🎨 AI Site Builder 🤝 Practical Sales Tips 💸 Levels of Financial Freedom


This week’s Founder Finds includes:

  • A ChatGPT plugin list
  • How to write great profiles
  • A book about boosting sales
  • Newsletter growth strategies
  • An app for making reading lists
  • The 16 levels of financial freedom
  • Startup advice from Steve Wozniak
  • 17 business tasks you can automate
  • How to build websites with AI prompts
  • And more…



🪶 Remember This

Learn to handle failure. It’s the hardest thing, but once you get over it, nothing can stop you.



🤓 Fav Finds

Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members


🎨 Wix AI Site Builder shared by Dru Riley
A new feature of Wix that lets you build websites with prompts


🦄 Steve Wozniak on Startups shared by Chuck Hardy
A video of Steve Wozniak sharing advice on building startups


🤑 Sell Like Crazy shared by Brenton Price
A book about boosting sales with digital marketing



🔧 Try This

Save 400 Hours per Month Through Automation

Jimmy Rose is an automation expert. He shares 17 SaaS business tasks that you can automate to save dozens of hours every month, including:

  • Onboarding: Tracking leads, sign-ups and trials.
  • Support: Answering questions and getting feedback.
  • Marketing: Planning, publishing and sharing content.



🌟 Founder of the Week

Barbara

Trends.vc was one of the few newsletters I kept reading and I’m glad I decided to join the Trends Pro Community.”


Barbara is building bric, helping companies find and implement the best solutions to understand their customers and make the right decisions.


What’s your most important habit?
Cold showers, seas and reading before going to sleep.


What are you reading right now?
The Most Secret Memory of Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

I plan to read more fiction this year. Loving this one so far!


What product or service do you wish existed?
A machine that automatically folds your laundry in Marie Kondo-style and an e-reader that helps to memorize what you’re reading.


What product are you obsessively using right now?
Readwise Reader which helps to track and memorize newsletters. It has powerful highlighting features and AI that lets you summarize or “talk” to the text.


What are you bullish on?
E-bikes and e-scooters for (sub)urban environments. They are sustainable, cheap and often help you get from point A to point B faster than cars.


What are you bearish on?
Mass-produced AI-generated content. I am not against using AI writing tools, but it just makes me sad how many ebooks, blogs, videos, Tweets are just recycled content. People will recognize quality.


What’s your favorite Trends Report?
🔢 Data as a Service

This was my first Trends Pro report and it was immediately spot-on for me.


What else?
If there is anyone planning to build something for the Vision Pro, would love to get in touch.



💬 Join the Conversation

Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…



📘 Read This

The Spectrum of Financial Dependence and Independence

From relying on the kindness of strangers to meaningful philanthropy. 

There are 16 levels that define your financial (in)dependence.

  • Level 0: Panhandling or raising money from people who don’t care about your success.
  • Level 8: The ability to choose what you do and who you work with.
  • Level 16: Building a mindful, positive legacy.



🎧 Listen To

How “The Internet’s Biographer” Writes Great Profiles

Polina Marinova Pompliano is the author of The Profile which studies successful people and companies in business, tech, sports, entertainment and more.

Learn the difference between profiles and biographies, the economics of a paid newsletter, effective newsletter growth strategies and more.



🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

👥 Karen Puah, Royce Johnson and David Fu unlocked 1:1 Founder Intros by joining daily standups


🤖 Maisha Cannon made a huge list of 660+ ChatGPT plugins


✍️ Asad Dhamani shared his experience working on Solvemigo


🌲 Uwe Dreissigacker is re-launching EvergreenFeed


🥂 David K is building a SaaS tool to analyze luxury brands


🏷️ Simon Daley made a Discounts page for Hacker Cabin that is open for submissions


🤝 Mehmet Gonullu signed the first sponsorship deal for The CTO Show


👔 Jesper Delporte published new product pages for Cheegs


Get Weekly Reports

Join 65,000+ founders and investors


    📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

    Become a Trends Pro Member and join 1,200+ founders enjoying…

    🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

    📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

    💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

    🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

    💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

    AI-Generated Music: Revenue Streams, Building an Audience, Tokenization

    “In this business, it takes time to be really good – and by that time, you’re obsolete.” — Cher

    Get Full Access to Trends Pro


    ❓ What You’ll Learn

    • How to make music with any artist’s voice?
    • How to build a personal brand with AI music?
    • Who made songs and albums with AI?
    • How to build an audience with AI music?
    • How to monetize AI music?
    • How will AI change music education?
    • What are the risks of AI music?
    • How to avoid copyright claims?
    • What are AI music tutoring apps?


    💎 Why It Matters

    AI unlocks creativity enhancing it by offering lower-cost music-making.


    🔍 Problem

    Making music has many steps which makes it expensive and time-consuming.


    💡 Solution

    AI can produce endless music faster and at a lower cost.


    🏁 Players

    AI Music Tools

    AI-Generated Songs

    Musicians using AI


    🔮 Predictions

    • Musicians and companies will “tokenize” AI music. AI opens new revenue streams for artists and creators of AI-generated music. 
    • AI-generated music will lead to copyright claims. Training AI with songs makes it complicated to decide who owns the AI music.


    ☁️ Opportunities

    • Make AI music. Gain popularity by making new music that features well-known artists. 
      • The Best of AI Music has ~3000 fans listening to AI songs by Freddie Mercury.
      • Lifeples (AI Music) has over 5,000 fans and over 20 AI-generated songs.
      • Hot AI Music has over 4,000 fans. They add “AI” to the name of the artist to attempt to avoid takedown.


    🏔️ Risks

    • Copyright Risk • AI is trained on copyrighted music. Which can lead to legal disputes.
    • Lost Jobs • AI can lead to job loss for mastering engineers and other professionals in the field.


    🔑 Key Lessons

    • AI can make endless content fast. AI-assisted music production lets artists boost their output.
    • AI-generated music is great for personal branding. Tweaking the styles, instruments and voices helps to align AI music with your brand.


    🔥 Hot Takes

    • AI-generated music will flood streaming platforms. The trend of AI music is growing fast with people sharing their AI songs
    • Artists will split-test AI-generated songs. Streaming apps can give artists a degree of targeting and measurement that radio lacks.
    • Music education will teach AI music composition. As AI becomes a standard tool in music creation, music education will adapt to include it.


    😠 Haters

    “AI-generated music is just mimicry.”
    Mimicry is not AI-specific, humans mimic too. AI learns from existing music, but it can mix and match what it learns in so many different ways. Apps such as Soundful can make new music. When musicians use ideas from an AI, they make something new.

    “AI makes master engineers and songwriters’ jobs less relevant.”
    AI can replace some technical roles in music creation. The music industry is learning how to use AI to enhance human creativity. AI makes it easier for anyone to make music, including people without musical skills or instruments.


    🔗 Links

    1. How Do You Feel About AI-Generated Music? • The tweet behind this report.
    2. Making AI Music Videos • Uncover the secrets of AI music videos.
    3. How To Make an AI Cover Song With Any Artist’s Voice • Find out how to make a cover song with any artist’s voice.


    📁 Related Reports


    🙏 Thanks

    Thanks to Stewart Townsend, Alex Doda and Meiko S. Patton. We had a great time jamming on this report.

    ✏️ Anna researched and wrote this report. Dru and Emin edited this report.


    📈 What else?

    Trends PRO #0119 — AI-Generated Music has more insights.

    What you’ll get:

    • 14 AI Music Tools (133% More)
    • 6 AI-Generated Songs (50% More)
    • 6 Musicians Using AI (100% More)
    • 9 Predictions (200% More)
    • 9 Opportunities (200% More)
    • 4 Risks (100% More)
    • 4 Key Lessons (100% More)
    • 10 Hot Takes (233% More)
    • 7 Links (133% More)

    With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

    • (📈 Pro) How to save money with AI music?
    • (📈 Pro) What AI music tools to build?
    • (📈 Pro) How to make money with Virtual Singers?
    • (📈 Pro) How to offer high-fidelity experiences?
    • (📈 Pro) What are the benefits of building a streaming service for AI music?
    • (📈 Pro) How to boost customer engagement with AI music?
    • (📈 Pro) How to boost musical creativity with AI?
    • (📈 Pro) How to make quality songs using AI?
    • (📈 Pro) How can AI music make VR more immersive?
    • (📈 Pro) How is AI democratizing music-making?
    • (📈 Pro) How will AI change the music industry?
    • (📈 Pro) What is the copyright debate behind AI-generated music?
    • (📈 Pro) What artist uses a virtual character in live performances?
    • And much more…

    Get Weekly Reports

    Join 65,000+ founders and investors


      📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

      Become a Trends Pro Member and join 1,200+ founders enjoying…

      🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

      📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

      💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

      🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

      💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

      🎓 AI Learning Path ❓ The Art of Asking 👥 Audience Research


      This week’s Founder Finds includes:

      • How to ask for help
      • A guide to journaling
      • How to benefit from stress 
      • An audience research tool
      • How to learn generative AI
      • How to find the right idea to work on
      • What makes a startup attractive to buyers
      • And more…



      🪶 Remember This

      Remember to talk about your company. People need to hear about what you’re doing.



      🤓 Fav Finds

      Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members


      SparkToro shared by Abeiene Nejar
      An audience research tool to find the best places to reach your customers 


      🎓 Generative AI Learning Path shared by Reme Ekoh
      A collection of content curated by Google to learn how generative AI works


      💀 The Dead Internet Theory shared by Stewart Townsend
      A video about the theory that most of the internet is AI bots



      📘 Read This

      The Two Sides of Stress

      Stress is a reaction to external challenges. It can be detrimental or beneficial.

      • Distress: Lowers your productivity and mental health.
      • Eustress: Boosts your performance and well-being.



      🌟 Founder of the Week

      Brenton Price

      “The Trends Pro community is supportive and inspiring. It keeps me accountable as I get more involved.”


      Brenton is a co-founder of the AVNT/ Collective. This is a decentralized design & digital innovation collective. They help maturing businesses with innovative digital strategies, research and design. They do agency-quality work without inflated agency fees. AVNT/ Collective is set to launch to the public at the end of Q4 this year.


      What’s your most important habit?
      Meeting up for 1:1 chats with those I trust to break down ideas, solutions, goals and problems.


      What are you reading right now?
      The Right It by Alberto Savoia

      While research and product-market fit is something I have been doing for a while in my career, I am looking for alternative frameworks to help me work in a more systematic way. 


      What product are you obsessively using right now?
      The Noteable plugin for ChatGPT. I can upload a lot of qualitative data and visualize it in minutes for further analysis.


      What are you bullish on?
      A disruption of the agency/consulting industry which gives back to those actually doing the work for clients while keeping project costs reasonable without inflated agency fees.


      What’s your favorite Trends Report?
      😍 Personal Brands

      It gives insights into the potential power an individual can have if they invest in themselves.



      💬 Join the Conversation

      Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…



      🔧 Try This

      5 Ways to Make Your Startup More Attractive to Buyers

      Andrew Gazdecki helped thousands of founders get acquired. He shares what makes a business attractive to buyers:

      • Automated Work: Buyers can focus on growth, not on admin work.
      • Annual Recurring Revenue: It lowers churn, attracts quality customers and gives upfront cash to reinvest.
      • Sustainable Growth: A business that grows without outside funding is the holy grail of acquisitions.



      👀 Watch This

      The Art of Asking

      Admitting you need help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Everyone should feel unashamed to ask for help.

      Whether you’re asking for funds, support or feedback. Being vulnerable signals authenticity and helps to build trust.



      🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

      👥 Christa Clarke, Miya Zhang and Sumant Yerramilly unlocked 1:1 Founder Intros by joining daily standups


      📹 Dru Riley recorded an onboarding video for Trends Pro


      💻 Bernardt J. Vogel built Foundational VC GPT and a retro-themed personal site


      ✒️ Dana Ram wrote a guide to journaling


      👩‍💻 Eddie Forson launched UX Bytes on Product Hunt


      🥉 Elie Steinbock won 3rd place at the QuickNode pitch competition with ShareMint


      💬 Milly Tamati spoke at the Community Rebellion Conference


      🧠 Jero Esguerra unlocked Trends.vc Masterminds by reaching a 30-day standup streak


      Get Weekly Reports

      Join 65,000+ founders and investors


        📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

        Become a Trends Pro Member and join 1,200+ founders enjoying…

        🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

        📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

        💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

        🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

        💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

        AI Agents: Automated Trading, Limitless Productivity, Saving Time

        “Autonomous agents are the natural endpoint of automation in general.” – Bojan Tunguz

        Get Full Access to Trends Pro


        ❓ What You’ll Learn

        • Why use AI agents?
        • Who is using AI agents to make $3,736 in stock trading?
        • Who are the key players building AI agents?
        • Who are the entrepreneurs using AI agents for business tasks?
        • Why is AI outperforming doctors
        • Who is using AI agents to create a one-person AI business?
        • Why will AI agents transform scientific discovery?
        • Why will investment advantages fade with automated trading
        • Where can you learn the basics of AI agents? 
        • Who is using AI agents to automate Facebook Ads?
        • Who is liable for errors made by AI agents?
        • Why will regulation be hard to enforce?


        💎 Why It Matters

        AI agents can boost your productivity by making decisions on your behalf.


        🔍 Problem

        Your productivity is limited.


        💡 Solution

        AI agents = Limitless productivity.

        They can think, plan and do tasks on your behalf. 24/7. Without your supervision.


        🏁 Players

        AI Agents

        • Auto-GPT • Open-source project that can connect GPT-4 to the internet and use apps
        • BabyAGI • Python script that plans, prioritizes and executes a series of tasks to solve a goal
        • Jarvis • Collaborative AI agent that automates workflows and manages code changes

        No-Code AI Agents

        • AgentGPT • Thinks of tasks to do, executes them and learns from the results based on a goal you set
        • Cognosys • Generates and executes tasks based on goals
        • AgentRunner • Searches and browses the web for data

        People Building AI Agents

        • Yohei Nakajima • Founder of BabyAGI and General Partner at UntappedVC
        • Andrej Karpathy • Computer scientist building JARVIS at OpenAI. Previous Director of AI at Tesla
        • Kanjun Qiu • CEO & Co-Founder of Generally Intelligent and General Partner at Outset Capital.


        🔮 Predictions

        • AI agents will speed up scientific discovery. They can analyze large amounts of data to find new patterns and insights.
          • DataRobot’s Eureqa discovers new mathematical equations from raw data. 
          • Atomwise predicts the effectiveness of potential drug molecules, expediting medicine creation.
          • Google’s DeepVariant automates the analysis of genetic sequencing data, aiding in genomics research.
        • We’ll have easy access to expert advice. AI agents can make informed decisions and offer personalized support based on domain knowledge.


        ☁️ Opportunities


        🏔️ Risks


        🔑 Key Lessons

        • Setting clear roles for AI agents leads to better outcomes. For example, BabyAGI contains 3 agents focused on task creation, prioritization and execution.
        • AI agents are ruthless in execution. We need guardrails to lower negative outcomes.


        🔥 Hot Takes

        • We will have less critical thinking skills. We will rely on AI to make everyday decisions and lose opportunities to think on our own.
        • We will have deeper relationships with AI than humans. We will rely more on AI agents for companionship and emotional support.


        😠 Haters

        “Mass adoption of AI agents will pressure workers to be more productive. We’ll have a worse work-life balance.”
        Becoming more productive with AI does not necessarily lead to a worse work-life balance. Using AI agents will help you accomplish more work in less time. Using them to automate errands can free up time for things and people you love. 

        “AI should not be regulated because it will stifle innovation.”
        Regulation is needed to prevent catastrophic harm. For example, non-scientist students were able to have AI chatbots generate potential pathogens to cause a pandemic in 1 hour. 

        “With the rise of open-source models, regulation will be hard to enforce.”
        Open source is an unstoppable movement. Regulation will likely be hard to enforce, but we should strive with the best effort. It’s up to us to raise our concerns and support regulations to prevent misuse.  

        “People shouldn’t be fully liable for the actions of AI agents.”
        If you delegate an AI agent to represent you and do things on your behalf, then you are liable for the actions of that agent. Respondeat superior.

        “Most alpha will fade when the majority of investors rely on AI agents to trade.”
        Investors will gain a temporary edge by getting access to non-public data and using AI agents to interpret and act on it. But all arbitrages eventually fade.


        🔗 Links

        1. Looking for AI Agent Projects • The tweet behind this report.
        2. The Complete Beginners Guide to Autonomous Agents • Learn the basics of AI agents and their use cases.
        3. Why AI Will Save the World • Marc Andreessen’s views on how AI will help society.


        📁 Related Reports


        🙏 Thanks

        Thanks to Nick Tindle, Matthew LaCrosse, Stewart Townsend, Meiko Patton, Maciej Cupial, Alex Doda and Luciano Viterale. We had a great time jamming on this report.

        ✏️ Miya researched and wrote this report. Dru and Emin edited this report.


        📈 What else?

        Trends PRO #0118 — AI Agents has more insights.

        What you’ll get:

        • 7 AI Agents (133% More)
        • 7 No-code AI Agents (133% More)
        • 7 People building AI Agents (133% More)
        • 7 Predictions (133% More)
        • 8 Opportunities (166% More)
        • 5 Risks (150% More)
        • 4 Key Lessons (100% More)
        • 6 Hot Takes (200% More)
        • 8 Links (166% More)

        With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

        • (📈 Pro) Why build ChatGPT plugins?
        • (📈 Pro) Where to find 41,000+ people building open-source AI agents?
        • (📈 Pro) Where can you find AI bounties that pay thousands of dollars?
        • (📈 Pro) Why will support for universal basic income accelerate?
        • (📈 Pro) Who is using AI agents to make a Flappy Bird clone in 1 hour?
        • (📈 Pro) Who made $3,780 with a custom AI shopping assistant?
        • (📈 Pro) Why build custom AI agents?
        • (📈 Pro) Where can you find 5,000+ AI tools
        • (📈 Pro) Where can you learn how to build AI agents
        • (📈 Pro) Why will AI agents widen economic inequality?
        • (📈 Pro) Who is using AI agents to make newsletters on autopilot?
        • (📈 Pro) Why will AI agent-generated content flood the internet?
        • (📈 Pro) Whose jobs will be affected by AI agents?
        • (📈 Pro) Why will prompt engineering become irrelevant?
        • And much more…

        Get Weekly Reports

        Join 65,000+ founders and investors


          📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

          Become a Trends Pro Member and join 1,200+ founders enjoying…

          🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

          📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

          💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

          🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

          💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

          Faceless YouTube Channels: Million-Dollar Channels, Generative AI, Growth Strategies

          “The joy of YouTube is that you can create content about anything you feel passionate about, however silly the subject matter.” — Zoe Sugg

          Get Full Access to Trends Pro


          ❓ What You’ll Learn

          • How to use AI to make faceless videos?
          • How to maintain anonymity while looking like a human?
          • How to grow with YouTube Shorts?
          • What to use instead of stock footage?
          • How to reach a wider audience?
          • What are production costs?
          • How to stand out from competitors?
          • How to defend yourself from copycats?
          • How to create compelling content in shorter formats?
          • How to monetize a faceless YouTube channel?


          💎 Why It Matters

          You can become a YouTuber without worrying about how you look, speak and act on camera.


          🔍 Problem

          Speaking on camera raises the barrier to entry for YouTube creators.


          💡 Solution

          Faceless YouTube channels rely on stock footage, virtual characters, animation, audio and/or editing skills.


          🏁 Players

          Faceless YouTube Channels

          Faceless YouTube Niches

          • News • Recap of events that happened in politics, economy, society and more.
          • History • Historical facts and documentaries.
          • Sports • Compilation of sporting moments, events and more.
          • Comedy • Jokes, memes, sketches and parodies.
          • Cooking • Food recipes, product reviews and cooking advice.
          • Finance • Personal finance, investing, cryptocurrency and more.

          Video Creation Tools

          • TubeBuddy • Optimize your channel to get more views and subs
          • Storyblocks • Get unlimited stock video, audio and images
          • Powtoon • Create videos with animated characters, templates, backgrounds, audio and more
          • VideoScribe • Make animated videos in seconds
          • vidIQ • Boost your YouTube views and subscribers


          🔮 Predictions


          ☁️ Opportunities


          🏔️ Risks

          • Impersonalization • It can be hard to build personal connections without showing your face.
          • Platform Risk • You’re subject to YouTube monetization and content policies.


          🔑 Key Lessons

          • You can express your creativity without worrying about your looks, status or reputation. Your audience is tuning in for your content, not you. An FBI agent can run a channel on cryptocurrency.
          • Faceless channels have lower production costs. You don’t need expensive gear such as a video camera, tripod, stabilizer and light equipment.
          • Consistent branding can help you stand out from other faceless channels. Use a recognizable logo, color scheme and visual style.


          🔥 Hot Takes

          • Running a faceless YouTube channel doesn’t mean you should stay anonymous. Jeff Delaney runs Fireship where he talks about apps and coding. He shows his face on social media.
          • Faceless channels are less defensible than those showing “real” people talking, traveling, doing interviews and more. Becoming a VTuber will boost your defense.
          • Virtual YouTubers are personal brands. While they are not real, people keep coming back for their unique looks. They are idols.


          😠 Haters

          “YouTube is saturated.”
          You underestimate the scale of the internet. YouTube is big enough for you to carve out your niche. Experiment with different formats, copy what’s working and add your own touch to stand out.

          “Faceless YouTube channels have limited brand recognition. They all look the same.”
          While some of them are not associated with a real human, consistent branding can help you get noticed. Becoming a VTuber is another option if you want to put a face to your channel.

          “Becoming a VTuber won’t stop copycats. They can copy virtual characters.”
          That’s true. Copycats can copy your virtual avatar, scripts and assets. A better way to defend yourself is to move to the real world. It’s harder to copy your room than your graphics.

          The learning curve for animation skills can be steeper than learning how to act on camera.”
          Those who act on camera often _still _use animations. We’re simply removing an ingredient.

          “It can be hard to build personal connections with my audience if I’m running a faceless YouTube channel.”
          No choice is without tradeoffs. While channels “with a face” tend to get more engagement. You can sacrifice bonding with your audience for lower key-person risk and production costs.

          “You said that YouTube Shorts are easier to create. It’s harder to tell stories and create compelling content in shorter formats.”
          Podcast hosts share clips of longer interviews to pique interest. You can take Shorts from longer videos to grow your channel.


          🔗 Links

          1. 116 Best Faceless YouTube Niches • Profitable niches for faceless YouTube channels.
          2. Complete YouTube Automation Guide • Beginner’s guide on running faceless YouTube channels.
          3. The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Monetization • Monetization and growth strategies.


          📁 Related Reports

          • ​​​​​Personal Brands • VTubers are personal brands with distinct personalities and reputations.
          • The Creator Economy • Faceless YouTube Channels operate in an ecosystem of creators, consumers and advertisers.
          • Audience-First Products • Faceless YouTube Channels make money directly from their audience.
          • Virtual Influencers • Faceless VTubers have unlimited time and speak many languages.
          • ChatGPT • It boosts the productivity of businesses and individuals.


          🙏 Thanks

          Thanks to Maisha Cannon, Swapnil Puranik, Mehmet Gonullu, Guillaume Tessier, Uwe Dreissigacker, Darren Travel, Nicolo’ Borghi, Arvid Kahl, Marc Fletcher, Stewart Townsend, Keller and Matthew LaCrosse. We had a great time jamming on this report.

          ✏️ Emin researched and wrote this report. Dru researched and edited this report.


          📈 What else?

          Trends PRO #0117 — Faceless YouTube Channels has more insights.

          What you’ll get:

          • 17 Faceless YouTube Channel Examples (184% More)
          • 17 Faceless YouTube Niches (184% More)
          • 17 Video Creation Tools (240% More)
          • 7 Predictions (250% More)
          • 11 Opportunities (267% More)
          • 4 Risks (100% More)
          • 6 Key Lessons (100% More)
          • 6 Hot Takes (100% More)
          • 10 Links (234% More)

          With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

          • (📈 Pro) Who are VTubers?
          • (📈 Pro) How to quickly grow new faceless YouTube channels?
          • (📈 Pro) How to boost views and engagement?
          • (📈 Pro) How to put content creation on autopilot?
          • (📈 Pro) How to scale sales without spending more time?
          • (📈 Pro) What to offer in a paid subscription?
          • (📈 Pro) How to diversify your income?
          • (📈 Pro) How to monetize traffic?
          • (📈 Pro) How to bond with your viewers?
          • (📈 Pro) How to boost your odds of success?
          • (📈 Pro) What deters people from consuming faceless content?
          • (📈 Pro) How to save time with voice cloning?
          • (📈 Pro) What are 17 ways to grow your faceless YouTube channel?
          • (📈 Pro) How to build a consistent brand?
          • (📈 Pro) How to hack the YouTube algorithm?
          • (📈 Pro) How to make compelling thumbnails?
          • (📈 Pro) How to optimize your YouTube channel?
          • And much more…

          Get Weekly Reports

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            🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

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            Data as a Service: Insights as a Service, Competing with AI, Cold Sales Agencies

            “We are surrounded by data but starved for insights.” — Jay Baer

            Get Full Access to Trends Pro


            ❓ What You’ll Learn

            • How do data marketplaces make it easier to buy and sell data?
            • Who will opt in for active and passive data sharing?
            • How will AI streamline data management?
            • How to build a cold sales agency?
            • How can you escape competition by using branded metrics?
            • How will AI change the Data as a Service industry?
            • How much should you charge for your data?
            • How to turn data into a byproduct?
            • How to boost margins?
            • How can you build a durable data moat?


            💎 Why It Matters

            You can gain a competitive edge by fueling your decisions with the right data.


            🔍 Problem

            You need to make better decisions.


            💡 Solution

            DaaS helps you focus on your core competency. While outsourcing data collection and processing.


            🏁 Players

            DaaS Companies

            • Ahrefs • Search queries, volume, links, keywords and more
            • Abstract API • Data on phones, emails and more
            • Hunter • Database of verified business and work emails
            • Built With • Analytics, advertising, hosting, CMS and other tools that websites use
            • Apollo • AI-powered database of B2B leads
            • Quandl • Data on private jets, jobs, forex transactions and more
            • WordStream • Ads and keyword grader

            Data Tools


            🔮 Predictions

            • AI will help us save time collecting, cleaning and interpreting data. It doesn’t need to sleep, eat or rest.
              • NewtonX uses AI for audience research.
              • Crayon uses AI to separate signal from noise.
              • Gazelle uses AI to forecast fast-growing companies.


            ☁️ Opportunities


            🏔️ Risks

            • Artificial Intelligence • Customers will go straight to insights. Making DaaS companies obsolete.
            • Depreciation • Data becomes less accurate, reliable and useful over time.
            • Platform Risk • You’re subject to the DaaS provider’s datasets, outages and fees.


            🔑 Key Lessons

            • DaaS is cheaper than in-house data management. You don’t need to spend time, money and energy to build and maintain your own infrastructure.
            • Price your DaaS based on the value you create. It is easier to charge $1,000 if you help your customers make $100,000.
            • Data loses value over time.


            🔥 Hot Takes


            😠 Haters

            “AI will make DaaS companies less relevant.”
            While AI can process data more efficiently. It can only process data that it has access to. To protect their moats, DaaS companies will lock data behind walls. AI won’t reach it unless a breach occurs.

            “AI companies use data to train their models. Without permission.”
            When was the last time you read a privacy policy? Non-AI companies use privacy policies to “simulate” your consent. Coresignal offers 660,000,000 employee records parsed from LinkedIn, Crunchbase and more. You never know when another “partner” adds you to their dataset.

            “Some DaaS companies resell data from companies like Crunchbase. Which kills margins.”
            Protect margins by adding value. Offer unique insights, branded metrics, productized services and more.

            Governments can make it hard to operate in the DaaS space.”
            Stay away from regulated industries. It is easier to share B2B leads than patient data.

            “Profiting from personal data is unethical.”
            Sell anonymized data that doesn’t link to people.

            “Companies like Clearview AI make it easier to spy on people. This can lead to less privacy, more surveillance and abuse of power.”
            While such tools can be misused. They can make our communities safer by lowering crime, fraud and risk. DaaS is just a tool. We define its purpose.


            🔗 Links

            1. Who’s Offering Data as a Service? • The tweet behind this report.
            2. What is Data as a Service • Pros, cons and case studies of DaaS integration.
            3. The Empty Promise of Data Moats • How to build durable data moats.


            📁 Related Reports

            • ​​​​​ChatGPT • Automate work and save time coding, writing, researching and more
            • Curation as a Service • Find signal in the noise
            • Crowdsourcing • Leverage the time, energy and experience of others to reach your goal
            • No-Code • Build products faster, cheaper and better without writing code
            • Agencies • Help your customers solve problems without hiring and managing large teams


            🙏 Thanks

            Thanks to Kevin Galang, Mishal Siddiqui, Mehmet Gonullu, Alex Doda, Benhur Desta, Reme Ekoh, Soma Mandal, Nirav Multani, Fausto Sá Teles, Marc Fletcher, Emeric Victor, Stewart Townsend, Alex Espinoza, Thomas Sorheim and Stephanie Hekker. We had a great time jamming on this report.

            ✏️ Emin researched and wrote this report. Dru researched and edited this report.


            📈 What else?

            Trends PRO #0116 — Data as a Service has more insights.

            What you’ll get:

            • 27 Data as a Service Companies (286% More)
            • 27 Data as a Service Tools (440% More)
            • 11 Predictions (267% More)
            • 16 Opportunities (300% More)
            • 6 Risks (100% More)
            • 6 Key Lessons (100% More)
            • 8 Hot Takes (167% More)
            • 12 Links (300% More)

            With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

            • (📈 Pro) What are personal data stores?
            • (📈 Pro) How will Data as a Service companies use crowdsourcing?
            • (📈 Pro) How to help companies get data from their target audience?
            • (📈 Pro) What is federated learning?
            • (📈 Pro) How do “Data Trusts” fuel good and bad decisions?
            • (📈 Pro) What is Data Trust as a Service?
            • (📈 Pro) How can data clean rooms boost ad performance?
            • (📈 Pro) What are data agencies?
            • (📈 Pro) How to build a data-driven paid newsletter?
            • (📈 Pro) How to find alternative data?
            • (📈 Pro) How to break data silos?
            • (📈 Pro) What is the strongest data moat?
            • (📈 Pro) How does commoditization affect data?
            • (📈 Pro) What tools can streamline Data as a Service operations?
            • (📈 Pro) How to know if your data is a commodity or an asset?
            • (📈 Pro) What is the downside of building APIs?
            • (📈 Pro) How to design and build “Data Trusts”?
            • (📈 Pro) How to monetize data?
            • (📈 Pro) What are the 3 KPIs to measure the impact of data analytics?
            • (📈 Pro) How to boost data accuracy?
            • (📈 Pro) What are data cleansing challenges?
            • (📈 Pro) Who grew a cold sales agency to $300,000 ARR?
            • (📈 Pro) How to build and sell a Data as a Service startup in 6 months?
            • (📈 Pro) How to use data to make investment decisions?
            • And much more…

            Get Weekly Reports

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              📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

              Become a Trends Pro Member and join 1,200+ founders enjoying…

              🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

              📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

              💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

              🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

              💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

              📊 AI Marketing Tools 🔍 Product-Market Fit Guide 🔁 How to Give Feedback


              This week’s Founder Finds includes:

              • A podcasting mini-course
              • The 2 types of innovation
              • A list of AI tools for marketing
              • How to find product-market fit
              • How to praise and criticize effectively
              • A Chrome plugin to stop doom scrolling
              • A reminder that being a founder isn’t easy
              • And more…



              🪶 Remember This

              The only thing worse than starting something and failing is not starting something.



              🤓 Fav Finds

              Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members


              🚫 News Feed Eradicator shared by Jakub Nowikowski
              A Chrome plugin that replaces your news feed with an inspiring quote


              📊 AI Marketing Tools shared by Jose Bermejo
              A list of AI tools and use cases for marketing


              😫 The Founder Struggle shared by Elie Steinbock
              A tweet on the difficulties of being a founder



              👀 Watch This

              The Innovator’s Dilemma

              “The innovator’s dilemma” occurs when a company has to choose between sustaining and disruptive innovation.

              • Sustaining Innovation: Improving existing products based on customer feedback.
              • Disruptive Innovation: Building a niche product neglected by current market offerings.

              It’s a choice between serving existing and future customers. Which can make successful companies lose to startups with disruptive products.



              🌟 Founder of the Week

              Jakub Nowikowski

              “I’ve only been a Trends Pro member for a week but I’m already impressed with the community and stand-up approach. I’ve been looking for a place like this with like-minded people for a long time. I’ve already had valuable discussions with other Trends Pro Members who asked the right questions that helped me improve the strategy for my app. I can’t wait to join the mastermind group and be able to chat and exchange ideas with others in this amazing community!”


              Jakub is building Languive, a mobile app that helps people learn spoken English via text and voice conversations with an AI chatbot. Jakub is also working with his brother on FitBuilderz, recording a course and writing an ebook for people starting their adventure with the gym.


              What’s your most important habit?
              Daily exercise (cardio or strength training) helps me clear my mind and stay healthy despite spending most of the day in front of the computer.


              What are you reading right now?
              How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

              Fun fact: I’ve been reading this book once a year for the last 4 years because it really changed my life (in every area) and I always recommend it no matter what you do. I am sure it will improve the quality of your life and the lives of the people you surround yourself with.


              What product or service do you wish existed?
              I wish there was an app that could help inexperienced investors choose the best investment options based on their preferences, risk tolerance and geographical location.


              What product are you obsessively using right now?
              Paper notebook and pen. For the past 3 months, I have been starting my day by writing down my thoughts and ideas. I have noticed that after a morning like this I am more focused on my goals for the day.


              What are you bullish on?
              Documenting what I’m working on, the problems I’ve encountered and the things that helped me solve them. I started doing this a few months ago on my blog, Failsome. I’m thinking of making a YouTube vlog out of this. Recently, I found a couple of solo entrepreneurs on YouTube who, by sharing weekly updates from their journey, found their first beta testers and also had more business opportunities (like running a paid newsletter or finding a co-founder).


              What are you bearish on?
              While I am a big fan and beneficiary of the increased availability of AI tools in recent months, I think there are many people who overestimate their capabilities. In my opinion, for example, discussions about AI taking over all programming tasks make people depressed instead of encouraging them to use it as a tool that can help with boring, repetitive work and free up time for more fascinating and creative things.


              What’s your favorite Trends Report?
              💼 Niche Job Boards

              This report opened my eyes to the solutions to the problems of the recruitment market. In every company I worked as a programmer, there was always a problem matching the candidate for the position. Even though a lot of job boards are currently being created, it seems to me that we are at the beginning of this trend.



              💬 Join the Conversation

              Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…



              📘 Read This

              What a Pre-PMF Startup Should Look Like

              Product-market fit occurs when your target customers buy, use and share your product with others.

              What if they don’t?

              John Lafleur shares 6 tips on how you can find your product-market fit, including:

              • Focus on a problem, not a solution.
              • Test no more than 2 ideas at a time.
              • Evaluate ideas based on your core competency.



              🔧 Try This

              Praise Specifically, Criticize Generally

              Be specific when giving positive feedback. Tell who did well, how they did that and what it led to.

              Be general when giving negative feedback. Finger-pointing triggers a defensive reaction and makes it harder to accept a mistake and learn from it.



              🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

              👥 Matthew LaCrosse and Chuck Hardy unlocked 1:1 Founder Intros by joining daily standups


              🎙️ Mehmet Gonullu made a podcasting mini-course


              Ξ Elie Steinbock got an Ethereum ERC officially accepted


              🎬 Darren Travel is launching a mini-series about AGI


              🌀 Kunal Chopra wrote about Web3 product management


              🛒 Eddie Forson’s EnVsion got listed on the Zoom App Marketplace


              Get Weekly Reports

              Join 65,000+ founders and investors


                📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

                Become a Trends Pro Member and join 1,200+ founders enjoying…

                🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

                📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

                💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

                🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

                💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

                Email Courses: Types, Tips, Examples


                What’s an email course?

                An email course is a type of online course broken down into a series of lessons, each delivered in a separate email.


                What are the major types of email courses?

                Skills:

                Identity:

                Mindset:

                Business:

                Creativity:


                What are the 7 most popular subjects that email courses cover?

                Marketing:

                Business and finance:

                Personal development:

                Health and wellness:

                Writing and publishing:

                Technology and programming:

                Creative arts:


                What are the benefits of email courses for creators?

                1. Email courses help you find and engage with your ideal customers by offering valuable content that fits their needs and interests.
                2. By offering free, high-quality content through an email course, you can build trust and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
                3. Email courses are an effective lead generation tool, as students will give their contacts to sign up. Which you can use to nurture leads and convert them into paying customers by upselling higher-end offers.
                4. You can build personal bonds with students by sending regular emails and engaging with them.
                5. Email courses are great for repurposing existing content, such as blog posts, books, videos and more complex courses. Which lets you spend less time and energy on building an email course.
                6. Email courses are scalable. They can be automated to send lessons to thousands of students without additional time or resources.


                What are the benefits of email courses for students?

                1. Email courses are flexible as they are delivered directly to students’ inboxes. Which makes them accessible anytime, anywhere. Students can also learn at their own pace by studying the lesson now or later.
                2. Many email courses are free or low-cost. This makes it easier for students to learn new skills without investing in expensive, complex courses.
                3. Email courses deliver content in bite-sized lessons, making it easier for students to learn and retain information.
                4. Email courses often have exercises or resources that help participants practice what they learn.
                5. Some email courses let students engage with each other and the instructor via dedicated communities, social media groups or simple email replies.


                What are the 7 top tips for creating an email course?

                1. Define your audience: Define your target audience, their interests, needs and ultimate goals.
                2. Choose a clear and specific topic: Focus on a clear and specific topic that is relevant to your target audience.
                3. Break content into bite-sized pieces: Send content in bite-sized pieces that are easy for participants to digest and apply.
                4. Include actionable content and resources: Add actionable content and resources to help students practice what they learned. This may boost engagement and student success.
                5. Encourage interaction and engagement: Let students interact with each other and with you as the instructor via dedicated communities, social media groups or simple email replies.
                6. Stick to a schedule: Informational courses can be short. Practical courses should give more time between the lessons to complete tasks. This will help to establish a routine for participants and keep them engaged throughout the course.
                7. Follow up and follow through: After the end of the course, follow up with students to collect feedback and ensure that they have achieved their desired outcomes. This will help to build more trust and give insights for improving future email courses.


                What are the top 7 most popular email courses?

                Get Weekly Reports

                Join 65,000+ founders and investors


                  📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

                  Become a Trends Pro Member and join 1,200+ founders enjoying…

                  🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

                  📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

                  💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

                  🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

                  💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

                  Podcasts: Costs, Tools, Marketing, Monetization


                  How much does it cost to start a podcast?

                  Here are some general cost estimates for starting a podcast:

                  Microphone: A good quality microphone is crucial for producing a professional-sounding podcast. You can find decent microphones for as little as $50, while more high-end microphones can cost several hundred dollars.

                  Audio Interface or Mixer: If you plan on recording with a microphone that connects via XLR, you’ll need an audio interface or mixer to connect it to your computer. These can cost anywhere from $50 to $500, depending on the features you need.

                  Recording and Editing Software: There are numerous free and paid options for recording and editing software. Audacity is a popular free option, while Adobe Audition and Logic Pro X are more expensive but offer more advanced features.

                  Web Hosting: You’ll need a hosting service to store and distribute your podcast episodes. Services like Libsyn and Buzzsprout offer plans starting at around $12 per month.

                  You can expect to spend anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars to start a podcast, depending on your equipment and software choices. However, it’s also possible to start a podcast with minimal equipment and a shoestring budget if you’re willing to compromise on some of the bells and whistles.


                  What are the most popular tools for podcasters?

                  Microphones: Popular microphone brands include Shure, Audio-Technica and Blue. Some popular microphone models for podcasting include the Shure SM7B, Audio-Technica AT2020 and Blue Yeti.

                  Audio Interfaces: The Focusrite Scarlett series, Universal Audio Apollo Twin and PreSonus Studio Series are popular choices for connecting microphones to a computer.

                  Hosting Platforms: Buzzsprout, Podbean and Spotify Podcasts are popular platforms for hosting and distributing podcast episodes.

                  Analytics Tools: Tools like Podtrac, Chartable and Blubrry provide analytics for podcast downloads, listens and engagement.

                  Remote Recording Tools: Zencastr, SquadCast and Riverside.fm are popular tools for remote podcast recording.

                  Editing and Production Services: If you don’t have the time or expertise to edit your podcast, there are editing and production services available like Alitu.


                  What are the most popular platforms to host a podcast?

                  Libsyn: Libsyn is one of the most popular podcast hosting platforms, offering plans starting at $5 per month. It provides advanced statistics, unlimited storage and bandwidth and automatic distribution to various podcast directories.

                  Buzzsprout: Buzzsprout is another popular podcast hosting platform, with plans starting at $12 per month. It provides detailed analytics, easy-to-use publishing tools and automatic distribution to popular podcast directories.

                  Podbean: Podbean offers plans starting at $9 per month and includes features like customizable podcast websites, monetization options and analytics.

                  Anchor: Anchor is a free podcast hosting platform owned by Spotify, which includes tools for recording, editing and publishing. It also offers monetization options and analytics.

                  Simplecast: Simplecast offers plans starting at $15 per month and includes features like customizable podcast websites, automatic distribution and detailed analytics.


                  What kinds of podcast formats are there?

                  Interview: In this format, the host interviews a guest on a particular topic or theme. This is a popular format for educational and informational podcasts.

                  Narrative: Narrative podcasts tell a story or series of stories, often with a journalistic or documentary-style approach. They can be fictional or non-fictional and are often highly produced with music and sound effects.

                  • “Serial” – Host Sarah Koenig tells a true crime story over multiple episodes, diving deep into the details of the case and exploring the various angles and perspectives.
                  • “Radiolab” – Hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich present stories that blend science and philosophy, exploring the human experience in surprising and thought-provoking ways.
                  • “S-Town” – Host Brian Reed tells the story of a man who contacts him to investigate a murder in his small Alabama town, only to uncover a web of secrets and mysteries.

                  Solo: In a solo podcast, the host speaks alone on a particular topic or theme. This is a good format for opinion-based podcasts or those that are focused on personal development or self-help.

                  • “The Daily” – Host Michael Barbaro presents daily news updates and in-depth analysis of current events from The New York Times.
                  • “The GaryVee Audio Experience” – Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk shares his insights and advice on business, social media and personal growth in a solo format.
                  • “Hurry Slowly” – Host Jocelyn K. Glei explores the intersection of creativity, productivity and mindfulness in a series of solo episodes.

                  Panel: In a panel format, the host and a group of guests discuss a particular topic or theme. This can be a good format for podcasts that want to offer multiple perspectives on a topic.

                  • “Pod Save America” – A political podcast hosted by former Obama administration staffers Jon Favreau, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor, featuring guest experts and analysts.
                  • “The View” – A daytime talk show on television featuring a panel of women discussing news and current events, as well as celebrity interviews and pop culture discussions.
                  • “The Weeds” – A political podcast featuring Vox journalists Matthew Yglesias, Jane Coaston and Dara Lind, who discuss policy and politics with guest experts and analysts.

                  Roundtable: In a roundtable format, the host and guests have a more casual discussion on a particular topic or theme. This format is often used in comedy or entertainment podcasts.

                  • “The Roundtable Podcast” – Hosted by Dave Robison, this podcast features roundtable discussions with authors and other creative professionals on various writing and publishing topics.
                  • “The Film Roundtable” – Hosted by film critics and journalists, this podcast features roundtable discussions on current and classic films, as well as interviews with filmmakers and actors.
                  • “The Table Round” – Hosted by journalist Rachel Thomas, this podcast features roundtable discussions with experts and analysts on topics related to the future of work, including remote work, automation and the gig economy.

                  How to find the first listeners for your podcast?

                  • Leverage your existing network: Share your podcast with friends, family and colleagues and ask them to share it with their networks as well. You can also promote your podcast on your personal social media accounts and in relevant online communities.
                    • “How I Built This with Guy Raz” – Host Guy Raz leveraged his existing network of contacts as a journalist to invite successful entrepreneurs onto his podcast, which helped him build a large and engaged audience.
                    • “The Tim Ferriss Show” – Host Tim Ferriss used his network of high-profile guests, many of whom are successful entrepreneurs, authors and athletes, to help promote his podcast and grow his audience.
                    • “Entrepreneur on Fire” – Host John Lee Dumas used his network of successful entrepreneurs to invite guests onto his podcast and then encouraged those guests to share their episode with their own networks, helping him rapidly grow his audience.
                  • Collaborate with other podcasters: Reach out to other podcasters in your niche and explore opportunities to collaborate, such as guest appearances or cross-promotion.
                    • “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard” – Host Dax Shepard invites celebrity guests onto his podcast, many of whom have their own large and engaged audiences, helping him to attract new listeners to his show.
                    • “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” – Host Conan O’Brien invites celebrity guests onto his podcast, leveraging his existing network of contacts in the entertainment industry to attract listeners who are fans of his guests.
                    • “SmartLess” – Hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett invite celebrity guests onto their podcast, using their existing networks in the entertainment industry to attract listeners who are fans of their guests.
                  • Optimize your podcast for search: Make sure your podcast is optimized for search engines by including relevant keywords in your title, description and show notes. This will help potential listeners discover your podcast when searching for related topics.
                    • “Entrepreneur on Fire” – Host John Lee Dumas optimized his podcast for search by focusing on specific keywords related to entrepreneurship and business, which helped him to rank high in search results and attract new listeners who were searching for that type of content.
                    • “The GaryVee Audio Experience” – Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk optimized his podcast for search by using keywords related to marketing, social media and personal development in his titles and descriptions, which helped him attract new listeners who were searching for those topics.
                    • “Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield” – Host Amy Porterfield optimized her podcast for search by using keywords related to online marketing, social media and business in her titles and descriptions, which helped her attract new listeners who were searching for that type of content.
                  • Offer incentives: Consider offering incentives, such as exclusive content or discounts, to encourage people to listen and subscribe to your podcast.
                    • “Stuff You Should Know” – Hosts Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant offered listeners exclusive access to ad-free episodes and bonus content through a membership program, which helped incentivize fans to sign up and grow their audience.
                    • “Radiolab” – Hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich offered listeners exclusive access to live events, as well as bonus episodes and behind-the-scenes content, through a membership program, which helped incentivize fans to sign up and grow their audience.


                  How can podcasts be monetized?

                  Sponsorships: One of the most common ways to monetize a podcast is through sponsorships. This involves partnering with a company or brand that pays you to promote their product or service on your podcast.

                  • The Rich Roll Podcast – Hosted by ultra-endurance athlete and wellness advocate Rich Roll, this podcast features interviews with a wide range of guests and has been sponsored by companies like Thrive Market and Four Sigmatic.
                  • Code Switch – A podcast about race and identity in America, Code Switch has been sponsored by companies like Indeed and The Great Courses Plus.
                  • The Daily Stoic – A podcast that explores the philosophy of stoicism. The Daily Stoic has been sponsored by companies like LinkedIn and Skillshare.

                  Advertising: You can also monetize your podcast through advertising, either by selling ad space directly to businesses or by using an advertising network like Advertisecast or Midroll.

                  • “Reply All” – Hosts PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman monetize their podcast through advertisements, with sponsors paying to have their products or services promoted on their show.
                  • “Pod Save America” – Hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor monetize their podcast through advertisements, with sponsors paying to have their products or services promoted on their show.
                  • “The Bill Simmons Podcast” – Host Bill Simmons monetizes his podcast through advertisements, with sponsors paying to have their products or services promoted on his show.

                  Paid subscriptions: Some podcasters offer exclusive content or early access to episodes to subscribers who pay a monthly or yearly fee. This can be a good option if you have a loyal fanbase and produce high-quality content.

                  • “WTF with Marc Maron” – Host Marc Maron monetizes his podcast through a paid subscription service called “The Marc Maron Premium Content Club,” which gives subscribers access to exclusive episodes and other bonus content.
                  • “Slate Money” – Hosts Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Anna Szymanski monetize their podcast through a paid subscription service called “Slate Plus,” which gives subscribers access to ad-free episodes and other bonus content.
                  • “Criminal” – Host Phoebe Judge monetizes her podcast through a paid subscription service called “Criminal: The Membership,” which gives subscribers access to bonus content, merchandise and other perks.

                  Crowdfunding: You can also monetize your podcast through crowdfunding platforms like Patreon or Kickstarter, where listeners can support your show by making a donation.

                  • “99% Invisible” – Host Roman Mars monetizes his podcast through crowdfunding platform Patreon, where listeners can become monthly supporters and gain access to exclusive content and other rewards.
                  • “Chapo Trap House” – Hosts Will Menaker, Matt Christman and Felix Biederman monetize their podcast through crowdfunding platform Patreon, where supporters can access exclusive bonus content and other perks.
                  • “The Adventure Zone” – Hosts Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy monetize their podcast through crowdfunding platform Maximum Fun, where listeners can support the show and gain access to exclusive bonus content and other rewards.

                  Live events: Hosting live events, such as meet-and-greets or live shows, can also be a way to monetize your podcast.

                  • “Welcome to Night Vale” – Creators Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor monetize their podcast through live shows, where they perform their show in front of a live audience and sell tickets for the event.
                  • “The Moth” – Hosts Dan Kennedy and Catherine Burns monetize their podcast through live events, where storytellers share their personal stories on stage in front of a live audience.
                  • “How Did This Get Made?” – Hosts Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas monetize their podcast through live shows, where they perform their show in front of a live audience and sell tickets for the event.


                  How can podcasts be used for marketing?

                  • Establish thought leadership: By hosting a podcast that focuses on industry trends, best practices or thought leadership, you can establish yourself or your brand as a thought leader in your field.
                    • “Harvard Business Review IdeaCast” – This podcast features interviews with top thinkers in business and management and offers insights on leadership, innovation and other topics.
                    • “Akimbo” – This podcast is hosted by bestselling author Seth Godin, who offers insights on marketing, leadership and creativity. The podcast also features interviews with other thought leaders in these fields.
                  • Increase engagement: Podcasts offer a unique opportunity to engage with your audience in a personal way. By creating valuable content that resonates with your audience, you can increase engagement and build loyalty.
                    • “Reply All” – This podcast often features listener questions and feedback in its episodes and has a segment called “Yes Yes No” where the hosts explain internet memes to each other and to their audience.
                    • “Radiolab” – This podcast frequently encourages listener participation, through contests and opportunities to submit stories or ideas for future episodes.
                    • “Death, Sex & Money” – This podcast often solicits listener responses to questions or prompts related to the topics of death, sex and money and features listener stories and feedback in its episodes. The podcast also has a popular “Listener Letters” segment where the host reads and responds to letters from listeners
                  • Cross-promotion: You can use your podcast to cross-promote other marketing channels, such as social media, email marketing or webinars.
                    • “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard” – This podcast often cross-promotes other podcasts on the Armchair Umbrella network, such as “Experts on Expert” and “Monica and Jess Love Boys.”
                    • “Binge Mode” – This podcast, which explores the world of Harry Potter and other pop culture phenomena, has cross-promoted with other podcasts on The Ringer network, such as “The Watch” and “The Rewatchables.”
                    • “My Favorite Murder” – This true crime podcast has cross-promoted with other podcasts on the Exactly Right network, such as “Do You Need A Ride?” and “This Podcast Will Kill You.”
                  • Collaborate with influencers: Collaborating with influencers or industry experts on your podcast can help you reach new audiences and build credibility.
                    • “Unlocking Us with Brené Brown” – Brené Brown has collaborated with other influencers in the personal growth and wellness space, such as Glennon Doyle and Jay Shetty, to create engaging and informative episodes that resonate with her audience.
                    • “The School of Greatness” – Host Lewis Howes frequently collaborates with influencers in the personal growth and wellness space, such as Tony Robbins and Marie Forleo, to provide insights and inspiration for his listeners.


                  What are examples of AI-produced podcasts?



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                    Prompt Engineering: Advanced Prompting, Use Cases, The Future of Programming

                    “The hottest new programming language is English.” – Andrej Karpathy

                    Get Full Access to Trends Pro


                    ❓ What You’ll Learn

                    • How will filmmakers use prompts?
                    • What is role-playing?
                    • What is advanced prompting?
                    • What are the key parts of a prompt?
                    • How to guide AI to do complex tasks?
                    • What are the top prompt engineering use cases?
                    • How to build prompt templates?
                    • What are 100+ role-playing prompts for ChatGPT?


                    💎 Why It Matters

                    The number of programmers just increased from 26 million to 8 billion.


                    🔍 Problem

                    You need to learn how to direct AI.


                    💡 Solution

                    Prompt engineering helps you get accurate and reliable results.


                    🏁 Players

                    Prompt Engineers

                    Prompt Engineering Tools

                    Prompt Engineering Use Cases

                    • Programming • Write, test and debug code
                    • Writing • Find writing prompts, generate stories and perfect your writing style
                    • Research • Find, analyze and cite scientific papers
                    • Image Generation • Generate abstract and real-life objects and settings
                    • Search Engine Optimization • Research keywords and write SEO-optimized articles
                    • Marketing • Build marketing strategies


                    🔮 Predictions

                    • We’ll use text-to-audio models to create music. We’ll prompt the style, tempo, instrumentation and more.
                      • WavTool lets you use prompts to make, edit and compose tracks.
                      • MusicLM is an unreleased text-to-music model by Google that can generate consistent short and long tracks.
                      • Cassette lets you create royalty-free music by prompting genre, mood, length, instrumentation and more.
                    • Prompt hackathons will help to find new prompt writing techniques. This will boost creativity, innovation and adoption of prompt engineering.


                    ☁️ Opportunities


                    🏔️ Risks

                    • Hallucinations • ChatGPT lies. It accused a law professor of harassment and cited a fake article as evidence. You may miss inaccuracies or inconsistencies if you don’t know what a quality answer looks like.
                    • Platform Risk • OpenAI’s rate limits can block you in the middle of solving problems.


                    🔑 Key Lessons

                    • A prompt consists of the task, instructions, context and parameters. “Task” is an action. “Instructions” are the steps needed to do the “task”. “Context” helps to understand the background and the end goal of a “task”. “Parameters” are settings that directly affect the result.
                    • Use detailed prompts to do complex tasks. Share specific context, format and style that the result should have. Justin Fineberg says if your prompt is only one sentence long, your output is never going to be good.


                    🔥 Hot Takes


                    😠 Haters

                    “Prompt engineering is not programming.”
                    Backend-GPT is a language model that handles database and backend business logic. Similar to programming languages, you can prompt functions to work with data. Anyway, it’s too early to say that prompt engineering is programming. That’s why it’s a hot take.

                    “Prompt engineering will become obsolete once AI learns how to build its own prompts.”
                    We’re on track to this. AI can perfect itself without relying on human guidance. Tools like AutoGPT turn AI into an autonomous prompt building and execution robot.

                    “Tools built on top of APIs are just wrappers. They have no moat and can’t form a sustainable business.”
                    This critique has been around since the release of GPT-3. Danny Postma says if you can generate years of revenue in weeks or months, seize the opportunity.

                    “Marketplaces are winner-take-most markets. Why would we need more prompt marketplaces?”
                    These are micro-marketplaces which can optimize for niche use cases and audiences. While a micro-marketplace might not be the best option for most users, it’s best for some. That’s what matters.


                    🔗 Links

                    1. Introduction to Prompt Engineering • Learn how prompts work.
                    2. Framework for Reusable AI Prompts • Build reusable prompt templates.
                    3. Awesome ChatGPT Prompts • 100+ role-playing prompts for ChatGPT.


                    📁 Related Reports

                    • ​​ChatGPT • This tool showed the world the true power of AI
                    • No-Code • Many AI tools are no-code tools
                    • AI-Generated Content • Explore music, videos, images and text generated by AI
                    • AI Image Generators • Turn your ideas into high-quality images without drawing skills
                    • Data as a Service • Quality of data defines the quality of AI models


                    🙏 Thanks

                    Thanks to Kevin Deol, Reme Ekoh, Katt Risen, Simon Daley, Ivan Zografski, Maciej Cupial, Darren Travel, Holger Sindbæk, Kevin Galang, Josh Kubicki, Stewart Townsend, Byron Wilson and Bernardt J. Vogel. We had a great time jamming on this report.

                    ✏️ Emin researched and wrote this report. Dru researched and edited this report.


                    📈 What else?

                    Trends PRO #0111 — Prompt Engineering has more insights.

                    What you’ll get:

                    • 17 Prompt Engineers (184% More)
                    • 16 Prompt Engineering Tools (167% More)
                    • 27 Prompt Engineering Use Cases (250% More)
                    • 7 Predictions (134% More)
                    • 10 Opportunities (234% More)
                    • 4 Risks (100% More)
                    • 5 Key Lessons (150% More)
                    • 9 Hot Takes (125% More)
                    • 12 Links (300% More)

                    With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

                    • (📈 Pro) What do prompt engineers actually do?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to use prompts to do consulting work?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to write prompt books?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to automate prompt writing with AI agents?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to piggyback on popular AI models?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to build a prompt writing course?
                    • (📈 Pro) What is Prompts-as-a-Service?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to format inputs and results?
                    • (📈 Pro) What is adversarial prompting?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to use advanced image generation parameters?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to turn ChatGPT into a prompt engineer?
                    • (📈 Pro) What are chained prompts?
                    • (📈 Pro) How can scientists use prompts to make new discoveries?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to turn text into 3D models?
                    • (📈 Pro) What makes AI tell lies?
                    • (📈 Pro) How to make $200,000 with an AI-written ebook?
                    • (📈 Pro) How did an AI browser extension lead to $1,000 in 24 hours?
                    • And much more…

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