Ash Rathod

You already know storytelling is essential for your business and brand. But storytelling is much more than the words on your website, content and other communications. The right narrative can inform your short and long term strategy, help align your team, outmanoeuvre the competition and build a tribe of ambassadors.It can help you attract and retain the right customers who are willing to pay you more for a longer period of time and tell others to do the same.It's about high level performance. ie. increasing profits for the business and providing unique value to the people you serve.I specialise in guiding businesses do exactly this. My philosophy centres on a "Story-First Approach," a method that has proven to be the missing link for many who struggle with brand identity and growth.The challenge most people face when building a brand is twofold: either they're paralysed by indecision, never taking the first step, or they jump in headfirst, producing content without a coherent strategy. Both paths lead to a stagnant or unclear identity. The root cause? A lack of strategic direction.  I can help with that.---I studied media and communications specialising in script-writing, where my love for storytelling started. I worked in TV media alongside the London arm of global ad agencies such as StarCom, OMD, PHD Media and many smaller DRTV agencies. My portfolio stretched across global FMCG, (P&amp;G and Unilever) and automotive (Ford and Toyota) brands before moving to Turner Broadcasting (now Warner Bros. Discovery) to work on kids brands (such as Mattel and Hasbro). As the online world began to grow, I moved into Digital Marketing where I helped scale the Manchester office of a Bournemouth based media agency, going from media owner to client side, which consisted of a team of 20+ designers, marketers, copywriters and BDMs.Then after a short sales role at BT, I decided to start my own creative agency, to help start-ups to SMEs with with their communications online.This was almost 16 years ago. I'm proud to say I still run and I own that brand consultancy and design studio in the UK which has focused on serving start-ups to corporations over those years. Right now my focus covers:L&amp;D Training (1:1 &amp; Corporate teams)Speaking at eventsBrand Strategy workshops for start-ups and SMEs.None of these are an overnight fix.But if you are serious about shaping and growing your brand, I can help you do this faster than most.NB. My profile picture has been touched up with AI to change the colour of my shirt and  background

Brand Story Strategist | Managing Director

A brand strategy + design collective specializing in creating compelling content for digital communications. We work with forward-thinking founders, c-suite stakeholders, and marketing teams who passionately strive to lead the change in making the world of work a better place for all.

Our capabilities include:

Brand Strategy

  - Storytelling for brands 
  - Storytelling for leaders

Activation

  - Content Production
  - Media Planning

Ryan R. Sullivan

Podcast Strategy for Finance, Law & Coaching 🎙️ The Podcast Pipeline | DJ → Rapper → Marketer

You’re an advisor, not a full-time marketer.

Referrals are great…but they’re inconsistent. 

In the meantime, a financial "coach" on TikTok is getting millions of views pushing dangerous advice. 

But you don't have a content problem. 

You have a system problem:

→ Random posts
→ The occasional YouTube video
→ Compliance saying "we'll get back to you."

Let's change that. 

We'll build a repeatable, compliance-friendly, team-run content system with a simple cadence:

One 90-minute recording session per month → 3–4 segments + 15–30 clips

Then we turn that into a weekly rhythm across LinkedIn, email, YouTube, and your podcast.

We helped a client generate 150+ life insurance clients with one podcast.
Built 100+ podcast strategies for finance, CPA's, banks, and law firms. 

If you want a credible, relationship-driven growth system your team can sustain:

📅 Book a Discovery call: https://calendly.com/podcastprinciples/discover

I'll see you there! 

-Ryan R. Sullivan

Founder

We help people launch top-1% podcasts with 0 paid promotion using a proven launch strategy tailored specifically to turn audience members into podcast fans.

Here are what some of our podcasters are saying: 

Mikhail Myzgin, VP of Marketing at Slice 

"Ryan is an excellent resource for anything about podcasting. His advice was spot-on, and his expertise helped us solve a problem we didn't know how to go about."

Calum Johnson, Marketing Manager at Public

"I reached out to Ryan because I wanted to start my own podcast & get some pointers from someone who had experience & expertise launching podcasts. The consultation call with Ryan was 100% worth it, Ryan has started a lot of podcasts & gave me great advice that would be difficult to find anywhere else."

Malik Handoush, Strategic Business Develop Coach

"As someone searching for guidance & direction on beginning a podcast, I decided to reach out to Podcast Principles for a consultation. Ryan surpasses any expectations you may have as he brilliantly identifies and assesses where you are and what you're trying to accomplish. His true superpower is in his listening skills where he will help you simplify and reach a point of clarity."

Ready to humanize your business or brand? 30 mins of free advice is cool too :) 

Let's talk - https://calendly.com/podcastprinciples/discover

We got 12 inches of snow, then lost power and internet. 
My hot girlfriend, now freezing, turns to me.
And says,

"At least we can do our self-care." 

So apparently, these golden eye things are helping?

Thank god the power came back on. I was dreading what day 3 of no-power-self-care was going to look like. 

Back to work! 

PS: Did you get any snow?

Podcast-Style Content for Advisors & RIAs | 15m views, 500k+ Downloads and 1000+ Inbound Leads for Clients | Referrals are not a strategy. Stop waiting and start attracting.

My financial advisor said,
"Starbucks is keeping you poor."
So he made me switch to black coffee.

It's disgusting, sure.

But hey, at least now I can take that $2239 a year I saved and invest that into my Roth IRA. 

By the time I'm 65, that $2239 per year will get me at least another $357,569 to offset the cost of assisted living when I'm 75! 

He said it's all about optimizing for when you're really old and can't enjoy life. 

#financialadvising  

PS: Dave Ramsey is my financial advisor.

Bill Fanter brought us in to create videos.

12 months later: 

• 300,000+ views
• 5,000 subscribers
• 100 short-form videos

These are great metrics, but they don't tell the full story. 

Bill was already making videos, and that's the problem. 

Instead of sitting down to record a podcast or turning his phone camera on, we do one 90-minute recording per month.

No more editing.  
No more fancy cameras.
No more marketers or salespeople. 

Bill is one of the most successful options traders. He left a 25+ year career in banking to trade. Turning him into a "creator" is not the best use of his time when he runs a master class of 200 students. 

He's extremely candid about his wins and losses. 

And teaches his community how to do the same. 

He shouldn't be a video editor, and neither should you. 

#podcasting 

PS: Will you record video content this year?

We helped a life insurance agent lower CAC from $1500 to $67.77 with 1 podcast over 4 years. They added 150 clients with a 2400% ROI.

Managing people's wealth? That's not easy.

But advisors think they know what their marketing needs.

There's 1 thing it 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 needs.

Strategy.

You can get 500k impressions, but if you don't have a strategy, you will have no idea how to turn any of them into AUM, plans, or insurance. 

And if you can't repeat your results.

What's the point?

#advisors  

PS: Do you know your customer acquisition cost?

Podcast-Style Content for Advisors & RIAs | 15m views, 500k+ Downloads and 1000+ Inbound Leads for Clients | One 90-minute Recording Per Month

Yesterday I went back to high school to teach kids about careers in media. It made me more emotional than I expected. 

I haven't spent a lot of time processing how I got here. I've been running so fast that I haven't reflected for myself: 

"How did I get here?"
"Did I think I was going into media?"
"What job did I think I would have in 2026?"

I remember thinking about the 2020's in 2016. 

How one day I would be 25 years old.

What would I be doing? 

Yesterday I went back home. Got to spend an hour with incredible students who are already creating content for themselves and their fellow classmates.  I saw my old teachers, stopped at my old job to see my boss and back home at my dads house to sit on the porch. 

Back by 3 PM, then off to a networking event at 6. I almost couldn't go because I was reflecting so much. 

It's weird because I know how I got here. 

But I don't know every reason 𝘸𝘩𝘺 I got here.

There can't be just one. 

My grandfather prayed for me every single day. My other grandfather made sure I was making money no matter what. My dad instilled a work ethic that can't be trained. 

It's working. We have clients. I work with my best friend. I live with the love of my life. We dreamed for years of even getting to this point. And man, does it feel good to be doing this. 

This life is crazy. And as my girlfriend often says, 

"Just stop, take it in, and look what you've built."

Thanks for reading, but this post was for me. 

I'm starting to think a lot of them are. 

#appreciation  

PS: What makes you stop and look back? Spending an hour with students did it for me.

Advisors claim to work extremely hard to get their clients the best results, but struggle to write even one post about it. And that's sad. That's what I'm calling out. 

This post took me less than 10 minutes to write, featuring my future wife.

I get the fear of posting. I've heard the horror stories about compliance. A $20,000 fine for commenting on a post? Yeah, that's real. But people die in car accidents every single day, and we still take our kids to school. The exception is not the rule. I'm here to find the way to make it work, no matter what. I don't care if it's scary, I'll be right there in the trenches with you. I took compliance as a second language in high school.

 I will never bash good advisors, but you better damn well know I will call out the ones who complain but don't take action. I'm a mechanic-turned-podcaster-turned-marketer for advisors. If the guy who used to change your tires can do it, so can you. 

PS: Is creating content really that hard, or are we just getting in our own way?

✅ 150 clients from one podcast.
✅ $1m in revenue with one podcast.
Trust me, you don't need more leads.

You need a better way to educate the right people.

70% of your prospects already listen to podcasts.

They're just not listening to yours. 

#yet 

How we design a podcast for an advisor ⤵

1) First, define what you want the podcast to do for you.
2) Next, define what you want it to do for the listener. 
3) Third, define the listener.
4) Fourth, choose the format. 
5) Last, develop the strategy. 

PS: What would stop you from launching a podcast?

"Why would I hire a rapper to market my business?"

🎤👇

1️⃣ Rhythm & Flow

A rapper knows timing, delivery, and consistency. Marketing isn’t just about throwing a message out there. It’s about crafting your story, keeping the beat, and hitting your audience at the right moments. A rapper creates punchlines. A marketer creates "material."

2️⃣ Engagement = Performance

A rapper is an MC, a marketer is a host. 300 live events taught me the difference. Your audience isn’t a passive listener — they’re the crowd, the fanbase, the people who amplify your message. A rapper knows how to perform and get a crowd to react. In marketing, that’s how you turn followers into customers.

3️⃣ Creative, Out-of-the-Box Thinking

Your marketer has worked with 6 companies...
We've worked with some of the biggest artists and entrepreneurs in the world and another 100+ companies on top of that. Who would you rather hire?

It's not about getting the lead, it's about turning attention → intention. We see what you do not as you see it, but as the world sees it. We play both sides.

👇

If you'd like your marketing to check a box, that's cool, we're not for you. 

We’re busy bringing creativity back. That raw, OG stylistic rap vibe. 

The kind that just hits different.

Coaches don't solve your problems. 

They help YOU solve your problems. 

Because the problem is a result of you.

I spent $22,400 on coaching. 

Our net profit is up.
We added 12 new clients. 
My mission and vision are clear.

Not as a result of the coaching. 

As a result of being coached. 

You don't hire coaches to get fixed. 

You hire them to get self-aware. 

🙌

PS: How much should you pay for coaching?

Some say Patrick Bet-David is a grifter and a scam artist.
Others say he's an honest-to-goodness businessman.
The truth?

He’s a genius at using the power of media. 

But is he wielding that power for good or evil? 

In this week's episode, I uncover if PBD's podcast is a valuable resource or a front for a life insurance empire. 

PBD isn’t chasing ad dollars. He’s building an engine for Bet-David Consulting, which funnels into PHP Agency, a life insurance empire he scaled to 45,000+ agents and sold to Integrity Marketing Group.

If it's so successful, why do people call it a scam? 

An MLM. 

A "grift."

I'm breaking it all down in this week's video. 

Watch Here → https://lnkd.in/etGtG2iy

PS: Have you heard of PBD? Scam or legit?

When I was 14, my grandpa asked me a question that would change my entire life. 

"Are you making money?"

Luckily, I was. 

Just got my first job at a gas station. 

My dad was happy I was working.
My mom was scared of the customers. 
My soccer coach got real, "I'll let you do both for now..."

My grandpa, Jim, learned the stock market in his 70's. He was tired of replacing tile floors for landlords on the weekend, so he became one.  

Financial advisors, like many of us, don't understand that the impact of the work isn't reflected in the numbers. 

Knowing I would get that question every time I saw grandpa Jim forced me to want to make money. He became my advisor by asking one question every time I saw him. 

That question was more impactful than any other money lesson until I read Rich Dad Poor Dad when I was 19. 

But that's a story for another day. 

#advisors

PS: Who impacted your money habits as a kid?

Bad DMs are spam. Accurate DMs are solutions.
These 3 DMs book calls for financial advisors: 

If your client is a business owner or a salesperson making $250k/year, do you think they have time to reach out to you? 
 
No.
 
They need help, they're just too busy to ask.

Here are a few that open the door:

DM 1 - Curious

“Hey, I saw your post about X. Curious — are you thinking about [problem] this year?”
 
DM 2  - Helpful

“Hey if it’s helpful, I can send you a quick checklist we use with clients around [topic].”
 
DM 3 - Direct

“Hey, I noticed you're a business owner. Do you hate your tax bill?”
 
That's it! 

No sales pitch. No paragraphs. No pushiness.
 
Just the start of a conversation. 

#sales

PS: Are all DMs spam or just the bad ones?

There are 2 types of founders.
Which one are you? 

🗣️ The Top-of-the-Funnel Founder 

These founders love to advertise. 

They can rake in thousands of likes and comments but struggle to move prospects through the funnel. They often hit a wall when trying to connect marketing with sales.

💰 The Bottom-of-the-Funnel Founder

These founders love closing deals. 

They’re great at converting leads but struggle with attracting the right prospects in the first place. They often miss the mark in reaching people who will eventually face the problem they solve.

👇

Here’s the deal:

Do founders really fall into just 2 categories? 

Of course not.

The goal of this exercise is to help you think in binary terms. This makes it easier to say, "yeah, I might need help with [x] piece of my funnel." We can't fix your marketing if we can't fix you. 

Self-awareness > tips and tricks 

#MarketingStrategy 

PS: Which type of founder are you? Sales, or marketing?

“So, you teach Financial Advisors how to podcast?”

---

No, you learn that on your own.

“Okay… so you teach them how to market?”

That’s part of it.

“So you create a content strategy?”

That comes first.

“And train their advisors to implement it?”

Exactly.

“And the podcast falls under that?”

Bingo. It's the engine that creates 80% of the content.

“So... does it take more time?”

90 minutes per month, often less. 

“Wait, so are you a podcasting company?”

We’re the only company that produces your podcast 𝘢𝘯𝘥 shows you how to add clients using it. 

"How does it work?" 

2 Podcast Episodes Per Month
5 Social Media Posts Per Week
2 Podcast Clips Per Day

"That's it?"

That's it! 

"How do I get started?" 

Right here 👉 podcastprinciples.com 

#podcasting  

PS: Our website is brand new! Do you like the redesign 👀

Open article: Podcast Principles by podcastprinciples.com

Not being boring doesn't mean putting on a show; it means talking about things you love. If you're a financial advisor, try cracking a joke, making fun of yourself, reacting to a Dave Ramsey video, or nerding out over your South African wine collection.

Some of our clients talk about the market. 

Some talk about their shoe collection. 

And they all get clients. 

They put themselves out there and don't care what you think, which makes you care what 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 think. 

So if you can start leaning into your own interests and turn that into content, you can be extremely successful in gathering new clients. 

PS: Our client and friend Mando Sallavanti III, CFP® literally posts pictures of his Nike collection, and he's crushing it.

Facebook sees the world through politics. 
Instagram sees the world through vanity. 
LinkedIn sees the world through work.
YouTube sees the world through education.
Netflix sees the world through entertainment.
TikTik sees the world through attention. 

The platform 𝘪𝘴 the strategy. 

Adjust accordingly.

Financial advisors are making LinkedIn way harder than it has to be, and that’s why other people are taking your clients faster than you can say, "401k."

https://lnkd.in/eNQSeK5X

Not because they’re smarter.
Not because they’re “better at content.”

Because they have a system.

Most advisors are doing random acts of content:

* a post for other advisors (the client repellent)
* a market update (prospects don't care)
* a broker-dealer graphic that puts us to sleep 😴

Then they wonder why nothing converts.

In this episode, I break down the 6-step system I’d use if I wanted to get clients (and yeah, it works for CPAs + law too).

Here’s what you’ll get:

✅ The first change I’d make to your targeting 
✅ How to turn your profile into a “pre-sell” page
✅ The minimum weekly posting cadence
✅ What to do daily so you’re not relying on hope
✅ The exact path from DM → call → client 

9 minutes to add as many clients as you want.

Watch here: https://lnkd.in/eNQSeK5X

Or don't and keep "networking."

#financialadvisors 

PS: If you’re still waiting for people to DM you first… you’ll either love or hate this episode.

Open video: LinkedIn for Advisors: How We Turn Posts Into Clients (Simple + Easy) on youtu.be

LinkedIn for Advisors: How We Turn Posts Into Clients (Simple + Easy)

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The Battle

Ash Rathod

Ryan R. Sullivan

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The Battle

Ash Rathod

Ryan R. Sullivan

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ryan R. Sullivan's LinkedIn Performance

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