Summary
Weekly Ben sync. Topics: design tooling limitations (Claude Design struggles with social images outside web context; Ben using ChatGPT image gen), newsletter deliverability crisis (Trend Spotting at 2% open rate / 82% delivery rate), Megaphone acquisition at add-backs stage, Hard Calls brand demo shown (AI clone expert network with Houckbot), and JOLT agent build sequence.
Decisions
- Design tooling: investigate whether a rich brand kit + reference images unlocks Claude Design for social images
- Newsletter: FJ to run one more Tuesday send, then done; Lore site live Friday or Monday, soft launch Tuesday; Hard Calls rebrand target week of Aug 4
- FJ Plus reskinned as Hard Calls Pro (benefits mostly unchanged)
- Hard Calls AI clone network: users ask questions, relevant expert AI clones surface answers; paid calls with real expert; experts set own rates, Rye Valley takes commission
- Build sequence: Hard Calls site live this week, rebrand launch ~Aug 4, then expert recruitment + interviewer agent
- After JOLT agents (target: end of next week), Ben pivots to expert onboarding ops and Lore agents
- Charlene onboarding: test with viral examples task; goal is her and Venus tag-teaming content sourcing
- Role clarity for Ben: Michael to share forward-looking scope doc within 1-2 weeks (post-acquisition decision)
- See also: Hard Calls: AI Clone Expert Network as the Core Product
Action Items
- Ben: investigate newsletter deliverability and funnel email spam issues (check Beehive stats, contact support)
- Ben: audit Houck newsletter ad setup post-click (landing page, Spark Loop, branding; currently burning spend with 0% recovery)
- Ben: research Claude Design for social images (find YouTube/blog resources; report back within a day or two)
- Ben: finalize and send VSL research doc by end of day July 23
- Ben/Ryna: pull LinkedIn mutual connections for TikTok outreach list; flag 1-3 high-potential per person; use Cape this week if still live
- Ben: build JOLT V1 agents (pending Tatum’s platform-specific detail by end of week; target: end of next week)
Notable Details
- Trend Spotting open rate: ~2%, delivery rate 82% (normally ~99.7%); leads acquired but seeing nothing
- Megaphone acquisition at add-backs stage; final number TBD; decision deadline Aug 1
- Ads issue: post-click experience broken (Houck newsletter branding, no landing page, Spark Loop not showing)
- Houckbot embedded: post-signup quiz routes subscribers to 1:1 session, agency, or low-end offer
- 60K subscriber audience used as leverage to recruit expert clones
Transcript
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