A year ago, Casey Pascuzzi had a new YouTube channel with roughly 12 subscribers. Within four months, that number had grown to 732. By the time we recorded this interview, the founder and CEO of Edge First Wealth Partners was approaching 5,500 subscribers (at this recording) with a library of only about 35 videos.
But Casey didn’t get there by blindly pouring money into every video he posted.
He experimented with YouTube promotions, watched for signs of organic traction and used ChatGPT to create a decision-making framework for determining which videos were worth promoting. That strategy helped him stop “throwing money at nothing” and start putting his budget behind content that was already connecting with viewers.
The results go beyond subscriber counts. Prospects now arrive feeling as though they already know him, clients share his videos with friends and his stories are becoming the foundation of an upcoming book.
3 Secrets from Casey
1. Grow YouTube subscribers with promotions
Casey began experimenting with the Promote feature inside YouTube after seeing it repeatedly appear in his account. Through trial and error, he found that a seven-day campaign with a budget of roughly $150 to $200 could help a strong topic reach a much larger audience.
The important distinction is that Casey does not automatically promote every new video. He looks for content that has already shown signs of connecting with viewers, then gives it an additional push.
2. Use AI to guide your ad strategy
Instead of guessing which videos deserved an advertising budget, Casey brought the question to ChatGPT.
Together, they developed a simple decision tree based on factors such as organic views and natural traction. Some videos are promoted shortly after publishing, while others are allowed to sit until they begin gaining momentum on their own.
AI did not make the decision for him. It helped Casey organize the available information into a repeatable strategy.
3. Turn your stories into a book project
Casey has always used stories and analogies to make complex financial ideas easier to understand. Now, those stories are becoming a book: The Financial Puzzle: Why Having Enough Still Doesn’t Feel Like Enough and What to Do About It (coming soon!).
He initially thought he could place his ideas into ChatGPT and have it write the book for him. The process was not that simple. AI did, however, help him organize his thoughts and create a more cohesive structure.
The larger goal is to make Casey more referable. Rather than waiting for someone to ask for the name of a financial advisor, he wants clients to be excited to hand someone his book and say, “You have to read this.”
Tools Casey Likes
Casey uses ChatGPT to organize ideas, create decision-making frameworks and help structure his book project.
He uses YouTube Creator Studio Promotions to place advertising dollars behind videos that have demonstrated audience interest.
Prefer to listen in? Get the full, uncut interview here:
Listen to the podcast on Apple. Listen to the podcast on Spotify.
Get the book on Amazon.
