#52 The Podcast Tools Every Creator Should Be Using Right Now - Michael Klassen

In this episode, Roy sits down with Sam Swirsky, known online as ”The Mayor of LinkedIn” and founder of Hilltop Media Partners. Sam shares the inside story of landing his role at Alex Hormozi’s Acquisition.com — including the twist that he originally posted the job for his own connections before applying and beating them all to it — and reflects on what it was genuinely like working alongside Alex day to day. They dig deep into practical LinkedIn strategy: why engagement matters more than the algorithm boost, why ”instruction-based” posts outperform opinion posts, the two ways content should ”hurt” to actually land, and a clever tip for making custom GIFs from your own video clips. The conversation shifts into podcast guesting — Sam’s own pivot into helping founders use guest appearances as source material for content — and from there into a genuinely revealing back-and-forth on why podcast download numbers lie, why the ”right” show for you might have 50 downloads and be perfect anyway, and why every platform you’re hosted on quietly under-reports its own numbers. Roy shares a real example of a guest-turned-business-partner going from 23,000 downloads in five years to 600,000 in three months once real strategy was applied. They close with concrete guidance on how a guest should actually position an offer on someone else’s show without it feeling like a sales pitch.

In this episode, Roy sits down with Tyler Henn, founder of Hennhouse Digital Growth Studio, a local SEO agency helping contractors and service businesses get found on Google Maps and now AI platforms. Tyler shares his journey from a UX design degree, to eight years at a car dealership, to a full-commission leap into roofing sales during a Georgia hailstorm, to finally building his own SEO agency from a single free website he offered a friend. They dig deep into how AI search actually works — why ChatGPT and Gemini essentially ”Google it for you” when they don’t already know an entity, why that makes online content about yourself something you have to actively build rather than wait for, and how easily that process can currently be manipulated. Tyler also breaks down his own podcast production workflow using Riverside and Metricool, his three-stage SEO funnel (using pizza as the running example), why he never lets clients respond to bad reviews, and the surprisingly common myth around using a home address for a Google Business Profile. A genuinely practical, wide-ranging conversation for anyone trying to be found online in 2026.

In this episode, Roy sits down with Richard Wilmore, award-winning talk show host, podcast producer, and the creative force behind Make Your Day Richer. Richard traces his 30-year journey from talking to imaginary guests in his childhood bedroom, to converting his basement into a full studio, to filming a live variety show in front of a comedy club audience with three cameras he had to edit solo. They dig into the real trade-offs between live and recorded interviews, Richard’s hybrid approach using tools like StreamYard and EvieMux to make virtual guests look like they’re sitting right next to him, and his surprisingly simple hack for a comfortable in-studio backdrop. The conversation turns candid on AI tools for podcasters (and why YouTube’s own auto-generated timestamps beat most AI transcription tools), the ongoing debate over charging guests to appear, and the growing problem of hosts and guests who no-show or ghost without so much as a thank-you. Richard also shares his honest take on chasing ”bigger” podcasts versus finding the right-fit audience, and the small production habits — clean backgrounds, no blurred-out heads, good audio — that separate a show people trust from one they don’t.

Benjamin Behrooz has built a family of branding agencies, Branding Los Angeles, Branding Aloha, Branding Texas, Branding Miami, and Branding New York, on one simple idea: nobody buys from a business they don’t trust, and nobody trusts a business they can’t find. In this episode Roy and Ben dig into the collision of branding, SEO, and AEO (answer engine optimization), and why construction companies, plumbers, electricians, and other blue collar trades are some of the best proof of concept for it. Ben explains why his agency now spans five markets across the US, why he believes skilled tradespeople are the next generation of millionaires as AI reshapes the job market, and how his team helps businesses become the answer AI actually recommends when someone searches for a licensed, bonded, weekend-available plumber. The conversation covers pricing models for marketing services, why ”own your website, own your phone number” matters more than ever, the red flag of a client who’s burned through four marketing companies in a year, and Ben’s blunt take on why letting a machine fly the plane without a human at the controls is a recipe for disaster.

Being a great podcast guest is a unique skill that can dramatically boost your career—or erode your professional image if done poorly. In the final part of our series, David Goldberg, founder of Edge Studio, shares a masterclass on how to be a standout guest. We explore the importance of prosody, vocal etiquette, and virtual presence, ensuring you show up prepared, confident, and memorable. David and Roy discuss practical tips for handling technical glitches with grace, the power of a 10-second elevator pitch, and why you should never ”wing it” when it comes to your audio quality. Whether you’re looking to share your passion or boost your resume, these final lessons will ensure you’re the guest every host wants to invite back.