The Vignette Effect

Every other week, it seems like someone is announcing that something in marketing is dead. SEO is dead. Blogging is dead. Content pillars are dead. Email is dead. But before you change your entire marketing strategy because of a great hook on Instagram, ask this question: What was this actually designed to do in the first place? In this episode of The Vignette Effect , Raquel digs into blogging as...

After 75 days of creating daily face-to-camera videos, getting on camera went from something Raquel resisted to something she simply does. In this behind-the-scenes episode, Raquel uses that experience to explore what it takes to begin before you can create the fully realized version you have in mind . She shares why identifying the obstacle you’re actually trying to solve matters when choosing su...

You could do a hundred things to improve your marketing. That doesn’t tell you what you should do. As marketing has become more specialized, it’s gotten easier to hire someone for almost every individual piece of it. That expertise can be incredibly valuable, but someone still needs to understand how all those pieces work together. In this episode of The Vignette Effect, Raquel talks about develop...

Your marketing can give people every detail they need and still leave them without much of a reason to want what you’re selling. Transactional marketing focuses on the information and mechanics of buying: what the product or service is, what it includes, what it costs, when it’s available, and whether there’s a discount or deadline. Those details matter. They help people evaluate and confirm a pur...

Marketing has become incredibly accessible. You can learn how to make a reel, build an email funnel, redesign your website, create graphics, run ads, and do almost any other individual marketing task online. But access to the tools doesn’t automatically teach you the logic underneath them. That’s where marketing starts to feel like a giant guessing game. You can be doing a lot of things and still...

If you know you need to “put yourself out there” more but immediately picture LinkedIn humble brags, performative personal branding, or constantly talking about yourself, this conversation is for you. Raquel is joined by Katie Radel, founder and CEO of Ripple Consulting Group, to talk about what visibility can look like when it’s built around real expertise, useful ideas, and stories that actually...

In this episode, Krista Patterson, CEO and co-founder of Positioning Collective, joins me, Raquel, to talk about why clarity is the foundation every founder skips, and what it costs them when they do. Krista has spent over 20 years helping founders, leaders, and executives clarify what makes them different and turn it into growth. She built Positioning Collective in 2020 after years of watching co...

Holiday marketing prep starts in summer, not November. Learn why sales are a lagging indicator and what to fix before your business gets busy. If you're thinking about holiday marketing prep, Black Friday promotions, or just wondering why your marketing doesn't seem to be working, this episode is your sign to start now instead of waiting until things feel urgent. Your sales today aren't a reflecti...

What if your most valuable marketing strategy isn't another messaging framework or copywriting exercise? In this episode of The Vignette Effect , I'm sharing why your business data deserves just as much attention as your branding and creative direction. Too many founders invest in beautiful websites, professional photography, visual branding, social media, and advertising without taking the time t...

Should you have an email list? Is social media still worth it? Do you really need a blog for SEO? What about Instagram ads? These are some of the most common marketing questions I hear from founders, and the answer is probably different than you think. In this episode of The Vignette Effect , I explain why no single marketing channel is required , but marketing your business absolutely is . Rather...

Building a successful business doesn't have to mean building it the same way everyone else does. In this episode of The Vignette Effect , I'm joined by intuitive business mentor and former BossBabe COO Marissa Liesenfelt for a conversation about human design, business strategy, authenticity, and creating a business that actually fits the way you're wired to work. After helping lead multiple eight-...

Showing up on camera isn't just a content strategy. For many founders, it's a mindset shift. In this episode of The Vignette Effect , I'm taking you behind the scenes of my own visibility experiment after committing to posting face-to-camera videos every day for 75 days as part of The Close Up Experience with Mike Ganino. People have been asking what inspired the shift, whether I'm participating i...

What if, instead of spending time trying to improve our weaknesses, the bigger opportunity is understanding and developing our strengths? This week, I'm joined by Cara Nance, founder of Tutum Leadership Coaching and a Gallup Certified CliftonStrengths Coach. We talk about how self-awareness shapes better leadership, why strengths-based coaching helps teams communicate more effectively, and how fou...

3 Science-Backed Ways to Unlock Your Creativity (Even If You Don't Think You're Creative) A lot of people walk around convinced they're not creative. Raquel hears it constantly, especially from corporate clients who desperately need new ideas but somehow believe they're not the ones who get to have them. This episode pushes back on that, and gets into the brain science behind why your best ideas t...

What 20 Years in Marketing Actually Teaches You With Agency Founder Jared Harman If you've ever hired an agency, been frustrated by one, or thought about building one yourself, you're going to want to hit play on this conversation. Jared Harman is the CEO and co-founder of One Group Agency, a full-service marketing agency based in Canada with 16 full-time, in-house team members. He's spent over tw...

If you've ever had a wildly successful launch followed by a complete freeze or found yourself hesitating to send an email, show up on camera, or talk about what you do, this episode is going to feel uncomfortably familiar. In the best way. Raquel is joined by Leslie M. Thornton, founder of Hypnosis for Permanent Weight Loss (hpwl.co) and host of one of the top 1% most downloaded podcasts globally....

When Jessi Jean Home grew a brand new Instagram account to 350,000 followers and followed it with a $1.2 million launch, the internet had a lot to say. Most of the recaps missed the real marketing lessons underneath it. This episode breaks down what actually drove the results, what context gets left out of the viral conversation, and what small business owners can take away from it, regardless of...

  What Sedona, Arizona , Can Teach You About Building a Brand World If you've ever been to Sedona, Arizona, you already know there's something different about the place. The red rocks, the quiet, the particular pace of it. But what struck Raquel on her most recent trip wasn't just the beauty of it. It was how intentional all of it is, and how closely it mirrors the kind of brand world she talks ab...

This episode covers the marketing and branding questions showing up most in DMs and inboxes right now. The ones that come up in different forms but are really asking the same things. From growing an email list to standing out in a crowded industry, from navigating social media pressure to figuring out which platforms actually matter, Raquel brings her 25+ years of experience in marketing, creative...

Protecting Your Brand: IP Basics Every Founder Needs to Know with Nuzayra Haque-Shah hosted by Raquel Furman If you've ever wondered whether you actually own your brand name, your course content, your frameworks, or the images you create - this episode is for you. I sat down with Nuzarya Haque-Shah , intellectual property attorney and founder of Legally Savvy CEO , to dig into one of the most impo...

You’ve registered your business name, bought the domain, and locked in your Instagram handle. So you own your brand… right? Not exactly. In this episode of The Vignette Effect , Raquel is opening up a conversation that a lot of small business owners don’t think about until it’s too late: trademarking, copyright, and what it actually means to own your brand. This isn’t legal advice but it is a grou...

If your marketing isn't working, the problem probably isn't effort. You're posting consistently, showing up on the platforms, doing all the things, and something still isn't clicking. This episode is about why that happens, and what actually fixes it. Brand strategist and coach Raquel Furman breaks down the two layers every small-business brand needs to work on: the technical layer (how people fin...

What this episode covers: The ambiguity of the word “design” and how it’s used across industries Why design is more than visuals in branding and marketing The difference between form and function in design How “clean and minimal” websites can lose clarity The gap between SEO visibility and user experience What happens after someone clicks on your website How design organizes information and guides...

Be the Editor of Your Brand (Not the Content Machine) You've got the content. You've got the clients. You've got the email list, the engagement, the offers. So why does something still feel a little off? If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. Raquel breaks down one of the most useful frameworks in brand strategy: thinking about your brand like a magazine and stepping into the role of ed...

What can small businesses learn from six-figure website proposals? A lot more than you might think. In this episode, Raquel takes you behind the scenes of reviewing multiple agency RFPs for a major website project and reveals a surprising truth. Even at the highest levels, the fundamentals of branding, messaging, and customer connection still determine what works and what does not. This episode br...