Marketing Sucks

If you’re a man, have men in your life, are raising a young man, or just love Natacha Pennycooke (because she’s the best!), you’ll want to hit play on this episode of Marketing Sucks! In this mental-health-focused episode, I sit down with Natacha, her fellow psychotherapist and registered social worker Kunle Ifabiyi, and brand storytelling expert Phil Ginther to talk about the biggest mental healt...

I love a good Instagram strategy, but I’ll be the first to say you can’t build a biz on socials alone. While social media is great for building awareness, your time and effort can be wiped out instantly by a tweak to the algorithm or an account suspension. Your email list is a revenue-generating asset you actually control, made up of people who want you in their inbox every week — so stop ghosting...

Crappy networking sucks and we all know it. I hate it. You hate it. And we still push ourselves to do it. But here’s the thing: networking doesn’t have to be awful — and if you do it right, it can actually be a good time. In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down with the lovely Deanna Seymour, queen of non-cringey networking. As the founder of vibrant online community The Playhouse, she’s cr...

Grief and loss change you in so many big and small ways that you never expected… and no one is immune. This week marks the 20th anniversary of my mother’s passing, an event that has hugely and forever changed my life, my perspective, and my approach to business.  Over the last two decades, I built (and sold) a million-dollar business, created a family, grew a community, wrote two books, launched a...

Happy Mental Health Awareness Month! In our quarterly mental health episode of Marketing Sucks, I’m joined again by the incredible Natacha Pennycooke for a deep dive into some of the biggest mental health issues faced by business owners. This time around, we’re tackling juicy audience-submitted questions, like:  How can I see myself as others do? How do I figure out what my emotional needs are? Ho...

Sick of sending out emails every week without getting a single response, click-through, or sale? Before you hurl your laptop out the window and give up on email altogether, let me say this: email marketing, if done correctly, can have an ROI of $36 for every $1 spent.  Not only is email one of the most powerful tools at your disposal, it’s also one of the few channels that you can control. If Mark...

Is your webinar habit slowly killing your business? While I’m all for learning, consuming too much advice online makes it HARDER for you to move forward and see results. Information overload doesn’t just put you at risk of decision paralysis, it can trick you into believing you’re being extremely productive when you’re not actually turning tips into action. Think about it — how often do you actual...

Hustle culture is more dangerous than you think. My guest on this episode of Marketing Sucks almost lost her life to the 24/7 grind… and walked away with some insights you NEED to hear. Ten years ago, Event & Brand Photographer and Burnout Coach Lyndsay Cormier was working multiple jobs and living on energy drinks when she experienced a terrifying burnout wake-up call that totally changed her...

Want to create webinars that get people fired up to buy all the things? As an avid learner, I’ve seen a ton of webinars. There are HUGE differences between the boring-ass presentations that just want to sell to me and the engaging, value-packed webinars that get me legit excited to pull out my card — and some of them may not be what you expect! In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I put my decade o...

We need to bust the myth that women aren’t good with money. Thanks to this BS belief, we have more trouble getting business loans and more anxiety about investing and financial planning. Here’s the thing: we’re actually better at managing money — so let’s change the narrative and take control of our financial health! My guest for this episode of Marketing Sucks was named one of the Top 50 Leading...

Do you have killer organization skills in your business — but cringe at the chaos in your kitchen or living room? This episode of Marketing Sucks is for bad-ass biz owners who need a little help to get their living space as uncluttered and streamlined as their Google Workspace. My guest is Britt Gaudio, owner and Head Nester of wellnested Living Co. As a professional organizer and decluttering coa...

Think you can build a successful, sustainable business on social media alone? While social media is an amazing tool for business growth, it’s unpredictable — and having a fabulous social presence won’t protect you from losing your audience if a platform goes down, is bought by Elon Musk, or gets banned in your country. Alongside your social strategy, you need a strong website or landing page and a...

Hosting a podcast is a ton of work, but a high-quality show can be one of your most powerful marketing tools — for one thing, your episodes will outlive your Instagram Reels by YEARS. In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down with the amazing Emily Decloux of The Ultimate Creative, a Toronto-based podcast production company that helps small biz owners and subject matter experts share their vo...

Has the pandemic shift to doing EVERYTHING online left you feeling starved for IRL community? If unplugging from the digital world is on your to-do list, you’ll want to listen to this episode of Marketing Sucks. My guest Palak Dave, known as the ‘Queen of IRL,’ is the founder of the Embiria Social Club and an experience expert who has curated and hosted over 350 super-memorable community and media...

When you’re a mom and a business owner, it’s easy to feel stretched thin 24/7. If you spend your days juggling family, business goals, and self care (if you’re lucky), it can feel like you’re constantly falling behind and even failing. As a mom of two and entrepreneur of 20 years, I’ve done it all… and had the burnout to prove it.  In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I explain why the perfect work...

Have you ever dreamed about building a brand that’s bigger than you? In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down with the amazing Jessica Sennet, CEO of Mighty Mom, a fitness company that helps prenatal and postpartum women get strong and comfortable in their own skin. Jessica not only helps moms build new muscles, endurance, and confidence, she’s also built a kick-ass franchising empire. In th...

A successful personal brand is the best business asset you can have, but trying to build one can leave you feeling like the Invisible Woman. You can post all the tips, tricks, hot takes and how-tos you want, but you won’t see a strong ROI if your personal brand is weak — it’s just not going to happen. If you’re sick of showing up online every week, posting a ton of high-value content, and getting...

Thinking about taking the plunge into paid ads? Wondering why your current campaign is falling flat? I got you. In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down with Alvaro Berrios, founder of the digital marketing agency Alvaro Berrios Digital. As a leading expert in ad management, Alvaro helps his clients get mucho bang for their ad spend bucks.  Tune in as we discuss ALL things paid ads — when to...

Sick of sending out emails every week without getting a single response, click-through, or sale? Before you hurl your laptop out the window and give up on email altogether, let me say this: email marketing, if done correctly, can have an ROI of $36 for every $1 spent.  Not only is email one of the most powerful tools at your disposal, it’s also one of the few channels that you can control. If Mark...

Turning lurkers into buyers takes a hell of a lot more than just a slick website or colour-coordinated Instagram grid these days. Bands that want to stay relevant in 2025 and beyond need to embrace a social-first mindset, which means rethinking social media’s role in your brand’s ecosystem, switching up how you connect with your audience, and knowing how to turn social feedback into marketing (and...

Your brand story is so much more than just a few paragraphs tucked away on your About page — it should guide your marketing strategy and shape the way you show up for your audience. Having a strong story helps you spark connections, build trust, and grow an engaged community that wants to work with YOU, specifically. As Senior Creative Director at Spin Master, my guest (and husband) Phil Ginther h...

While the third Monday of January has been called the most depressing day of the year, the surrounding weeks can also wreak havoc on your mental health. Many of us feel sad, tired, and unmotivated after the holidays, and the stress of our current economy can make these symptoms feel even worse.  Your mental health has a direct impact on the health of your business. In this episode of Marketing Suc...

We live in a world that glorifies hustle, where 12-hour workdays get high-fives and everyone competes to be the one doing the most. But when we’re constantly multitasking, we aren’t creating space for ourselves to literally just BE — and this inevitably leaves us feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and burnt out. While rest may be seen as unproductive, mental downtime actually fuels us… and gives our cr...

Newsflash: “busy” is NOT the badge of honour people think it is. If you’re sick of the grind and want to stop overcomplicating EVERYTHING, this episode of Marketing Sucks is for you. My guest is the fabulous Erin Binns, a multi-million-dollar real estate mogul turned bad-ass business consultant who runs the brilliant workshop The Simplicity Shift.  Our conversation explores the different ways we m...

While this episode of Marketing Sucks is dedicated to mompreneurs, it’s packed with expert tips that will help any entrepreneur reduce the overwhelm and find energetic balance in their business. My guest is Certified Health Coach and bestselling author Chernell Bartholomew. Since experiencing burnout 9 years ago, Chernell has been on a mission to shift the focus in health from vanity to intentiona...