The long way, on purpose. Grain & Ink Radio brings on writers, photographers, and creatives for honest conversations about the work behind the work, from copywriting to branding to building something that lasts. Hosted by MalikTells. Formally MikeGTheCreative.
How I'd Start a Personal Brand From Scratch (Designer's Advice)
AI replaced Emily at her translation job. Instead of looking for another one, she went all in on her own brand design business.In this episode, I sit down with Emily, a brand identity and web designer for personal brands, originally from Estonia and now living in Mexico. I've been following her on Threads for a few years and watched her grow from a few hundred followers to over 2,000, so I had to have her on.
We talk about:
- How she went from translator to brand designer
- Her first client and figuring out what to charge- Branding vs marketing (and why they need each other)
- Why she chose to work with personal brands
- How she built a community and got clients from Threads
- What she'd tell her past self if she were starting over- Why your taste is what separates you from AI
When I asked her how she'd start a personal brand from scratch, she didn't give the usual advice. That part alone convinced me to finally build my website.
Connect with Emily:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/em.design._/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@em.design._Website: https://emilyruven.com
Connect with me:Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikegthecreativeThreads: https://www.threads.com/@mikegthecreativeWebsite: https://www.mikegthecreative.com
Learn how to tell better stories online sign up for my free 5 day challenge. After 5 days you'll have a story you can’t wait to post.
https://5daystorychallenge.carrd.co
CHAPTERs
0:00 Intro
1:16 Meet Emily
1:56 From Estonia to Mexico (learning Spanish from telenovelas)
5:56 How she went from translator to brand designer
10:06 How AI replaced her translation job
11:11 Her first client and figuring out what to charge
14:22 Pricing in Mexico vs the US and working with clients anywhere
16:48 Branding vs marketing
19:05 Branding vs marketing as a dating analogy
21:30 Why she chose personal brands over restaurants
24:01 Personal brands vs big company budgets
28:35 What came first: identity, strategy, or web design
30:15 Accidentally doing brand strategy for free
32:37 Advice to her past self
37:20 How to build a community (Threads and coffee chats)
40:24 Why behind the scenes content works (How It's Made)
41:34 Where to start if you're building a personal brand
46:51 Trust in a world where everyone's skeptical
48:15 Creatives, AI, and remixing ideas
53:48 Taste is what separates you from AI
54:38 Where to find Emily
55:18 Outro
14 Aug 2026
The New Em Dash | Grain & Ink Radio with guest Fifa Tran
A few weeks ago, my guest read an entire Substack article, loved it, and found out afterward the whole thing was AI written. Her reaction is where this episode starts.Today I'm talking with Fifa Tran, founder of FeiModern, a branding and web design studio for coaches and speakers. We get into how she actually writes online, why she left Instagram for LinkedIn, the AI detector that flagged her own fully human piece as AI, and the phrase we both think has become the new em dash.We also talk about the Lindy effect, why Socrates distrusted writing, whether AI is actually good or bad for creatives, and the line between sharing a real story and oversharing.If you want to actually start writing online instead of just thinking about it, I run a free 5 day writing challenge: https://5daystorychallenge.carrd.co/Find Fifa:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fifatranSubstack: https://substack.com/@fifatranFind me:MalikTells:Website: https://www.grainandinkco.comThreads: https://www.threads.com/@maliktells IG https://instagram.com/maliktellsChapters0:00 Intro1:16 Meet Fifa Tran2:28 How she got into web design4:44 Her favorite writing platform, and why9:10 The 30 day challenge that got her posting daily10:16 Perfectionist vs free writer12:04 Editing while writing, red squiggly lines16:20 Her actual AI writing workflow18:54 How AI made Malik want to write more20:08 The em dash confession22:31 Does Word shape how we write24:39 The new "em dash," AI phrasing tells28:03 The Substack AI detector story31:10 Are we the last generation that reads32:37 The Lindy effect35:46 The Socrates story40:19 Why AI isn't the real threat to creatives42:58 The 1,600 person AI vs human writing study47:20 Performative posts vs personal stories49:07 Oversharing vs vulnerability53:37 5 day writing challenge
7 Aug 2026
What it means to be a content ghostwriter | Talk W/RJ Reyes
What's the difference between a ghostwriter, a content writer, and a copywriter? Is there one? In this episode of Grain & Ink Radio, I sit down with RJ Reyes (@reyesrjt), a premium ghostwriter for service providers in the manufacturing industry, to find out.
RJ spent 18+ years as a mechanical engineering technologist before turning his writing habit into a ghostwriting business. We get into what ghostwriting actually looks like day to day, why he thinks the lines between ghostwriting, content writing, and copywriting are blurrier than people assume, and how AI has changed (and hasn't changed) what makes writing worth paying for. RJ also shares his take on why "work smarter, not harder" gets misapplied, and the one habit he recommends to anyone who wants to get serious about writing.
If you want a more guided way to start telling your own stories, the 5 Day Story Challenge walks you through it: https://5daystorychallenge.carrd.co
Links
Maliktells:
Substack
https://maliktells.substack.com/
IGhttps://www.instagram.com/maliktells
Tumblrhttps://grainandinkco.blog
Website
https://maliktells.com
RJ Reyes:
IG
https://www.instagram.com/reyesrjt
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