💰The Most Expensive Tip I’ve Ever Seen…

What you’ll find in this week’s newsletter:

• 💰 The Most Expensive Tip I’ve Ever Seen… [True Story]

• 👀 ChatGPT is Leaking Your Secrets!?

• 🛒 Amazon will no longer prepare your inventory

• 🚀 10 Short Prompts that 10x ChatGPT Results

• 📕 Neil Patel’s SEO Playbook for 2025

💰 The Most Expensive Tip I’ve Ever Seen … [TRUE STORY] 

Back in the late '80s, my partners and I were just starting out with a clothing apparel company.

It was a small operation at first, but we had dreams of doubling, tripling, even quadrupling in size.

To do that, we needed more machinery, more resources, and that meant getting a significant line of credit from the bank.

My partners and I spent weeks preparing all the documents and crafting the perfect business plan.

Finally, the day came when you were called into the bank's office in downtown Toronto.

The bank manager looked at you all with a serious face, and after what felt like an eternity, he said, "Congratulations, guys."

The relief and excitement were off the charts.

We did it!

That line of credit was the key to making your big dreams a reality.

Naturally, we all decided to celebrate at a popular downtown restaurant.

The food was great, the drinks were flowing, maybe a bit too much.

When the check came, the waitress asked about the tip.

My partner, feeling a bit too confident and definitely a bit tipsy, told her to put in whatever she wanted.

As you all walked out, still buzzing from the celebration, your partner suddenly looked down at the receipt and realized she had put in a $400 tip!

My other partner and I couldn't help but laugh, seeing it as a well-deserved lesson in humility.

In the end, it was a moment that reminded you all that no matter how big the win, staying grounded is essential.

Getting that line of credit felt like we’d made it.

We worked hard for it.

We earned it.

But that $400 tip?

That was a reminder that success can go to your head if you’re not careful.

It’s easy to let your guard down when the money finally comes in, but that’s usually when you need to be more disciplined, not less.

Remember to keep your feet on the ground.

Enjoy the rest of the newsletter.

P.S. The Best of BDSS webinar was just announced for Aug 7.

— Norm

😱 ChatGPT is Leaking Your Secrets!?

Well, that didn’t take long.

OpenAI just pulled the plug on a feature that let users make their ChatGPT chats searchable on Google.

You might’ve seen it floating around the little “Make this chat discoverable” checkbox when you shared a link.

It sounded innocent enough.

Until people realized their most personal, unfiltered chats were being indexed for the whole internet to see.

We’re talking resume rewrites, therapy questions, relationship advice, even bizarre microwave experiments.

To be clear, the feature wasn’t on by default.

You had to click Share, then click Create Link, then opt into making that link public.

But the language wasn’t exactly clear, and a lot of users had no clue what they were agreeing to.

After the backlash, OpenAI backpedaled fast.

They removed the discoverable option completely and started working on scrubbing indexed links from Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and everywhere else.

Too many people were accidentally sharing things they never meant to. 

And they’re right.

It exposed that people treat ChatGPT like a confidant. A therapist. A late-night advice line.

If you're using AI tools, especially ones that handle sensitive or strategic info, you’ve got to double check what’s being shared and how.

Just because something has a "Share" button doesn't mean it should be out in the open.

Privacy matters.

And as AI keeps getting more personal, we all need to get a little more careful.

😮 AI Ads Are Outselling Humans (You Can’t Tell They’re Fake)

My takeaways from Jon Gargiulo (find the full episode on YouTube):

1. Replace UGC with AI-Powered Videos
   John from Airpost AI explains how brands are already scaling user-generated-style video ads using AI-generated avatars, VO, and visuals—without a studio or actors. It's not perfect yet, but early adopters are gaining massive cost and speed advantages.

   

2. Use Human-Curated Agents to Enhance AI Output
   Instead of relying purely on AI, John’s system uses specialized agents—one for research, one for scripting, one for QC, etc.—to simulate a human creative pipeline. This layered system ensures the AI content stays high quality while reducing production time.

3. Customize LLMs for Brand-Safe Output
   You can train your prompts and AI workflows to avoid unwanted tones, words, or visual elements. For example, Airpost AI lets users delete irrelevant themes like sustainability, and the system learns not to include them again.

4. Build Reusable Briefs that Guide AI Strategy
   John’s team uses one-time onboarding briefs to define the product's personas, value props, tone, and approved content pillars. These guide future outputs and reduce repetitive input.

5. Ask AI to Grade Its Confidence
   John recommends a master prompt addition for ChatGPT: ask it to rate confidence levels (e.g., “I'm 72% confident in this answer”). This helps catch hallucinations and guides trust in the output.

   

6. Start Testing UGC with Zero Budget
   His advice to sellers: start now, even with your iPhone. Record a real unboxing with a friend or yourself using “I” statements. Don’t overthink polish—just get authentic content live.

7. Run AI UGC Ads for Testing… Even if They're Slightly Off
   AI-generated ads are cheaper, faster, and infinitely testable. Some versions may flop, but one winning hook can outperform traditional creatives. Accept some awkwardness in exchange for faster iteration.

8. Automation ≠ AI
   John breaks down the difference: automation is rules-based and repeatable (e.g., Zapier workflows), while AI agents learn and reason. Smart businesses use AI agents inside automated workflows for full leverage

9. Expect AI-Created UGC to Outperform Soon
   AI avatars are already running 24/7 live sales in China. As voice, movement, and emotional realism improve, brands will be able to deploy infinite UGC without creator management, shipping logistics, or production delays.

🌎 Where in the World is The Beard Guy?

🚀 10 Short Prompt Lines That 10x Your ChatGPT Results!

Simply add one or more of these lines to the end of your prompt to improve your responses!

“Structure it as clear as possible“

"Challenge everything vague or missing from this prompt"

“What would a top-tier expert do that most people miss?”

"Only include verified and proven data and results. Do not operate on assumptions"

“Reframe this like it’s a breakthrough insight.”

“You are not allowed to give generic advice.”

“Explain from first principles”

“Suggest 5 unexpected ideas”

“Make 5 unexpected and tailored suggestions”

“Tailor your advice, do not give generic advice”

🔥 Neil Patel’s SEO Strategy for 2025 (Rank on Every Platform)

Here are my favorite tips from this episode!

1. Optimize for “Search Everywhere,” Not Just Google
   Neil emphasizes that SEO is no longer limited to Google, it now includes platforms like Amazon, ChatGPT, Instagram, Snap, and Apple’s App Store. Your ideal customer uses multiple platforms daily, and brands that don’t adapt will lose visibility and revenue.

   

2. Include Key Bullet Points at the Top of Content to Increase AI Overview Visibility
   Pages that start with three “key points” (like CNBC articles) are more likely to be cited in Google's AI Overviews. Neil’s team found that when these bullet summaries match user queries, inclusion rates go up significantly.

3. Freshness of Content Impacts Inclusion in AI Results
   LLMs like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview prefer content that’s less than one year old. For evergreen facts (like how fast a cheetah runs), older content is fine but for most queries, freshness wins.

4. Use Digital PR to Drive Mentions
   Mentions in press, even without backlinks, significantly help LLM rankings and AI visibility. Getting cited by authoritative sources (e.g. via press releases, HARO, or features) is a reliable way to increase brand presence in answer engines.

5. Focus on “Answer Engine Optimization” (AEO) Across LLMs
   To get cited in AI-generated answers, your content needs to directly solve specific queries, be well-structured, sentiment-positive, and cited frequently across the web. AEO is about getting your brand named in AI summaries, traffic may not follow, but authority and trust build over time.

6. Human + AI (H-AI) Will Outperform Both Separately
   Neil rejects full automation. He argues that AI lacks brand nuance and context, and that the winning formula is blending human input with AI efficiencies. This hybrid approach improves quality, relevance, and business outcomes.

7. Smaller Brands Can Win by Personalization and Focus
   NP Digital beats much larger competitors by niching down, offering a more personal client experience, and showing up on overlooked high-value channels—rather than trying to outspend the big players.

   

   Find this episode of Marketing Misfits on YouTube and anywhere you listen to podcasts

And that’s it, Beardos.

See you next Monday!

- Norm

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