Mike Allton is a digital marketing expert that brings his experience and straightforward approach to deliver practical AI insights and actionable advice; he has a passion for helping businesses thrive in the age of AI.  Mike. works full time for Agorapulse as their Director of Partner-led Growth, a position he’s held, in various forms, since 2018. 

He began hosting AI for Solopreneurs: The AI Hat Podcast in May 2024. He has released more than 100 episodes of this weekly podcast.

What inspired your podcast? 

I started the podcast in Spring of 2024 mostly as a platform where I’d be able to interview and learn from the brightest minds in AI – focused mostly on marketing. After launching and conducting dozens of interviews, I started to explore different directions and audiences. Interviews and solo episodes are now focused on helping solopreneurs, creators, and micro-business owners identify the bottlenecks in their businesses and see how AI and automation can help them break through.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started your first podcast?

When I first started podcasting, many years ago, I didn’t have reasonable expectations for episode performance. I had anticipated seeing consumption levels that corresponded to my past success with blog posts and social media posts. I’ve since learned that the nature of podcasting is quite different. Unless you have a mainstream consumer-focused show, expectations need to be much lower in terms of consumption, but higher in terms of impact.

What are your long-term podcast goals?

1. Achieve 500+ downloads per episode within 7 days (100% growth)

2. Develop a clear, trackable funnel from podcast listeners to clients.

What is your podcast signoff?

Welcome to the grid.

Share a fun fact about yourself or unique hobby.

I’m a classically trained saxophone jazz musician.

Anything to add?

In addition to solo episodes and other business owners, I’ve interviewed guests from high profile industry businesses like Google, nVidia, LinkedIn, and more. Having that level of prestige with the podcast has doubtless helped acquire not only new guests, but new business.

To learn more, go to TheAIHat.com and The AI Hat Podcast on MPN. Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeallton.