Target operational pain, not just platform comparisons. 🧪 Treat SEO Like Engineering Form a hypothesis, test with data, iterate. Add heat mapping, A/B testing, conversion UX, and progressive content refresh cycles once the foundation is stable. 🤝 Build Authority Through Standards and “What’s Coming Next” Tie SEO content to real industry initiatives and regulatory shifts. Publish “look what’s coming” explainers that position your brand as future-ready, not just a vendor. 🔐 Plan for AI Discoverability the Safe Way Assume workplace adoption runs through Copilot and governed environments first. Create content that works in both Google and AI answer formats: clear structure, direct answers, explainers, and strong entity clarity.   About Tom Haylock Tom Haylock is the Chief Commercial Officer and former CEO of Sharecat, bringing a chartered mechanical engineering background into commercial growth and industrial digitalization. He focuses on modern revenue ops, inbound strategy, and helping industrial organizations manage complex information structures more effectively. 🌍 Sharecat (software): sharecat.com 🔎 Connect: Find Tom on LinkedIn   🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today: 🔗 https://book.linkifi.io/widget/bookings/pr-discovery-call   👋 Connect with your hosts: 👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn 👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn   🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes: 🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com

    31 min

  6. JAN 8

    Amanda Leemis: AI, SEO, and Growing a Preschool Education Brand

    Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi! Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs. In this episode we welcome Amanda Leemis, founder of The Hollydog Blog, a preschool resources brand built on human-made design, practical SEO, and a mission to make teachers’ and parents’ lives easier with free, high-quality worksheets, crafts, and activities. Amanda shares the origin story behind Holly, the shift from classroom packets to a full-fledged website, and the systems that helped her go from zero to 369 posts, 30,000 monthly downloads, and 280,000 downloads in a year.   Key Talking Points ✅ The Holly Dog Origin Story. Holly was a rescued stray found tied to a tree. Her personality and emotions became the basis for stories Amanda’s mom told in class, which later evolved into self-published books and eventually the blog. ✅ Pandemic Pivot. When schools moved to at-home learning, Amanda illustrated printable worksheets for take-home packets. Strong parent and teacher feedback became the signal to build online. ✅ The “Holly Dog Moment” That Made It Real. A student showed up for World Book Day dressed as Holly Dog. That was the turning point that proved the character had real impact and inspired Amanda to launch the site. ✅ Learning SEO from Zero. Amanda took online classes, including Stupid Simple SEO, then did hands-on keyword research with tools like Ahrefs and Ubersuggest to find reachable targets and build momentum. ✅ Early Backlinks Were Brutal. She sent 100+ outreach emails offering free worksheets for links, landed a handful of wins, and even turned one relationship into paid worksheet work with a larger preschool site that linked back. ✅ Strategy Shift as the Site Grew. In the early days it was hard to compete against sites with 400+ posts. With 369 posts now live, Amanda can target bigger competitors and “match and beat” what’s working, while keeping the Holly Dog twist. ✅ ChatGPT as a Ruthless SEO Mentor. Amanda uses AI to compare her pages against competitors and identify gaps. Her key recurring takeaway is simple: more backlinks still matters when competing against sites with 10–15 years of authority. ✅ Monetization Reality Check. A major benchmark she followed: expect monetization around 250 posts. Amanda started monetizing around 220 posts, after about 1.5 to 2 years of publishing and building. ✅ Ads as the Primary Revenue Engine. Most income currently comes from ad revenue. Printables remain free because accessibility for teachers and parents is part of the mission. ✅ User Experience as a Differentiator. Amanda does not run ads on the homepage or silo pages, prioritizing clean navigation and fast access. She funnels visitors via a “Start Learning with Holly Dog” path and a teacher vs parent split. ✅ Pinterest and Paid Experiments. Pinterest can be powerful for highly visual niches, but it is a roller coaster with risks like stolen pins and spam flags. Amanda has also begun testing Facebook ads and community-building. ✅ YouTube Expansion with a Real Puppet and Real Songs. The Hollydog YouTube channel uses a custom Holly Dog puppet, human-produced songs, and calmer “Mr. Rogers” pacing. The goal is learning without sensory overload. ✅ Human-First Brand in a Slop-Filled Internet. Everything is hand-made: illustrations, puppet, songs, and the overall aesthetic. Amanda believes this human signal will matter more as AI content floods the space. ✅ AI’s Role Going Forward. Amanda sees AI as a productivity layer that frees her from tasks she doesn’t love, while keeping the core creative work human and brand-led. She also wants to lean more into AI search visibility over time.   Quotes from Amanda Leemis 📢 “The Hollydog blog actually all started with my dog that I had growing up. Her name was Holly.” 📢 “I sent out probably over a hundred emails asking for backlinks. It was so time consuming.” 📢 “Tell ChatGPT to be your ruthless mentor. That’s when the feedback becomes useful.” 📢 “If they have it, I need to have it too. And it needs to be better. With a little bit of Holly Dog.” 📢 “Coloring is so much more than coloring. Kids are building fine motor skills in ways we forget.” 📢 “Everything we do is centered around the human element.”   Actionable Insights 🔍 Commit to the Long Game Treat blogging as a volume and consistency play. Expect real monetization closer to 200–250 posts, not 20. Keep publishing even through early rejection. Those “no’s” are part of the curve. 🔗 Build Backlinks the Unsexy Way Outreach is slow, but a few wins can change your trajectory. Offer tangible value (free printables, guest resources, collaborations). Once you have budget, invest in links you cannot realistically earn alone. 🧠 Use AI for Gap-Finding, Not Identity Ask ChatGPT to compare your content to competitors and point out missing sections, visuals, formatting, and clarity. Prompt it as a ruthless mentor, then implement only what fits your brand voice and audience needs. 🧭 Protect UX Even If It “Costs” Short-Term Revenue Reduce clutter. Keep navigation simple. Make it easy for visitors to find exactly what they need fast. Consider removing ads from key “entry” pages if return visits and trust are the long-term goal. 📌 Master One Channel Before Expanding Start with the channel most likely to compound (Google for Amanda). Then add Pinterest, Facebook, or YouTube once you have stable systems and capacity. 🎨 Win with a Real Brand Signal Hand-made assets, recognizable characters, and consistent design choices create memory. In a world of AI content, “human-made” becomes a defensible moat, especially in education niches.   About Amanda Leemis Amanda Leemis is the founder and creative director of The Hollydog Blog, a playful preschool learning resource hub built around hand-drawn printables, crafts, and educational videos. With a teacher-informed approach and a clear brand identity, she’s grown the site into a large content library with hundreds of posts and hundreds of thousands of downloads annually. 🌍 Website: thehollydogblog.com 📬 Email: amanda@thehollydogblog.com 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-leemis-90035818b/    🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today: 🔗 https://book.linkifi.io/widget/bookings/pr-discovery-call   👋 Connect with your hosts: 👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn 👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn   🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes: 🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com

    31 min

  7. 12/30/2025

    Bobby Steinbach: PPC Is a Bloodbath Now. Here’s How Law Firms Still Win

    Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi! Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs. In this episode we welcome Bobby Steinbach, founder of Mean Pug Digital and former Director of Engineering at Morgan & Morgan. Bobby shares how seeing massive legal budgets paired with painfully undifferentiated marketing sparked Mean Pug, why brand matters more than ever as AI reshapes the SERP, and how firms should balance PPC, SEO, and referral networks across short, mid, and long-term horizons.   Key Talking Points ✅ From Startup to Morgan & Morgan to Mean Pug. Bobby and his co-founder Andrew were “poached” to run engineering and paid digital at Morgan & Morgan, where they saw enormous spend in legal paired with weak differentiation. That gap became Mean Pug. ✅ Why “Mean Pug” Works. The name polarizes. Some hate it, some love it. Either way, people remember it, which is the point in a market full of same-sounding brands. ✅ Legal Marketing in Late 2025. AI has crushed SERP CTR, changed how people discover firms, and forced everyone to reconsider channel mix and brand. ✅ Traditional Media Is Back When Budgets Expand. As more capital enters legal, firms revisit out-of-home and traditional buys for scale, even if attribution remains imperfect and often qualitative. ✅ PPC Spend Splits by Firm Size. ✅ The Portfolio Approach to Growth. Bobby frames marketing like investing. Short-term: PPC. Long-term: brand + SEO. Mid-term: building referral networks at scale with complementary firms. ✅ “SEO Is Dead” Is Mostly Marketers Talking. Bobby argues answer engines are still a small slice of total search and pull from the same ecosystem of content and authority that powers organic visibility. ✅ Brand Starts With a “Brand Bible”. Mean Pug often begins with a 35 to 40-page “brand bible” including visuals plus the critical intangibles: voice, promise, pillars, mission, slogans, and positioning. ✅ AI SEO Reality. Most AEO tactics are still evolving, but Bobby’s view is that classic SEO fundamentals transfer, with potential upside in making sites easier for LLMs to parse using structured information like schema. ✅ Authority Loops Beyond Links. Offline credibility and real-world signals matter. Sponsorships, alumni involvement, podcasts, and community participation create both brand lift and high-trust mentions that feed search ecosystems. ✅ Organic Social Is a Risk Tradeoff. TikTok fame can work, but only if you commit hard and accept polarizing outcomes. Many firms should keep organic social “clean and on-brand” so it never deters a prospect. ✅ Private Equity and Consolidation. For personal injury, outside capital changes competition fast. Bigger players push into smaller markets, PPC auctions get worse, and the pressure for growth can increase reliance on lead gen. The best defense is building a brand before the market gets crowded.   Quotes from Bobby Steinbach 📢 “We saw how much money was being allocated into legal, and how bad most firms are at creating differentiated brands.” 📢 “It’s always one of two things. That’s the worst name ever, or the best name ever. Either way, you remember us.” 📢 “SEO is dead is mostly marketers saying it. Where do you think answer engines pull results from?” 📢 “You wouldn’t put all your investments into high-risk stocks. Marketing needs the same portfolio approach.” 📢 “I’ll never post anything I’m not ready to be deposed on.” 📢 “If you wait until after outside money moves in, you’re already late. Carve out your brand now.”   Actionable Insights 📊 Build a Marketing Portfolio, Not a One-Channel Plan 0 to 3 months: PPC for immediate cases. 6 to 12 months: referral network building with complementary firms. 12+ months: brand + SEO compounding into lower CAC and defensibility. 🧠 Start With Differentiation Create a “brand bible” that locks in voice, promise, pillars, mission, and slogans. Use it as the baseline for every ad, landing page, email, and creative asset. 🧲 For Mid-Sized Firms, Avoid the PPC Bloodbath Where Possible Lean into LSA, local SEO, and organic if you can be selective and do not need massive spend allocation. Invest in channels that produce high-intent leads without auction-driven inflation. 🔗 Earn Better Authority Signals Go beyond directories. Build links and mentions competitors are not willing to work for: alumni podcasts, sponsorships, community involvement, and high-trust collaborations. Prioritize credibility that creates both brand lift and search impact. 🤖 Use AI Carefully AI can speed up drafts and ideation, but do not let it invent your positioning. Garbage in, garbage out. Focus on structured clarity: readable content, fast answers, and strong entity signals (like schema) to make parsing easier. 🧱 Plan for Consolidation If You’re in PI Expect more money and more competition. PPC gets more expensive. Lead gen gets more tempting and riskier. The safer long-term play is a stronger brand, better creative, and diversified acquisition channels.   About Bobby Steinbach Bobby Steinbach is the founder of Mean Pug Digital, a legal marketing agency helping law firms build differentiated brands and full-funnel growth systems across SEO, creative, performance, and traditional media. He previously led engineering at Morgan & Morgan and has deep experience building growth engines where ROI has real consequences. 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steinbachr/ 🌐 Learn more: meanpug.com 📬 Email: bark@meanpug.com 🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today: 🔗 https://book.linkifi.io/widget/bookings/pr-discovery-call   👋 Connect with your hosts: 👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn 👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn   🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes: 🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com

    43 min

  8. 12/24/2025

    Mark Jackson: Why Cold Outreach Failed and SEO Actually Worked

    Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi! Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs. In this episode we welcome Mark Jackson, founder of SwagDrop and a 35-year veteran in branded merchandise. Mark shares how he got his start when a neighbor literally threw a phone book at him and told him to go find customers, how the pandemic reshaped the industry, and why print-on-demand stores and hybrid swag programs are the next big wave for companies that want flexibility without warehousing headaches.   Key Talking Points ✅ Accidental Start, Real Sales Training. Mark entered promo at 21 or 22, got handed a phone book as a prospect list, bought the original company, sold it, then built what became Swagdrop. ✅ Swag Is Still Last-Minute. Even after decades of tech change, gifting is still often an “afterthought”, driven by events, holidays, or a CEO request. ✅ Industry Reality: Fragmented Market. Thousands of distributors and suppliers, with “top 10%” surprisingly small by revenue standards. Swagdrop is under $10M, serving primarily North America but shipping globally. ✅ Pandemic Pivot: From Events to Employees. When sales hit zero, the comeback came from companies caring for culture, connection, and remote teams. HR became a major buyer, not just marketing. ✅ What Actually Drives Growth. Outreach triggers are hard because buyers do not plan swag well. Mark credits SEO, technical foundations, content, plus client portability, where buyers take Swagdrop with them to new companies. ✅ Why Paid Ads Didn’t Stick. Swagdrop is built for complex programs, not one-off mugs or 11 shirts. Paid tends to attract low-fit traffic, not solution buyers. ✅ Print-On-Demand Pop-Up Shops. Companies give employees a link and a budget. Employees pick sizes, styles, and colors. Some opt out, often bringing programs under budget but raising satisfaction. ✅ Fast “Gift” Without Fast Fulfillment. Even in December, companies can launch a shop before holidays, employees select items, and product ships after. The “gift” still lands psychologically on time. ✅ Supply Chain Still Has Curveballs. Geopolitics, events, and unexpected logistics issues are constant. China remains key, but Mark flags growth in India and apparel manufacturing in the Caribbean. ✅ The Future: Hybrid Programs. Large brands will mix bulk inventory for events with print-on-demand for employee gifting to reduce warehousing and SaaS storage fees.   Quotes from Mark Jackson 📢 “He literally threw a phone book at me. He said, ‘Those are your customers. Go talk to them.’” 📢 “Swag is almost an afterthought. It’s the last thing people think of.” 📢 “Triggers are extremely difficult. Most people don’t know when they’re going to use swag.” 📢 “SEO isn’t dead. You pull a little bit on every lever, then increase what works.” 📢 “People reach out to 20 companies. You’re the first one that got back to me.” 📢 “The future is hybrid. Some inventory for corporate needs, print-on-demand for employees.”   Actionable Insights 🎯 Stop Guessing, Let Employees Choose Use a pop-up shop with a budget so recipients pick what they actually want. Add options by size, gender fit, color, and let opt-outs reduce waste. 🧩 Build a Hybrid Swag Strategy Keep in-stock inventory for events and urgent needs. Use print-on-demand for employee gifting, onboarding, and evergreen company stores to avoid huge warehousing costs. 🔍 Invest Where Intent Is Highest In a last-minute industry, SEO can win because searches are often urgent and high intent. Use content that answers program-level questions, not product-only queries. ⚡ Win With Responsiveness Many vendors hide behind forms. If you sell complex programs, speed-to-human matters. A fast call plus real guidance can become your biggest differentiator. 📦 Plan Around Reality, Not Best-Case Logistics Event-based swag has hard deadlines. Build buffers for production, shipping, and unexpected supply chain disruptions.   About Mark Jackson Mark Jackson is the founder of SwagDrop and a long-time leader in the promotional products industry. He started in promo over 35 years ago, built and sold earlier ventures, then scaled Swagdrop from its earlier identity as Promotion Resource Group into a digital-first swag partner during the pandemic. 🌐 Swagdrop: swagdrop.com 📬 Contact: mark@swagdrop.com 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mark-jackson-6010751   🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today: 🔗 https://book.linkifi.io/widget/bookings/pr-discovery-call   👋 Connect with your hosts: 👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn 👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn   🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes: 🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com

    25 min
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Welcome to the Market Movers: Building Brands and Links with Linkifi podcast, the go-to spot for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand. Dive into the world where branding meets SEO and link-building, and unlock the secrets to becoming more visible, credible, and downright irresistible to your audience. Ready to rise above the noise and make your mark?

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