Collaboration is Key for Anh Nguyen

In the first interview of the Marketers Managing miniseries, recorded live at Content Marketing World in Denver, Rachel sits down with Anh Nguyen, Chief Brand Amplifier at Amplified Marketing. Anh has spent over 25 years in marketing and 11-plus years running her own business. She skips the AEO and GEO talk to make a case for collaboration over competition. After a podcast host refused to interview her for being a marketer, Anh and Rachel dig into why the marketing world is big enough for everyone and why referrals are the best growth channel there is.

00:00 Collaboration Always Wins
00:34 Meet Anh Nguyen
01:26 Marketing Journey Origins
02:14 CMW Mentorship Perks
03:33 Pivot To Collaboration
04:46 Podcast Snub Story
08:35 Why Referrals Matter
11:07 Conference Plans Wrap
11:42 Where To Connect
12:07 Final Goodbye

Collaboration Always Wins

Anh Nguyen: In all of my time as a marketer, and in the 11-plus years of having my own business, I have never not collaborated with another marketer.

Rachel Moore: Everyone, welcome to the very first interview of Marketers Managing, the miniseries of the Marketers Barely Managing podcast right here on But Wait, There’s Moore. I am your host, of course, Rachel Moore, but I’m not by myself for this miniseries because we are starting to talk to marketers that are here on the ground at Content Marketing World in Denver.

Meet Anh Nguyen

Rachel Moore: It is the year of our Lord, 2026, and I’m here talking to Anh Nguyen. She is the Chief Brand Amplifier of Amplified Marketing.

Anh Nguyen: Yes,

Rachel Moore: Yes, ma’am. And, uh, Anh and I, just a disclaimer, we’ve known each other… How long have we known each-

Anh Nguyen: Other? Over 10 years.

Rachel Moore: It’s been over 10 years. It has. And we met online, y’all.

Anh Nguyen: We did.

Rachel Moore: Yeah. Friendships can happen

… Anh Nguyen: On a Twitter chat.

Rachel Moore: Oooh.

Anh Nguyen: Back when Twitter chats were a thing. I miss Twitter chat.

Rachel Moore: Play the many violins, man. You gotta play that one out. But, um, yes, we met online, and then we met in person, and then we roomed in person at Collision a couple years in a row.

Anh Nguyen: And you know you get to know people really well when you travel with them and room with them.

Rachel Moore: You do. I mean, you get to all the, like, oh, the food and the Wi-Fi needs, and, like, do we do coffee? Do we not? How do we do our coffee? Walking around. But Anh’s awesome. She was, like, an amazing travel partner right out the gate. She is an amazing marketer right out the gate, and for years.

Marketing Journey Origins

Rachel Moore: Anh, how long have you been in marketing?

Anh Nguyen: I have been in marketing and advertising for over 25 years. Uh, I started when I was five.

Rachel Moore: Damn. Yeah, ’cause so, so do the math. That’s, that, that’s all we’re dealing with. Yes. Yeah,

Anh Nguyen: Exactly. But I’ve had my own business, Amplified Marketing, now for a little over 11 years.

Rachel Moore: Oh my gosh. I can’t say that. I’ve only had mine for, like, three, and this is my third attempt. And so she, she’s obviously successful at having her own business and marketing and-

Anh Nguyen: Oh, girl. There have been other failures. So no. No, don’t, don’t let that fool you.

Rachel Moore: But that’s how we learn. Honestly, I’m really glad that you’re my first interview here at Content Marketing World this year because you’re the reason I’m here, uh, frankly. You’re the reason I’m at Content Marketing World. I am at your behest and encouragement over a few years.

Anh Nguyen: I love that word, behest.

Rachel Moore: Yes. I, I like to employ it when I can. Also, nebulous.

CMW Mentorship Perks

Rachel Moore: Ooh. But, um, I was feeling nebulous, actually, about do I wanna try Content Marketing World? ‘Cause it’s always an investment, right, when you go to a conference and invest that time and money to get there and what have you. You introduced me to the mentorship program at Content Marketing Institute. Uh, and how long have you been part of that program?

Anh Nguyen: Oh, gosh, uh, probably five years because it piqued my interest immediately after the first year that I attended. And so, yeah, I’ve been involved.

Rachel Moore: Excellent. Yeah. And, uh, it’s a really great program if you haven’t tried it out, um, or didn’t even know about it. Content Marketing Institute will, uh, they set up a mentor and mentee. You apply to be part of it. They pair you up, and for six months, you have that relationship, and those individuals then get a free ticket to the conference.

Anh Nguyen: An access pass.

Rachel Moore: All-access pass. That’s right. And you do have to pay your own way to go, but, uh, this worked out really nicely for me this year ’cause it’s in Denver. Um, but so we set the groundwork here. Uh, the reason we wanna have you on microphones here is we are talking about marketers managing, and I’m going to be asking everybody who joins me on these microphones kinda what’s front of mind for you right now.

Um, you know, it can be anything. We have thought leaders. You’re an expert, obviously. You’ve had your own business. You’ve been in marketing for a long time. Um, what is front of mind for you right now? What do you want people to be thinking and talking about right now that’s fresh?

Pivot To Collaboration

Anh Nguyen: Well, you know, I suggested to you that we talk about AEO, GEO, you know- yeah, A, E, I, O, all the vowels. But since this show is called Marketers Managing,

Rachel Moore: Yes

Anh Nguyen: I’m gonna make a pivot. Because as marketers, we have to manage a lot of things. And really, I wanna talk about marketers being collaborators and partners, especially being here at Content Marketing World.

Rachel Moore: Yeah.

Anh Nguyen: It’s like a family reunion to me. Yeah. I have gotten to know so many people, and I still keep coming back because of the community. Sure, yes, I learn stuff. (Rachel Moore: Of course.) But it is really the people and there, it’s thousands of other marketers that you could essentially consider as your competitor.

Rachel Moore: Yeah

Anh Nguyen: But I’ve never considered other marketers, right, as my competitor. I’ve always considered them as collaborators, because as you and I both agree,

Rachel Moore: Yeah

Anh Nguyen: There’s plenty of business out there for everybody.

Rachel Moore: There is. There’s so many people.

Anh Nguyen: And there are so many different roles within the marketing, um, scope as well, and so I wanna talk about that because I had a very bad experience recently.

Rachel Moore: Mmm.

Anh Nguyen: And it shocked me, because I truly had not had this happen with another marketing professional before.

Rachel Moore: Yeah.

Podcast Snub Story

Anh Nguyen: And so, um, I live in the Dallas area, and I’m gonna name names. Is that okay to name names?

Rachel Moore: Uh, you know what? This is your microphone. This is your time. Okay. We are going there.

Anh Nguyen: I’m gonna name names. Um, I usually don’t name names, but I’m gonna do it today. So I was invited to be on a podcast called Good Neighbor, which is a little ironic, so remember that name. Um, one of my clients had submitted me as a potential guest, and I was honored and surprised, like, “Okay, cool, a podcast. I love being on podcasts.” So I submitted all of my information, uh, my business name, I’m a marketing strategist, all the things, and I got a booking confirmation by the booking production assistant.

And I got very generic questions asked, and I thought, “Okay, I get it. It’s one of those types of-” So the day of, this, mind you, this had been two weeks since, um, I had submitted all my info, so there’s a two-week time span where they could’ve looked at all my information. And this is important because the day of the recording, I get on, set all my equipment up to be a good podcast host, podcast guest, excuse me. The podcast host comes on and says to me are you in marketing?
Because if you are, I can’t interview you.”

Rachel Moore: Huh? Ex- What? Why?

Anh Nguyen: I was shocked. I was- a- and for somebody to make me speechless-

Rachel Moore: That’s a lot. No.

Anh Nguyen: So it took me a minute or second, and I said Um, I submitted my information a couple of weeks ago. Did you not see it?” She goes, “Oh, I’ve just been so busy. I haven’t had a chance to look at any of that.” One, that’s so unprofessional. Would you ever show up at a podcast not being prepared and knowing who your guest was?

Rachel Moore: No, because listen, y’all, this is time. This, she is here for a 15-minute interview, and if you see the agenda for this conference, time is money. This is how you respect people. And if they’re going out on a limb to be a guest on your podcast, you respect that by giving them a great experience, and that does not sound like a good experience. No. I’m so sorry.

Anh Nguyen: Oh my gosh. So I said my business name is Amplified Marketing, so yeah, I guess,” bum, bum, bum.

Rachel Moore: All in the name, folks.

Anh Nguyen: I’m in marketing. (Rachel Moore: All the words.) So then I proceeded to ask, “Do you mind me asking why you would not speak to another marketer. That’s what we do, and we do the same thing, and so I can’t speak to you. Basically, she considered other marketers, uh, their competitors. And she said, “That’s just a decision that my business partner and I made.” The wheels were spinning in my head, and my partner just happened to be in the other room, and he was like, “Oh, Lord. Oh, no.” “Oh, I can already hear this wheel spinning in Anh’s head.” And I said, “Well, one, this is very unprofessional. You wasted my time completely not being prepared, not-“

Rachel Moore: That’s right

Anh Nguyen: …not seeing all this information so you could have said, ‘Hey, sorry.'”

Rachel Moore: Yeah.

Anh Nguyen: Two, that is very shortsighted and stupid. Yes, I used that word.

Rachel Moore: Yeah.

Anh Nguyen: Because in all of my time as a marketer, and in the 11-plus years of having my own business, I have never not collaborated with another marketer. Yeah. I have never not featured another marketer. You know, you’ve been on my shows, on my livestreams. I am happy to support and feature and talk about and promote my marketing colleagues and friends because again, that’s what makes the world go round.

Rachel Moore: Yeah.

Anh Nguyen: And everybody is not a good fit for everyone. (Rachel Moore: That’s right.) And so I would rather say, “Hey, I’m not great at podcast production or media production, but my friend Rachel is, and she’s got a company that does it,” and refer someone over.

Rachel Moore: Right.

Anh Nguyen: And so I wanted to share that because, one, it was just such a horrible experience.

Rachel Moore: Yeah. I know.

Anh Nguyen: I was flabbergasted. I’d never had that experience before. So y’all, remember, Good Neighbor Podcast in the Dallas area, if they reach out to y’all, just expect a so-so experience, and if you’re a marketer, don’t even. Yeah. And, um, so there.

Why Referrals Matter

Rachel Moore: I would submit, I know she told you, “Well, we do the same thing.” I’m gonna submit that you do not do the same thing.

Anh Nguyen: Exactly. And that’s exactly what I thought in my head too because I thought the same. I’m like, well, maybe you focus on social media and influencer marketing. I’m on the strategy side, and I work mostly with B2B companies. Yeah. So I have nothing to do with, like, the consumer side, and I’ve had plenty of folks come up to me and say, “Hey, we’d love to work with you. We do this.” And I said, “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s not my expertise. I would not be a good fit for you.”

Rachel Moore: Yeah.

Anh Nguyen: “But I have three other colleagues who would be.”

Rachel Moore: That’s right. Well, and that’s the thing, y’all. I mean, let’s just look at yesterday. We met some new people yesterday. We were at a couple of different gatherings where there’s several different marketers. So many different specialties. I mean, it’s a vast world. And so to just immediately say, “Oh, I’m sorry, you’re disqualified,” two weeks after you gave us information that you cannot be on our show, that- it’s just very shortsighted, and it does, it does feel very clutchy.

And you’re right. That is not the way to build business. And y’all know if you watch my podcast or follow me anywhere online, we get here because of our network. We get referrals; that’s how we make money, and that’s how we do that. And so the network is the thing; I just think that’s so shortsighted and so-

Anh Nguyen: Extremely shortsighted, and that’s a great point because in my 11-plus years of having my business, do you know how I’ve gained all of my business, all my clients?

Rachel Moore: Probably through referrals?

Anh Nguyen: Yes. Referrals- yeah, with my community because I connected with other, um, marcom professionals, PR professionals- Yeah … marketing professionals who said, “Hey, Anh sounds like she’d be a good fit for your, what you need.”

Rachel Moore: Yeah.

Anh Nguyen: And vice versa. I’ve done the same thing, and it, and it’s, mind you too, it’s not tit for tat, right? Like, oh, I sent one, and they should send me one. It is just, again, you’re putting it out there, good karma, and I would rather do the right thing by a potential client, or someone who’s looking for help, than to say, “Oh, I’m gonna do it,” and then not be the expert that they truly need.

Rachel Moore: Exactly. No, I… And I appreciate that, but that’s… Honestly, Anh, that’s why it’s so great you’re here at Content Marketing World, but you’re out in these networks and these feeds. Y’all should go connect with Anh because that is the kind of collaborator she is.

If you, if she knows and recognizes, like, hey, you got value with what you offer, she will refer you, and she has, and I can vouch for that as well. But that’s how we do this. That’s how we make this a bigger pond. Uh, and that’s how we all get better at this thing called marketing.

And maybe someday you could have your own business that you’ve been successful at for 11-plus years, been in marketing for 25, and be like this woman, Anh Nguyen of Amplified Marketing.

Conference Plans Wrap

Rachel Moore: Anh, what, uh, any good plans you’ve got for the rest of this week here at Content Marketing World aside from the amazing sessions and such?

Anh Nguyen: Yeah, just really reconnecting with folks and seeing friends, and I love the fact that it’s here in Denver and I get to hang with you extra.

Rachel Moore: That’s right.

Anh Nguyen: Right. Um, and I’m looking forward to checking out the TMRE stuff, though, ’cause I’m very interested in data insights. I’m a little bit of a data nerd and how it can help to inform what you do and the strategy you create, so that’s the stuff I’m interested in, and then AI in action.

Rachel Moore: AI in action. Yeah, AI for sure. Without data, we don’t really do good marketing, so it’s very important.

Where To Connect

Rachel Moore: But Anh, thanks so much for stopping by these microphones, and, uh, again, where can people find and follow you online?

Anh Nguyen: Thank you for having me. I am most active on LinkedIn. So find me there. It’s AnhTNguyen170, how you’ll find me on LinkedIn, and also on Insta. But connect with me on LinkedIn. I love the space there and what it’s become now.

Rachel Moore: I do too. It’s, it’s been real… and you guys know I live on LinkedIn.

Final Goodbye

Rachel Moore: So, find us both there, but thanks so much again for joining us on this, uh, episode in the miniseries Marketers Managing right here on But Wait, There’s Moore. Bye, y’all.

Anh Nguyen: Bye.