Your audience keeps buying answers they already have.
The one advantage AI and the gurus cannot sell them is understanding what they already know.
On their stages and shows
“This is the type of stuff that you pay consultants tens of thousands of dollars for.”
Jonathan MastHost, 91-Day Success Podcast“When I heard it was James, I was beyond excited. James is incredible.”
Etan PolingerHost, DigitalMarketer Agencies Talk“Just a couple of tips are worth the entire time that we spent today. Combined, it's invaluable.”
Mark de GrasseFormer President, DigitalMarketerBe the Advantage
You are your own best advantage.
When everything feels uncertain, the instinct is to reach outside for the answer: the next tool, the next course, the next guru, and now AI. That chase is what wears good people down. This talk shows your audience the way back: understanding themselves first, then the business they built, then what it is for. Their experience is the one thing nobody else has, and nothing else can supply.
The chase
Why buying one more answer feels like progress while it is happening, and why it never ends.
Understanding
The person first, then the business, then its purpose. The business only makes sense once you know why the person built it.
The decision
Experts hand their decisions to clients, AI and gurus, when deciding is exactly what clients pay them for. When you can be the advantage, you can help your customers make the best decisions.
One thing to do within 24 hours
Have a frank conversation with yourself. Name what you are feeling. Then pick one thing you believe you should be doing and ask whether you decided it, or the marketing decided it for you.
One talk, tuned to your room
- AI rooms
- What AI can do with your experience, and the decisions it should never make for you.
- Marketing rooms
- Where our shoulds come from, and how to tell your strategy from someone else's sales pitch.
- Brand rooms
- Why a brand starts with understanding the person who built it.
- Web and agency rooms
- The veterans who stepped back, recalibrated and came back, and why clients learning the tools does not make you obsolete.
- Business owners
- The reason you started is the vision. Finding it again.
Podcast interview · Virtual keynote · Webinar · Summit · Panel · Workshop
This talk will not give your audience
- Another tool to buy
- A system to copy and paste
- A promise that the next course is the one
It gives them a reason to trust what they already know.
See him teach
Real shows, workshops and talks. Nothing gated, no form.
What hosts say
He teaches; they react. In their own words, on the record.
Watch all the reactions (2 min)“I have yet to see anyone prompt the way you just showed us. That was incredible.”
Watch Etan“He knows what he's talking about. An amazing human being with an abundance of knowledge to share.”
Watch Jonathan“He just generated something that would have taken a standard marketer days, like a week.”
Watch Mark
“I charged $3,000 to do this over five hours with a client. This is worth thousands of dollars.”
Watch Jay
“Your transparency and your life experiences. I appreciate you for being willing to do that.”
Watch Rob
“I have kind of heard this presentation before, and it is very enlightening.”
Watch David
About James
James Bullis has spent more than 25 years building websites and marketing systems for businesses, consultants and organizations. He is the founder of Ventin Media in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has taught for DigitalMarketer and Scalable.
A few years ago the ground moved. The WordPress community he helped organize scattered during COVID, the marketing community frayed after it, and then AI made the whole industry unpredictable. He burned out. So he stopped, got help and did the work of understanding himself first. He watched peer after peer go through the same thing: step back, recalibrate and come back with a clearer idea of what they were for.
Understanding has been his word for a long time. He grew up between cultures, often misunderstood and often not understanding, and learned how much depends on context. Now he speaks about the advantage that comes from understanding what you already know, and why it is the one thing no tool can hand you.
Recent appearances
Podcasts, live shows and stages.
- 2024The SDM Show(opens in a new tab)with Rob CairnsMental Health Challenges With James Bullis (Episode 474)Podcast
- 2024AI Branding Academy(opens in a new tab)with Mark de GrasseUsing Human Empathy to Enrich Your AI-Driven BrandingWebinar
- 2023Meet the Experts(opens in a new tab)with Jay VicsMTE with James BullisPodcast
- 202391-Day Success Podcast(opens in a new tab)with Jonathan MastUnlocking Marketing's Hidden Power: James Reveals His AI JourneyPodcast
- 2023The AI/Marketing Sessionswith AI/Marketing HubPredict the Future by Looking to the PastConference
- 2023DigitalMarketer Agencies Talk(opens in a new tab)Predicting the Future by Looking Into the PastLive show
- 2023DigitalMarketer AI-Powered Marketer Accelerator 2.0Customer Value JourneyClass
- 2023DigitalMarketer AI-Powered Marketer BootcampBrand Voice & CVJ · Market & Keyword Research with AIClass
- 2023DigitalMarketer Podcast(opens in a new tab)with Mark de GrasseTechnological Advancements That Will Impact the Future of Marketing (Episode 309)Podcast
- 2022Gurus Gather Live(opens in a new tab)with Atiba de SouzaThe Four AcesConference
- 2021Techstars Startup Weekend San Antoniowith GeekdomWinning pitch: PromptCompetition
- 2020SMTULSA Conference (virtual)with Social Media TulsaThe Four ACESConference
- 2019WordCamp Dallas/Fort Worth(opens in a new tab)From Volume to Value: How to Charge What You Are Really WorthConference
- 2018SMTULSA Social Media and Digital Business Conferencewith Social Media TulsaConference
- 2017Create The Movement Podcast(opens in a new tab)with Brad PostWebsites with James Bullis (Episode 43)Podcast
The speaker kit, open
Everything you need to put James on your program or your show. No form, no waiting on an email.
Take them one at a time or all at once.
Download the whole kit (.zip, 4 MB)- Talk one-sheetBe the Advantage on one page · PDF↓
- Bios and introduction50- and 150-word bios, plus a 45-second intro to read aloud · PDF↓
- Bios as plain textReady to paste into show notes · TXT↓
- HeadshotsFour photos, studio and outdoor · ZIP↓
- Recording and AVVirtual and in person · PDF↓
- Past appearancesPodcasts, live shows and stages · PDF↓
A good fit
- Consultant, agency, web design and marketing communities
- AI and marketing events, summits and webinars
- Podcasts for business owners, consultants and creators
- Professional associations
Not a fit
- Hype slots. This talk asks people to think, not to feel pumped for an hour.
- Tools-and-tactics tutorials. The argument is that the next tool was never the answer.
- Rooms that want guaranteed results. Nobody can promise those honestly.
Virtual first · In person by arrangement
Not sure your room fits? Ask. He will tell you honestly.
Invite James
Three questions. James reads every one himself and replies within two business days.
Not booking a talk? The podcast and newsletter live at Be the Advantage.
Weekly conversations for experts who would rather think for themselves.