Hope you're all doing well. Been a bit oversocialized here in Chiang Mai lately, compared to my usual self. But thankfully I managed to work on the super-important stuff… like rebuilding my website .

I’ve been thinking a lot about the balance between building projects (that bring you kudos / internet fame) vs. building a personal brand. So a lot of this week’s reads explores the project angle. Hope you find it as interesting as I did.

/ Ben

Build projects, not just a personal brand?

This essay argues that instead of focusing entirely on building your personal brand, you can let projects drive your brand. In a way, it makes sense - people care more about what specific THINGS you created, than about you. The downside? Trying to promote too many projects at once. Ending up with portfolios of fluff?

Not including this one to mess with y’all, since I’ve been posting a lot about personal brand here. But I think this is an interesting perspective to consider.

Don’t Build Businesses, Build Projects, by Lifestyle Business School (5 minutes)

Using side projects to drive traffic back to your core offer

Not to fuel anyone’s shiny object syndrome, but this article shows how some side projects can serve as lead-ins to your main business. Good examples here if you’ve ever wondered how to make different efforts connect back to something you actually sell.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Website, by Grow and Convert (7 minutes)

Experimenting with AI to create video ads (non-ecom edition)

Just me tinkering: trying to use AI to build video ads for non-physical products. The process is getting more doable - generate stills, animate, add voiceover - but creative scripting still feels like the hardest part.

Note: AI Video Ads Test, by Benjamin Boman (2 minutes)

A realistic framework for systemising your business

Dan Martell gets a lot of smoke, but I think his framework for operationalising a business is one of the clearest and most actionable out there. This video lays it out simply.

Dan Martell’s 5-Step System to Escape the Day-to-Day (10 minutes)

Why Facebook ad accounts get banned (and how to fix it)

This one’s mine. Ad account bans are one of the most frustrating things in paid ads. I found a way to get internal insights directly from Meta support on what’s actually causing these bans — may be worth bookmarking for future reference.

Why Facebook Ad Accounts Get Banned, by Benjamin Boman (5 minutes)

How to structure stories for vlogs and short-form content

Isabella breaks down a simple storytelling structure for vlogging that applies surprisingly well to short-form content and even AI-generated video. I’ve used a similar approach myself. Easy to follow and apply.

Vlog Story Structure, by Isabella (3 minutes)

A tool for UGC-style ads (without hiring creators)

My mate Edrick built this tool for brands who want user-generated content-style ads but don’t want to deal with creators directly. Could be interesting if you’re selling physical products and want to scale UGC.

Hyper UGC

P.S. “You just need to post daily for 3 years and maybe you’ll go viral.” - Yeah, come on. Join the dark side. Let’s do some Meta ads.

🍯 Smarter audience leverage, AI-proofing, and content format wins

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