How I Strengthened a Video Using High Authority Clips

Grant Haugen Grant Haugen on December 13, 2025

When I opened Dennis Yu’s speaker reel, my first reaction was straightforward: this was already a strong video. The pacing worked, the arc was clear, and the production quality felt polished. It didn’t need a rebuild.

What it did need was a small credibility lift — a few proof-driven moments that made Dennis’s authority clearer. Instead of rebuilding anything, I focused on replacing weaker visuals with real high authority clips that supported the message already in place.

What I Noticed While Watching

A strong reel doesn’t need major changes, however it could use clearer evidence. As I watched, I looked for places where real proof could replace weaker visuals so the expertise in the reel becomes more visible.

The Editing Approach I Used

I wasn’t trying to cram in impressive footage wherever it could fit. The goal was to keep the message clear and only place authority-building clips where they naturally supported what was already happening on screen. These were light, context-matching inserts meant to strengthen the reel without changing its voice.

Doing this meant going back into Descript and editing the reel directly, in this case the video required small, context-matching authority inserts rather than big structural edits.

So I followed two simple placement rules:

Fill Low‑Variety Sections With Real Proof

Where the visuals stayed the same for too long, I added short clips that brought both energy and credibility. That way, the reel stays engaging and the viewer keeps seeing Dennis in real authority contexts.

Replace Stock Moments When It Clearly Raised Authority

Where stock visuals were doing the job of “filler,” I replaced select moments with real footage that carried more credibility.

The High‑Authority Clips I Added

These are the four clips I added to raise authority density and break up flatter stretches:

  1. On Stage With a Large Audience
  • What the Clip Shows: Dennis on a big stage with a full room locked in on him.
  • Why It Adds Authority: Large‑stage, large‑audience context is instant third‑party validation — he’s trusted to teach at scale.

2. Live Teaching Moment (Small Group)

  • What the Clip Shows: A quick shot of Dennis mid‑talk, interacting with people in a real, in‑person setting.
  • Why It Adds Authority: Real‑world teaching beats generic visuals; it signals active demand for his expertise.

3. With High Rise Influence x Local Service Spotlight Founders/Students

  • What the Clip Shows: Dennis in Vegas with the High Rise Influence and Local Service Spotlight founders/students he mentors.
  • Why It Adds Authority: “Students as receipts” credibility — his authority is reflected in the people he’s building and the results they’re producing.

4. Professional In‑Role Shot

  • What the Clip Shows: Clean, professional footage of Dennis in a work setting, presented as a serious operator.
  • Why It Adds Authority: A polished, in‑role visual reinforces credibility and replaces low‑proof filler with real presence.

Why These Small Inserts Matter

Edits like these are small individually, but they raise the authority signal of the entire asset. These edits don’t change the story — they reinforce it with clearer visual proof. When the strongest moments are easier to see, every future reuse of the asset performs better.

The original reel already communicated Dennis’s message well. My edits didn’t change the story — they strengthened the evidence behind it.

By adding real‑world authority footage in the right places, the reel gains:

  • Higher credibility density (more proof/authority)
  • Better pacing (fewer flat stretches)
  • Less “generic” feel where stock visuals used to carry the load

The structure stays the same; the evidence on screen is stronger.

How This Supports the Personal Brand Manager

The Personal Brand Manager is a document that outlines Dennis’s background, mission, media presence, and credibility — a snapshot of who he is and why people trust him.

Speaker reel’s supports the same goals — but in a fast, visual format that quickly shows key authority moments, by delivering experience and credibility in motion.

And by adding in high authority clips, the reel reflects the same kinds of moments shown in the Personal Brand Manager — live events, mentorship, and in-role teaching. It’s one of the assets that can be used across our system: in media kits, outreach, or figurehead pages.

What This Demonstrates

Small, precise upgrades like these make an already strong reel feel more grounded and more representative of Dennis’s real‑world authority. The structure stays the same, but the presence feels sharper and more credible.

It’s a small edit, but it makes the final piece line up more clearly with how Dennis actually works and shows up in real life.

Inside High Rise Academy: What You Can See in the Students

Dylan Haugen Dylan Haugen on December 4, 2025

High Rise Academy exists because there’s a lot of noise in the AI and marketing space, and it’s hard to tell what training actually holds up in the real world. In this High Rise Influence YouTube video, Dennis Yu gave a simple filter for sorting that out. As he put it, “Don’t judge a program by the person selling it. Judge it by the students it produces.”

After Dennis lays out that idea, the video shifts to student builders and lets you hear directly from us about what we’re working on and how we’re applying the training with local service businesses.

The Principle Dennis Shared

Dennis’ point is blunt: it’s easy to make a program look good on the surface. The harder test is what students can actually produce once they’re inside it — their work, their thinking, and how that work holds up when applied to real clients.

That’s why the video centers on the people inside the program. You get to see how students talk about their work, what they’re building, and the kinds of problems they’ve learned to solve for clients.

What High Rise Academy Trains

High Rise Academy is an apprenticeship for young adults who want to build a concrete skill set in AI‑assisted marketing. The training is tied to local service businesses because the work is practical and the feedback is immediate.

Students practice:

  • Building and improving personal brand sites and business sites
  • Using AI tools to speed up research, content production, and operational tasks
  • Running and refining ads using proven systems like Dollar a Day, while tracking performance
  • Managing deliverables, communication, and client relationships

The idea is to learn repeatable systems and apply them on live accounts, so students leave with work they can stand behind.

Student Examples From the Videos

Dylan Haugen (Me)

I came into the program as a content creator and professional dunker. I knew how to grow an audience, but most of that lived on platforms I didn’t control. The shift for me was learning how to turn content skill into owned assets and clear client value.

What that looked like:

  • Building a personal brand website I control
  • Strengthening search presence, including my Knowledge Panel
  • Learning to package content and relationships into services for local businesses
  • Delivering real marketing outputs alongside the team

Jack Wendt

Jack’s story shows what happens when someone combines big‑picture vision with consistent execution. He’s been able to travel and still build because he runs work like a professional: projects stay on track, communication stays clear, and relationships keep compounding.

What stands out in his path:

  • He builds partnerships and opportunities through strong relationships
  • He keeps a steady operating rhythm even while moving across time zones
  • He treats marketing like a long game, not a short sprint

Luke Crowson

Luke started in fitness coaching, and Dennis noticed something that carries over into marketing: he cares about outcomes and sticks with a process. Inside the program, Luke applies that mindset to client work that’s built on steady improvement.

His focus areas include:

  • Campaign structure and ongoing tuning
  • Landing page and site improvements
  • Lead quality and follow‑up alignment with owners

The takeaway here is straightforward: consistent, client‑first execution plus good process is what drives dependable results.

Sam McLeod

Sam is still in school and leans heavily into engineering. His role is building tools and workflows that remove repetitive work for students and standardize delivery for clients.

Where that shows up:

  • Automating tedious steps so students focus on high‑value tasks
  • Turning proven processes into repeatable workflows
  • Supporting scale without lowering quality

One Shared Thread

Different backgrounds, same direction: we’re learning practical systems and applying them to real businesses. And the four of us you saw in the video are also building this alongside Dennis. We are founders of High Rise Influence and Local Service Spotlight, so we’re learning how to create an agency, start a business, and pressure‑test what we learn by using it every week.

Advice We Shared at the End

We wrapped the video with short advice for anyone considering this path:

  • Use AI like a teammate. It helps you draft, research, and troubleshoot faster, but you still steer the work.
  • Mindset drives follow‑through. Skill only compounds if you stay in the game long enough to apply it.
  • Aim for steady improvement. Getting a little better daily beats waiting for a perfect moment.
  • Learn by doing. You grow fastest when you ship work, get feedback, and refine.

Takeaway

Dennis’ filter is simple: student work tells you more than marketing ever will. The video applies that idea by showing what students are building and how they think about the work.

If you’re evaluating any program in AI or marketing, whether it be the High Rise Academy or something else, look for a trail of real output: projects you can inspect, processes students can explain, and progress that shows up across more than one person. That’s the safest way to decide what’s worth your time.

What You’re Actually Paying For in High Rise Academy

Dylan Haugen Dylan Haugen on December 1, 2025

Why pay for a program when you can get AI training for free on YouTube?

Because you want your young adult to be mentored by the best, be in a structured program with accountability, and because you want to shorten the duration to achieve competency.

Information is free now. The basics are easy to find.

What’s not free is turning that information into real business growth — fast.

In High Rise Academy, you’re paying for two things:

  1. Results for a local service business.
  2. Access to the people and process that create those results.
  3. AI Infrastructure that multiplies output and efficiency.

The Goal

This program is for local service businesses and the young adults working inside them.

The goal is simple: grow the business with marketing that brings in leads, calls, and booked jobs.

What You’re Paying For #1: Results

We measure progress weekly so the work stays tied to outcomes.

MAA every week:

  • Metrics: what changed in leads, calls, jobs, revenue, and content output
  • Analysis: why it changed
  • Action: what we’re fixing or testing next

Your young adult runs real marketing, reports what happened, and improves it week by week until the numbers move.

The loop is always: execute → measure → coach → improve → execute again.

What You’re Paying For #2: Access

Inside the Academy, access means:

  • Experienced coaches. Dennis Yu and the team review your young adult’s real marketing work and show them how to make it stronger.
  • A clear path. They know what to focus on first, what to ignore, and what “good” looks like.
  • Fast feedback. Instead of guessing, they get answers and direction while they work.
  • A room of builders. Other apprentices are doing the same kind of work, so your young adult learns faster and stays motivated.
  • Masterminds with other AI Apprentices. They trade what’s working, break down problems, and push each other to deliver better results.

Dennis has 30+ years of experience and has worked with brands like Nike, Starbucks, Rosetta Stone, the Golden State Warriors, and more. That level of coaching helps your young adult avoid expensive wrong turns and reach competency faster.

What You’re Paying For #3: AI Infrastructure

A major part of the program cost is the AI infrastructure we provide.

Each AI Apprentice receives access to a full year of our shared ChatGPT Business account, including pooled credits and the custom GPTs and agents we’ve built for real marketing work.

This matters because:

  • Apprentices don’t start from scratch. They use proven custom GPTs for planning, writing, auditing, and reporting.
  • Output is faster and more consistent. Shared business-level access removes usage limits and friction.
  • Work is easier to review and improve. Everything lives inside one workspace that coaches can see and guide.
  • The cost is covered by the program. Apprentices don’t have to manage subscriptions, credits, or setup.

This AI setup directly increases how much quality work apprentices can produce each week.

The specific AI tools included may evolve over time. We currently use ChatGPT Business because it’s the best option for our workflow today. As models, platforms, and pricing change, we reserve the ability to upgrade, replace, or remove specific tools so apprentices always have access to the most effective AI systems available.

How the Apprentice Program Works

Your young adult builds skill by working inside a live local service business (often yours).

What they do inside the program:

  • Create and publish content using the proven Content Factory workflow.
  • Run simple local campaigns to turn that content into leads.
  • Improve offers and follow‑up so inquiries turn into booked jobs.
  • Apply coach feedback to the next round of work.

They’re getting real reps on a real business, with real coaching. That’s how they build skill that shows up as results.

Quick Recap

  • Training is free because information is free.
  • You’re paying for three things: results, access, and AI infrastructure.
  • Together, that helps your business get more leads, calls, and booked jobs.

That’s High Rise Academy.

Behind the Scenes at Local Service Spotlight and High Rise Influence: What We Do and Why It Works

Grant Haugen Grant Haugen on November 22, 2025

“What do we actually do here?” is a fair question—especially when you hear us talk about helping local service businesses build their brands. This video was a quick, honest rundown from the Local Service Spotlight (LSS) and High Rise Influence (HRI) team about what that help looks like in real life and who is doing what.

LSS and HRI work together as partners. Our job is to take the everyday work local pros are already doing—jobs completed, customer stories, before‑and‑after wins, and five‑star reviews—and turn that into consistent online visibility and campaigns that bring in more calls.

The Problem We’re Solving for Local Service Businesses

Plumbers, HVAC techs, roofers, and other local service owners don’t usually have time to be full‑time marketers. They’re running routes, answering phones, managing crews, and taking care of customers. That means their online presence often lags behind the quality of their work.

Our teams step in so the business owner doesn’t have to learn five tools, edit videos at midnight, or guess at ads. We build the systems, the content, and the campaigns around their real‑world service so they show up where customers are searching and scrolling.

What Each Role Contributes:

Sam: Engineering, AI Tools, and Automation

Sam McLeod’s focus is speed and leverage. He builds websites and automations, using AI tools and code so repetitive tasks take less time. When content can be repurposed quickly and websites update smoothly, clients get faster turnaround and faster results.

This fits the Content Factory approach BlitzMetrics teaches: create once and repurpose into multiple assets without adding extra workload.

Luke: Facebook Ads, Creative, and Client Care

Luke Crowson handles the marketing side that clients actually see. He creates the ad creatives that go into Facebook campaigns, helps manage spend, and keeps improving the client’s website and online presence.

He also emphasized something most agencies ignore: client care. Meeting with clients, making them feel heard, and staying close to their goals is part of performance. The ads and the website are supposed to make a homeowner feel, “Okay, these people will take care of me.”

When we do this right, we’re applying the same Goals‑Content‑Targeting (GCT) foundation BlitzMetrics lays out—get clear on the goal, build the right content, and aim it at the right audience.

Jack: High Rise Academy Training and the LSS–HRI Bridge

Jack Wendt’s explains how HRI connects directly into the work LSS does through High Rise Academy. HRI runs training while partnering with LSS on tools and processes. Sam helps build the tools students use, and Jack makes sure students know how to apply them.

The students learn to make a local business owner more visible, build better ad campaigns, and drive more calls and revenue for whoever they’re representing. It’s practical training with real businesses, not theory.

Dylan: Content Repurposing, Websites, Ads Support, and Training

Dylan Haugen’s role has been wide by necessity. Over the last six to seven months he’s done content repurposing with AI tools like Descript, worked on client websites, helped create content for local businesses, supported Facebook ads with Luke, and trained Academy students weekly.

He also made a helpful point for anyone watching: the tools we use are intentionally simple. If you’ve ever edited a video before, tools like Descript make repurposing fast once you know the system.

Jack’s Close: Credibility and Invitation

Jack ends by giving real context on the team’s experience: Dylan has generated over 100 million views across his social channels, Luke is known for delivering results with ad spend (including work with Ad Astra), and Sam is the engineer making the backend run smoothly. The invitation was simple—if this kind of work sounds interesting, check out LSS, HRI, and the Academy.

Why LSS and HRI Are Stronger Together

Watching the roles side‑by‑side makes the partnership obvious.

LSS builds and refines the operational system: AI tools, websites, ad creative, and client delivery. HRI multiplies that system by teaching it through High Rise Academy, so more trained people can support more local businesses.

It’s one pipeline from real service work to real marketing output—supported by engineering, creative, and training all moving in sync.

The Big Takeaway

Local service businesses don’t need to reinvent a brand from scratch. They already create proof every day in their jobs and customer outcomes. Our job at LSS and HRI is to capture that proof, repurpose it into content people actually watch, and put it behind campaigns that convert into calls.

If you’re looking for a clear path, real skills, and a way to put them to work on projects that matter, High Rise Academy could be a great fit.

Is This Too Good To Be True? The High Rise Influence Program Explained by Its Founders

Dylan Haugen Dylan Haugen on November 22, 2025

When people first hear about High Rise Influence, the reaction is almost always the same: “There’s no way this is real.” Free access to training, mentorship from leaders like Dennis Yu, and hands-on experience helping real local service businesses sounds impossible—especially for young adults still figuring out their path.

But the video we filmed together tells a different story. Four of us sat down for a real, honest conversation about where we’re at in life, what this program has done for us, and why we believe it’s worth sharing.

This article breaks down what we shared in that conversation and why the High Rise Influence model works so well for young adults.

Why Young Adults Are Uniquely Positioned to Succeed

In the video, we talked about how each of us founders lives a completely different life. One of us is married and in school. One is 27 and trying to find clear direction. One is 20 and already confident in his path. And then there’s me—I’m still in high school, and I’m a professional dunker.

Even with those differences, we share something important: we grew up surrounded by technology.

A lot of local service business owners haven’t had to live inside social media and modern tools the way we have. It’s not that they’re incapable—it’s just not their world. For young adults, using Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and now AI tools feels natural. We recognize patterns in interfaces and content without thinking about it.

That’s a massive advantage.

Inside High Rise Influence, we lean into that advantage instead of ignoring it. We plug those natural instincts into structured systems like the Content Factory, which breaks down how to market to actually drive results. When you combine what you already know with a clear framework, your skills become valuable very quickly.

Real Experiences We Shared

In the video, each of us shared where we were in life and what led us into this program.

I’m still in high school, and I’m a professional dunker. I travel across the country competing in dunk contests and creating content around that journey. On paper, it looks like I shouldn’t have much time for anything else.

But that’s exactly why my story matters here.

For most of my life, I made social media content just for myself—filming dunks, editing clips, posting on Instagram, and learning what caught people’s attention. I never thought of that as a “professional skill.” It was just something I did because I loved it.

When I got involved with High Rise Influence, I realized those same skills were incredibly valuable to local service business owners. The same instincts I use to pick the best angle on a dunk or to edit a hype clip help me decide what makes a strong testimonial, a compelling ad, or a short that stops people from scrolling.

That’s when it clicked: what feels normal to me can be life-changing for someone’s business.

How High Rise Influence Helps Young Adults Find Purpose

In our conversation, one of the guys talked about hitting 24 or 25 and suddenly asking himself, “What am I actually doing with my life?” That moment hits harder than most people admit.

I’ve seen versions of that same feeling in a lot of young adults—drifting through school, changing majors, trying random jobs, or scrolling all day because nothing feels meaningful.

Purpose didn’t show up for me in some huge, dramatic way. It came from being put in a position where my skills were useful to someone else.

Inside High Rise Influence, purpose looks like:

  • Helping a local business owner who genuinely needs support
  • Seeing your work turn into leads, reviews, and real results
  • Being trusted with responsibility and held accountable
  • Working alongside other young adults who are aiming higher than “just get by”

Real progress comes from doing real work, learning from your mistakes, and slowly realizing, “I’m actually good at this—and it matters.”

Direction isn’t something you wait around for. You build it through deliberate practice and real work.

Digital Skills Young Adults Already Have

If you’re a young adult reading this, there’s a good chance you already have your own version of the skills needed in this space. You grew up in a digital world—using social media, creating and consuming videos, learning new tools quickly, and navigating technology as second nature.

Most of us don’t even realize how much we’ve picked up just by living online: understanding what makes content engaging, recognizing patterns in how platforms work, and adapting to new features and trends without thinking too hard about it.

Young adults are also surprisingly good at reasoning with AI tools. Because we’re used to technology evolving fast, things like prompting, experimenting, and iterating feel natural. Those instincts translate directly into this work—helping local businesses tell their stories, produce content, and run campaigns that actually perform.

All of these everyday digital habits become valuable when they’re applied inside a clear process with real clients.

A Community Built on Real Work, Not Hype

We’re very clear inside the program: this is not a “get rich quick” scheme.

We’re not promising overnight success or crazy income screenshots. What we’re offering is:

  • Real work with real local businesses
  • Systems and frameworks that have been tested
  • Mentorship from people like Dennis and the rest of the BlitzMetrics and High Rise teams
  • A community of young adults who are serious about building something

In the video, you can see how much we genuinely enjoy working together. That’s not acting. We joke around, challenge each other, and push each other to do better—not because we’re trying to impress anyone, but because we actually care about the work and the people we’re serving.

How to Get Involved

If you’re a young adult and any of this resonates with you—feeling directionless, wanting to use your existing skills for something that matters, or just wanting a path that isn’t “go to school and hope it works out”—then this is worth exploring.

High Rise Academy is the training path where young adults like me get real-world experience, build portfolios, and learn how to run campaigns the right way.

If you’re looking for direction, purpose, and a place to put your skills to work in a meaningful way, High Rise Academy might be the right next step for you.

How Young Entrepreneurs Are Using AI to Build Real Skills and Experience

Dylan Haugen Dylan Haugen on November 20, 2025

Young people often ask whether it’s realistic to start doing meaningful work while they’re still in high school or just stepping into college. In this conversation, the founders of High Rise Influence shared how we did exactly that as young entrepreneurs—and how other young adults can follow a similar path.

The message is straightforward: when a young person is given a real opportunity and the support to act on it, their confidence begins to match their potential.

For readers who want to understand the broader frameworks behind turning conversations and videos like this into written assets, BlitzMetrics has public resources such as their Blog Posting Guidelines, the Content Factory process, and many other pieces of content creating for the purpose of teaching young adults how they can become a successful AI Apprentice.

From Doubt to Belief Through Opportunity

In the video, the founders talk about how each of us went from not believing in ourselves to realizing that we could actually build a career. That shift came from being given chances to learn, practice, and see real results.

We described how opportunities to work, grow their personal brands, and gain experience helped us move from uncertainty to genuine belief in our capabilities.

For young entrepreneurs, we pointed out that the main limitation usually isn’t age, background, or starting skill level—it’s the way they think about themselves.

What High Rise Influence Offers Young Entrepreneurs

Our team at High Rise Influence explained that we have programs and courses designed to help young adults launch their careers. One of the core ideas we stressed is that the educational content itself is free.

All the courses and information are available at no cost. The only thing someone might pay for is direct access: live weekly coaching, guidance, and being able to report progress to people who have already walked the path.

We also highlighted that this access includes time with Dennis Yu, who has over 30 years of experience in digital marketing. Having that kind of guidance is a major advantage for someone just starting out.

Starting Young: Real Ages, Real People

I’ve been doing similar work since I was very young, and I started doing this specific kind of implementation about a year before the video was recorded, when I was 17.

Since then, I’ve brought multiple friends into the same system, also at age 17. I’ve also brought in my younger brother, who started at 15 and was 16 at the time of the conversation.

We emphasize that these younger participants were able to pick up the workflows quickly, which reinforces our message that young people can do this when the process is clearly laid out.

Using AI Tools as a Personal Assistant

A recurring theme in our conversation is how AI has made learning and execution easier for young people. We talked about using ChatGPT as a kind of personal assistant.

We also mentioned actions like taking screenshots of tasks and asking AI questions about them, and using the Atlas browser assistant to ask questions directly in the browser.

Instead of getting stuck on unclear instructions or unfamiliar tools, we showed how AI can help break things down, explain steps, and keep work moving forward.

Helping Local Service Businesses with AI

When the founders answer the question, “What do we actually do?”, we explained that we use AI tools to help local service business owners and entrepreneurs build their personal brands.

Our work involves:

  • Making videos
  • Repurposing existing content
  • Structuring content so that Google can recognize the person or business as an entity it can trust

They note that they’ve done this for landscapers, HVAC companies, and professionals in the fitness industry. The same approach can be applied across many kinds of local service businesses.

The result is a win on both sides: local businesses get help showing up credibly online, and young people get a structured way to learn and contribute.

How This Fits Into a Larger Training Ecosystem

The methods discussed in the video align with broader systems used in the BlitzMetrics ecosystem, such as the Content Factory and process-driven training. High Rise Influence builds on these ideas with a specific focus on young entrepreneurs.

The founders describe a path where young adults can:

  • Build their personal brands
  • Learn how to support local service businesses with AI-assisted workflows
  • Get guidance from people who have executed in the field for many years

For those who want to explore the specific opportunity mentioned in the video, learn more about the High Rise Academy, and how you can begin your path as an AI Apprentice.

Why This Simple 29-Second YouTube Ad Gets a 98.6% Watch Rate

Dylan Haugen Dylan Haugen on November 16, 2025

When most people see a YouTube ad, they skip within seconds. Dennis Yu opened this section of his DigiMarCon session with the opposite scenario: a 29-second clip that holds 98.6% of viewers all the way through. No actors. No studio. No script. Just a raw moment with a real sales rep named Alex.

The knee-jerk reaction is to assume that the watch rate results are fake—bots, bad data, or some trick in the setup. But the numbers are real, and the leads they generate are very real. The reason they work comes down to a simple principle Dennis repeated throughout the training: the content itself is the targeting.

In the session, Dennis pulls up a short YouTube ad featuring Alex, one of HVAC Quote’s top sales reps. When leads come in, they get booked with her, and she’s the one walking HVAC owners through the tool and closing demos. Dennis explains that Alex was very shy and didn’t want to be on video at first, but he convinced her to try a quick, casual clip with the reassurance that it wasn’t live and they could always redo it. On camera, she simply talks through what she sees every day: homeowners want price first, HVAC companies worry about objections, and the quoting tool lets them show pricing upfront while still positioning against competitors. She’s not a marketer, not a “video person” — she just knows the product and the customers. That authenticity, combined with the high watch time on the ad, is what sends a strong signal to YouTube’s algorithm and keeps driving qualified leads.

Once that signal kicks in, the machine goes to work. YouTube shows the clip to more people who behave like the ones who watched the whole thing. Then it retargets the ones who stayed for the next set of clips. No complex targeting. No lookalikes. No giant ad budget. Just behavior doing the heavy lifting.

Dennis pointed out that the performance wasn’t an accident or an outlier. The video continues to deliver leads months later. Watch-time stays stable, cost per lead stays low, and the system keeps finding the right HVAC companies because the viewer reactions shape the audience far better than any manual filter ever could.

It’s a reminder that marketers often over-engineer what platforms already solve for. If the content is relevant in the first three seconds, if real people appear on camera, and if the message speaks directly to a specific group, the algorithm will route the video to the right viewers. And when you give the system this kind of proof, the results compound — clip after clip, lead after lead.

Want to learn how to apply this for your family’s or sponsor’s local service business?

This is exactly what we teach inside High Rise Academy—how to capture real proof, turn it into simple videos like this, and let the platforms do the sorting. Whether you’re helping a parent, a mentor, or a local business in your community, we train you step-by-step to run the same systems Dennis uses with companies like HVAC Quote.

The Dollar a Day System for B2B: Why Simple Cell Phone Videos Outperform Big Budget Ads

Dylan Haugen Dylan Haugen on November 16, 2025

Most people in B2B think marketing has to look expensive to work. They hire production crews, build landing pages, buy lists, and spend months planning campaigns. But during his DigiMarCon Silicon Valley session, Dennis Yu demonstrated the opposite. The best-performing ads for a SaaS company called HVAC Quote weren’t polished at all — they were raw, one-take clips shot on an iPhone.

And those clips booked over 100 new SaaS customers in just a few months.

This training walks through exactly how the system works, why behavior does the targeting for you, and how Dollar-a-Day turns simple content into predictable B2B leads.

The Big Shift: From Polished Ads to Proof-Based Content

HVAC Quote sells a $350/month software tool for HVAC contractors. Like most B2B companies, they raised money, built a sales team, and attended industry events to get demos. But the real breakthrough came from something far simpler: recording everyday moments.

Interviews at the booth. Walk-and-talk conversations in the hallway. A clip shot at dinner where the founder explained the tool in 20 seconds while plates were still on the table. None of it was scripted. None of it was edited. Yet these videos became the most effective ads they’ve ever run.

The reason is simple. B2B buyers want to see real people doing real work. They want to feel like they’re listening in on an industry conversation — not being pitched. When Dennis interviewed a well-known trainer in the HVAC space or asked a salesperson named Alex to explain how she closes deals, viewers stayed. One 29-second clip held a 98.6% watch rate on YouTube. That alone explains more than any targeting hack.

Why High Watch Time Beats Traditional Targeting

Dennis showed the analytics live. A three-minute video held viewers for over two minutes. A one-minute clip kept them for almost the entire runtime. None of these ads used custom audiences, job titles, lookalikes, or detailed demographic filters. They were broad.

The platforms did the sorting for them.

Here’s the underlying idea:
When people skip, scroll, or bounce quickly, the system learns who not to show the ad to. When people lean in, watch, and engage, the system finds more users like them.

That’s the actual targeting.

Once you understand this, Dollar-a-Day becomes obvious. You don’t try to force ads onto the perfect audience. You let the algorithm figure out who cares, because it already knows more about user behavior than any human could map manually. Dennis showed YouTube, Facebook, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn — all running the same raw clips — with each platform adapting based on how real viewers reacted.

Conferences, Zoom Calls, and Daily Work: The Real Content Factory

This session reinforced something we teach constantly inside High Rise Academy: the most powerful content in B2B isn’t staged. It comes from daily work.

HVAC Quote had:

• booth interviews
• customer testimonials
• informal conversations
• product walk-throughs
• reactions from agency partners
• short explanations filmed in the moment

Each one became a small asset that could be boosted for a dollar a day. Because the videos were authentic and tied to real industry relationships, they carried built-in trust. Buyers saw the founder, sales reps, trainers, and partner agencies all in the same ecosystem. That context made the content believable.

And as more clips accumulated, HVAC Quote gained more “proof pages” and more opportunities to retarget warm viewers. Dennis described this as a compounding loop — the more content you produce, the more signals you give the algorithm, and the easier it becomes to attract ideal customers.

Dollar-a-Day Isn’t About Cheap Ads — It’s About Letting the System Learn

The reason these campaigns work so well is that they respect the full funnel.

The point of the first video isn’t to force a demo. It’s to filter the audience by behavior. The next clip explains a feature. Later, viewers see a testimonial. Eventually they hit a product walk-through or a strong offer.

The call-to-action happens when the viewer is already warmed up, not when they first meet the brand.

Dennis joked about sales reps who chase customers the moment they walk into a store — the type who ask for the credit card before giving the customer time to breathe. Dollar-a-Day avoids that trap. When the viewer is ready, they’ll book a call. The system naturally brings the right people to the bottom of the funnel because they’ve already self-selected through watch time.

LinkedIn Isn’t Enough — YouTube Often Outperforms It

One of the sharper moments in the training came when Dennis contrasted LinkedIn with the other platforms. LinkedIn still relies heavily on explicit targeting because its algorithm doesn’t learn from engagement the way YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok do. If you want to reach a CTO or a specific job title, you can. But targeting alone won’t save content that doesn’t resonate.

Dennis wasn’t dismissing LinkedIn; he showed how it fits into the system. You can boost posts through a personal profile, especially if the CEO has authority in the industry. But the real momentum still comes from the videos themselves — the signals buyers send when they watch or skip.

Good content connects across every channel. Weak content dies on every channel.

What Students Should Take Away

This session gave a clear message to anyone working inside a B2B company or training through High Rise Academy: the real advantage isn’t production quality or complex funnels. It’s consistency, authenticity, and the willingness to capture real proof every day.

Record at the booth. Record at dinner. Record a walkthrough with a customer. Record an answer to a question someone asks you after a meeting. Then boost it. Let the system learn. Let behavior do the targeting. And build a library of moments you can repurpose again and again.

When done right, Dollar-a-Day becomes the simplest and most sustainable way to build trust, fill your funnel, and spark real sales conversations.

Want to Learn How to Apply This for a Real Local Business?

Inside High Rise Academy, we train young adults to use these exact systems to help their parents’ or sponsors’ local service businesses. Students learn how to capture proof, run Dollar-a-Day the right way, build authority, and tie everything back to leads and revenue. If you want practical skills that drive real outcomes—not just theory—this is where we teach it step by step.

The 6 Phases of the Social Amplification Engine

Dennis Yu on November 14, 2025

Most people treat digital marketing like a slot machine, pull a lever, and pray for leads. The Social Amplification Engine (SAE) fixes that. Instead of chasing hacks, trends, or whatever a YouTube guru is yelling about this week, SAE gives you a predictable, repeatable system for visibility, engagement, and conversions across every channel.

If your business already converts and you have at least a little bit of content and reputation, you’re sitting on a gold mine. SAE simply turns up the volume.

Let’s walk through the six phases.

1. Plumbing

Before you touch ads, boosting, or “going viral,” your plumbing must be airtight. This is the tracking, tagging, and audience-building infrastructure that makes everything else work.

Without plumbing, you’re basically flying blind while paying Facebook to keep the lights on.

Plumbing includes:

  • Google Tag Manager (your command center).
  • Google Analytics.
  • Google Ads + MCC.
  • Facebook Business Manager.
  • Remarketing tags across all channels.
  • Custom audiences, URL parameters, triggers, pixels.
  • AMP + Instant Articles if needed.

This isn’t glamorous; nobody posts screenshots bragging about their event tags. But proper plumbing is what lets you see where each dollar is actually working. It’s the reason seasoned marketers crush amateurs running “gut-feel ads.”

If you want to go deep, the Digital Plumbing Course is the playbook.

2. Goals

Most businesses skip straight to ads and then wonder why nothing works. SAE forces you to get clear first.

You need two things:

  1. A mission: your WHY, rooted in who you serve.
  2. Numbers that define success: your cost per lead, your ROAS, your 90-day outcome, your #ACC (Awareness, Consideration, Conversion) metrics.

Goals tell your content team what to create. They tell your ads team what to amplify. And they prevent you from chasing “vanity metrics” like reach and likes that look great but don’t move revenue.

Set the goals now, then hit them repeatedly.

3. Content

Great content isn’t about fancy cameras or being “viral.” It’s about authenticity and distribution.

Content inside SAE falls into three buckets:

Authority (third-party proof)

Reviews, PR mentions, podcasts, articles, stories.
This converts better than anything because it’s not you bragging; it’s others validating.

WHY content

Your 3-minute WHY video. Your story. What you stand for.

The 6 Phases of the Social Amplification Engine

This builds trust and turns cold audiences warm.

One-minute videos + micro content

Answers to objections. How-tos. Behind-the-scenes moments.
These feed your remarketing engine forever.

Your Content Library is where everything lives: positive mentions, topic wheels, greatest hits, raw footage, snippets, and repurposed posts.

The Content Factory process turns all this into a nonstop pipeline of assets: long-form → short-form → snippets → articles → emails → ads.

If you don’t have content, good news: your camera roll is full of it.

4. Targeting

This is where most businesses accidentally burn money, by showing the wrong content to the wrong audience at the wrong time.

Targeting in SAE fixes that through people-based marketing:

Owned audiences

  • Email lists.
  • Website visitors (1/30/180-day buckets).
  • App users.
  • Video viewers.
  • CRM segments.
  • Existing customers.

Lookalikes

Based on:

  • Purchasers.
  • Leads.
  • High-value page visitors.
  • Viewers of key videos.

Core interests

  • Competitors.
  • Industry influencers.
  • Media outlets.
  • Shared customer interests.

Targeting is how we build funnels like:
Awareness → Consideration → Conversion → Loyalty → Advocacy

This is where chains, sequences, and remarketing come alive.
This is where those one-minute videos start printing money.

You’re now running true cross-channel marketing (email, Google, Facebook, YouTube, website, podcast, events) all synced and sequenced.

5. Amplification

Once the first four phases are in place, it’s time to amplify, not before.

Amplification ≠ advertising.
Amplification = paid word-of-mouth.

We don’t guess. We don’t “spray and pray.”
We take the top-performing organic content and boost it to the right audiences.

This includes:

  • Boosting 3–5 “greatest hits” posts.
  • Dollar-a-Day ads.
  • Video view campaigns.
  • Remarketing ads for abandoners.
  • Unpublished (dark) posts.
  • Media inception ads.
  • Thank You Machine posts.
  • Roundups, listicles, social commenting.

Amplification is how you:

  • Reach more people who look like your best customers.
  • Stay in front of warm audiences.
  • Drive conversions without being pushy.
  • Seed press, influencers, and partners.

This is the stage where most businesses finally say, “Wow, Facebook actually works now.”

Because you’re a system, not a random post-and-pray operator.

6. Optimization

Optimization is where the pros separate from the amateurs.

You monitor your metrics decomposition.
You compare this period vs. last period.
You update lookalikes.
You adjust budgets.
You refine your audiences.
You find the next three things to execute this week.

You don’t chase hacks.
You don’t rebuild the funnel every month.
You optimize what’s already working.

Optimization never ends, and that’s a good thing.
Because once a system works, scaling it is just math.

Why the Social Amplification Engine Works

Because it’s built on 3 principles that never change:

1. Word-of-mouth beats advertising. Social ads don’t create desire; they amplify what’s already working.

2. Cross-channel > single channel. Your audience lives everywhere. Your marketing should too.

3. Data + content + sequencing = unfair advantage.

Custom audiences let you follow people across:

  • Social.
  • Search.
  • Email.
  • Website.
  • Apps.
  • Events.
  • Offline touchpoints.

That’s digital word-of-mouth at scale.

This is the same engine used by major sports teams, franchises, professional services, and thousands of local businesses. It works for plumbers, chiropractors, roofers, attorneys, and anyone who already has customers and content.

When the 6 phases work together, you get:

  • Higher conversion rates.
  • Lower ad costs.
  • Stronger authority.
  • More warm leads.
  • Better SEO.
  • A system your team can follow.
  • Predictable results.

SAE isn’t magic.
It’s not “growth hacking.”
It’s a checklist-driven machine that turns brand, content, and targeting into revenue.

If you have something that already works (even a little), this engine makes it work a whole lot better.

Client Meeting Checklist: Before, During, and After the Call

Dennis Yu on November 13, 2025

Most people treat client meetings like a chore. They show up unprepared, ramble for an hour, and wonder why the client doesn’t respect them.

That’s not how we operate.

A client meeting is a performance. It’s where you prove you’ve done the work, you understand their business better than the last dozen “experts” they hired, and you can move the project forward without wasting anybody’s time.

Here’s the real system: what to do before, during, and after the meeting so you look like a pro instead of a flailing rookie.

Before the meeting: This is where you win or lose

If you’re prepping during the meeting, you’ve already lost. The client can smell it. So let’s avoid that embarrassment.

Know the client like you actually care

Don’t go into a meeting blind. Do your homework.

  • What are their goals?
  • What content do they have?
  • What audiences matter?
  • What’s their personal stake?
  • Who is actually showing up to the call, and what do they care about?

Look them up on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, wherever.
This isn’t stalking. It’s called being a professional.

Executives notice when you know the details. They also notice when you don’t.

Lock down the logistics

If it’s virtual:

  • Use the correct Zoom account.
  • Test your mic and camera like a grown-up.
  • Put your camera on top of your monitor.
  • Put the Zoom window right under the camera so it looks like you’re actually looking at them instead of staring at your own face in the corner.

If it’s in person:

  • Show up early. Not “on time.” Early.
  • Bring printed materials.
  • Leave your phone and laptop shut. Your attention is the flex.

Prepare the actual materials (not a data dump)

A report isn’t enough. Anyone can dump numbers into a Google Doc.

Your job is to analyze, not regurgitate.

You need:

Then run it through someone senior for a sanity check.
One typo and the client starts wondering what else you missed.

Send the agenda + “looking forward” note

The day before the meeting:

  • Send the agenda.
  • Send any pre-reading.
  • Post a “Looking forward to our meeting tomorrow” message in Basecamp.
  • Make sure the Zoom link is correct (stop making clients chase you for it).

It takes 30 seconds and instantly makes you look organized.

Set expectations like a leader

You’re not a vendor taking orders. You’re the one driving the process.

So you set expectations:

“This should take no more than 30 minutes. Here’s what we’ll cover. Here’s what we need decisions on.”

Clients love clarity.
They hate surprises.

During the meeting: Run the room

This is your stage. Don’t wander onto it looking lost.

Start with structure

Kick off the meeting with confidence:

  1. Agenda.
  2. Introductions.
  3. What decisions need to be made?
  4. Quick tie-back to the previous meeting so it’s clear you actually remember things.

No rambling. No awkward small talk unless it serves a purpose.

Don’t look like you’re half-listening

Some ground rules:

  • No multitasking.
  • No typing during in-person meetings.
  • No phone on the table.
  • Eyes on the camera.
  • Sit up straight, you don’t need to hunch like you’re defusing a bomb.

People pick up on micro-signals. Your posture tells them whether you’re confident or guessing.

Notes = action items

Notes should be:

  • What needs to be done.
  • Who owns it.
  • When it’s due.
  • What depends on what.

That’s it. Nobody needs a transcript.

Call out at the beginning who is taking notes so the client knows the trains are running on time.

Keep the meeting tight

Most client calls default to “one hour” because nobody has the spine to challenge it.

You do.

If you prepare properly, a great meeting rarely needs more than 30 minutes.

Stay on the agenda.
Don’t go down rabbit holes.
Focus on decisions, not storytelling.

Executives want the executive summary.
Give it to them early and often.

End like a professional

Never end a meeting with “Alright… I think that’s everything?”

Here’s your script:

“Okay, Tom, here are the items we agreed on. Let me know if I missed anything.”

Then ask:

  • “Anything we can do to make you look good?”
  • “Any feedback for me?”
  • “Anything you’re worried about that we haven’t addressed?”

Then, and this is key, schedule the next meeting before anyone hangs up.
The calendar is where momentum lives.

After the meeting: Close the loop

This is where average account managers drop the ball. Not you.

Clean up your notes (same day)

If your notes read like a toddler typed them, fix them before posting.

Then drop them in the Basecamp Client Meetings thread the same day.

Same. Day.

Upload the recording

Put the Zoom recording next to the notes.
This saves your team from asking you the same questions five times.

Convert notes into actual tasks

Put every action item into:

  • Basecamp To-Dos.
  • With owners.
  • With deadlines.
  • With dependencies.

Don’t trust your memory. Memory lies.

Reply like a pro, not a panicked intern

If the client:

Emails you + CCs leadership:

Reply in that thread. Everyone stays in the loop.

Messages you privately:

Reply in Basecamp or with a quick call depending on urgency.

The executive summary: Your superpower

This is the only section executives reliably read.
So make it count.

It should include:

  • Their goals.
  • What we’ve done.
  • What we’re doing next.
  • Results, conversions, ROI.
  • Budget changes.
  • Dependencies.
  • Time remaining in the project.
  • What to expect next.

Make it:

  • Clear.
  • Bold.
  • No passive voice.
  • No “legal document” tone.
  • No saying “their”, talk directly to them.

Executives want clarity, confidence, and direction.

The mindset: every minute should feel worth $50

When a client meets with you, they should feel like:

“This was worth my time. These guys are sharp.”

We’re here to run multi-million-dollar campaigns, improve people’s businesses, and give clients the confidence that they’re in good hands.

You do that by owning the meeting, start to finish.