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Welcome to Make More Money Without Selling Your Soul. The podcast for bold entrepreneurs ready to simplify scale and reclaim their time. I’m Polly Lavarello, Evergreen scaling strategist and cushy business pioneer. Join me and my occasional guests as we explore the themes of wealth, selling and well-being, because building a business that works for you changes everything. Let’s dive in.

00:37

Hello, so today on the show and welcome, by the way, I’m Polly lavarella, your host for the next 20 minutes or so, I wanted to talk to you about personal brand, but not through the lens that I’ve spoken about it previously, and not through the lens that I see mainstream kind of influencers talking about it. Either I want to talk about it through the lens of AI, and where AI can actually dilute your personal brand in 2026 and kind of what to watch out for. And I’m going to be really real and really honest and share a story with you, an uncomfortable story at that, but it really drives home the point I really want to make with today’s episode. So in January, I launched the everyday sales accelerator. And if you’ve listened to previous episodes, you’ll know that. You know the Accelerator has existed now for I really need to pay closer attention to this shit, because it’s definitely been more than two years, and I should probably be doing things like birthdays and celebrations, but here we are. I do know the first time it launched was in February, so it’s pretty much like bang on the anniversary, but in terms of the curriculum and the teachings in there, like this is, this has been the bread and butter as to what I support people with now for like, four years. So needless to say, needless to say, a lot of the marketing assets I use are very fine tuned. I have an email sequence that’s always converted well for me, every time I look at it, I’m like, feel all the fuzzies. And Iman copyco, who was on the podcast once talking about email marketing, she wrote it, it has been updated by me, obviously, because the programs evolved, my views have evolved, but the very formatting behind it all is very much based on what Iman created, and has her messaging is all based in cell psychology. So I trust it. I trust it more than anything. And she really did the work, the deep work, to make it sound like my voice. So yeah, I’ve never been able to create anything better than that. So yeah. So that email sequence is the email sequence that goes out the workshop is based on the webinar format that I share with my clients too, that always converts. But here’s the bit where it gets a little bit gnarly. So one of the things I recognized I’d done in January, because I’m a little ADHD and sometimes a little bit of a scatter brain, I realized that cart open was on a Wednesday, and I wasn’t actually running cart open for seven days. I was running it for 10. And in that moment, I recognized, well, there needs to be a daily email that goes out, and you know what I think I was planning ahead in December. 

So I was a little bit lazy. I’ve been using, oh joy.ai for a while now alongside chat GPT, and it been pretty good. So I was like, and it knows so much about my business at this stage, I’ve put so much information into the damn thing. So I was like, You know what? I’m just gonna share the email sequence that I’ve already created. Say, what is the gap? What could go in here? And the suggestions were solid. Like, as a marketer, I could see the suggestions were essentially sticking another case study, stick in a clearer kind of like, here’s what happens if you don’t sign up type email, you know, like, here’s how we move forward from here. And to be honest with you, I should have spent more time with it, you know, like, we’re all business owners spinning a few different plates. And it was a plate I chose to, like, hold in perfectly. And just think, you know what? All the other emails are amazing. If this one isn’t entirely perfect, it probably doesn’t matter at this stage, like it’s, you know, anyway, so I told myself stories as to, it’s fine, leave it in there. And then what happened? Oh, can you tell it’s coming, what happened was one person sent me a very angry email. Now I am okay with that, in that even if you don’t like what somebody’s doing, you don’t have to be angry, and you don’t have to put them down, particularly when that particular business owner is actually doing a million times better than you are in your own business right now. It’s kind of like, you know, you can tell me you don’t like my marketing, and you can say that this particular email feels off, but it kind of felt unnecessary to share, share the feedback in the way that this man did. So this man provided feedback in a way that wasn’t nice. Was disrespectful, was rude about me personally, so I simply just unsubscribed him and let him on his fine way. However, about 24 hours later, I also received another response to that email from somebody I really respect and like, who has been consuming all of my content for over a year now, maybe again, approaching two and she very nicely, kind of said, you know, I love your emails, I love your marketing, but this just really reads like, AI, it’s a bit of a word salad. And I looked at it and she was right, you know, she kind of said, it doesn’t sound like you Polly, and your messaging is great. Like, what happened here and that. But my friends, is the difference between constructive feedback and being a dick. And so when I received her email, it did land differently. I have to admit, the first time I received the first email, I was so kind of like put out, by the way he approached it, I didn’t even bother really looking at the email that was sent. I just thought, you’re obviously in a bad mood and don’t like marketing emails. But when I received it in a way that was phrased to be supportive and not judgmental and not condescending, then I did take the time. So hey, valuable lesson in that how we communicate really matters as to how people perceive what you’re sharing. So anyway, long story short, I looked at it, I could see it was a word salad. I could see it was not in keeping, really, with even the way I talked to my clients, that it didn’t really sound like me. And so it will not be featuring again. You know, was it offensive? No. Was it a total waste of time reading it? Probably yes. Did it sound like every other person on the internet with a launch sequence? Yes. And so this brings me back to the point I really want to make. Because if I as a marketer, can make this mistake, you can make it too, and I also share it, because I do see this time again in my clients, and I myself, you know, add even more personal context to this story. We are revising the structure of the everyday sales accelerator. We’re moving it to a three month commitment, rather than a 12 month commitment, with the option to keep on a rolling subscription, at least that’s what we’re exploring right now. So because we were doing that, I was revisiting the sales page and looking at how I get to kind of just revise the messaging to ensure it’s in keeping with a kind of elevated woman and business owner who I’m looking to speak to, that ambitious person who’s already put in the work and it’s not paying dividends yet, and they’re a few refinements away from everything looking very different, like that’s who I want to speak to. So I was looking at it, and I shared it again with AI, and I was like, here’s my sales page. I want to speak to that expansive client. I want to speak to that person who’s ready for more. I do not want to be preying on their weaknesses. I don’t want to be preying on like, you know, what I do want to speak to is the shifts in the industry right now, how things have changed, and how the work I do inside the accelerator is more relevant than ever because it is right and obviously shared the reasons why it’s more relevant than ever and why this stuff needs to be done. So I gave it really clear instructions. And I know how AI works. It can only work in one tiny chunk at a time, so I was there ready to remind it every time it drift off, drifted off piste. 

But it kept on drifting off piste. It kept on going back to, you know, and I’ve also trialed, by the way, like beyond chat GPT, I have the paid version, but I’ve also been using Frank Kearns, o joy.ai, now, you know, please reach out to me and tell me if you found an AI that works better than this. But I have found that, you know, because nearly all custom gpts are built on, like, already existing AI, like on chat GPT, that, quite frankly, you can get it to ask you better questions, and that’s what I’ve designed with cushy GPT. I’ve designed it to ensure that people can’t give fluffy, vague responses. So I’ve used it more as a kind of like, How can I create a mentor in your pocket to help you refine things in the way that you need to and to help you avoid being vague and unspecific, but in terms of, can it be you? Well, I guess this is the argument I want to make today. So let me kind of get into a tidy segue into personal branding and where I feel AI really falls down. So, you know, let’s boil it down. Everyone has access to AI, so now everyone can generate good copy, and I say good and that weird voice because yeah, stuff that sounds like everyone else. Everyone can sound polished, and everyone can build a funnel, but is it going to be a good one?

09:35

I mean, I’m not giving the say juries out, because there’s a lot of people who are doing exactly that, who are buying into programs where it’s like, use my AI to build a funnel. And, you know, that’s where people then feel fear around investing in somebody like myself, because AI is built on what’s already out there. How the f are you going to come across as original when you are just word salading? Every other funnel that’s out there. Of course, people aren’t signing up for it, you know. So what does actually differentiate you? Well, this does come back to your personal brand, and this is why, when people come to the accelerator, we lead first with who you are, what you stand for, as a personal brand, and then we build your offer ecosystem around that, because then every time you create more impact, every time you get more visibility, there is a natural ripple effect. There’s no like, Oh, she seems cool. No idea what she does. We make sure it is one cohesive package that doesn’t make you feel like some crazy OTT salesman, but it does make sure that everything works together. So what actually differentiates you is your convictions, your perspective, your standards and your enemy. And yes, there is a transcription for this, because honestly, I want you to take this information and I want you to journal on this, or write the note, or get a notebook out, whatever phrase you want to use, but I want you to take the time to think about this, because one of the reasons why I use AI as a tool to help implementation, but I haven’t removed the initial prompts and questions and workbooks that I also provide my clients with is because, for the people who are willing to go analog and actually spend some time exploring those questions, are the people who do better with their personal brand. Are the people who don’t need AI to remind them what they stand for, because they’ve taken the time to genuinely think about it for themselves. 

Okay, this is also why, like, I say, my AI tools are often more like a way to have questions, a way to kind of say that’s not an answer, give me a proper answer, to help you work through that process. But it’s not there to give you the answers. It is there to help you tidy your answers, but it’s there to extract the magic from you, and that really is so so important, because your personal brand is no longer a nice to have. It’s the filter through which people decide is this person, my person? You know, one really funny example of that is on my most recent workshop, there were some questions that were asked that one attendee considered were quite kind of early on questions to be asking in the context of the work that I was speaking to. And funnily enough, in my brain at the time, I thought, for the more established business owner who was attending this workshop, will they see me honoring these questions and answering these questions with kindness and curiosity as an indicator that this accelerator is too early on from them, for them even. But instead, the feedback was, I could see your kindness, I could see your patience. I could see your willingness to support people regardless as to where they are at. That is a value, right? That is a value that, you know, in some ways, no, we don’t necessarily communicate that. And I don’t say I’m the kind of business mentor. I’m the patient business mentor, but we can think about what our values are, and we can think about how they come across through what we’re doing. Obviously, in that scenario, I wasn’t even being calculated. It’s just who I am. But it is a reminder that so often. You know, every sales conversation I’ve had probably ever at some point, somebody will say, I like how within integrity you are. I like how you are walking your talk. I like how you’re also a mum. So I know you understand the Juggle. I like how you’re neurodivergent. So I know you understand that things don’t land for some brains the same way, I like that you work predominantly in the wellness industry, and that you not only interested in supporting them, but that it’s a lifestyle you live as well all of these pieces, right? Like, it’s rarely like there was one particular bit of information you shared with me that landed in a way different. No, that was different. It’s Yes, the information was there. Yes, they could see I could help a valuable problem, but ultimately they chose me okay. And similarly, your clients are having a moment like that when they choose to work with you. You know, there are so many nutritional therapists out there, so many coaches, so many, you know, psychologists and wellness practitioners and service providers. We want somebody we can feel safe in trusting and you being an expert isn’t good enough anymore, because we’ve all invested. You know, it’s a bit like when you hire someone to come over and do some works on your house. And, yeah, sure, on paper, they all have the similar expertise, right? So it’s really hard to decide, but we’ll often choose someone through what somebody else says. You know, this person is good. They showed up on time. They were polite. They even put their mugs of tea away in the sink after they’d finished being there, and they actually delivered the thing they promised. Equally, we hear horror stories of they showed up. They swore all the time. They trashed the house. They didn’t do what they said they were going to do, and then they came back and billed us even more afterwards, like this. Is the experience people are having in the online space as well. Like it can look all shiny on the surface, and my goodness, AI has done a lot to conceal businesses, you know, that are really kind of flaky behind the scenes. They can give a shiny exterior, which means people are even less trusting. So one of the ways to avoid being mistaken as a shiny exterior that can’t be trusted is to shine through with more of your authenticity. So how do we do that? 

Well, I’m going to avoid any of these, like, Who are you here for? Let’s do a little summary sentence. And I’m also going to like, Well, yeah, no, let’s let’s think about it, because I then want to talk to you about the AI pitfalls. But here’s what I really want you to take a moment to think about, what do you stand for, what do you stand against? What do you refuse to participate in? What is it about the industry that made you decide you were going to create the offer that you have like? What was lacking? What was there too much of where is there already too much noise. Where are you a breath of fresh air? What behavior in your clients do you reward? What behavior Do you regret? Regret, regret? No, let’s not go into that one. What do you reject? I should really wear my glasses when I’m looking at my notes. Okay? Because marketing should never be about persuasion. Marketing is alignment, and when you are clear on these pieces, you make it easy for people to decide. And alignment does require contrast. We can’t be all sunshine and rainbows. We need to be really clear. So you know when you think about your powers, I want you to think about yourself. You know your brand like a superhero. What are your powers? What are you known for? What are you unwavering about? What would people associate with you immediately? Examples, you know, she simplifies, she sees the blind spots. She refuses hype. She builds elegant systems. She protects women from burnout. Don’t know who I’m talking about here. You know, take a moment to think about that. But equally, I want you to think about the villain, and I know in the day and age we’re in right now, a villain might seem like a slightly strong word, but, you know, let’s think Marvel superheroes and villains here.

17:11

Okay, this is not a person. It’s a pattern. It’s a system, a behavior. Okay? What is harming your audience right now? What is keeping them small? What are they being sold that isn’t working? What frustrates you in your industry? So my examples are over complicated funnels, live launch, dependency, vanity metrics, more content, culture, more volume. Culture, burnout disguised as ambition. Those are the things that drive me potty. And here’s the extra piece that you can bring in that will elevate your personal brand to the next level and ensure that you are never short of sales. And this is a piece that so many people miss, so many people go on social media and will ask me things like, why am I not going viral? Why am I not getting more comments? Very often if people aren’t engaging with your content, it’s because you aren’t creating your social media from a place of creating community. There is no purpose to the community that you are creating with your with your posts, with your with the engagement that you are sharing out there. So I want you to think for a moment in terms of the community you do want to build around you. Why does this community exist? What do we tolerate here? What don’t we tolerate? What is the standard we are upholding? Who is this space not for like where is this again, a breath of fresh air. Why are people seeking out your content? Why are they coming to your corner of the internet to see what you’ve posted today, to see how people are responding, you represent something for them that is special and different, and they want more of it. I don’t know about you, but I know there are a few wellness practitioners because, yes, I don’t just do it because I like the work. I do it because I’m obsessed with this industry. There are a few that I go out my way of almost every day to see what they’ve posted, because I know that they will share something that feels relevant and exciting for me and that really, really matters. And there’s just something about them that you know where I am creating a parasocial relationship with them that makes me want to know what they are up to, like, how did that holiday go? Did they enjoy their dinner? And I obviously don’t have the capacity to do that with absolutely everyone, right? That would be so exhausting. We only have the capacity for a few. 

So when it comes to that again, it’s, you know, like that one account I’m thinking of immediately. I know when I go to look at her account, I know what she stands for in the wellness space. I know what she stands against. I know all her content is very connected to that. So like for example, she’s very anti expensive biohacking gadgets. She’s all about what we already have at our disposal. But she is also very. Much like she’s got this delicate balance between not being into biohacking, but at the same time, you know, using wearing natural fibers and, you know, not not liking chemicals, unnecessary chemicals. So like she’s, I guess she is a perfect representation of who I am right now, the balance of, no, I don’t believe I need to spend 1000s of pounds on some red lights in my bedroom, and at the same time, I am interested in exploring other ways I get to elevate my wellness. And she’s just very down to earth. I guess they’re very the values that I uphold, that she upholds, to which immediately made it easy to connect with her. 

Now it’s all very well knowing we are a certain type of person, but how are we communicating that through what we’re sharing on social media. You know, being Uber intentional, like I was looking I was going to tell you, share it. Opposite example, I was looking at someone’s social media this morning, and she was criticizing other people in her industry, again, not by naming them, but by doing the whole like, Oh, she knows she’s looking and all that kind of stuff. And I just felt actually unfollowed her in that moment because I thought this is a weird pattern. I’m not really overly keen on it. I don’t I don’t really like people who are being overly judgmental, and I don’t like that school playground feel of like DMing say, Oh, who are you talking about? So I simply just unfollowed them because I just thought that’s an ugly energy. I don’t want to be close to that person may be thinking, Oh, this is great, because it’s creating engagement, but you do always need to think with the content you’re creating. Who are you creating engagement for? What kind of community you building around you? If you’re building a community that wants to know gossip, that want to judge, then later on that may come, come to stab you in the back when you create, when you start to have more, you know. And by the way, I share this knowing that my average listener is not that person at all. And obviously I’m using a very extreme example here, right? But everything we put out there has a ripple effect. So I’m not saying don’t ever be angry. We do we want to stand up for the things that we stand against. I’m not saying don’t ever call out things in the industry that you don’t feel good with, but do be aware like when you look at your body of work, what does that represent to you? What does that represent to others? Because believe me, when my messaging and how I spoke to my community elevated the accelerator was a direct reflection of that the people who come into my world now are such beautiful people I would absolutely have around my dining table, and it would absolutely give my jacket to on a cold night to make sure they were warm, because they’re all awesome human beings. But that has come from how deliberate I am with how I invite and welcome people into my world. So finally, you might be listening to all of this going, Oh my goodness. This all sounds great, but I have become a bit overly reliant on AI. What should I be watching for? 

So here’s a few things I just want to highlight. So what is AI good at? It’s very good at structuring ideas. Because I also don’t want to give the impression here that I don’t use AI. I use AI daily. I use it like a marketing assistant. I use it to highlight patterns. If I see something in someone else’s marketing, I really like, I’d be like, Oh, that’s really cool. Let’s break down why that’s cool. So there’s certain features of AI that I really like. You know as someone who naturally also is someone who observes patterns easily and blind spots AI can elevate that or structure that. And similarly, when I’ve had a call with my clients, I absolutely love using AI to simplify the key points that were communicated on that call and what that person needs to do moving forward, because I know that creates a hell of a lot of ease in terms of digesting the larger themes that were discussed on a call. So there are many ways I do use AI, and I think I’ve actually dedicated a whole podcast episode to it, so I won’t go more into it, but here are the things. Let’s talk about it through the lens of personal brand. It’s good for structuring ideas. It’s good for clarifying positioning. You know, I have my own mini courses which use AI to support with these exercises. So and I’m always obsessed with the results, like it’s great for those initial foundations, it can be really good for refining copy, so I regularly use it to tidy up my newsletters, to make sure there is coherency and that I’m not like adhding all over the place, jumping off random tangents, and that there is a clear arc. I will say it probably helps that I am a copywriter, previous to using AI, so where I see it not tidying it up the way it needs to, I will keep on prompting it until it gets it where it needs to, and I obviously ensure that it doesn’t lose my voice in the process. It’s great for speeding up production, and it’s great for stress testing messaging. Like one thing it will do really well is it can do something totally get it wrong. 

But when I then say, Hey, we’ve just said we want to talk to expansive clients and talk about where they’re moving towards, not moving away from, but you’ve just done that, it will at least say, Ah, you’re right. I have done that, you know. So at least it’s honest when it messes up, but it won’t be the one to tell you first. So this is one of the challenges with AI is that. Mustn’t ever assume it’s better than you at marketing, because it really isn’t. And good marketers are the ones who are using AI best because we’re able to identify when it is going off piece and we’re able to call it out. The challenge, this is where the challenge comes in. With AI when you then say, Please flip this on its head and speak to the person who is ready to invest who doesn’t need persuading, you will see that’s when the word salad start to come out, because it doesn’t really know what to do with that. And this is the challenge with AI. It often softens edges. It leans into pain points. It over focuses on weaknesses. It makes you palatable. Let’s also call that vanilla. Let’s also call that, say me, and it suggests what has worked before. So if you are here to be an innovative personal brand, you will not find innovation within the realms of AI. If you want to be a brand that is creative, that people look to for change, you will not find that in AI, personal brands are built on standards, strong opinions, clear enemies and clear identity. Instead of trying to churn out seven posts a week or more, simply taking the time to share three balanced, measured posts about what you stand for as a personal brand and how that connects to your content will work a million times harder for you than having a huge amount of quantity. So yeah, I’m just going to stop looking at my little notes now, because there were a few points I wanted to make there, and like I say, not jumping all over the shop, but I feel like I’ve kind of shared them all. So my watch out is being a personal brand matters more than ever, and it is the foundation to making the right decision with what your freebie should be, what your tripwire should be, what your signature offer should be, what your premium offer can be. And I’m not saying that’s the order you should design them all in, but they’re separate episodes on that. But that is how you create a clear, coherent, simple, offer ecosystem.

27:06

But the person that people are buying into is always you. Your personal brand comes first, and then everything else follows. So you always need to start there. And please, for the love of God, do not become overly reliant on AI, because what’s interesting is, when AI first came about, it was like Jasper. Any of the early adopters like myself will remember Jasper. Back then, everyone using AI were the best marketers on the planet, and so AI started off really good. What we’re seeing at the moment is that AI output is actually worse from all the people contributing to it. Now who knows this? This is episodes recorded in February 2026 everything can and maybe almost definitely will change, but in this moment, AI is not your best friend, and taking the time to understand basic marketing concepts so how you show up to podcasts is elevated. So how you create your content is elevated. So how you create your offers is elevated and high performing. And so that you become that personal brand that’s in demand, that’s on stages, that’s on podcasts, that when you run ads, that ads succeed. It all starts with a personal brand, and that shit can’t be done in five minutes on AI. It takes time. And that is, that is what I support people with inside the accelerator. It will be enrolling again in May. And keep keep your eyes open, because there are some updates and some exciting changes. And the bonus that’s coming alongside the may launch is actually a week intensive around positioning, because I’m so excited about it. So there’ll be more on that coming soon. But in the meantime, I hope you found today’s episode helpful. If you have anything you want to contribute or share, please DM me. Always love to hear about it. And if you found today’s episode helpful, please do like please do review it. Please do share it with someone else you think could benefit from this too. Meantime, I’ll be in your ears next week with a guest episode.