Should You Clone Yourself?

Yesterday, as the Mastermind Book Club discussed with Aleric Heck his book “Video Authority,” Theresa asked about AI clones. Should we use them in our videos or not?

For those who haven’t noticed, you can now use AI to create videos in which you clone yourself. No camera required. Just feed the script to the AI, describe the scene, and voila — an almost identical you on screen.

Aleric’s answer: “Don’t do it.”

His reasoning is simple. The whole point of video is connection. People trust you because they see the real you on screen. A clone breaks that the moment someone spots it.

And people spot it.

Theresa told us she’d been watching a competitor’s videos for a client. She took one look and thought, “It’s a clone.” The presenter lost credibility on the spot. As Theresa put it, “she came down a couple notches.”

Aleric’s agency has seen the same thing with AI-generated hooks. When the AI tries to look like a real person, viewers catch on. “That’s AI. Wait a second. That’s AI.” And the trust is gone.

And don’t get me started on how the social media platforms treat AI-generated content. One day we hear it’s no problem. The next day we hear it’s not allowed. You’re at the mercy of someone else’s algorithm if you post clones.

So does Aleric avoid AI altogether? No. He uses it for research and editing. He uses it for motion graphics and B-roll, too. Even cartoons, which work better than fake humans because nobody feels fooled. AI handles everything around the video, “with the exception of the recording.”

The AI clone question was one of many fascinating conversations we had. A few more highlights:

1. The ad he almost didn’t run. Early on, Aleric was self-conscious about how he looked on camera. He nearly pulled one of his first ads. He ran it anyway. It became the first ad to make him over a million dollars.

2. 400 videos from eight questions. Aleric’s 90-day content plan starts with the questions your ideal clients ask. Come up with 10 answers to each question. Then cover each answer from five different angles. Teach it. Tell a story about it. Bust a myth. Eight questions times 10 answers times five angles is 400 videos.

3. The 4Cs. Character, Connect, Credibility, Call to Action. Every video should hit all four. On Character, Aleric’s advice is to be yourself “with about 20% more energy.”

4. Why YouTube is different. Aleric said YouTube is the only platform where older videos get more views than fresh ones. And he says ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini pull from YouTube content. So your videos can show up when your prospects ask AI for answers.

Want to watch the whole conversation?

Reply to this email with the word “authentic” and I’ll send you the replay.