<![CDATA[TJ Larkin | AI for Media Brands]]>I build AI + growth systems for media brands and show you exactly how they work in real operations.

Most AI-and-media conversations stop at content generation. This channel goes deeper: workflows, automation, audience growth, intake systems, publishing pipelines, and the tools behind a lean media portfolio.

You’ll find:

-AI workflow builds for newsletter operators and publishers
-Behind-the-scenes systems from Modern Media Engine
-Tool reviews tested in real operations
-Automation and growth systems for media brands

Subscribe if you run a newsletter, media brand, or content business and want to see how AI fits into the work.

modernmediaengine.com | @aiformediabrands

]]>tjlarkin.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:49:15 GMTTue, 14 Jul 2026 17:56:23 GMT60TJ Larkin<p>I build AI + growth systems for media brands and show you exactly how they work in real operations.<br /><br />Most AI-and-media conversations stop at content generation. This channel goes deeper: workflows, automation, audience growth, intake systems, publishing pipelines, and the tools behind a lean media portfolio.<br /><br />You’ll find:<br /><br />-AI workflow builds for newsletter operators and publishers<br />-Behind-the-scenes systems from Modern Media Engine<br />-Tool reviews tested in real operations<br />-Automation and growth systems for media brands<br /><br />Subscribe if you run a newsletter, media brand, or content business and want to see how AI fits into the work.<br /><br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://modernmediaengine.com" target="_blank">modernmediaengine.com</a> | @aiformediabrands</p>episodicTJ Larkintj@tjlarkin.comno<![CDATA[We Wrote Off n8n, Then Claude Code Brought It Back From the Dead]]>Only 2% of Americans pay for AI. TJ Larkin and Shane Brady break down why that number is so low, and what it means for local media, marketing, and your business.


This episode is brought to you by GreetForm, the form and offer system that pays newsletters back within minutes of a new subscriber instead of months. If you run a newsletter or local media brand, see how it works at greetform.com.


Only two percent of American households pay for a generative AI subscription according to new PNC Bank data, up 155 percent year over year but still tiny in the grand scheme of things. TJ and Shane dig into why so many people still don't see the value, why brands that quietly drop the word "AI" from their marketing are growing faster than the ones that lead with it, and why local, in-person experiences are becoming more valuable as more of life goes digital.


They also get into Cloudflare's plan to let AI agents pay publishers by the article, Anthropic's 1.5 billion dollar settlement with book publishers, and DoorDash's new interface that lets AI agents place orders on your behalf. Then TJ walks through why he came back to n8n after writing it off, how using Claude Code and Codex to build the automations instead of learning the n8n interface himself changed everything, and why "I one-shotted this" demos rarely survive contact with a real paying customer.


In this episode:


-Why brands hiding the word "AI" grew subscriptions 32 percent overnight

-Cloudflare's move to let AI agents pay publishers per article, and what it means for the future of media

-DoorDash's new AI agent ordering system, and how fast TJ thinks people will actually use it

-Why TJ came back to n8n by having Claude Code build the automations for him instead of learning the interface

-Inside GreetForm: how a golf simulator business closed 60 percent of leads at $200 a month, turning the cost of growing a newsletter from an expense into a profit


Guest: Shane Brady

https://www.youtube.com/@Shane-Brady


Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:10 Only 2% of Americans pay for AI, and why the number is so low

01:54 The bifurcation: AI power users versus everyone else

04:57 Why nobody outside our bubble even calls it "Claude" right

05:32 Brands hiding the word "AI" and growing faster because of it

06:39 The Great Unplugging, and why local media wins from AI fatigue

08:58 Cloudflare, micropayments, and AI agents paying publishers per article

11:27 Tokenization, stablecoins, and the future of paying for AI

14:54 DoorDash lets AI agents place orders, what that means for shopping

19:40 TJ's n8n comeback and using Claude Code to build the automations

28:20 Building a personalized AI newsletter live on screen

31:02 The niche competitor-intelligence newsletter business idea

32:52 Inside GreetForm: turning newsletter growth costs into profit

40:31 Real case study: 60% close rate on a golf simulator lead

41:34 Why "I one-shotted this" demos rarely survive real customers


This episode is part of AI for Media Brands, produced by Modern Media Engine, TJ Larkin's agency helping local media and newsletter brands grow with AI and paid acquisition. Learn more at modernmediaengine.com.


#AIforMediaBrands #ArtificialIntelligence #LocalMedia #Newsletters #SmallBusiness

]]>39b2f979-f8bc-423b-a7b3-4e28e6c638e5Wed, 22 Jul 2026 23:12:07 GMT<p>Only 2% of Americans pay for AI. TJ Larkin and Shane Brady break down why that number is so low, and what it means for local media, marketing, and your business.</p><p><br /></p><p>This episode is brought to you by GreetForm, the form and offer system that pays newsletters back within minutes of a new subscriber instead of months. If you run a newsletter or local media brand, see how it works at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://greetform.com" target="_blank">greetform.com</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Only two percent of American households pay for a generative AI subscription according to new PNC Bank data, up 155 percent year over year but still tiny in the grand scheme of things. TJ and Shane dig into why so many people still don't see the value, why brands that quietly drop the word "AI" from their marketing are growing faster than the ones that lead with it, and why local, in-person experiences are becoming more valuable as more of life goes digital.</p><p><br /></p><p>They also get into Cloudflare's plan to let AI agents pay publishers by the article, Anthropic's 1.5 billion dollar settlement with book publishers, and DoorDash's new interface that lets AI agents place orders on your behalf. Then TJ walks through why he came back to n8n after writing it off, how using Claude Code and Codex to build the automations instead of learning the n8n interface himself changed everything, and why "I one-shotted this" demos rarely survive contact with a real paying customer.</p><p><br /></p><p>In this episode:</p><p><br /></p><p>-Why brands hiding the word "AI" grew subscriptions 32 percent overnight</p><p>-Cloudflare's move to let AI agents pay publishers per article, and what it means for the future of media</p><p>-DoorDash's new AI agent ordering system, and how fast TJ thinks people will actually use it</p><p>-Why TJ came back to n8n by having Claude Code build the automations for him instead of learning the interface</p><p>-Inside GreetForm: how a golf simulator business closed 60 percent of leads at $200 a month, turning the cost of growing a newsletter from an expense into a profit</p><p><br /></p><p>Guest: Shane Brady</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@Shane-Brady" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@Shane-Brady</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Chapters:</p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>00:10 Only 2% of Americans pay for AI, and why the number is so low</p><p>01:54 The bifurcation: AI power users versus everyone else</p><p>04:57 Why nobody outside our bubble even calls it "Claude" right</p><p>05:32 Brands hiding the word "AI" and growing faster because of it</p><p>06:39 The Great Unplugging, and why local media wins from AI fatigue</p><p>08:58 Cloudflare, micropayments, and AI agents paying publishers per article</p><p>11:27 Tokenization, stablecoins, and the future of paying for AI</p><p>14:54 DoorDash lets AI agents place orders, what that means for shopping</p><p>19:40 TJ's n8n comeback and using Claude Code to build the automations</p><p>28:20 Building a personalized AI newsletter live on screen</p><p>31:02 The niche competitor-intelligence newsletter business idea</p><p>32:52 Inside GreetForm: turning newsletter growth costs into profit</p><p>40:31 Real case study: 60% close rate on a golf simulator lead</p><p>41:34 Why "I one-shotted this" demos rarely survive real customers</p><p><br /></p><p>This episode is part of AI for Media Brands, produced by Modern Media Engine, TJ Larkin's agency helping local media and newsletter brands grow with AI and paid acquisition. Learn more at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://modernmediaengine.com" target="_blank">modernmediaengine.com</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>#AIforMediaBrands #ArtificialIntelligence #LocalMedia #Newsletters #SmallBusiness</p>no00:44:4112We Wrote Off n8n, Then Claude Code Brought It Back From the Deadfull<![CDATA[AI is Amazing...And Incredibly Frustrating]]>AI is unbelievably powerful, and unbelievably frustrating.

In the first episode of AI for Media Brands, TJ Larkin and Shane Brady have an honest conversation about what it actually looks like to build businesses, software, and AI agent systems as non-technical entrepreneurs.

They break down why most “AI employee” demos make the process look far easier than it really is, how to avoid creating an army of agents that requires even more management, and why starting with one narrow, repeatable workflow is usually the smartest approach.

In this episode:

• How media brands like Every and Lenny’s Newsletter use software bundles to create massive audience value
• Why building an audience gives media operators leverage far beyond advertising
• How Linear can function as a task-management layer for AI agents
• Using Slack, Hermes agents, Codex, Claude, GitHub, Obsidian, and Conductor together
• The difference between chatting with AI and building truly autonomous workflows
• Why the final 10% of an AI system is often harder than the first 90%
• How TJ built an automated YouTube thumbnail workflow inside Slack
• Why AI agents can accidentally create a new full-time management job
• The risks of locking your company’s memory and workflows into one AI provider
• Why non-technical founders experimenting today could build a major advantage over the next several years

The central takeaway: don’t start by trying to automate your entire company. Start with one valuable workflow, test it in the real world, document every failure, and improve it until it works consistently.

AI for Media Brands explores how entrepreneurs and media operators can use AI to build better content, software, systems, and businesses—without pretending the process is effortless.

Subscribe for practical, honest conversations about building with AI.

#ArtificialIntelligence #AIAgents #MediaBusiness #Entrepreneurship #AIForBusiness #ContentCreation #Automation #ClaudeAI #Codex #LocalMedia

]]>f47aa751-8459-42ce-ab99-54d07f1a11eeWed, 15 Jul 2026 04:09:51 GMT<p>AI is unbelievably powerful, and unbelievably frustrating.</p><p></p><p>In the first episode of <b>AI for Media Brands</b>, TJ Larkin and Shane Brady have an honest conversation about what it actually looks like to build businesses, software, and AI agent systems as non-technical entrepreneurs.</p><p></p><p>They break down why most “AI employee” demos make the process look far easier than it really is, how to avoid creating an army of agents that requires even more management, and why starting with one narrow, repeatable workflow is usually the smartest approach.</p><p></p><p>In this episode:</p><p></p><p>• How media brands like Every and Lenny’s Newsletter use software bundles to create massive audience value<br />• Why building an audience gives media operators leverage far beyond advertising<br />• How Linear can function as a task-management layer for AI agents<br />• Using Slack, Hermes agents, Codex, Claude, GitHub, Obsidian, and Conductor together<br />• The difference between chatting with AI and building truly autonomous workflows<br />• Why the final 10% of an AI system is often harder than the first 90%<br />• How TJ built an automated YouTube thumbnail workflow inside Slack<br />• Why AI agents can accidentally create a new full-time management job<br />• The risks of locking your company’s memory and workflows into one AI provider<br />• Why non-technical founders experimenting today could build a major advantage over the next several years</p><p></p><p>The central takeaway: don’t start by trying to automate your entire company. Start with one valuable workflow, test it in the real world, document every failure, and improve it until it works consistently.</p><p></p><p><b>AI for Media Brands</b> explores how entrepreneurs and media operators can use AI to build better content, software, systems, and businesses—without pretending the process is effortless.</p><p></p><p>Subscribe for practical, honest conversations about building with AI.</p><p>#ArtificialIntelligence #AIAgents #MediaBusiness #Entrepreneurship #AIForBusiness #ContentCreation #Automation #ClaudeAI #Codex #LocalMedia</p>no00:57:141AI is Amazing...And Incredibly Frustratingfull