Episode 433: From Marine to Marketing: Jim Fuhs on Building Trust and Sales with Substack

Jim Fuhs  00:00
I just found it fascinating, being a lifelong learner. I think that’s how I viewed things—constantly changing.  

Intro  00:09
Welcome to the Making Sales Social Podcast featuring the top voices in sales, marketing, and business. Join Brynne Tillman and me, Bob Woods, as we bring you the best tips and strategies our guests are teaching their clients, so you can leverage them for your own virtual and social selling. Enjoy the show.  

Bob Woods  00:31

Jim Fuhs, thanks for joining me today. I appreciate it.  

Jim Fuhs  00:37

Bob, great to be here. Thanks for having me.  

Bob Woods  00:40

You’re very welcome. For those who don’t know, Jim is a Marine Corps veteran turned digital marketing strategist. Thank you for your service, Jim—I truly appreciate it.  

Jim Fuhs  00:51

As I like to say, you’re worth it. That’s why we do it.  

Bob Woods  00:54

Thank you. Nowadays, Jim is the President and CEO of Fusion Marketing—spelled F-U-H-S-I-O-N marketing dot com.  

He brings over 20 years of military leadership into the fast-moving world of content creation, live streaming, and strategy. Today, we’re focusing on Substack, the shiny new tool out there, and how it can help you be seen as an expert in your field.  

As we like to say around here, you can start those all-important sales conversations without being salesy. With that, let’s get started. Jim, formally, welcome to the Social Sales Link Virtual Studios and the Making Sales Social Podcast.  

Jim Fuhs  01:53

I’m excited to be here, and I love talking about social sales. I see that you and Tim Hughes are connected. He’s big on social selling, and so am I. I think a lot of people can learn from that approach.  

Bob Woods  02:10

Definitely, a lot of our content—really all of it—is about social selling, especially on LinkedIn, since that’s where it started.  

We’ll get into Substack in a minute, but first, Jim, from the Marine Corps to marketing—that’s a story I’d love to hear.  

Jim Fuhs  02:47

Sometimes I wonder how it happened myself. I was living in the Camp Lejeune area when I retired in 2009. At first, I did what many retired military officers do: I went into government contracting. I worked for a company on the contractor side, not for the government itself. But I realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do long term. So I started consulting, attending small business conferences, and running into people doing social media. I noticed they were getting paid well for something that didn’t seem too complicated. That caught my attention. I’ve always been into technology—going back to Atari and Commodore 64 days. In college, I started as a computer science major but switched to business when I realized programming on weekends wasn’t for me.  

Digital marketing seemed exciting, always evolving. Around 2016, I stopped government consulting and went full-time into marketing. With my business background, I felt much of marketing was common sense, especially tied to social selling—building trust and relationships. That led me into video. Platforms often tell us what they want, but many don’t listen. In 2018, Facebook said, “Go live.” I had clients, and although I’d never done on-camera work, my Marine Corps mindset—adapt and overcome—kicked in. I figured it out, started going live, and video became my favorite medium. Video allows repurposing and engages multiple senses—sight, sound, and presence—even if not touch or taste yet. With AI, AR, and VR, who knows what’s next?  

Bob Woods  06:19

Absolutely. I remember a company back before the dot-com boom that tried to introduce smell cartridges for computers. It didn’t last, but nowadays we’re probably closer than ever to those kinds of experiences. Speaking of video, tell me more about your podcast—Dealcasters Live. It’s on Amazon, which is very interesting. What inspired you to create it?  

Jim Fuhs  07:09

Before that, I had a live show called *The Tim and Jim Show*, co-hosted with Tim Soane. We interviewed people in the marketing space to help others learn. Right before the pandemic, I met Chris Stone. We became fast friends and started doing remote production. Ross Brand then announced Amazon was letting qualified people go live. I applied, got approved, and told Chris, “We’re starting a show.”  

That’s how Dealcasters Live began in 2020 as part of the Amazon Influencer Program. It became our sandbox to talk tech, video, and audio, and to interview authors about their books launching on Amazon.  

We multistream to Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and now Substack. It allows us to repurpose video into blog posts, connect with companies, and even do product videos. It’s been a great journey helping people overcome the “fear of the gear.”  

Bob Woods  09:27

Exactly. I saw your Amazon page recently—you reviewed the Shure MV7 microphone, which I use. Great mic. Let’s shift to Substack. How would you describe it, especially compared to blogs, LinkedIn posts, or newsletters?  

Jim Fuhs  10:24

Substack is a direct-to-creator platform. It lets you connect directly with subscribers and exchange email addresses—something most platforms don’t allow. It’s more than blogging. It’s multimodal: you can go live, upload podcasts, videos, audio, and use Notes, which are like old-school Twitter but without character limits. You can create communities with chats, free or paid subscribers, and publications that serve as websites. You can customize tabs to link to your YouTube or website. For me, Substack, LinkedIn, and YouTube are my focus. The rest feels like noise. I’m less interested in chasing short-form trends. Substack gives me a hub for long-form, valuable engagement.  

Bob Woods  13:17

Good points. Though LinkedIn’s algorithm favors short videos, which sometimes forces creators to adapt.  

Jim Fuhs  13:37

Yes, and it makes you wonder if LinkedIn is trying to mimic other platforms.  

Bob Woods  13:44

Spoiler alert—yes.  

Jim Fuhs  13:49

Right. I post videos there too, but people often don’t watch long ones on LinkedIn. That’s why we multistream. Maybe they’ll catch it on YouTube or Substack.  

Bob Woods  14:18

LinkedIn still excels at engagement through its degree-based connection system. That’s harder for Substack to replicate, though it may catch up.  

Jim Fuhs  15:06

True, but Substack makes content easy to share across platforms. You can auto-generate graphics for LinkedIn posts, though linking out often reduces views.  

Bob Woods  15:32

Yes, I’ve noticed that. LinkedIn punishes external links, especially to Substack. For clarity: a Substack Note is like a LinkedIn post, while a Substack Post is like a LinkedIn article or newsletter.  

Jim Fuhs  16:07

Correct. And Substack newsletters are emailed directly to subscribers—similar to LinkedIn’s newsletters.  

Bob Woods  16:31

Exactly. It can be confusing switching between terms. Many still view Substack as only a newsletter platform. But you describe it more as a community. How do you build engagement there instead of just broadcasting?  

Jim Fuhs  17:26

Engagement comes from following and interacting with people you find interesting—sharing their posts, commenting, restacking (similar to retweeting), and direct messaging. Unlike LinkedIn, you don’t need connection approval to DM someone. And if spammers appear, you can block them easily. It feels like a happier place overall.  

Bob Woods  18:36

Good to hear. What tactics do you use to spark conversations on Substack?  

Jim Fuhs  19:06

Posting Notes with quotes or questions helps. Sharing others’ work and explaining why also builds engagement. When creating posts, you can share them as Notes to drive traffic back. Recommendations are powerful too—other creators can recommend your publication, which has gained me many subscribers. It’s organic and doesn’t require asking for endorsements like on LinkedIn.  

Bob Woods  20:51

That’s excellent. I’ve also been talking about health and even pickleball recently, finding parallels with sales.  

Jim Fuhs  21:36

Exactly. Substack allows multiple publications. You could separate business and pickleball audiences while maintaining engagement with each.  

You also get analytics—star ratings for engagement and open rates. You can email your most engaged subscribers or re-engage those less active. That builds stronger relationships.  

Bob Woods  22:37

That’s powerful compared to LinkedIn, which hides a lot of data.  

Jim Fuhs  23:45

Yes. Substack’s algorithm seems to surface content you actually want to see. When you set up your profile, you choose categories, and it learns from your engagement.  You can filter by people you follow, categories, or tags. It reminds me of Twitter lists, but more structured. And unlike LinkedIn, you can repost Notes multiple times without penalty.  

Bob Woods  25:38

That’s refreshing. So, why do you see Substack as a “secret weapon” for salespeople?  

Jim Fuhs  26:24

Because it’s about connection. You can quickly engage socially, not just sell. Live video is powerful—even with just 10 subscribers you can go live, repurpose the video, create clips, and share across platforms. It lets you add links freely—great for promoting events or resources—without algorithm punishment. Substack becomes both a publishing and community tool.  

Bob Woods  28:52

What content works best on Substack—storytelling, frameworks, case studies?  

Jim Fuhs  29:30

A mix. People learn differently, so combining video with written summaries is effective. Substack lets you organize posts into categories, almost like a website. You can share across publications too—backlinking someone else’s article to yours with commentary, which builds credibility and community.  

Bob Woods  31:41

How should someone think about positioning on Substack?  

Jim Fuhs  32:11

Stay focused. If your topics are too broad, it confuses readers. If you want to branch into something unrelated, create a separate publication. You can also add contributors or admins, making it work like a team or company page. That flexibility is powerful.  

Bob Woods  33:36

That’s interesting. LinkedIn restricts account sharing, but Substack encourages collaboration.  

Jim Fuhs  34:14

Exactly. If I feature you on a live stream and repost it, I can credit you as a co-contributor. That expands reach for both audiences.  

Bob Woods  34:32

Very cool. Speaking of growth, what’s a good consistency rhythm for publishing on Substack?  

Jim Fuhs  35:18

Ideally, one Note a day and meaningful engagement with two or three others. For full posts, once a week is great, but don’t stress if it’s less. Notes drive growth more than anything. Repurpose posts into LinkedIn newsletters or emails, but make Substack your home base—you own the email list and can always take it elsewhere if needed.  

Bob Woods  37:18

Yes, I remember when Facebook groups disappeared temporarily and people panicked. That’s why owning your list is crucial.  

Jim Fuhs  37:54

Exactly. With Substack, you can even link to your LinkedIn profile or add social links. It can become your central hub.  

Bob Woods  39:09

What about monetization? Should B2B professionals charge, or is it more about authority and community?  

Jim Fuhs  39:57

Two schools of thought. I keep my content free but allow paid subscriptions for supporters. Later, you could add perks—like monthly calls or exclusive content.  Sponsorship models may come too. Even without charging, your posts can drive business by linking to offers or resources.  

Bob Woods  41:14

Hopefully, Substack avoids overloading with ads like LinkedIn.  

Jim Fuhs  41:30

They don’t have ads yet, but with new funding, who knows? The community is cautious, but Substack seems to listen to creators.  

Bob Woods  41:54

Do you think Substack could fade like Meta’s Threads, or does it have staying power?  

Jim Fuhs  42:51

I think it’s here to stay. Unlike fleeting platforms, Substack provides real data, engagement, and email ownership. Growth is slower but higher quality. It’s about building community, not vanity metrics.  I’ve quadrupled my subscribers since March by focusing on consistency and embracing both video and writing.  

Bob Woods  45:33

That’s great. I like to end with one takeaway. Jim, what’s one thing listeners can do today to make Substack their secret weapon?  

Jim Fuhs  46:00

Start posting Notes. Search topics that interest you, follow creators, subscribe, and engage. Keep it simple and consistent.  

Bob Woods  46:14

Perfect. Jim, where can people find you?  

Jim Fuhs  46:28

Go to jimfuhs.substack.com. Or find me on LinkedIn—just search Jim Fuhs.  

Bob Woods  46:42

And for Dealcasters Live, it’s dealcasters. live.  Jim Fuhs, Marine turned marketer and Substack expert, thank you so much for joining me in the Social Sales Link Virtual Studios.  

Jim Fuhs  47:06

Thank you, Bob. Great to talk with you.  

Bob Woods  47:10

And thank you all for tuning in to this episode of Making Sales Social. Remember—wherever you are, LinkedIn, Substack, or anywhere—be sure to make your sales social.  

Thanks for watching, and join us again for more special guest instructors, bringing you marketing, sales training, and social selling strategies that will set you apart. Hit the subscribe button below to get the latest episodes from the Making Sales Social podcast, give this video a thumbs up, and comment down below on what you want to hear from us next. You can also listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube Music, and Amazon Music. Visit our website, socialsaleslink.com for more information.