Welcome to a new episode of Business Lunch! On today’s episode, Ryan Deiss unpacks the full story behind his viral “retirement” post, a headline that unexpectedly ignited controversy, curiosity, and massive engagement. He shares the real reason behind DigitalMarketer’s major pivot, the behind-the-scenes chaos of a misfired email campaign, and the strategic follow-through that turned a happy accident into one of their most successful promotions ever. If you want to learn how to harness viral attention and turn it into real revenue, this episode is a masterclass in doing exactly that.
Highlights:
“I’m retiring from digital marketing and taking my company down with me.”
“It was a forcing function for me to finally stop doing what I always defaulted to.”
“We’re not training people anymore. We’re training AI.”
“The post was an accident. What happened after? That was strategy.”
TIMESTAMPS
- 00:00 From 1999 to Now: A Marketing Journey
- 02:42 The Viral “Retirement” Post
- 05:00 The Unexpected Reactions
- 08:19 Why DigitalMarketer Had to Pivot
- 12:41 Email Chaos Behind the Scenes
- 15:00 Handling a Viral Moment in Real Time
- 20:00 Lessons From the Comments Section
- 24:06 What Ryan Would Do Differently Next Time
- 7:32 The 77% Opt-in Rate Town Hall
- 31:53 Retiring With a Final Offer
