Hala Taha: How to Turn Social Media Visibility Into a Revenue Engine | Marketing
Episode of Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast · October 2, 2026 · 51 min
In a crossover from Built in Public, Courtney Johnson interviews Hala Taha about growing her personal brand on LinkedIn and turning that visibility into YAP Media.
Summary
This crossover episode, originally recorded for Courtney Johnson's Built in Public podcast, featured Johnson interviewing Young and Profiting host Hala Taha about how she built her personal brand and her company, YAP Media. Taha recounted her early career as an intern and assistant to Angie Martinez at Hot 97, her early blogs and online radio shows, and her decision in 2018 to post about her podcast on LinkedIn despite criticism that the platform was strictly professional.
Taha described the growth tactics she used before she had money: recruiting volunteers and interns whom she trained in exchange for their help, trading promotion with podcast apps and tools, organizing engagement pods of real people, and hiring an overseas video editor she found by contacting an employee of the service she had used. She explained that her guest-booking approach treated outreach as a volume game with high standards, leveraging earlier guests' names, accolades, and authors' book-promotion cycles, citing how she secured Matthew McConaughey. Johnson added that offering raw footage and tailoring pitches to guests' goals helps land big names, and argued that no creator can reach elite scale without a team.
Taha explained that guests repeatedly asked her to grow their LinkedIn and podcasts, and that during COVID-19 she took Heather Monahan as her first client, followed by a $30,000-per-month retainer, before leaving her corporate job at Disney. She said her personal brand let her design a career around her strengths, including a podcast network of about 40 shows. For creators who feel stuck, she recommended seeking platforms where one can win early, such as Castbox, LinkedIn and Skool, and attaching content to topics people already want to discuss; Johnson suggested drawing on the cultural zeitgeist and personal quirks. Taha closed by predicting that AI would eliminate many entry-level jobs and make authentic human content and audience-based businesses more important.
Chapters
- 0:24
Crossover introduction
Taha introduces the crossover episode and Johnson introduces Built in Public and her guest.
- 3:06
Personal brand origin story
Taha describes her start in radio at Hot 97, early blogging and online shows, and her LinkedIn breakthrough in 2018.
- 5:53
Volunteers, interns and free work
Taha explains how she recruited and trained volunteers and interns, and both discuss when unpaid work is fair.
- 13:38
Trading audiences to grow
Taha describes trading LinkedIn promotion for features from podcast apps and tools, and podcast swaps.
- 15:34
LinkedIn flak and engagement pods
Taha recounts criticism for non-professional LinkedIn posts and defends engagement pods made up of real people.
- 18:25
Building a team and the first hire
Taha outlines her 60-person team, recommends a video editor as a first hire, and explains low-cost hiring through interns and overseas editors.
- 25:48
Landing big podcast guests
Taha explains her volume-based outreach system, leveraging accolades and book-promotion cycles, including how she booked Matthew McConaughey.
- 31:10
Turning guests into clients
Taha recounts how guests' requests led to her first client Heather Monahan and a $30,000-a-month retainer, launching YAP Media.
- 37:18
Opportunities from a personal brand
Taha says her brand let her design a dream career, speak at Funnel Hacking Live and receive book offers.
- 40:15
Advice for creators who feel stuck
Taha advises winning on less crowded platforms and attaching content to hot topics, while Johnson stresses the zeitgeist and unique personal traits.
- 46:14
The future of personal branding and AI
Taha predicts AI will erode entry-level jobs and make authentic personal brands a key way to future-proof careers.
- 48:53
Wrap-up
Taha promotes her podcast and Skool creator course, and Johnson asks listeners for reviews.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Hala Taha
Taha says the skills she learned as an unpaid intern under Angie Martinez now earn her millions.
“I'm literally making millions off the skills that I learned from Angie Martinez now”
- Hala Taha
Taha argues unpaid work is fair only while the intern keeps learning, after which they must be paid.
“As soon as you're not teaching them anymore and just getting work from them, then you've got to pay them”
- Hala Taha
Taha recounts offering LinkedIn promotion to podcast apps and tools in exchange for features on their platforms.
“I will post about your app, your email newsletter, your website in exchange for you promoting me on your website, promoting me in your app, featuring me here”
Linked moment · 17:03Skip to 17:03 using a listen link in the info box.
Hala TahaTaha maintains that engagement pods are permitted by LinkedIn, though she opposes fake AI-bot pods.
“It's totally within LinkedIn's terms of service. It's totally fine”
- Hala Taha
Taha advises creators to outsource tasks like video editing but keep original thought content for themselves.
“the last thing you actually want to outsource is your original thought content”
- Hala Taha
Taha says creators on a budget can hire part-time overseas help cheaply.
“So you can get somebody part time for like 400 bucks a month overseas”
- Courtney Johnson
Johnson argues that reaching the elite level of personal-brand fame is impossible without a team.
“You cannot scale to the elite level where like you are a household name. People know you”
- Hala Taha
Taha says her podcast network, built on her guest outreach methods, is the top self-improvement network and earns about $6 million a year in sponsorships.
“I have the number one self-improvement podcast network and we do like $6 million a year in sponsorships”
- Hala Taha
Taha describes booking big guests as a volume game in which persistent outreach yields yeses.
“If you're willing to do a thousand reach outs, you can get 20 people to say yes, even if they're big names”
- Courtney Johnson
Johnson says she lands big guests by offering a polished studio and raw footage for their video teams.
“I have a beautiful studio. I'm going to give the raw files to your video team”
- Hala Taha
Taha recommends targeting authors with upcoming releases because people in promotion mode are more willing to do interviews.
“People are more likely to go on a podcast if they're promoting a book”
- Hala Taha
Taha says she earned $1.5 million in podcast sponsorships last year despite once believing the show would never make money.
“Meanwhile, like last year, I made $1.5 million in sponsorships on my podcast, right?”
- Hala Taha
Taha recounts winning a $30,000-per-month retainer from a podcast host before she had a website, logo or company name.
“I ended up pitching him and it was a $30,000 a month retainer”
- Courtney Johnson
Johnson argues new freelancers should focus on solving one client's problem rather than investing in websites and logos.
“the first step is not your website or your name or whatever the first step is solving that first person's problem”
- Hala Taha
Taha predicts that traditional jobs will not persist as they have, requiring people to design careers around an audience.
“I don't think that regular jobs are really going to exist the way that they have in the past”
- Hala Taha
Taha argues entrepreneurship content has limited reach on Instagram compared with hot topics like politics or health.
“Entrepreneurship is only going to get so far on Instagram. It's just not a hot topic that people want to share”
- Hala Taha
Taha says she is focusing on Skool because becoming a top creator there is easier than on Instagram.
“I'm super bullish on school because I feel like, okay, I could probably become the number one creator on school”
- Courtney Johnson
Johnson advises creators to tie their content to whatever is currently in the cultural zeitgeist.
“what is going on in the zeitgeist of the world that you can pull into your content?”
- Hala Taha
Taha predicts AI-generated content will make audiences value authentic human stories more.
“People are going to crave real people, real stories, things that AI cannot replicate”
- Hala Taha
Taha predicts AI will take over many entry-level jobs, leaving experienced workers to manage AI agents and hurting young people's ability to acquire skills.
“Because AI, I think, is going to take over a lot of entry-level jobs, I feel like the people who are going to stay in corporate are going to be like the 30-year-olds now”
People
In the conversation
- Hala TahaHost of Young and Profiting podcast and founder of YAP Media, a podcast network and social media agency
- Courtney JohnsonContent creator, personal brand strategist and host of the Built in Public podcast, who conducted this crossover interview
Discussed
- Angie MartinezHot 97 radio host for whom Taha worked as an assistant and intern
- Gary VaynerchukEntrepreneur and social media personality known for the "$1.80" engagement strategy
- Heather MonahanAuthor and LinkedIn creator who became YAP Media's first client
- Matthew McConaugheyAmerican actor quoted on parenting with money
- Chris VossFormer FBI hostage negotiator and author
- Jay ShettyBritish author, podcast host and former monk who hosts On Purpose
- Jenna KutcherPodcaster Taha once compared herself against on Apple Podcasts
- Amy PorterfieldPodcaster Taha once compared herself against on Apple Podcasts
Topics
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From the publisher
Hala Taha used LinkedIn and social media to build visibility long before she knew how to turn an audience into a business. While working a corporate job, she grew Young and Profiting through audience swaps, engagement pods, persistent guest outreach, and a volunteer team, believing the podcast would remain a passion project. But when guests began asking for her help to scale their brands, she realized the same strategies behind her success could power a business of her own. In this special crossover episode, Hala sits down with Courtney Johnson on Built in Public to share how entrepreneurs can build a personal brand, grow an audience, and turn their visibility into a revenue-generating business asset. In this episode, Courtney and Hala will discuss: (03:12) Building a Personal Brand From Scratch (10:24) Trading Audiences to Grow Your Platform (12:16) Growing on LinkedIn Without Following Norms (15:42) Hiring the Right Team to Scale (22:51) Landing Big Guests and High-Paying Clients (34:18) How Personal Branding Unlocks Dream Opportunities (43:42) Future-Proofing Your Career Through Personal Branding Hala Taha is the host of Young and Profiting, a top 10 business and entrepreneurship podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. She is the founder and CEO of YAP Media, an award-winning social media and podcast agency. She also leads YAP Media Network, where she helps renowned podcasters like Jenna Kutcher, Neil Patel, and Russell Brunson grow and monetize their shows. With her business on track to reach eight figures in 2026, Hala stands out as a leading creator and entrepreneur. Sponsored By: Indeed - Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/profiting Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/profiting. Northwest Registered Agent - Get a complete business identity with Northwest. Visit northwestregisteredagent.com/YAPFree and start using free resources to build something amazing. HeyGen - Create AI avatar videos without constant…
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 5, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.