Tilbury Nets $157 in AI Influencer Test, Misses $1,000 Profit Goal

Mark Tilbury

Synthetic social media creators can generate immediate net profit on a sub-$100 software budget, proving automated personas convert buyers even as organic algorithms delay peak audience growth.

AI-assisted summary of I Tried The LAZIEST Way to Make Money With AI — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2026-09-21

Key ideas

Mark Tilbury tested the AI influencer business model over seven days, generating $276 in gross sales and $157.48 in net profit selling a digital habit workbook created by a synthetic centenarian persona. (29:07)
Social media users actively engaged with the generated influencers as if they were real humans—arguing over dating advice and asking for clothing links—despite profile bios explicitly disclosing their AI nature. (21:51)
Although Amos (health) showed the strongest early engagement and was chosen for monetization, Vivian (wealth) surged past 250,000 views on the final day, illustrating the unpredictable latency of short-form recommendation algorithms. (29:07)
Falling short of his self-imposed $1,000 profit benchmark, Tilbury forfeited $1,000 of his own money to a commenter while noting the model has substantial untapped upside if syndicated to TikTok and YouTube Shorts. (32:23)

Detailed notes

## Background Published on YouTube on September 21, 2026, by entrepreneur and creator Mark Tilbury, this video documents a 7-day experiment testing whether virtual AI influencers can generate real income. Tilbury outlines his end-to-end process using tools like Claude and Higgsfield to craft realistic avatars, publish short-form content, and monetize the resulting attention without ever using his own face or voice.

## TL;DR Mark Tilbury undertakes a strict seven-day challenge with a $99 budget cap to build and monetize three AI influencers across high-traffic niches: Amos (health), Grandma Vivian (wealth), and Sienna (relationships). Using Claude for concept generation and Higgsfield for photorealistic visuals and cinematic vertical videos, he launches dedicated Instagram accounts to test organic algorithmic reach. Amos emerges as the early front-runner and is monetized via a Claude-generated 30-day habit-tracking workbook sold on Stan Store. Although an unexpected algorithmic surge later propels Grandma Vivian to over 250,000 views, the experiment concludes with 23 product sales generating $157.48 in net profit—falling short of his $1,000 goal and prompting Tilbury to pay out his viewer forfeit while validating the business model's viability.

## Atmosphere & style The presentation blends fast-paced entrepreneurial experimentation with pragmatic, seasoned skepticism toward online 'get-rich-quick' claims. Tilbury balances rapid-fire software walkthroughs with lighthearted humor—quipping about AI characters looking younger than him and cheering for his extravagant 'bougie boss grandma' persona. Watching the video feels like an energetic, transparent business sprint punctuated by genuine surprise at audience reactions, comedic comment drama, and thoughtful reflections on how automated personas risk draining human connection from social media.

## Bulletin - [29:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1747s) Mark Tilbury tested the AI influencer business model over seven days, generating $276 in gross sales and $157.48 in net profit selling a digital habit workbook created by a synthetic centenarian persona. - [21:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1311s) Social media users actively engaged with the generated influencers as if they were real humans—arguing over dating advice and asking for clothing links—despite profile bios explicitly disclosing their AI nature. - [29:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1747s) Although Amos (health) showed the strongest early engagement and was chosen for monetization, Vivian (wealth) surged past 250,000 views on the final day, illustrating the unpredictable latency of short-form recommendation algorithms. - [32:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1943s) Falling short of his self-imposed $1,000 profit benchmark, Tilbury forfeited $1,000 of his own money to a commenter while noting the model has substantial untapped upside if syndicated to TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=0s) The experiment tested claims of automated AI wealth under three strict rules: a $99 total budget cap, complete anonymity without personal brand leverage, and launching within 24 hours. - [01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=74s) Auditing established virtual creators identified health, wealth, and relationships as top-performing niches, with personal finance standing out as an overlooked gap. - [04:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=263s) Claude brainstormed three contrarian personas: 101-year-old natural healer Amos, luxury matriarch Grandma Vivian, and modern dating commentator Sienna. - [06:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=396s) Integrating Higgsfield directly into Claude via a custom connector allowed continuous avatar and environment generation within a single chat workflow. - [11:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=718s) Pre-configured Claude skills automated the scripting process, outputting viral hooks and structured dialogue tailored to each character's target audience. - [15:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=922s) Higgsfield's Cinema Studio combined synthetic character voices, 9:16 vertical aspect ratios, and model references to maintain visual consistency across speaking clips. - [19:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1147s) Full disclosure in profile bios—such as labeling Amos 'Your AI grandpa'—had zero negative impact on viewer retention or engagement. - [21:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1311s) Early audience feedback proved hyper-realistic immersion, triggering genuine arguments between users defending or attacking Sienna's relationship takes. - [23:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1410s) Digital products proved to be the most practical monetization strategy within a seven-day window, bypassing the contract delays of brand sponsorships and physical fulfillment. - [25:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1531s) Claude authored Amos's 30-day longevity habit workbook and printable tracker, requiring manual editing to ensure practical value and remove AI filler. - [27:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1635s) Hosting the guide on Stan Store under a 14-day free trial enabled zero-cost sales fulfillment, generating 23 units sold at $12 each directly from Instagram bio traffic. - [29:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1747s) A delayed algorithmic spike pushed Grandma Vivian's content over 250,000 views on day seven, demonstrating that brief test windows can misidentify long-term winning content. - [29:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1747s) Total costs of $118.52 yielded a net profit of $157.48, proving the unit economics of the model despite missing Tilbury's $1,000 challenge threshold. - [32:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1943s) Syndicating identical short-form assets across TikTok Shop and YouTube Shorts represents the most immediate, low-friction pathway to scale AI influencer earnings.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=0s) The 7-Day AI Influencer Challenge and Rules

Claims have exploded across the internet of people secretly generating tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars from the comfort of their own homes by using AI tools like Claude to build virtual influencers. Online creators boast numbers ranging from $2,000 to over $100,000 or $200,000 in monthly profit without ever putting their real face on camera. Many tout it as "the laziest AI side hustle," but Mark Tilbury—a self-made millionaire who built his wealth through traditional business—remains deeply skeptical about whether the business model genuinely works or is merely low-effort "AI slop."

To test whether virtual influencers can generate real cash, Mark gives himself a strict seven-day deadline to set up the system and see how much profit he can produce. He promises to document every step and share the raw, unfiltered financial results. To keep the stakes real, he adds a personal penalty: if he fails to make at least $1,000 USD within the week, he will pay $1,000 of his own money to a viewer in the comment section.

Before starting the clock, he lays down three non-negotiable rules for the experiment: - **Rule 1: Budget Cap** — The entire operation must be launched and operated for under $99 USD. - **Rule 2: Complete Anonymity** — He cannot use his own face, likeness, or voice, ensuring he gains zero advantage from his existing audience or personal brand. - **Rule 3: Rapid Execution** — The first AI influencer must be fully built and operational before the end of the first day.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: AI Influencer Challenge Structure accDescr: Visual summary of the rules, three target niches, and setup workflow for the seven-day experiment.

subgraph Rules["Challenge Rules"] R1["Budget < $99 USD"] R2["No Real Face or Voice"] R3["First Influencer Built Day 1"] end

subgraph Niches["Three Selected Niches"] N1["Health: Amos (101 yo)"] N2["Wealth: Grandma Vivian"] N3["Relationships: Sienna (22 yo)"] end

subgraph Stack["AI Production Stack"] S1["Claude (Ideation & Connector)"] S2["Higgsfield (Avatars & Video Engine)"] end

Rules --> Niches Niches --> Stack ```

[01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=74s) Step 1: Spying on the Competition

Mark kicks off the challenge by analyzing successful accounts across social media to reverse-engineer their positioning and monetization strategies. He starts with a household name in the virtual space: Lil Miquela. Boasting over two million followers, she appears at red carpet events like the Met Gala and the Grammys, positioning herself as a high-fashion supermodel. Her account pulls in an estimated $11 million a year primarily through major luxury brand partnerships with names like Prada and Calvin Klein.

Turning to more specialized creators, Mark finds Mother Satori, a US-based holistic health influencer claiming to be 108 years old ("I thought I was the old one around here," Mark quips). Health is historically one of the most lucrative niches online because audiences will readily spend money to feel healthier and live longer. Mother Satori's unique selling proposition is her extreme age and vitality, which she leverages at the end of every video to pitch a detox and gut-cleanse drink. The strategy works; thousands of daily viewers actively flood her comment section begging for purchase links.

Continuing his audit, Mark spots several other distinct virtual accounts: - **Podcast/Relationship Influencer**: A glamorous creator named Olivia sharing relationship advice and dating dilemmas in short-form podcast clips. - **The Patriotic Craftsman**: An AI-generated British woodworker shown meticulously carving wooden Union Jack flags. Mark calls out the deceptive ethics of manufacturing a persona to sell fake craftsmanship, though admitting it undoubtedly pulls in substantial revenue. - **The Viral AI Granny**: An eccentric, rebellious grandmother doing bizarre stunts who has amassed more than two million followers.

Analyzing these accounts reveals three classic high-ticket niches: health, wealth, and relationships. Curiously, none of the established AI influencers he found operated in the personal finance or wealth space, highlighting a clear gap in the market. To maximize his odds of success over the seven days, Mark decides to build three different characters spanning all three evergreen categories: one in health, one in wealth, and one in relationships.

[04:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=263s) Step 2: Generating Character Ideas with Claude

Committed to making the workflow as low-effort as possible, Mark turns to the free tier of Anthropic's Claude to brainstorm character profiles. He prompts the model to develop distinct personas for each niche, asking for a name, backstory, visual appearance, and unique selling proposition (USP).

For the health niche, Claude generates **Amos**: a 101-year-old traditionalist with a shaved head and a long grey beard who relies on ancestral herbal remedies passed down through generations. The persona effectively functions as a male counterpart to Mother Satori, giving him an immediate aura of ancient wisdom to promote wellness products.

For the wealth niche, Claude invents **Grandma Vivian**: a self-made, ostentatious matriarch who started from humble beginnings, outlived three husbands, and now flies in private jets clad head-to-toe in luxury designer fashion. Mark dubs her a "bougie boss grandma," noting that she represents the exact antithesis of the typical wealth influencer—young men posing in rented Lamborghinis. Her novelty provides a natural edge in a crowded industry.

For relationships, Claude devises **Sienna**: a stylish 22-year-old chronicling her modern dating struggles, red flags, and "situationship drama." Her profile mirrors the format used by the influencer Olivia, positioning her perfectly for conversational, podcast-style short-form videos.

[06:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=396s) Step 3: Generating Character Photos via Higgsfield and Claude

With character concepts locked in, Mark moves to image generation, selecting Higgsfield as his visual engine. He registers via email, setting his onboarding profile to personal avatar creation at an intermediate skill level. Rather than accepting the default onboarding offer, Mark applies a custom discount code (`TILBURY`) for 20% off. Because video volume will be critical for testing content, he subscribes to Higgsfield's Ultra tier—providing over 100 video credits—while keeping total software expenses safely below the $99 budget limit.

To streamline the workflow, Mark connects Higgsfield directly to Claude using a custom connector link in Claude's settings menu (`Customize` > `Connectors` > `Add Custom Connector`). This allows him to generate photorealistic images directly within the Claude conversation without tab-switching.

```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: Claude and Higgsfield Integration Flow accDescr: Sequence showing how Claude connects directly to Higgsfield via custom connectors to output character imagery.

A["Claude Free Plan"] -->|"Custom Connector"| B["Higgsfield Engine (Ultra Plan)"] B --> C["Prompt Engineering in Chat"] C --> D["Amos Character Render"] ```

Mark asks Claude to compose detailed generation prompts for Amos, specifying: - Multiple camera perspectives: wide full-body shots and close-up portraits. - A clean, seamless white studio backdrop. - Authentic, weathered, un-airbrushed skin texture appropriate for an outdoorsman living off the land.

When the tool renders the first generation of Amos, the photographic quality is impressively sharp, but an immediate flaw surfaces: Amos looks far too young and vibrant for his concept. Mark remarks that the rendered man looks younger than himself rather than an authentic 101-year-old centenarian. Without skipping a beat, he prompts Claude to adjust the output and dramatically age Amos's visual features.

[10:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=632s) Generating Character Environments and Finalizing Visuals

After dialing in the character appearance for Amos—joking that the elderly farmer "still looks younger than me though, but I'll accept it"—the next objective is creating realistic, cohesive backdrops for each virtual persona. For Amos, the environments center entirely around a classic rural American aesthetic: a front porch, a rustic farmhouse kitchen, a lush vegetable garden, and the yard. The generated scenes turn out convincingly lifelike, capturing an authentic rural setting where Amos naturally fits in.

Moving swiftly to the other two influencers, Vivian's assets are rendered with high-society glamour: sunglasses, statement jewelry, and an opulent fur coat. The striking look immediately brings Cruella de Vil to mind, prompting the reaction: "Now that has got to be the coolest grandma you've ever seen. It looks like that woman from 101 Dalmatians, doesn't it?" Her scene backdrops match her lavish lifestyle, featuring: - A private jet cabin - A sleek sports car - An upscale classical drawing room - A manicured terrace suited for afternoon tea and scones

Finally, visuals and home environments are generated for Sienna. She comes across as effortlessly stylish and uncannily realistic to the point where an unsuspecting viewer wouldn't realize she was AI. Her generated backdrops mirror the everyday, aesthetic living spaces expected of a modern lifestyle creator.

---

[11:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=718s) Step 4: Mapping Out Viral Content with Claude Skills

With character models and environments locked down, the production moves to scripting viral content. Rather than drafting scripts by hand, the workflow relies on custom Claude skills—pre-built modules loaded with detailed system instructions designed to output formatted, high-converting scripts on demand without lengthy prompting.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Claude Skill Scripting Workflow accDescr: Process of importing a custom Claude skill, prompting the Content Engine, and outputting video scripts.

subgraph Setup["Tool Configuration"] A["Claude Customize Menu"] --> B["Upload & Install Skill"] end

subgraph Generation["Content Generation"] B --> C["Trigger /content engine skill"] C --> D["Request Ideas for Character"] D --> E["Select Top Concepts"] E --> F["Generate Full Scripts"] end ```

The process begins by navigating to the customize menu inside Claude, uploading the custom skill file, and activating the tool inside the chat window by typing `/` to select the content engine skill. Because Claude already retains the context of Sienna from earlier character ideation, it instantly produces a tailored list of video concepts:

- **Concept 2 (Vulnerability & Friendship):** A heartfelt script discussing toxic friendships where someone vanishes once they get into a relationship, creating deep emotional relatability among female viewers. - **Concept 1 (Actionable Advice):** Direct-to-camera lifestyle tips. - **Concept 7 (Psychological Secret / Podcast Clip):** A hook revealing a hidden psychological trick delivered in a popular podcast interview format.

Full scripts are generated for those three concepts, followed by a repeat workflow for Amos's longevity tips and Vivian's blunt wealth-building monologues.

---

[14:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=848s) Step 5: Giving the Characters a Voice in Higgsfield

Giving the AI influencers authentic speech requires pairing text with voice synthesis. Inside Higgsfield's audio dashboard, reference character portraits are uploaded along with a test script: *"Hi, my name is Vivian. Use this sound so the character speaks like this."*

To obtain an accurate vocal texture, Claude is prompted to write a descriptive voice profile matching Vivian's persona. The resulting description is pasted directly into Higgsfield's voice parameters. When generated, the voice comes out polished, refined, and authoritative, drawing the humorous remark that she sounds just like a strict former schoolteacher. The identical voice cloning and matching process is repeated for Amos’s folksy, aged cadence and Sienna’s natural, modern tone.

---

[15:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=922s) Step 6: Bringing the Influencers to Life in Cinema Studio

The project enters Higgsfield's Cinema Studio to merge the generated stills, environments, voice tracks, and scripts into full vertical videos. A project named "Sienna" is initialized with specific export settings: - **Aspect Ratio:** 9:16 (vertical format designed for mobile short-form feeds) - **Resolution:** 1080p for optimal clarity

The initial test begins with non-talking B-roll footage. A companion Claude video-prompt skill translates a core concept into a detailed cinematic prompt referencing the character model sheet (`Image 1`) to preserve visual consistency across takes. The resulting footage shows Sienna moving naturally, ideal for overlaying relatable text prompts.

Next, full speaking clips are generated across all three accounts, demonstrating impressive realism: - **Amos on Daily Habits:** A misty morning scene showing coffee steam rising as he recites, *"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."* In another, he preaches the benefits of his top longevity food: *"Beans. It's the cornerstone of every long-lived culture out there."* - **Sienna's Relatable Hooks:** Flirty pickup lines (*"I personally can't turn water into wine, but I can turn you into mine"*) and sharp relationship call-outs about fair-weather friends (*"Babe, she was using you"*). - **Grandma Vivian's Direct Advice:** A street-interview style clip where she delivers ruthless property investment advice: *"Buy the ugliest property on the nicest street, fix it up properly, rent it or sell it. Take that money, do it again and again for 40 years. Don't touch it. Let it buy the next one."*

---

[19:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1147s) Step 7: Launching the Instagram Accounts

After adding dynamic on-screen subtitles using simple mobile editing software, the rollout shifts to publishing. To keep the test focused and manageable under time constraints, distribution is limited to Instagram, leaving TikTok and YouTube Shorts as potential expansions later on.

Amos's account setup serves as the primary template: - **Display Name:** Amos | Health and Wellness - **Handle:** `@amos.oldways` - **Profile Picture:** A warm, realistic portrait of Amos holding a young lamb - **Bio Copy:** *"101 years old. Simple habits for peak energy, focus and longevity. Your AI grandpa."*

The label "Your AI grandpa" is intentionally included in the profile bio to ensure full transparency and prevent followers from feeling deceived. Identical profile setup and bios are rolled out for Sienna and Vivian.

The strategy is straightforward: post an initial batch of 10 videos on all three accounts, track performance over several days, crown whichever persona generates the highest engagement as the winner, and direct monetization efforts into that winning profile.

---

[21:37](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1297s) Unplanned Check-in: Early Audience Reactions

Before the scheduled check-in to evaluate metrics and declare a winner, unexpected user engagement forces an impromptu update. Monitoring the incoming notifications reveals that viewers are already reacting passionately to the content. The comment sections are filling up with intense, genuine reactions—including critical comments from users actively arguing with and bashing Sienna's relationship takes as if she were a real, living person.

[21:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1311s) Comment Drama and Crowning the Winning Account

Reviewing the initial engagement on Sienna's Instagram reveals how convincing the AI persona has become. One hater mocks Sienna in the comments, claiming she is "wearing a Shein dress and drinking a $3 USD Frappuccino." Another woman quickly jumps to Sienna's defense, arguing that she has every right to choose whatever standard she wants in a partner because she is in such high demand. Tilbury finds the back-and-forth hilarious: both commenters are so absorbed in arguing that neither realizes Sienna is not an actual human being. Other users leave comments inquiring where she bought her clothes, further proving the hyper-realistic quality of the AI generation.

After intentionally stepping away from the accounts to allow the algorithms time to work, Tilbury reviews the metrics across all three characters to determine which one will move forward into the monetization phase. The standings are revealed:

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Account Performance Ranking accDescr: Ranking of the three AI influencer accounts tested during the challenge.

A["Account Performance Test"] --> B["3rd Place: Vivian (Grandma Viv)"] A --> C["2nd Place: Sienna"] A --> D["1st Place: Amos (Winner)"]

B --- B1["Underperformed early on; stung because Mark rooted for her"] C --- C1["Strong numbers for a brand new account"] D --- D1["Massive lead; crowned winner to monetize"] ```

Vivian comes in third place, which stings because Tilbury openly rooted for her from the start. However, this discrepancy validates the initial strategy of launching three accounts simultaneously rather than pinning all hopes on a single persona. Sienna secures second place with genuinely impressive numbers for a brand-new page. Amos takes first place with an undeniable margin. Because a seven-day timeline leaves no room to build out multiple revenue funnels, Amos is officially crowned the winner.

[23:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1410s) Choosing the Monetization Model

With Amos chosen, Tilbury evaluates the potential revenue models commonly employed by AI influencers to find the most practical method:

* **Brand Deals:** Unfeasible for a short timeframe, as pitching companies, waiting for email replies, and negotiating contracts takes weeks. * **Physical Products:** Creating a dedicated Shopify store and managing fulfillment is an extensive project of its own (though Tilbury offers to tackle it in a future video if viewers request it). * **Ad Revenue:** Instagram Reels does not currently offer direct ad revenue payouts for short-form video views. * **Affiliate Income:** TikTok Shop is recognized as one of the fastest ways to monetize an AI creator by taking a cut of product sales, but Tilbury had not launched TikTok accounts for the challenge—a decision acknowledged in hindsight as an oversight. * **Digital Products:** The winning candidate. Educational and lifestyle figures like Amos match digital products seamlessly, and the entire offering can be conceptualized and generated directly inside Claude.

Recognizing that generic ebooks are largely obsolete because audiences can easily prompt ChatGPT or search Google for basic facts, Tilbury emphasizes that a viable digital product must be structured, interactive, and guide the customer through an actionable transformation. Amos's focus on simple, grounded living makes an interactive habit-tracking workbook ideal.

[25:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1531s) Building Amos's Habit Workbook in Claude

Tilbury accesses Claude, pulls up the dedicated digital product prompt module, and enters a request to design a workbook for Amos. Claude returns three separate concept outlines with market rationale explaining why a consumer would purchase each one. Tilbury selects the first option: a 30-day challenge grounded in Amos's traditional lifestyle, introducing one specific daily habit at a time.

Instructing Claude to build out the full product produces a comprehensive digital guide: - A structured 30-day program featuring dedicated daily rules with checkboxes. - A printable habit tracker placed at the back, suitable for sticking on a refrigerator. - Bonus supplementary material, including his mother's traditional dinner recipes.

Tilbury adds a generated portrait of Amos to the front cover, remarking on the surreal reality that an individual who did not exist five days prior is now the featured author of his own published book. Before taking it to market, Tilbury thoroughly inspects the text to verify that the advice is safe, logically coherent, and stripped of unedited "AI slop."

```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: Digital Product Creation and Setup accDescr: The workflow used to generate, polish, and list Amos's digital product.

subgraph Claude ["Claude Generation"] A["Digital Product Skill Prompt"] --> B["Select 30-Day Challenge Concept"] B --> C["Generate Workbook & Recipe Bonuses"] C --> D["Manual Review & Edit"] end

subgraph StanStore ["Stan Store Setup"] E["Upload Cover & Product PDF"] --> F["Set Pricing: $15.99 to $12 USD"] F --> G["Paste Store URL in Instagram Bio"] end

Claude --> StanStore ```

[27:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1635s) Storefront Setup on Stan Store

To sell and deliver the digital download, Tilbury utilizes Stan Store, taking advantage of their 14-day free trial to keep startup expenses at zero.

Setting up the storefront involves: - Navigating to the product creation dashboard and selecting a "callout" layout design. - Uploading a profile thumbnail of Amos with a sheep to maintain consistency with his Instagram avatar. - Setting the display title to "Get my 30-day energy reset" and labeling the call-to-action button "Start the old ways challenge." - Pricing the workbook at an original price of $15.99 USD, discounted to a promotional price of $12 USD. - Uploading the PDF file, grabbing the hosted landing page URL, and pasting it directly into the Instagram profile bio. - Privately linking a payout bank account off-camera before verifying that the live landing page functions properly.

[29:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1747s) A Twist in the Algorithm and Final Profit Breakdown

On the final day of the challenge, the accounts experience an unexpected algorithmic shift. Despite being abandoned in third place, Vivian's account suddenly goes viral: one video crosses 10,000 views, another reaches 20,000, and a third hits over 250,000 views. Tilbury laments not trusting his instincts on "Grandma Viv," noting that while seven-day experiments are great for testing concepts quickly, organic social media algorithms often take longer to reveal which persona will truly dominate.

Reflecting on the broader test, Tilbury points out that despite transparently disclosing that the influencers were synthetic personas, not a single viewer left a negative comment complaining about AI. Even so, Tilbury shares personal reservations: while AI influencers are clearly profitable and straightforward to launch, he cautions against an internet overrun by automated personas, observing that "it sort of kind of sucks the soul out" of social media, where human connection across diverse walks of life is the true appeal.

The financial results of the experiment demonstrate clear profitability for the $12 USD workbook:

Tilbury highlights that while $157.48 USD in profit is not life-altering on its own, generating pure profit from an initial $99 USD budget with minimal manual labor proves the viability of the AI influencer business model—especially when considering that the content could easily be repurposed and syndicated across TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

[32:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1943s) Scaling Potential and the $1,000 Challenge Giveaway

Reflecting on the broader potential of the business model, Mark points out that this experiment only scratched the surface. A creator could easily cross-post and syndicate the exact same video assets across competing short-form platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts to instantly multiply views, audience attention, and revenue "without really lifting a finger." Furthermore, of all the diverse monetization avenues mapped out at the start of the experiment, only a single method was tested on a single character. Rolling out every monetization pathway across all three virtual personalities would yield significantly higher returns.

Even with that untapped upside, Mark admits that "a deal is a deal." Having imposed a strict seven-day deadline that he failed to satisfy, he follows through on his forfeit pledge:

> "And as I clearly failed the challenge, I'm going to be giving one of you in the comments $1,000 USD of my own money."

To enter the giveaway, viewers simply have to leave a comment detailing who their favorite AI influencer was and why—with Mark joking that he promises not to be biased toward Grandma Vivian. Wrapping up the tally of his profits, he directs viewers to his next video attempting a seven-day AI dropshipping challenge, urging everyone to subscribe if they are serious about building wealth.

- **Untapped Distribution Channels**: Repurposing short-form video assets onto TikTok and YouTube Shorts for zero-effort audience multiplication. - **Giveaway Terms**: $1,000 USD awarded to a commenter sharing their favorite AI influencer and reason. - **Next Challenge**: The 7-day AI dropshipping challenge.

## Notable quotes > [01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=74s) I thought I was the old one around here — Mark Tilbury

> [10:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=632s) still looks younger than me though, but I'll accept it — Mark Tilbury

> [10:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=632s) Now that has got to be the coolest grandma you've ever seen. It looks like that woman from 101 Dalmatians, doesn't it? — Mark Tilbury

> [14:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=848s) Hi, my name is Vivian. Use this sound so the character speaks like this.

> [15:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=922s) Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. — Amos

> [15:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=922s) Beans. It's the cornerstone of every long-lived culture out there. — Amos

> [15:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=922s) I personally can't turn water into wine, but I can turn you into mine — Sienna

> [15:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=922s) Babe, she was using you — Sienna

> [15:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=922s) Buy the ugliest property on the nicest street, fix it up properly, rent it or sell it. Take that money, do it again and again for 40 years. Don't touch it. Let it buy the next one. — Grandma Vivian

> [19:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1147s) 101 years old. Simple habits for peak energy, focus and longevity. Your AI grandpa.

> [29:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1747s) it sort of kind of sucks the soul out — Mark Tilbury

> [32:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ&t=1943s) And as I clearly failed the challenge, I'm going to be giving one of you in the comments $1,000 USD of my own money. — Mark Tilbury

## Mentioned Mark Tilbury, Claude, Anthropic, Higgsfield, Lil Miquela, Mother Satori, Amos, Grandma Vivian, Sienna, Olivia, Instagram, TikTok, TikTok Shop, YouTube Shorts, Stan Store, Shopify, PayPal, ChatGPT, Google, Prada, Calvin Klein, Shein

## Video description Get an EXTRA 20% OFF Higgsfield with code TILBURY: https://higgsfield.ai/s/marktilbury-lwzqFm

*This is an affilliate link. Offer only available for the first 5,000 people who use the link & redeem the code.

Get the FREE cheat sheet here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/r4v0e3a75sygqhh0dl1yj/ADa4_5eA14PYBaSkuCPHr0A?rlkey=rq5asdmab9vhurd7zeyl2gari&st=bd5uq4fh&dl=0 ________________________________________________ TIME STAMPS: 00:00 Intro 01:14 Step 1. Spy On The Competition 04:23 Step 2. Generate Character Ideas 06:36 Step 3. Generate The Photos 11:57 Step 4. Map Out Viral Content 14:08 Step 5. Give Them A Voice 15:22 Step 6. Bring Them To Life 19:07 Step 7. Launch Our Accounts 21:26 Step 8: Crown The Winning Account 21:28 Unplanned Check-in 22:37 Step 9. Start Making Money 29:05 Step 10. Count The Profits ________________________________________________ In this video I tried one of the biggest AI side hustles right now... creating AI influencers from scratch and seeing if they could actually make money.

Using AI tools like Claude and Higgsfield, I built three virtual influencers, created AI photos and videos, launched Instagram accounts, tested viral content and tried to turn the attention into real income... all without using my real face or voice.

In this 7-day AI influencer challenge, I show exactly how to create an AI influencer, make realistic AI videos, grow an AI Instagram account and monetise it with digital products.

If you’re interested in AI side hustles, making money with AI, virtual influencers, AI content creation, Claude, Higgsfield, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts or passive income ideas, this is a real-world test of whether the AI influencer business model actually works. ________________________________________________ GET IN TOUCH: For business inquires only, please use this email: mark@marktilbury.com

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhTEttKcwQ)

中文简报

Tilbury测试AI网红获利157美元，未达1000美元盈利目标虚拟社交媒体创作者在不足100美元的软件预算下即可产生即时净利润，证明自动化人设即便面临自然算法对受众增长高峰的延迟，依然能够转化买家。 Mark Tilbury开展了一项严格的七天挑战，将预算上限设为99美元，在高流量垂直领域打造并变现三位AI网红：Amos（健康）、Grandma Vivian（财富）和Sienna（情感）。他利用Claude生成概念，并使用Higgsfield制作逼真的视觉图像与电影级竖屏视频，随后开设专用Instagram账号以测试自然算法的触达效果。Amos在早期脱颖而出，随后通过在Stan Store销售由Claude生成的30天习惯追踪工作手册进行变现。尽管此后算法的意外爆发推动Grandma Vivian的浏览量突破25万次，但该实验最终以售出23份产品、产生157.48美元净利润告终——未达到其1,000美元的目标，促使Tilbury自掏腰包向观众兑现了认罚承诺，同时也验证了该商业模式的可行性。 Mark Tilbury对AI网红商业模式进行了为期七天的测试，通过销售由一位合成百岁老人人设制作的数字化习惯工作手册，获得了276美元的总销售额和157.48美元的净利润。 (29:07) 社交媒体用户与这些生成的网红积极互动，仿佛他们是真人一样——例如争论约会建议、索要服装链接——尽管个人资料简介中已明确披露了其AI本质。 (21:51) 尽管Amos（健康）在早期表现出最强的互动性并被选为变现对象，但Vivian（财富）在最后一天播放量激增突破25万次，体现出短视频推荐算法不可预测的延迟性。 (29:07) 由于未达到自行设定的1,000美元利润基准，Tilbury自掏腰包向一名评论者支付了1,000美元罚金，同时指出如果将内容分发至TikTok和YouTube Shorts，该模式仍有巨大的未开发增长潜力。 (32:23)

Reading summary

Entrepreneur Mark Tilbury conducted a seven-day experiment to test whether anonymous AI influencers can generate rapid profits under a strict $99 budget. Although the project verified the business model's technical viability by netting $157.48 from an automated digital product, it fell short of his $1,000 profit benchmark. Multi-Niche Prototyping and AI Tooling (4:23) To test the market without leveraging his personal brand, Tilbury established strict operating constraints: zero on-camera appearances, a $99 capital ceiling, and launching an operational profile on day one. Rather than betting on a single concept, he diversified across three evergreen categories using Anthropic's Claude to draft character backstories and unique selling propositions. These included Amos, a 101-year-old herbalist for health; Grandma Vivian, an extravagant private-jet-flying matriarch for wealth; and Sienna, a 22-year-old creator discussing relationship dilemmas. Tilbury connected Claude to the Higgsfield image engine via custom connectors to script, render, and voice the personas within a unified workflow. Using pre-built prompt skills in Claude, he generated conversational scripts and cinematic prompts tailored to each personality, producing 9:16 vertical videos with matched vocal cadences and dynamic captions for initial deployment on Instagram. Audience Reception and Algorithmic Latency (21:37) Audience interaction revealed high believability despite explicit bio disclosures labeling Amos 'Your AI grandpa.' Viewers engaged with Sienna's videos as if she were a real person, leaving comments inquiring where she bought her wardrobe and arguing passionately with one another over her dating commentary. Amos initially generated the strongest metrics and was crowned the winner for monetization, but the accounts revealed significant algorithmic latency. On the final day of the challenge, Vivian’s account—which had lagged early on—suddenly surged, generating videos with 10,000, 20,000, and over 250,000 views. Tilbury observed that seven-day windows can fail to capture how organic social algorithms distribute content over longer timeframes. Digital Product Funnels and Commercial Viability (23:30) Tilbury evaluated several monetization avenues, ruling out brand partnerships and physical dropshipping due to lengthy contract and fulfillment cycles. He also noted that Instagram Reels currently lacks direct ad-revenue sharing for short-form video views, while conceding that omitting TikTok Shop affiliate marketing was a tactical oversight. He ultimately selected an interactive digital product as the fastest monetization vehicle for Amos's persona. Using Claude, Tilbury generated a structured 30-day health habit workbook complete with daily checklists, bonus traditional dinner recipes, and a printable tracker. After reviewing the text to filter out generic generation flaws, he listed the PDF on Stan Store during a 14-day free trial at a discounted $12 price point. Amos's profile drove 23 purchases, producing $276 in gross sales. Deducting $19.52 in payment fees and the $99 baseline retail software cost for Higgsfield yielded a net profit of $157.48. Because total earnings fell short of the $1,000 threshold, Tilbury honored his challenge condition by paying $1,000 of his personal funds to a viewer. While he argued that returns could multiply effortlessly by cross-posting content onto TikTok and YouTube Shorts, he expressed broader reservations about the business model, cautioning that an influx of synthetic creators risks draining authentic human connection from social media.

Source quotes

[1:14] Mark Tilbury: I thought I was the old one around here [10:32] Mark Tilbury: still looks younger than me though, but I'll accept it [10:32] Mark Tilbury: Now that has got to be the coolest grandma you've ever seen. It looks like that woman from 101 Dalmatians, doesn't it? [14:08] Hi, my name is Vivian. Use this sound so the character speaks like this. [15:22] Amos: Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. [15:22] Amos: Beans. It's the cornerstone of every long-lived culture out there. [15:22] Sienna: I personally can't turn water into wine, but I can turn you into mine [15:22] Sienna: Babe, she was using you [15:22] Grandma Vivian: Buy the ugliest property on the nicest street, fix it up properly, rent it or sell it. Take that money, do it again and again for 40 years. Don't touch it. Let it buy the next one. [19:07] 101 years old. Simple habits for peak energy, focus and longevity. Your AI grandpa. [29:07] Mark Tilbury: it sort of kind of sucks the soul out [32:23] Mark Tilbury: And as I clearly failed the challenge, I'm going to be giving one of you in the comments $1,000 USD of my own money.

Original transcript

[0:00] People are secretly making thousands [0:01] of dollars using Claude to make AI [0:03] influencers like this, [0:05] this, and this, all from the comfort [0:07] of their own home without showing [0:08] their face. [0:09] I've generated $100,000 USD in the [0:11] last 30 days with my AI creators. [0:13] AI influencers are changing the entire game. [0:16] This is actually generating sales. [0:18] Over $2,000 USD. [0:19] $200,000 USD profit. [0:21] We made over $103,000 USD. [0:24] Some are even calling it the laziest [0:27] AI side hustle. [0:28] But does this really work, [0:30] or is it just AI's slot? [0:32] Well, as a businessman who made his [0:34] millions the old school way, [0:35] to put it lightly, I'm highly skeptical. [0:39] So I'm giving myself seven days to see [0:41] how much money I can make. [0:42] I'll be documenting the whole process, [0:44] and of course, sharing the raw results. [0:47] And if I don't make at least [0:48] $1,000 USD, I'll give someone down in [0:50] the comments $1,000 USD of my own money. [0:53] But I must follow these three rules. [0:55] One, I have to get this whole thing up [0:58] and running for less than $99 USD. [1:01] Two, I can't use my own face [1:04] or voice, so I don't have an advantage. [1:07] And three, I have to create my first [1:10] AI influencer before the end of the day. [1:12] Okay, start the timer. [1:17] So first up on our to-do list is to [1:20] spy on the competition and figure out [1:22] all of their secrets. [1:24] Now, I'm going to start with one [1:26] that I've actually heard of. [1:27] She's called Lil Miquela, [1:29] and she's actually pretty popular with [1:31] over 2 million followers. [1:33] Here she is at the Met Gala. [1:35] I didn't get an invite myself, [1:36] but there you go. [1:37] And there she is at the Grammys. [1:39] So how is Lil Miquela making over [1:42] $11 USD million a year? [1:44] Well, they're working with massive [1:45] brands, including Prada and Calvin Klein. [1:49] So let's write brand deals in the [1:52] money section. [1:53] And Lil Miquela is positioned as a [1:55] full-blown supermodel, [1:57] which just goes to show you how far [1:59] you can take it. [2:00] I think I found another one. [2:01] This is Mother Satori, [2:03] and she's a US-based holistic expert. [2:07] Now, health is one of the most [2:08] profitable niches out there [2:10] because people will always pay to feel [2:12] better and live a little bit longer. [2:13] I'm going to have to watch this one. [2:15] Wife, that's my mother. [2:17] No way. [2:18] How old are you? [2:20] 108 years old. [2:22] Wow, 108 years old. [2:24] I thought I was the old one around here. [2:26] So the unique selling point, [2:28] let's put old age. [2:30] At the end of every video, [2:31] she promotes this. [2:33] It looks like some sort of gut cleanse [2:35] detox drink. [2:37] She gets thousands of views every [2:39] single day, and the comment section is [2:41] full of people asking to buy it. [2:43] Just imagine how much money she's [2:44] making by promoting this one product alone. [2:47] Right, let's quickly blast through [2:49] some more as I'm running out of time. [2:55] These AI influencers are everywhere. [2:58] I found this girl who posts glamorous [3:00] lifestyle photos and makes these [3:02] podcast-style reels about [3:03] relationships. [3:04] Check this guy out. [3:05] He's a hardworking, [3:07] patriotic British guy, [3:08] pouring his heart and soul into [3:10] crafting these beautiful wooden flanks. [3:12] Or is he? [3:13] No, of course he's not. [3:15] Now, is this ethical? [3:17] No, because the person behind the [3:19] account is lying to their customers. [3:20] But is it making a load of money? [3:23] Almost certainly, yes. [3:25] Then there's this AI granny who's just [3:27] doing the craziest things, [3:29] and she's got over 2 million followers. [3:31] And after looking through all these [3:33] accounts, it looks like the people [3:34] running them are making money in all [3:36] these different ways, [3:37] which we'll look at properly in a second. [3:39] First though, let's decide on a niche [3:42] for our own AI influencers. [3:44] There's usually three niches [3:45] that I've seen that make the most [3:47] money, health, wealth, [3:49] and relationships. [3:49] Two of them are already on the board, [3:52] so we definitely know these can work. [3:54] But funnily enough, [3:55] not a single one of the AI accounts I [3:57] looked at was talking about money [3:59] or wealth, which means we found a gap [4:02] in the market. [4:03] Of course, if you guys have any [4:04] special interests, [4:05] it's always worth leaning into those [4:07] because you'll have an advantage over [4:09] everyone else. [4:10] Now, to give ourselves the best [4:12] possible chance of success, [4:13] I think we should create three [4:15] different AI influencers in each of [4:17] these profitable niches. [4:19] So we can tick step one off our list [4:22] and then move on to step two, [4:26] generating character ideas. [4:28] I want this to be as lazy as possible, [4:31] so let's use AI to generate some ideas. [4:34] I'm going to head over to Claude. [4:35] Now, I'm already on their free plan, [4:37] which will be perfect for this. [4:39] So let's type create a character [4:43] profile for an AI influencer in the [4:49] health niche. [4:51] Give them a name, a backstory, [4:55] a distinct look, and a unique selling point. [5:00] Now let's see what it comes up with. [5:02] Okay, so Amos. [5:04] Now, that sounds pretty mysterious. [5:07] I quite like that. [5:08] 101 years old, a bit like me, [5:11] I guess. [5:12] Learned traditional remedies passed [5:14] down through his family. [5:15] This is starting to sound like a male [5:18] version of Mother Satori, [5:20] which to be fair, [5:21] clearly makes a lot of money. [5:23] Shaved head, long beard. [5:25] Okay, that's pretty interesting, [5:27] and that should help him stand out online. [5:30] Now, do it for the wealth niche. [5:34] Okay, so let's see what we've got here. [5:38] Grandma Vivian. [5:39] Started with nothing, [5:41] made loads of money, [5:42] been through three husbands, [5:44] private jets, [5:45] designer, head to toe. [5:46] So she's basically a bougie boss grandma. [5:49] Maybe I'll have to hit her up. [5:51] Almost everyone in this niche is a [5:53] young man in a rented Lambo. [5:55] She is the exact opposite. [5:57] That's very true. [5:58] I think that's actually one of the [5:59] reasons I'm- I managed to stand out in [6:01] the wealth niche. [6:02] Okay, now finally do it for the [6:04] relationships niche. [6:06] So we've got Sienna, [6:08] stylish, 22 years old, [6:10] talks about her dating life [6:12] and situationship drama. [6:13] This reminds me of the AI influencer [6:15] that we found earlier called Olivia. [6:17] So this should give us a good chance [6:20] at making money. [6:21] But at the same time, [6:22] I'm definitely not fully convinced [6:23] that all of this stuff is actually [6:25] gonna work. [6:26] But with that said, we have our ideas. [6:28] So let's move on to step three, [6:33] generate the photos. [6:35] I've been looking into a few different [6:37] options for tools we can use to do this. [6:40] And it seems like Higgsfield is one of [6:42] the best. [6:42] So let's head over to their website [6:44] and click sign up. [6:47] And okay, it's given me the option to [6:49] continue with Google, Apple. [6:52] But to be honest, I think I'm gonna [6:54] just use email. [6:55] So I'll tick agree to terms of use [6:58] and then continue with email [7:01] and then click continue. [7:03] So it looks like I'm in and it's [7:05] asking me a few questions. [7:07] So first up, how do you plan to use [7:10] Higgsfield? [7:11] For personal use. [7:13] And so what do you want to achieve [7:15] with Higgsfield? [7:17] I wanna create avatars. [7:19] And how experienced are you with AI? [7:22] Well, I'd like to say at least [7:25] intermediate at this stage. [7:26] Look, I'm not doing bad for an old boy. [7:28] Oh, and it's just popped up with a [7:30] personal offer. [7:31] But to be honest with you, [7:33] we don't need this deal [7:34] because we've got a much better one. [7:36] When I was doing a bit of research [7:37] into the top AI tool to use, [7:39] I was actually a bit cheeky [7:41] and reached out to Higgsfield [7:42] and asked them if they'd do me a [7:44] little discount. [7:45] Because as you know, I love a little discount. [7:47] And surprisingly, they said yes. [7:49] And even said that the first 5,000 of [7:51] you guys that use the code will get [7:53] the same discount. [7:55] So to use this code, [7:56] I'm just gonna close this window [7:58] and I'm gonna click skip this offer. [8:02] Now I can go to my profile picture in [8:04] the corner here and click manage account. [8:07] Then I can go over here to promo code [8:10] and type in Tilbury, [8:12] T-I-L-B-U-R-Y. [8:14] So I'm gonna click claim. [8:17] There we go. [8:18] Nice, it's been added to my account. [8:20] By the way, I know all of this is a [8:23] bit confusing. [8:24] So I'll drop a link in the description [8:25] below if you guys wanna follow along. [8:27] There's lots of different offers here. [8:29] Starter, plus, ultra. [8:31] To be honest, the only thing I'm [8:33] really concerned about is the amount [8:35] of videos I can make. [8:37] And I see there's over a hundred [8:38] videos here on this ultra one. [8:40] So let's go with that. [8:42] And as you can see, [8:43] it's under budget. [8:44] And boom, we're in. [8:46] Time to start making some AI influences. [8:48] Luckily, we can connect Higgsfield [8:50] with Claude and do pretty much [8:52] everything in a single chat. [8:54] So on Claude, let's go to customize, [8:58] then click connectors, [9:01] add, and then add custom connector. [9:05] Then I'm gonna paste this link. [9:07] Now let's click add, [9:09] and that's it. [9:11] Claude and Higgsfield are now talking [9:13] to each other. [9:13] Now it's time to create the images of [9:15] our characters, [9:16] starting with Amos, [9:17] our health influencer. [9:19] And from my past experience dabbling [9:21] with AI, I've learned the key to [9:23] getting the best results is starting [9:25] with a good prompt. [9:26] But instead of spending ages writing [9:27] something really detailed [9:29] and complex, I'll just tell Claude to [9:31] write one for me. [9:32] Of course, I'll add all of my prompts [9:34] to the cheat sheet in the description [9:36] so you can copy these too, [9:38] or change them up, [9:39] depending on what you want your AI [9:41] influencer to look like. [9:42] I've mentioned that I want a couple of [9:43] different angles, a full body shot, [9:46] and a closeup. [9:47] Then I've given a description of Amos, [9:50] what he looks like, [9:51] and what he's wearing. [9:52] I also said I want him on a white [9:54] background with realistic looking [9:57] skin, because he can't be looking like [9:58] an airbrush model when he's supposedly [10:00] living off the land. [10:01] Okay, wow, this is a monster. [10:03] I'm glad I didn't have to type all of [10:05] this out, that's for sure. [10:06] And all that's left for me to do is to [10:09] type yes, and it should, [10:12] fingers crossed, [10:12] generate some images of Amos. [10:15] Okay, here we go. [10:17] He actually looks very realistic, [10:20] but I do have a bit of a problem. [10:22] He looks younger than me, [10:23] unless he's got some sort of crazy [10:25] skin routine. [10:26] He definitely doesn't look 101 years old. [10:28] So let's type, make him a few years older. [10:32] Oh, that's better. [10:34] Still looks younger than me though, [10:35] but I'll accept it. [10:37] So now let's generate some scenes to [10:39] put him in. [10:40] I'm thinking his porch, [10:45] farmhouse kitchen, [10:47] vegetable garden, and yard, [10:50] as he's American and that's what they [10:52] call it. [10:53] Wow, these look very realistic. [10:54] I definitely expect Amos to be hanging [10:56] out here. [10:57] So now let's repeat these steps for [10:59] our other two influencers [11:00] and see what it spits out. [11:02] Just for the sake of time, [11:03] I'm gonna go through this quickly. [11:10] Now this is perfect. [11:14] The sunglasses, the jewelry, [11:15] the fur coat. [11:17] Now that has got to be the coolest [11:19] grandma you've ever seen. [11:21] It looks like that woman from 101 [11:22] Dalmatians, doesn't it? [11:24] Now for the locations. [11:26] So we've got a private jet, [11:28] a sports car, very nice. [11:30] A fancy looking drawing room [11:32] and a terrace for a bit of afternoon [11:34] tea and maybe a scone. [11:36] Right, last one, Sienna. [11:38] She looks pretty stylish and very realistic. [11:43] You know what? [11:43] I'd have no idea she wasn't a real girl. [11:46] And we've also got the locations here too. [11:48] Now I'd say that's believable for [11:50] where Sienna would live. [11:52] That's our photos generated. [11:54] Let's move on to mapping out the viral [11:56] content. [11:58] Now don't worry. [12:00] I'm not going to write out all of [12:01] these scripts manually. [12:02] For this bit I'm going to use [12:04] something called a Claude skill. [12:06] If you haven't heard of skills before [12:08] they're basically reusable tools with [12:10] instructions already baked in [12:12] so you get perfect results every time [12:14] without writing a massive prompt. [12:16] Now I found these ones online for free [12:19] and I'll include them in the cheat [12:21] sheet so you can use them too. [12:22] I'm not sure how good they are [12:24] but I don't have much time to be [12:26] writing out scripts so let's give them [12:28] a try and hope for the best. [12:30] So to install these skills I'm going [12:32] to head over to customize, [12:34] hit add, upload a skill and drag [12:39] and drop them straight in [12:41] and now it's ready to go. [12:43] Then in our chat let's hit forward [12:46] slash and select content engine skill. [12:50] Now let's say generate content ideas [12:55] for Sienna and of course it knows who [12:58] Sienna is because it came up with the [13:00] idea of her in the first place [13:01] and look at that it's handed me a [13:04] whole list of content ideas [13:05] and I didn't have to think of anything myself. [13:08] I quite like idea two [13:11] because if this script actually hits [13:13] home a lot of girls are going to find [13:15] it very relatable and feel like they [13:17] actually know Sienna on a more [13:19] personal level. [13:20] Number one sounds good [13:21] because she's giving advice [13:23] and number seven is also quite [13:25] interesting it almost feels like a [13:27] psychological secret that she's going [13:29] to reveal and the podcast setting as [13:31] we've seen these work quite well. [13:34] So let's generate scripts for these [13:36] three and see what comes out [13:39] and here we go three scripts ready for Sienna. [13:42] We won't dive into them [13:43] because we'll do a proper review of [13:45] the finished videos in a second. [13:47] Now I'll do the same process for the [13:49] other two influencers. [13:56] Okay that looks pretty cool [13:58] so we've got a load of finished [13:59] scripts for Amos and of course some [14:02] for good old Viv. [14:03] So let's take that one off our list [14:05] and move on to a pretty exciting step [14:07] because we're going to be giving them [14:09] a voice. [14:11] Right for this bit I'm going to head [14:13] over to the Higgsfield website itself. [14:16] I guess it makes sense to go to the [14:19] audio tab. [14:20] It says you can upload media [14:22] so let's add our images of Vivian [14:25] and then for the script I'm just going [14:28] to write hi my name is Vivian. [14:36] Use this sound so the character speaks [14:39] like this and now it's asking for [14:41] voice details. [14:43] Let's head back to Claude [14:44] and ask it to generate a detailed [14:47] prompt for Vivian's voice. [14:49] Okay this looks about right [14:51] so let's copy this and paste it into [14:55] Higgsfield and then click generate. [15:00] Hi my name is Viviana. [15:02] Use this sound so the character speaks [15:05] like this. [15:06] Well that sounds good. [15:07] It actually sounds like one of my old [15:09] school teachers. [15:10] I'll do the same process but for Amos [15:12] and Sienna. [15:18] Cool so that's sorted. [15:20] I'm going to move on to the next step [15:21] which is to bring them to life. [15:23] Don't worry you'll get a chance to [15:25] hear all of their voices very soon. [15:29] Right so it's finally time to combine [15:32] our images locations and scripts [15:34] and turn them into high quality videos [15:36] to post online. [15:38] So in order to do this I'm going to go [15:41] to cinema studio and then new project [15:44] and I'll give my project a name. [15:47] So let's call it Sienna and [15:50] then press create and then we've got a [15:52] few settings at the bottom. [15:53] It looks like we can change here [15:55] so I guess we want to change the [15:57] aspect ratio to 9 by 16 [16:00] because we're creating short form [16:02] videos in a vertical format. [16:04] Let's make the quality 1080p [16:08] because that's the best quality [16:10] and everything else looks fairly good [16:12] for now. [16:13] For the first video I want to create a [16:15] short clip without any talking [16:17] so that we can add some relatable text [16:19] to the screen. [16:20] I've seen these types of videos do [16:22] really well and it's a good test to [16:24] see what we can generate before trying [16:26] to get Sienna to talk to the camera. [16:28] So I used another Claude skill [16:30] which I'll also add to the cheat sheet [16:32] in the description. [16:33] It basically takes a really simple [16:35] idea and generates a prompt for [16:37] getting the best video outputs. [16:39] Feel free to try it for yourself. [16:40] Anyway let's paste the detailed prompt [16:43] in here. [16:44] Now as you can see it's referenced [16:45] imaged one which is the character [16:47] sheet for Sienna that made earlier. [16:50] So hopefully this means she's going to [16:51] look consistent across all of our videos. [16:54] Now let's press generate and see what [16:59] we get. [17:00] All right not bad nothing crazy at [17:03] this point because obviously she's not [17:05] talking but as I said we can add some [17:08] relatable text here on the screen [17:10] and this is a nice way to test [17:12] that this actually works. [17:13] So I'm going to make a few more b-roll [17:15] shots and then we can make some videos [17:17] where we actually hear Sienna talk for [17:20] the first time as these are hopefully [17:22] what's going to drive views on social [17:23] media and also make us some money. [17:32] I've made a lot of these videos now [17:35] and I have to say some of them are [17:37] pretty impressive. [17:38] Let me give you a sneak peek at some [17:40] of my favorites. [17:41] There's a quote I live by early to bed [17:44] and early to rise makes a man healthy [17:47] wealthy and wise. [17:49] That's quite realistic even the coffee [17:50] steam in there. [17:51] Number one longevity food in the world beans. [17:56] It's the cornerstone of every [17:58] long-lived culture out there. [17:59] I don't know if The wife will agree [18:00] that beans are the best thing to have, [18:02] to be perfectly honest. [18:03] I mean, I personally can't turn water [18:06] into wine, but I can turn you into mine. [18:09] If I showed this to anyone else [18:10] that didn't know that was AI, [18:12] they'd think that was someone for sure. [18:14] She's your friend, but whenever she [18:16] gets a boyfriend, she stops making plans. [18:18] Stops messaging you, [18:19] stops calling. [18:22] Babe, she was using you. [18:24] Well, again, that's going to be very [18:25] relatable. [18:26] Excuse me, ma'am, how did you get rich? [18:31] Buy the ugliest property on the nicest [18:33] street, fix it up properly, [18:36] rent it or sell it. [18:38] Take that money, do it again [18:39] and again for 40 years. [18:41] Don't touch it. [18:42] Let it buy the next one. [18:43] She's got some good advice there. [18:45] It's quite attractive, [18:46] isn't she, for the older woman. [18:48] I reckon she's going to go down pretty [18:50] well with the older boys there for sure. [18:52] And probably some of the younger ones [18:53] as well. [18:54] Right, I'm actually pretty exhausted. [18:57] But we've made some great progress [18:59] and made our AI influencers within one day. [19:02] So we've completed that part of the challenge. [19:04] I'm going to come back tomorrow with a [19:06] fresh head and launch our accounts. [19:12] Okay, so this morning I've been a bit [19:14] cheeky and added some captions to our [19:16] videos, but I'm sure you guys know how [19:18] to do that. [19:18] It's pretty simple on any free editing [19:20] apps like CapCut or Instagram edits. [19:23] So let's skip to the fun stuff [19:25] and actually launch our accounts. [19:26] We're just going to focus on Instagram [19:28] for now because we're on a time limit. [19:30] But if these do well, [19:32] we could also post them on TikTok [19:34] or YouTube shorts later. [19:35] I'm going to type Amos and [19:39] then I'm going to put health [19:41] and wellness. [19:43] And then for the username, [19:45] I assume just Amos is taken. [19:48] Yep, makes sense. [19:50] So let's type dot old ways [19:53] because he talks about the good old [19:56] ways of doing things. [19:57] And then all looks good. [19:59] So let's press submit. [20:02] Now, let's give him a nice profile picture. [20:05] I've got a few images here [20:07] that I've generated in the Claude chat. [20:09] And of course, I'll add the prompts in [20:11] the cheat sheet. [20:12] So they're there for you to copy as well. [20:15] But let's see what we've got. [20:18] We've got him with a little lamb here. [20:21] We've got him. [20:22] Ah, that one's quite nice. [20:24] I do actually quite like that. [20:26] So let's go with that. [20:29] And then the last thing we need to do [20:30] is create a bio. [20:33] So 101 years old, [20:36] simple habits for peak energy, [20:40] focus and longevity. [20:42] I'm also going to write your AI [20:46] grandpa because I don't want anyone [20:49] feeling like they've been tricked. [20:51] Let's do that as well just to be safe. [20:54] Let's press submit. [20:55] And there we go. [20:57] Amos is ready to take the world by storm. [21:00] So I'm just going to rinse [21:01] and repeat and do the same for the [21:03] other accounts. [21:08] Okay, so as you can see, [21:09] I've now got the accounts all set up [21:11] for Sienna, Vivian and of course Amos. [21:14] So it's time to start posting some content. [21:17] I'm going to post 10 videos on each account. [21:20] Then I'm going to check back in a [21:22] couple of days and see which one of [21:23] our influencers is having the most success. [21:25] And then we can crown the winner [21:27] and double down on them to make some money. [21:29] I'm of course rooting for Grandma Vivian. [21:32] So I'll check back when there's [21:33] something to report. [21:37] Well, this is fairly unexpected. [21:40] I wasn't actually planning on filming [21:42] anything until we crowned the winner. [21:43] But I've been watching the accounts [21:46] closely and I can't believe some of [21:48] the comments we've been getting. [21:49] Someone here is bashing Sienna for [21:51] wearing a sheen dress and drinking a [21:53] $3 USD Frappuccino. [21:55] But don't worry, I've got some support [21:58] from another fellow woman. [21:59] And she's saying Sienna's right to [22:02] pick whoever she wants and whatever [22:04] she wants in a man because she's in [22:05] such high demand. [22:07] And then the hater came back for more. [22:10] I just think it's fascinating [22:11] that they're so busy arguing with each [22:13] other that neither has clocked [22:15] that she isn't actually a real person. [22:17] We've also got people asking where she [22:19] got her clothes from. [22:20] So I guess that just goes to show how [22:23] realistic our influencers look. [22:25] Right, I'm going to get out of these [22:26] comments because it's all getting a [22:28] little bit too much for me. [22:29] And I'll check back in once the [22:30] accounts have gained some more [22:31] traction and crowned the winner. [22:35] Right, since we last spoke, [22:37] I've genuinely tried my hardest not to [22:39] look at these accounts. [22:40] So it's finally time to see [22:42] which influencer we're going to use to [22:44] start making some money. [22:45] Coming in third is Vivian. [22:48] Now, I'll have to be honest with you. [22:49] That one does sting a bit [22:51] because I told you I was rooting for her. [22:53] But surprisingly, she just didn't do [22:55] anywhere near as well as expected. [22:57] On a positive note, [22:59] this is exactly why I wanted to launch [23:00] three accounts at the same time. [23:02] Because you can't rely on just one [23:04] account to find success. [23:05] Coming in second is Sienna, [23:08] which obviously means Amos came first. [23:10] But look at the gap. [23:12] Sienna's numbers are genuinely really [23:14] impressive for a brand new account. [23:16] And if this was a longer challenge, [23:17] I'll probably continue to post on both [23:19] accounts. [23:20] But I don't have enough time for that. [23:21] So let's crown Amos our winner. [23:24] And move on to the next step, [23:26] which is to start making money. [23:30] Right, so now we've got a clear winner. [23:32] It's time to decide how Amos is [23:34] actually going to make us some money. [23:36] Fortunately, at the start of this [23:38] challenge, we wrote down all the [23:39] different ways other people were [23:41] making money from AI influencers. [23:43] So let's look at our options. [23:45] Brand deals could work. [23:46] But we'd have to spend time reaching [23:47] out to different companies, [23:49] waiting for replies, [23:50] and then negotiating deals. [23:51] So for this challenge, [23:52] it's definitely out of the question. [23:56] Selling physical products could be [23:57] interesting. [23:58] But setting up a store is a hard one. [24:00] whole project in itself. [24:01] But of course if you want to see me do [24:03] that with a Shopify store [24:05] and then use AI influencers to make [24:07] sales then let me know in the comments. [24:09] Ad revenue. [24:10] You can't currently get paid ad [24:12] revenue for making reels on Instagram [24:14] so that isn't an option right now. [24:16] Affiliate income is probably one of [24:18] the easiest and quickest ways to make [24:20] money from an AI influencer. [24:21] You can sign up to TikTok shop, [24:24] promote relevant products [24:25] and get paid a slice of everything you sell. [24:27] However, because we aren't currently [24:29] posting on TikTok, [24:30] which in hindsight was probably a [24:33] mistake, we'll have to cross [24:34] that one off too. [24:35] So I guess that just leaves digital [24:37] products which actually is perfect for [24:40] educational influencers like Amos [24:42] and we can generate everything without [24:44] leaving Claude. [24:46] So the big question, [24:48] what digital products should we [24:49] actually make? [24:50] Now a few years everyone was selling [24:53] ebooks but these days people can just [24:55] google or ask chatgpt for the same [24:57] basic information for free [24:59] so that's not going to work for us. [25:01] If we want people to actually buy our [25:03] digital product it has to be structured, [25:06] interactive and hold their hand [25:07] through some sort of transformation. [25:09] So I'm thinking we should create a [25:11] proper workbook that people can use [25:13] and fill out every day rather than [25:15] just a pdf full of generic paragraphs. [25:18] And Amos is honestly perfect for this [25:20] because he's all about living a simple [25:22] effective life so I reckon we can [25:24] build him a workbook like a proper [25:27] challenge that helps someone build [25:28] healthy habits over time. [25:31] So let's go back over to Claude [25:33] and type forward slash and [25:35] then select the digital product skill [25:38] and say create a workbook as a [25:44] digital product for Amos. [25:47] Remember this skill will also be in [25:49] the cheat sheet. [25:50] Now hopefully, ah yeah look at [25:53] that, it's given me three ideas [25:55] and actually explained why people [25:57] would pay for each one. [25:59] So let's see, I think the first one [26:02] sounds the best. [26:03] A 30-day challenge based on his old [26:06] ways of living, one habit a day. [26:09] Yeah this is actually something I [26:10] would buy if I wanted to hold myself [26:12] accountable so let's go with that. [26:15] Let's type build number one. [26:21] Okay I think it's done and look at [26:24] this thing, this is a proper little book. [26:27] It's got the full 30-day plan, [26:30] every day's got its own named rule [26:33] with a tick box, [26:34] there's a tracker at the back you [26:35] could stick on the fridge, [26:37] it's even thrown in some bonuses like [26:39] his mother's old dinner recipes. [26:41] Well that's my dinner plan sorted for tonight. [26:44] Add this photo of Amos to the front [26:48] cover, there we go and look at [26:51] that, five days ago Amos didn't even [26:54] exist and now he's on the front cover [26:56] of his very own book. [26:58] It's crazy to think how far this old [27:00] boy's come. [27:01] Now obviously before we can sell this [27:03] I'm going to read through it to make [27:05] sure all the information is logically [27:07] sound and safe and of course remove [27:09] any hints of AI slot. [27:15] Okay all looks good so now we need a [27:18] way for the customers to actually buy [27:20] and download the product. [27:22] I did a bit of research and found a [27:24] platform, now this isn't sponsored by [27:25] the way, but I'm going to use a [27:27] platform called Stand Store [27:29] and they've got a 14-day free trial [27:31] which is pretty helpful since we're on [27:33] a budget. [27:33] I assume we just need to go to my [27:36] store and then add products [27:40] and digital products, [27:42] that looks about right and now it's [27:44] asking us to pick a style, [27:46] quite like call out so let's go with [27:49] that and then we've got to select an [27:51] image for the thumbnail so we could [27:53] use this one of a sheep, [27:55] this one's my favorite so let's use [27:58] that and it matches this Instagram [28:00] profile picture. [28:02] Change that size just there, [28:05] get my 30-day energy reset [28:09] and then for the button start the old [28:13] ways challenge and then the price [28:16] $15.99 USD then we can actually offer [28:20] a discount to $12 USD [28:21] because well who doesn't like a little [28:24] discount and then we just have to [28:26] upload the digital product [28:27] and press publish then it looks like [28:31] we can copy the link here [28:33] and paste that into our Instagram bio [28:36] for people to click. [28:37] Now obviously I'll also have to [28:39] connect my bank details so we can get [28:42] paid, of course I'll do that off [28:43] camera as I don't want to share those details. [28:46] Let's test this out, [28:47] okay press this link, [28:50] yeah looking pretty good so I think we [28:55] can tick that one off, [28:56] left that on there, I think we tick [28:58] that one off of the list just like [29:01] that and now we can move on to count [29:04] it any profit we make. [29:07] Okay so it's the last day of the [29:08] challenge and we actually made some [29:11] sales but we've made a massive [29:14] mistake, you see since doubling down [29:16] on Amos, Vivian's account has actually [29:19] exploded, she's got over 10,000 views [29:22] on this video, 20,000 on this video [29:24] and this video here has actually gone [29:27] viral with over 250,000 views, [29:30] you know what I should have trusted my [29:33] gut and gone with Grandma Viv, [29:34] I mean imagine what we could have done [29:37] with all these I guess that's just one [29:39] of the things with these seven day [29:41] challenges, it's a great way to test [29:43] the side hustle but sometimes you just [29:46] need a little bit more time to see the [29:48] full picture develop and if we look at [29:50] all our influencers they've all been [29:53] gaining a lot of traction even though [29:55] I made it very clear that they're not [29:57] real people, there's not a single [29:59] comment complaining about the use of [30:01] AI which to be honest does surprise me [30:04] because I do still have some [30:05] reservations about AI slog. [30:07] As I'm about to show you AI [30:08] influencers are clearly a good way to [30:10] make money and they're pretty simple [30:12] to set up but I definitely don't want [30:15] everyone to jump on this [30:16] because I think one of the coolest [30:18] things about social media is [30:20] connecting with actual people from all [30:22] walks of life and if everything is [30:24] just AI generated then it sort of kind [30:26] of sucks the soul out of the me being [30:30] an old fart you can make your own mind up. [30:33] But enough of that let's crunch the [30:35] numbers and see if we actually made [30:36] any money. [30:37] Well as you can see we sold the [30:39] workbook for $12 USD and made 23 sales [30:42] which brings our total revenue to [30:44] $276 USD but of course that isn't all [30:49] profit because we did have some costs. [30:51] First we used Claude but [30:52] that was a free subscription. [30:54] I did have to wait a bit for the [30:56] credits to refresh which was a bit [30:58] annoying but at least it didn't cost [31:00] me anything. [31:00] I used Instagram edits for adding [31:02] captions to the videos which was [31:04] completely free too. [31:05] We used Standstore to host the product [31:07] and that was a 14-day free trial [31:09] so that also cost $0 USD. [31:12] As we got paid through PayPal they do [31:14] take some fees which came to [31:16] $19.52 USD. [31:18] Remember this isn't part of the [31:20] startup budget as it just came off our sales. [31:22] We of course used Higgsfield to create [31:24] all the photos and video generations. [31:27] Now I couldn't have done [31:28] that without them to be honest it was [31:30] so simple. [31:31] I also used the Tilbury discount code [31:33] to get some money off our subscription [31:35] but I know that's only limited to [31:37] 5,000 people and it was kind of [31:39] cheating so to keep it fair I'm going [31:42] to count the full cost which would [31:44] normally be $99 USD for that plan. [31:46] So that's our whole $99 USD startup [31:48] budget spent and including the PayPal [31:51] fees our total cost came to [31:52] $118.52 USD so that leaves us with a [31:57] profit of $157.48 USD. [32:00] Now I know $157 USD might not sound [32:03] life-changing but let's put it into [32:05] perspective. [32:06] This was all done with minimal effort [32:08] using AI tools and a budget of just [32:11] $99 USD to set everything up. [32:13] Imagine what we could achieve [32:14] if we expanded our strategy. [32:16] At the moment we've already generated [32:19] a ton of videos for Instagram [32:20] but we could simply post the same [32:23] stuff across other platforms such as [32:25] TikTok and YouTube and instantly get [32:27] more views, attention and money [32:29] without really lifting a finger [32:31] and that's just the start. [32:32] Remember all of those monetization [32:34] strategies we talked about at the [32:36] start of the video we only tried one [32:38] with one influencer. [32:39] Imagine what we could do if we [32:41] actually gave all of them a try across [32:43] all of our influencers but guys a deal [32:46] is a deal. [32:47] I did give myself the seven day time [32:49] limit so I can't complain [32:51] and as I clearly failed the challenge [32:53] I'm going to be giving one of you in [32:55] the comments $1,000 USD of my own money. [32:58] Just comment below who your favorite [33:00] influencer was and why. [33:02] I promise I won't be biased towards [33:04] Grandma Vivian. [33:05] So that's the profits counted [33:07] and if you want to see me attempt the [33:09] seven day AI dropshipping challenge [33:11] then I'll leave that video right up [33:13] there but don't click on it just yet. [33:15] Make sure to subscribe if you want to [33:16] grow your wealth. [33:17] Okay I'll see you over there.