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The Calum Johnson Show

The AI Influencer EXPLAINS How To Go From 0 to 100K Followers (With ChatGPT) | Mr.Grateful

Watch our episode with Nicky Saunders on how to build a successful online brand Timestamps

Dom AshburnguestCalum Johnsonhost

Jul 1, 20242h 2mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Staying Valuable in the Age of AI
Calum asks Dom about his bio's theme of staying valuable in the age of AI. Dom explains AGI versus ANI, the prediction that AGI could arrive by 2027, and why people should know their true nature rather than rely on career identity.
- •Dom distinguishes artificial narrow intelligence from artificial general intelligence
- •He cites papers predicting AGI could arrive around 2027
- •Many people identify with their careers, so losing them could shake identity
- •His meditations help people understand who they are and how they want to live
- •He says people should choose how they want to live because they will die and may be replaced
Optimism vs. Doom: Planting a Positive Vision of AI
Calum reads a doomsday quote from Mo Gawdat and asks why Dom is optimistic. Dom argues that media has planted only dystopian visions and that a positive picture of AI's future must be visualized too, then explains what superintelligence would mean.
- •Dom uses a theme park roller coaster analogy for AI
- •He believes people create what they imagine, so positive visions are needed
- •Films like The Terminator have planted destructive images of AI
- •He still acknowledges real dangers and who might control superintelligence
- •Superintelligence is described as intelligence beyond every human across all domains
Childhood Visions and Treating Life Like an Experiment
Dom recalls building a realistic settlement for a school project with his father and how adults' skepticism later set in. He shares his framework of having questions rather than goals, which detaches his identity from outcomes.
- •A second-grade project made with his father showed him he could think beyond the assignment
- •Adults get skeptical because real life costs money and time
- •He treats life like a science experiment: question, hypothesis, experiment, data, conclusion
- •Asking questions instead of setting goals detaches identity from outcomes
- •Calum notes that leading with curiosity paradoxically brings the outcome
Honoring His Father and Being Mid-Chapter
Calum asks why inspiring awe matters so much to Dom. Dom connects it to losing his father at 16 or 17 and admits the drive can become an addiction that complicates things. He says he is in the middle of a chapter of life and urges listeners to relax.
- •Dom lost his father at 16 or 17; his father was always creating
- •Inspiring others may be a way of letting his father live on through him
- •He sometimes overcomplicates things to chase that feeling of impact
- •He says the podcast catches him in the middle of a chapter
- •He tells listeners that a vision they hold is inevitable and to give themselves space and grace
Leaving Design School and Starting an Agency
Asked when the world's expectations arrived, Dom tells of being told to do something more possible and of his design school years. An 80-hour-week realization and a portfolio assignment led him to drop out, sell waffles, and start a production agency with his professor as first client.
- •A family member told him to do something "more possible" when he wanted to open a barber shop
- •Design school involved 80-hour weeks of work
- •He left after being told to base his portfolio on a company he'd want to work for
- •He sold waffles to fund a camera and editor, and his first client was his sustainability professor
- •He now shows people what he's built instead of telling them his visions
Why He Acted Now: No Future, No Guarantees of Safety
Calum asks why Dom reacted so strongly and what pushed him to risk it. Dom says the future doesn't exist, that people should accept where they are, decide what they want and act, and that he has always felt protected, so playing safe seemed riskier.
- •Only the present exists, so decisions begin now
- •Accept where you are, decide what you want, then move toward it
- •There are no guarantees of safety even on the conventional path
- •He felt protected by circumstances throughout his life
- •He says there is more risk in not taking the risk
Failing in Business and Turning the Camera on Himself
Dom explains that his design business was struggling and he was nearly ready to take a job. After agencies rejected him, he began making videos about AI, which took off and fulfilled all five intentions he had written down.
- •He struggled with selling and marketing his branding services
- •Income depended on inbound word-of-mouth clients, which was exhausting
- •He wrote five intentions and went job hunting at agencies without success
- •He started making videos about AI for creatives to prove his ideas
- •The videos blew up and he hit all five intentions without an agency job
The Agent GPT Challenge: 100K Followers in 22 Days
Dom describes the challenge of using AI to reach 100,000 followers in 30 days, how he daily fed ChatGPT his metrics, and how he hit the goal on day 22. He also recounts his earlier content failures and tells struggling creators to just make the next video.
- •He told ChatGPT his brand and asked for a content idea daily
- •He posted the AI's suggestions and fed back metrics each day
- •He found his own ideas often better than the AI's and used it to check alignment
- •He reached 100K on day 22 and thousands of people tried the challenge themselves
- •Earlier attempts like hypebeast content and carousels failed
Step One: Remove Yourself and Build a Brand-Aware Custom GPT
Dom answers Calum's question about how to get 100K followers in 30 days with AI. The first step is to make content about helping others, not yourself. He then explains that AI is a word predictor and walks through building a custom GPT loaded with brand information.
- •Content succeeds when it is about helping others, not about you
- •You already have the experience and stories others will find valuable
- •He used only an iPhone 13, basic lights and a poor microphone
- •Generic prompts get generic answers from a language model
- •Have ChatGPT interview you, export the answers as a PDF, and upload it to a custom GPT
Treating AI as a Conversation and a Live Prompting Demo
Calum contrasts treating AI like Google with Dom's conversational approach. Dom describes AI as a friend who needs context and demonstrates live how to break down a goal of 10,000 Instagram followers in 10 days into steps.
- •Most people treat AI like Google; Dom treats it like a friend he's never met
- •Good data in, good data out
- •Start by stating your goal and asking what steps are needed
- •Ask the AI what information it needs from you
- •He describes a circular, flywheel-like back-and-forth with AI
Full Video Workflow and AI Memory Features
Dom lays out his workflow from brand info to hooks, scripts, recording, editing, and analyzing insights. He then explains ChatGPT's custom instructions, memory, and custom GPTs, including the ones he uses across his business.
- •Virality doesn't equal followers; to be followed, lead
- •Choose a format and platform for your goal, then have the GPT give content ideas and four hooks
- •Record the script aloud, refine it to your tone, and edit in CapCut
- •Midjourney and Runway can generate custom imagery
- •Screenshot insights and give them to ChatGPT for analysis
- •Custom instructions, memory, and custom GPTs give ChatGPT lasting context, and he has one per business department
Knowing It's Working: Process Over Outcome
Calum asks how to tell if the approach is working. Dom says to commit to the experiment and ask the AI for analysis, shares how the AI comforted him when he was worried and when he was spammed with fake followers, and argues the process matters more than goals.
- •Commit to the timeline of your experiment and improvement follows naturally
- •He framed the challenge as a question, not a claim
- •When he feared losing engagement, the AI advised him to be authentic
- •After fake followers were bought for him, the AI's advice led to a large newsletter
- •Goals can distract from the process; ask bigger questions instead
Monetizing: Get a Button and Offer Multiple Price Points
Calum asks how Dom turned followers into income without hurting the brand. Dom says everyone needs a button to click, describes offers at multiple price points, and tells the story of dropping a million-dollar-in-100-days challenge that was pushing his brand toward finance.
- •Without a button on the internet there is no path to financial freedom
- •He offers solutions from free content to collaboration at different price points
- •Multiple tiers create inclusivity so no one is excluded
- •He abandoned a million-dollar challenge because it didn't fit who he is
- •He was transparent with his audience and refocused on teaching
Easiest Ways to Make Money Online and Where to Find Dom
Dom recommends starting with paid meetings, a collaborate button for brand deals, and selling custom GPTs, all with little or no overhead. The episode closes with thanks and Dom describing his new content direction on Instagram.
- •Paid one-on-one meetings need only yourself and a camera
- •A collaborate button lets brands reach you, and Dom suggests capping deals per month and being transparent
- •Custom GPTs trained on your knowledge can be sold at no cost to make
- •Calum says the skill of using AI is itself in demand
- •Dom shares plans for hands-on conversations with his community and the Grateful Future page

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