Kate Tolo

The Colin and Samir Show · 11 Marketing Rules every Creator needs to know: Kate Tolo

• Why Does Kate Tolo Post About Topics People Will Not Discuss?

  Kate Tolo posts about topics people will not discuss because she grew up wanting answers and found those subjects closed. She still chooses them on purpose. A lot of the work she describes comes from that gap. Her view is that the subjects are ordinary biology, and the reason to say them out loud is that almost nobody else will.

  She walks through examples people usually leave unspoken. She says the information matters to the person living it, and that the silence makes it harder to look after your own needs or to tell someone else what you need. Then she asks why the conversation has to stay shut. The point she leaves on the table is that silence. Curious people already have the question. S

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• How Should a Creator Reply to a Critic?

  Kate Tolo says a creator should answer a critic with yes-and. A post that spreads throws off a lot of energy, and that energy is usually a mix of praise and attack. Agree with it and play, instead of correcting the person. Once you say yes to all of it, the energy becomes yours. People enjoy the creator who shows up in that spirit. It feels like one family that can agree, disagree, and still have fun, and that is how you bring people onto your team.

  On the example in front of them, Bryan Johnson answers a comparison by agreeing that the other picture is the more compelling one, instead of arguing. Kate Tolo says he also drafts a long personal post in his head for two months, then writes the

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• What Does Kate Tolo Hate About Content Planning?

  Kate Tolo hates marketing calendars, content calendars, and planning in advance. The point is to publish, see how a piece performs, and iterate.

  Holding content back means missing the main value of publishing: learning whether it performed and how the result should shape the next piece. The loop repeats every time. When five pieces are already ready to go, the four pieces published after the first one miss the learnings from the piece that just went out. The longer a creator sits with their own content, the energy wears off, and they forget whether it is still novel or interesting to the person watching.

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• What Makes Someone Click a Title and Thumbnail?

  Kate Tolo says a YouTube click is decided by the title and thumbnail. She calls that the ticket price, and a different creator pays a different price. A New York Times journalist pays it in how the piece is written so a reader gets the most out of the article. In email the price is the subject line. An app notification competes with a sea of other notifications, so the first three words need to be curious rather than a sales pitch.

  She puts a Blueprint email in a crowded inbox and asks how it will stand out. One notification starts, when you come home today, leave your shoes at the door, then says the first four steps inside track 85% of the contaminants from outside. The example is the ope

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• What Is Kate Tolo's First Rule for Going Viral?

  Kate Tolo's first rule for going viral is never assume, always test, even after years of doing this and even with a strong guess about what will work. On one email, the line under the product stayed the same and only the copy above it changed. One version was dense: nutritionally comparable to 1,808 calories of food, 13 health actives, then a start line. The other was a picture: eat kilos of food or have one scoop, then drink 13 key nutrients daily. The shorter line won.

  She still calls the reason a guess, because you can never really know what worked. Her guess is simplicity. Kilos of food are easy to picture, and the word nutritionally turns dense. Strong copy mixes an emotional line with

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• What Is the Only Job in Creating Content?

  Kate Tolo says the only job in creating content is to understand what the bouncer needs and to befriend the bouncer. She pictures Instagram as the most exclusive nightclub in town. Far fewer slots and far fewer people are inside than outside, and everyone inside is dancing and having the best time of their lives. Posters on the wall work like paid advertising. Getting in means being one of the people and contributing to the vibe. The bouncer at the door is the algorithm, and a creator is still in line.

  The bouncer wants people inside to have a great time and never wants them to leave. If they do leave, they should bring friends, come back tomorrow, and constantly be in the club. The arrange

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• Who Is Behind Bryan Johnson's Brand?

  Kate Tolo is the person behind Bryan Johnson's brand. She is his co-founder, and a lot of people do not realize she is there. She also says she is his girlfriend. They started the project together five years ago, and the viral work on YouTube and on Twitter is work the two of them have done together, including a Netflix documentary.

  Five years ago they had 2,000 Instagram followers. They now have that documentary and 6 million followers, and they just raised $60 million from a lineup that runs to Kim K, Paris Hilton, and Jay Shetty. Press alone reaches about 300 million people a month. What she thinks is unusual is doing this in more than one place: social, press, and newsletters. When they

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