248: Love Me or Hate Me, There's No Money in the Middle

My wife posts something she believed in on Instagram. Within minutes, a woman comments, "I'm unfollowing you." Ouch. But then the post starts climbing. Comments, shares, new followers, people messaging her saying, "Thank you for saying this." One person left. Dozens leaned in closer. And that's not a coincidence. That's how this game actually works. Most creators are stuck in the middle. They're not loved, they're not hated. They're just ignored. And the middle is where businesses go to quietly die. In this episode, I break down the three layers of content that pull your people toward you (and push the wrong ones away). I share the Nicole Burke story from our summit, the Gary Vaynerchuk moment that made me define my values, and a framework you can use this week to stop blending in. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why vanilla content gets zero engagement (nobody drives across town for vanilla ice cream) • The three layers of standing out: opinions, values, and controversial takes • How Nicole Burke grew Gardinary Co. to 1.5 million followers using "conspiracy theories" • Why unfollows aren't losses, they're the filter working exactly the way it should • A simple framework: "Most people think X, but I believe Y" RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: • Book "Predictable Profits": • Instagram: • Podcast: • Membership.io:

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248: Love Me or Hate Me, There's No Money in the Middle is an episode from Marketing Your Business | Marketing strategies for growing your business and generating more recurring revenue by Stu McLaren.

This episode is 12:45 long.

This episode was published on Apr 15, 2026.

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