I’m thrilled to sit down with Dennis Yu, a digital marketing expert, to explore why so many entrepreneurs struggle to succeed with marketing and how they can turn things around.
Dennis has worked with top brands like Nike and the Golden State Warriors, helping them grow their digital presence. Now, he’s bringing his expertise to entrepreneurs who want to get their local marketing right.
He is the CEO of BlitzMetrics and co-author of the number one bestselling book on social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads.
Turning Fear into Focus: How Dennis Yu Shifted from Self-Doubt to Client-Focused Impact
The entrepreneurial journey is rarely a straight path, and Dennis reflects on one of the defining moments of his career.
He recalls being invited to speak live on CNN about the Cambridge Analytica scandal—a pivotal moment for Facebook and the digital marketing industry. “It was surreal,” he says, describing the pressure of knowing millions of people, including industry leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, might be watching.
Dennis Yu on CNN
The stakes couldn’t have been higher. “I barely slept the night before,” Dennis admits, describing the intensity of stepping into CNN’s studio. Bright lights, multiple cameras, and heightened security added to the moment’s weight.
Despite his nerves, he realized the key wasn’t in presenting himself as an expert but in serving the audience. “That shift in perspective changed everything for me,” he says.
Rather than focusing on the fear of making a mistake, Dennis reframed the situation. “I told myself, ‘You’re here to make sense of something complicated for people who are confused.’ It wasn’t about me—it was about them,” he explains. Once he embraced that mindset, the words flowed naturally.
He emphasizes how this lesson extends beyond live TV.
Whether you’re speaking at a conference, pitching to a client, or running a team meeting, Dennis believes the real power comes from representing the audience’s needs. “Your job isn’t to have all the answers,” he says. “It’s to be a voice for the people you’re serving.”
This change in perspective speaks to me, as I see how easily we can get caught up in trying to prove ourselves during high-pressure situations. Dennis agrees, adding that trust is built not by showcasing expertise but by showing up with authenticity and clarity.
Adapting to Change: Transforming Challenges into Business Opportunities
During Covid time, Dennis noticed a shift in his health. COVID forced him into a more inactive lifestyle, and his busy work’s added stress only worsened things.
The global attention from the Cambridge Analytica controversy had pushed him into the media spotlight, leading to increased demands on his time.
Dennis explains that the Cambridge Analytica event quickly made him a recognizable figure in the media. “It wasn’t about being an expert; it was about being the familiar face reporters knew to call,” he says.
This visibility led to speaking engagements and an influx of business leads. But instead of handling everything himself, Dennis began connecting clients with trusted partners, gaining stakes in these agencies.
Then COVID-19 hit, and all his speaking engagements were canceled. Forced to adapt, Dennis shifted to virtual meetings and embraced Zoom. “I’m a math guy, not a media person,” he admits, “but I bought equipment and taught myself how to run virtual meetings.”
What seemed like a setback turned into an opportunity to reinvent how he did business. Zoom calls became an efficient way to connect with anyone in the world.
That’s the same way I connected with Dennis via Zoom to host this great session.
Richard Canfield and Dennis Yu on Zoom meeting
I agree with Dennis—those short Zoom calls can lead to meaningful collaborations today. Instead of the traditional business card exchange, networking now is about providing value and helping others. When you do that, you build connections that can lead to new opportunities.
Dennis also advocates collaborating with competitors. He encouraged a friend in cold email marketing to interview others in the same space and compile those interviews into a book. “It doesn’t weaken your position—it builds credibility,” Dennis explains.
By sharing the expertise of respected figures in your industry, you create valuable content that strengthens your authority.
For example, over the last few months, I have been sharing my experience with tons of people and making an inventory of it on my channel.
Richard has been sharing the experience with other experts via Zoom
For entrepreneurs, Dennis stresses the importance of creating content that builds trust. Rather than just selling, find ways to feature experts your audience respects. Whether it’s interviews, articles, or books, showcasing others builds your reputation as a trusted leader.
Entrepreneurship and Health: The High Cost of Neglecting Your Body
The health challenge Dennis faced nearly cost him his life, though he brushes over it with humility. He recalls a conversation with Dr. Ovadia, a heart surgeon, who shared the story of an entrepreneur in his mid-forties. The man was busy, overworked, and didn’t prioritize his health, believing a heart attack wouldn’t happen to him. Despite the doctor’s skill, the patient passed away.
Dennis Yu and Dr. Ovadia are discussing health
Dennis didn’t have a heart attack, but he did collapse from another health issue, a wake-up call that highlighted the importance of taking care of his body before it’s too late.
“You don’t know when a heart attack will hit,” Dennis reflects, emphasizing that many people feel fine until it’s too late.
“Just because you’re not fat doesn’t mean you’re immune to health issues,” he adds, stressing that entrepreneurs often ignore their bodies, thinking they can push through with caffeine, lack of sleep, and stress. But, as he learned, that behavior eventually takes its toll.
Dennis has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars researching health treatments and supplements, seeking to prevent the kind of burnout that affects so many in his industry. “When it happens, it clears your schedule—but it’s too late to fix it,” he warns.
Dennis’s transformation is nothing short of remarkable. He’s dropped 50 pounds and normalized his health markers, developing a maintenance program to keep himself on track.
“Imagine being a financial advisor with a $20,000 credit card limit and maxing it out without realizing it,” he compares. “That’s what most entrepreneurs are doing with their bodies. You think you can keep going, but eventually, the damage catches up.”
Dennis believes that true success starts with health—everything else falls apart without it.
Transforming Local Businesses and Young Adults Through Digital Marketing
Dennis Yu’s goal is to empower the next generation of marketers and create jobs in local communities through effective marketing. His approach focuses on measurement—providing local service businesses like chiropractors, roofers, and veterinarians with tools to track their digital performance.
“You wouldn’t try to lose weight without a scale,” Dennis says. “Why try to grow your business without knowing where you stand in Google rankings, website traffic, and ads performance?”
His platform, Are You Googleable, helps businesses assess and improve their digital presence. Dennis teaches local businesses to manage their marketing themselves, using AI-powered tools rather than outsourcing to agencies. He believes that small businesses can thrive by understanding the tools available and hiring young people from their communities to manage their marketing efforts.
One example is Mia, a young lady who transformed her father’s struggling restoration business. After completing Dennis’s program, Mia not only helped her dad but also started her own agency. Her business grew, and she hired other young adults with little experience, giving them the skills to manage digital marketing.
Dennis’s model isn’t just about marketing—it’s about teaching young adults to create value and build careers. Instead of pushing young people toward traditional college routes, Dennis provides mentorship, hands-on experience, and practical skills.
At a National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) conference, Dennis invited the children of funeral directors on stage to show how they used technology and marketing to grow their family businesses. This hands-on approach helped young people who had no interest in their family’s business take an active role in its success.
Dennis’s approach focuses on mentorship and apprenticeships, aiming to create a ripple effect. By teaching one young person, he’s helping them create jobs for others in their community. His ultimate goal is to create a million jobs through marketing skills.
The Power of Mentorship: Shifting Focus from Doing to Teaching in the Entrepreneurial Journey
Many people over 50 often feel it’s too late to start something new or keep up with technology. But it’s not about keeping up—it’s about surrounding yourself with those who are ahead and learning from them. Younger individuals, in particular, need mentorship to avoid making the same mistakes others have already learned from.
Dennis recalls meeting Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, long before he became a billionaire.
Jack shared a powerful lesson: the first decade of life is spent learning skills, the second decade is about management, and by the third, you become a mentor, sharing what you’ve learned.
Dennis reflects on his own career, where early on, he ignored the advice of older generations, thinking he knew better. He worked hard, made mistakes, and learned the tough lessons that come with it.
Now, in his third decade of experience, Dennis realizes the importance of mentoring others. He’s no longer focused on doing everything himself or staying on top of every new technology.
Instead, he delegates, trusting others to take charge and teach others. A young team member recently showed him a new tool. Instead of learning it himself, Dennis encouraged the team members to document the process and train others. This shift has allowed Dennis to scale and create more impact than he ever could on his own.
This idea mirrors the “backward bicycle” concept: knowing something doesn’t mean you truly understand it until you’ve experienced it yourself. Dennis’s health challenges and life lessons helped him realize the value of reflection. With two more decades of experience, he can now look back, plan for the future, and pass on valuable lessons to help others avoid the same mistakes.
AI as an Amplifier: Why Smart Marketers, Not Machines, Will Drive the Future
Dennis quickly dismisses the “AI killing jobs” narrative as mostly exaggerated Hollywood fiction. He emphasizes that AI will not cause widespread job losses but will shift the landscape. “The AI doesn’t kill the jobs. It’s smart people using AI that will,” he explains.
He parallels the history of technology, noting how every major advancement, from the internet to social media, has amplified existing strengths. “Technology is neither good nor evil. It is an amplifier of that good or evil,” he says. For marketers, this means AI isn’t about creating content from scratch but about amplifying what already works. “AI can amplify that, not create it, not from scratch.”
At an AI conference, Dennis learned that the most valuable skill in leveraging AI is not technical expertise, but empathy and clear communication. “The more empathetic you are, the more you can have a conversation thoughtfully using active listening,” he explains. This allows AI to execute tasks efficiently based on well-defined instructions.
Dennis shares an example of a friend who runs a successful business by interacting with AI daily. He asks simple questions about his ads and sales, then instructs the AI to handle specific tasks. “He’s like literally talking to the thing,” Dennis says, emphasizing the ease and efficiency of this approach.
AI, according to Dennis, is capable of replacing entire departments, offering expertise without the need for a large team. The key to success is having clear instructions and processes in place. “If you can think of it, if you can use the SOPs from anybody, you can have this large department of the most expert people in the world working for you,” he adds.
Key Takeaways
- Empathy and Audience-Centric Approach: Dennis Yu emphasizes the power of shifting focus from self-doubt to serving the audience, whether on live TV, in client meetings, or while creating content. Trust and authenticity are key to connecting with others.
- Adaptability and Collaboration: Dennis highlights how challenges, such as the pandemic, can create new opportunities, from embracing virtual meetings to collaborating with competitors, which builds credibility and fosters meaningful connections.
- Health as a Priority: Entrepreneurs often neglect their health in the pursuit of success. Dennis’s personal health scare underscores the importance of prioritizing well-being as the foundation for sustainable success.
- Empowering Young Marketers: By mentoring young adults and providing hands-on experience, Dennis demonstrates how equipping the next generation with practical skills can revitalize local businesses and create job opportunities in communities.
- AI as a Tool for Amplification: Rather than replacing jobs, AI amplifies existing processes. The key lies in clear communication, empathy, and leveraging well-structured SOPs to unlock its full potential for marketing success.
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