Peter Murphy Lewis: Welcome, welcome, welcome friends of The Engaging Marketeer podcast. This is not Darren’s voice, unless he’s been hit in the head or the throat with a branding stick. I’m your guest host today, Peter Murphy Lewis. You probably don’t know me yet, unless you recently listened to the interview Darren did with me on July 18th, 2025. It was entitled Using SEO to Compete Against the Big Boys. Give it a listen because it talks about everything I did wrong — and that I should have hired Darren beforehand. It was a blast, but now he’s letting me do what no comedian should ever let you do: take over the show.
It’s a bold move, but he’s a bold man, and I’m going to do my best to make it worthwhile. For those of you who don’t know who I am, I’m a fractional CMO and documentarian. But that’s enough about me — let’s get into our guest. He’s the host of the podcast, the genius behind BNI Education Slots, founder of Engage Web, author of Engage and Grow, and a TEDx speaker. We’re going to talk about all of that. But what’s really interesting — he’s a legitimately award-winning comedian. I’m thrilled to flip the mic around and introduce Darren Jamieson, everybody.
Darren Jamieson: Well, thank you very much. I don’t know whether you described me as a bold person or a bald person, but either would be sufficient. Thank you.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Let’s start off by saying thanks for being on your own show. People know your voice, but they might not know the backstory behind Darren Jamieson. What do you do at Engage Web, and what are you most proud of professionally so far?
Darren Jamieson: Professionally so far — what do I do at Engage Web? As I tell people at networking events all the time, I do absolutely nothing at Engage Web. When I started, it was just me and Lianne. We did all of the content, I did all of the websites, all the technical stuff, and all of the sales with Lianne. It was horrible — starting a business for the first time. Terrible. I don’t recommend it to anyone. I’m joking, of course — everyone should start a business.
But now I do naff-all. My job consists of things like this — talking to you on my show, which is weird — going out to events, talking to people, speaking on a stage, talking to people, and basically talking and drinking wine and beer and coffee (not necessarily in that order). My team handles everything else. They are the business. I’m just the gob at the front that brings people in — that’s literally all I do.
In terms of what I’m most proud of, I mention it every time I talk to someone, at every event — whenever there’s a pause I chip in — and you’ve already mentioned it today: my TEDx talk. It’s absolutely my proudest moment because it was frightening and exhilarating to do, and I loved every second. It went off word-perfect without any notes or prompts — eighteen minutes of absolute perfection in my eyes. So everyone, check the TEDx talk on our YouTube channel.
Peter Murphy Lewis: In terms of keynote speaking, talks, or workshops, what’s been the hardest topic for you to prepare?
Darren Jamieson: There are a few. Social media is hard to prepare because it’s constantly changing as you’re doing it. If you’re giving a walk-through on how to do something, thanks to the wisdom and beauty of how platforms like Facebook work, everyone’s looking at something slightly different with buttons in different places. So it’s very hard to do something for a larger audience when everybody’s seeing something different.
SEO is extremely difficult to talk about because it changes the very next day — several times throughout the day. That’s a pain.
But the one I found really interesting lately was AI, because so many people are talking about how to use AI to create content, slides, websites. I thought, “How can I compete when so many people are doing it?” So I flipped it: how can you be the person that AI cites? How can you be the person AI references when it’s answering other people’s questions? That was the one I found difficult to prepare for, so I just did the exact opposite of what everyone expected.
Peter Murphy Lewis: I have a follow-up around how things change in AI and SEO, but I’m warning you: I’m going back to the TEDx talk and some keynotes. I want the audience to know this is intentional, not scatter-brained. Everything’s changing, but it seems like your company has offered a pay-monthly website package and that hasn’t changed. Explain what that means and what hasn’t changed.
Darren Jamieson: Strangely, it’s an American thing. In the UK we don’t lease stuff as much — we like to own things. In America, you lease a lot. Whenever we spoke to a client about a website, we’d often be asked, “Do you have an option to spread the payment? Can we pay monthly?” We never did, because it wasn’t really a thing here — until we realised so many people were asking, and no one else was doing it. That’s a USP.
So we brought in this pay-monthly website package where, rather than pay two, three, four thousand pounds for a website, you pay a small fee each month and we do everything — design, hosting, content, updates — all included. We launched it in 2018 for £99 per month and we’ve never changed the price. It’s still £99 a month now in 2025 — seven years later. We’ve said “bugger inflation — sod it — we don’t care.”
The big thing for clients is they often can’t get hold of their web designer for updates. Designers get paid, move on to the next client, and there’s no aftercare. We built our business around aftercare. We do the changes within the price; it’s all included. We’ve got a guy in the business — James (he’s a Manchester United fan, but don’t hold that against him) — whose sole job is to update clients’ websites. He doesn’t build or design; he updates and supports. He looks after the hundreds of clients on this package. I’ve never known another web company that does this, certainly not at our scale.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Love it. We’ll have to revisit your business model in another podcast, because not changing prices in over seven years is insane — impressive, but insane. I want to go back to your TEDx. What is the one line or question you delivered best that will make anyone listening go and watch it?
Darren Jamieson: The whole TEDx talk was about cyberbullying. My son was the victim — someone created a fake Facebook profile — and I traced who did it in under an hour. That’s the key takeaway: anyone can do this.
But what I want people to take away — whether you’re a parent, a child being bullied, or, importantly, if you’re a bully — is that even though the internet seems anonymous, you can’t really hide behind a fake profile. People like me will find out who you are. Social platforms know who you are. Google knows who you are. So no matter what you do to hide your identity, it’s possible to trace you. Never put something online that you wouldn’t be prepared to have read back to you in a court of law — because it could happen. Good advice.
Peter Murphy Lewis: I want to talk about relationships and your BNI Education Slots. It seems rooted in offering a favour — more powerful than pitching yourself. If that’s the premise, when did you stop asking and start giving?
Darren Jamieson: When we first started, we went to networking groups and, like most new business owners, we thought networking meant handing out fifty business cards and four or five people would say, “Oh, you do websites — we need one,” and hire you on the spot. We think we’re selling to the room. That’s not networking. It’s about making people remember you when you’re not there — making them want a follow-up conversation. The best way to do that is to listen and help.
It took me a few years to realise that. When I first joined BNI, I was a member for ten or eleven months before I got my first referral — about £800 — and the meeting fees were around £1,200 at the time, never mind my time. It took a couple of years to realise it’s about relationships and giving to others.
BNI’s core value is Givers Gain. If you give business to someone, they’ll want to give business back. If they can’t, someone else will, and eventually it comes back to you. You need to be seen as someone who wants to help others for people to want to help you. Whether you’re naturally philanthropic or not — don’t fake it — but understand that’s how it works. A lot of people never get this and just keep selling — thrusting cards into hands and moving on. We need to switch that: be more giving in order to receive.
Peter Murphy Lewis: That resonates with me as a father. My eight-year-old asked if it’s hard to own a business, get a job — later, “find a wife.” I’ve said for years: if you’re the most helpful person in the room, you always listen, and you’re always kind, you’ll always have a job, friends, and be needed — and you’ll have a line of potential partners. You don’t need to be great on TikTok — go be the most helpful person in the room.
Darren Jamieson: That’s a great saying — “be the most helpful person in the room.” I love that. And I like the idea of a whole line of wives as well — I don’t think I could handle it. I can’t imagine two of my wife. She’s special — but two would be worse.
Peter Murphy Lewis: You’ve got a unique combo — expert marketer and award-winning comedian — kind of like Gary Vee crossed with a famous comedian, Chappelle or whomever. How can someone use their authentic personality — even the weird stuff, which you excel at — as a brand advantage without losing professionalism?
Darren Jamieson: It depends what your authentic personality is. If it’s that of a serial killer or a hermit hoarding boxes and never going out, that might be difficult.
But it is important to be yourself — everyone else is taken
If you fake a personality — try to be cheerful when you’re a bit of a miserable bugger, or serious when you’re not — you’ll attract the wrong kind of client.
You need clients who’ll work well with you and gel with you. If, like me, you’re a bit of a show-off and egotist who likes performing and being funny (and they gave me an award, so I must be), then do that and be yourself, because the people who want to work with you will be the ones you’ll enjoy working with. If I tried to be really serious and talk finance, I’d end up with boring clients and be unhappy. Be yourself and you’ll work with people who like you for you. Try to be someone else and you’ll end up working with people you won’t enjoy.
Peter Murphy Lewis: How has doing stand-up impacted your business or marketing? Do you test jokes more in your marketing now?
Darren Jamieson: I don’t test more than I would have anyway — I do that a lot. I’ve literally just created a couple of AI video comedy ads using Google’s Flow V3 — phenomenal stuff. If you’ve got creative ideas and think, “How the hell could I do that?” Flow V3 lets you create any sort of video.
The best thing I learned from comedy is how similar comedy and sales are. I had training from a professional stand-up. Comedy is about listening to the audience reaction so you can adjust the joke or timing on the fly. Sales is the same — it’s not about rolling out a spiel; it’s about listening to needs and responding to them. Both are about listening and reacting in the moment, not just delivering what you think they want. Anyone in business — and everyone in business should be in sales — should try comedy. Even if you don’t think you’re funny, it will make you a better seller and business person.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Let’s talk about Engage and Grow, your book — 97 Points to Become an Authority in Your Industry. Bust a myth for us:
What do most people get wrong about becoming an authority?
Darren Jamieson: Most people look at a competitor or an existing authority and think, “How can I emulate that?” You mentioned Gary Vee. I could look at him and ask, “What’s Gary Vee doing? How can I do that?” But you can’t be Gary Vee — only he can. You need to be your authority.
Give the advice you have from your own perspective and experience, not what you think someone else would say or what you think clients want to hear because another authority says it. If you emulate someone else, you’ll fall foul — it’s not your advice or stories. Put yourself in it — your heart, your soul, your experience — or it won’t work.
Peter Murphy Lewis: That seems to line up with choosing the right channels for your personality and authority. What are some low-hanging fruit or under-utilised channels that still work for positioning yourself as an authority?
Darren Jamieson: YouTube is absolutely massive. Google owns YouTube (they bought it in 2006), and when people search for questions in your domain, Google will almost always throw in video. If you’re not creating video content that answers your customers’ questions, you’re missing a massive trick.
AI is changing search — where we used to have ten organic listings, now you’re lucky to get one. It’s PPC, Maps, Google AI Overviews. You lose a lot of potential website rankings to new features. But the one thing Google isn’t creating with AI is video. In fact, Google recently demonetised AI-generated video because it wants real human content on YouTube. When Google produces an AI Overview, it often includes a relevant video — that can be yours.
So start now. Answer your customers’ questions on video and put them on YouTube. It doesn’t have to be highly professional or a £6,000 camera. Use your phone. If you want to increase production later, get a big light, an SLR — but start with your phone. You’ll get more coverage, rankings, followers, leads, sales, and money. Then upgrade your kit.
Peter Murphy Lewis: To jump on that, for 99% of the time your audio and your hook matter more than your camera. If you’re using your phone, stand close so it hears you and have a strong hook. You don’t need to spend more than £500 to get your hook right and decent audio.
You’ve been on multiple stages and produced results for clients around the world, but most people don’t know you’ve suffered from scoliosis and — surprisingly — anxiety. How have those shaped the way you run your business and connect with people?
Darren Jamieson: Starting with anxiety — I don’t like walking into a room full of people. I feel like I don’t belong and no one will want to talk to me. The worst thing for me is a networking room with 50–70 people. I get around that by being the first person there. I’ll get to a meeting half an hour — sometimes an hour — early. I try to be first so other people are walking into my room — to me. I’ve staked out a table or a corner and a coffee. They come in one at a time — much easier. So if you’ve got that anxiety, be the first one there and let them walk into you.
With scoliosis, when I was 14–15 I worried I might not walk normally again. I had my back cut open and a titanium rod grafted to my spine, then was encased in plaster. Even now I’m not sure I walk like a “normal” person — whatever that is. I still walk a bit differently, and I’ve made conversation about it, bonded with people who’ve had similar experiences. I was at an event Friday speaking to a woman with titanium bolts across her ribcage — fascinating to compare experiences.
Anything like that — use it. Use it in your stories, in networking. It’s in my LinkedIn About section; it’s on our website. Make it part of you, because it is part of what makes you you. Don’t shy away from it. It’s not school anymore — you’re not going to get picked on like I did (which is how it was discovered). It makes you more interesting and relatable.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Darren, anywhere you want to send listeners — other than the TEDx talk — that they might not know about, or that would help them, especially through a BNI lens?
Darren Jamieson: My personal site: darrenjamieson.com. I used to have darrenjamieson.co.uk, but the .com was owned by an American real-estate agent for many years. He seems to have disappeared now, so I’ve got the domain.
Peter Murphy Lewis: It’s yours!
Darren Jamieson: So, darrenjamieson.com.
Peter Murphy Lewis: What should we check out when we go there?
Darren Jamieson: It’s got info about my speaking, comedy, and the comic I wrote (which I’m glad you didn’t mention — but I have now). It lists what I’ve accomplished and what I aim to accomplish. I keep it updated — goals I’ve got, things I plan to do. It’s been a dream to drive Route 66 across the United States. I will do that at some point. It nearly happened a couple of years ago, but then some sort of illness befell the world and everyone stopped moving, so it didn’t happen. The site’s the place to see the speaking, advice, and comedy — everything in one place.
Peter Murphy Lewis: This was fire. Thank you for sharing your story and bite-size tips. Everyone knows you as the interviewer, but having you as the interviewee is fun. I told you off-camera after my last interview — you’re one of the best hosts to interview me in the last two years, and I do two to three interviews per week as a guest. You’re fantastic.
Hey everybody, if you liked this, don’t forget to subscribe, like, and give him a five-star review on whatever your listening app is. I’d also love to connect with you — I’m Peter Murphy Lewis on LinkedIn; I think I’m the only one. Until next time, keep laughing, keep growing, and keep showing up for Darren. Thank you, Darren.
Darren Jamieson: Thank you very much, mate. Thank you.
More about Peter:
Peter Murphy Lewis is a seasoned SEO strategist, video content marketer, and documentary producer based in the United States. He began his career by founding a travel company in South America in 2008, where he pioneered early SEO and online booking strategies in the tourism sector. His innovative use of intern-generated content, TripAdvisor reviews, and guerrilla marketing saw his company featured in the New York Times and attract celebrity clients including Paul McCartney, Beyoncé, and Aerosmith.
After scaling the business to nearly 50 staff across multiple cities, Peter sold the company and transitioned into a new venture: Strategic Pete. Now working as a fractional CMO and documentary filmmaker, he helps B2B companies build brand authority through long-form storytelling. His documentaries are shot with professional television crews and aimed at platforms like Netflix and Amazon.
Peter is also a strong advocate for holistic SEO — combining PR backlinks, employee-generated content, and platform-specific strategies across YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, and traditional blogs. He’s highly data-driven, avoids shortcuts like AI-generated content for writing, and focuses on authority-building through trust, strategy, and human storytelling.
You can connect with Peter here:
Website: https://strategicpete.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermurphylewis/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gringopeter/?hl=en
About your host:
Darren has worked within digital marketing since the last century, and was the first in-house web designer for video games retailer GAME in the UK, known as Electronics Boutique in the States. After co-founding his own agency, Engage Web, in 2009, Darren has worked with clients around the world, including Australia, Canada and the USA.
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/engaging-marketeer/id1612454837
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjamieson/
Engaging Marketeer: https://engagingmarketeer.com
Engage Web: https://www.engageweb.co.uk
