Marketing Sucks

In an economy where huge corporations rake in record profits as everyday people struggle, shopping small and local wherever you can is the right move. In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down with Megan Munro, owner of the incredible purpose-driven retail boutique Caribou Gifts. The cool thing about Caribou Gifts is that Megan sources most of her goods from small businesses owned by Canadian...

It’s shockingly easy to miss the mark in your content and messaging. If you’re always triggering people’s FOMO, they’ll eventually stop paying attention. Lean too hard on your analytics, and you won’t create an emotional hook. The best marketing plan offers your audience a holistic experience - one that grabs attention no matter where they are in the customer journey. Because if you’re not meeting...

“Going viral” is held up as a major accomplishment in the online world. With every post, we hope to grow our audience and thought leadership. But while getting new eyes on your content can be a big win, losing ALL control over your exposure and audience definitely has a downside. This became all too clear to me last month after one of my Reels went viral… and wound up pissing off a ton of men. Oop...

While few business owners truly love digging into the back-end of their businesses, taking an honest, no-BS look at your numbers is the best way to uncover what’s working for you… and what isn’t . Scheduling a year-end marketing review will give you crucial insight into what you need to change to start getting the results you want - and REAL clarity on how to structure your marketing budget, set r...

Two big questions are floating around the business world right now: how will marketing evolve in 2025? And, more importantly, what does that actually mean for my business? Thanks to market saturation and changing consumer expectations, brands will need to switch up their strategy to stand out and stop the scroll. But while many experts are hyping up sexy new tech as the 2025 game-changer, I see co...

Too many entrepreneurs out there are suffering from an identity crisis and pretending to be something they’re not. If marketing your business feels super hard, it may because you’re forcing it — and because your efforts are unaligned with your unique gifts. Instead of twisting into a pretzel trying to fit someone else’s mold, you need to identify and lean into your authentic superpowers in your bu...

When you’re making a big-ticket purchase, I’m going to bet that you check out three things: the features, the pricing, and the reviews. Very few people want to hand over their credit card deets without seeking out social proof… and that includes your prospective customers. If you’ve been wondering how to fill your website with glowing client testimonials, this episode of Marketing Sucks is for you...

In a world of high-def images, the skincare industry is hotter than ever — and Asian skincare brands are one of today’s biggest beauty trends. In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down with husband-and-wife team Peter Lee and Andrea Mourad, co-founders of the amaaazing Korean skincare brands Saranghae Skincare and Orora Skin Science, to dive into the nuts and bolts of building a successful be...

Happy World Mental Health Month! Entrepreneurs definitely need reminders to prioritize our well-being, especially as we move into winter (AKA the depression season). In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down once again with the one and only Natacha Pennycooke, award-winning psychotherapist and leader in workplace mental health and safety, to talk about our heightened risk of mental health iss...

As summer comes to an end, many biz owners are getting ready to get back onto their socials, reconnect with their audience, and start working toward their year-end goals. What’s the best way to come back online after taking a bit of a break — and how do you make it feel seamless for your followers? In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I reveal my best tips and strategies for showing up online again...

As entrepreneurs, we NEED time to slow down our businesses, reconnect with our loved ones, and recharge our batteries. Staycations don’t always get the job done, as it’s hard to fully relax when everyone around you is still ‘ GO-GO-GO .’ Maybe you dream about putting your biz on quiet mode and jetting off to a coast or cabin for the summer — but wonder what that actually looks like in practice (es...

Over the past couple of years, hustle culture has dipped in popularity in the online business space, and for good reason: it SUCKS. When we’re burning the candle at both ends and not creating the space to take care of ourselves, we’re not just hurting our health and well-being — we’re hurting our businesses.  If you want to thrive in all areas of your life, opting out of the 24/7 grind is a no-bra...

Psst, here’s the secret they don’t want you to know: you don’t need to create brand new content from scratch every week to grow your business. When you get organized, strip down to the essentials, and build a practical marketing plan that actually fits your biz goals, you can stop wasting time on things that aren’t making you any money — and start seeing REAL results.   In this solo episode of Mar...

Are you a master of social media etiquette? Or are you unknowingly committing social media faux pas on the regular? While having an active online presence can build your audience and boost your sales, not all content is created equal - and social media missteps can irritate, confuse, or even repel your hard-earned followers. In this juicy episode of Marketing Sucks, I share a few common content mi...

Olá, meus amigos! This episode of Marketing Sucks comes to you from sunny Portugal, where my family and I will be living for the next three months. This has become our annual summer tradition, inspired by my childhood experiences of travelling to Portugal.  While online businesses give you the freedom to work from anywhere, it isn’t always a seamless transition! In this solo episode, I share the j...

When you’re used to doing everything in your business online, popping up at an event and networking face-to-face can feel like something out of the Twilight Zone - but some of the strongest brand-building happens offline.   In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down with the fabulous Amanda Leach, an accomplished entrepreneur and Realtor in the Greater Toronto Area, to talk about the magic tha...

In a world where literally billions of people hop on Instagram every month, social media is an amazing tool for growing your audience, building your thought leadership, and selling your offers. But as crucial as social media is for modern biz owners, there’s a major downside that we need to talk about. Here’s the thing: you do NOT own your social media space. At any moment, your fave platform coul...

Being a female biz owner is like playing the entrepreneurship game on hard mode. Not only are we expected to juggle work and home in ways that men aren’t, we tend to put more pressure on ourselves in both arenas. And when we’re not our best selves, it can be REALLY freaking hard to Do It All™.  In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down with the amazing therapist and mindset shift coach Natach...

When it comes to video, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about how you’re going to deliver your message. But when you get creative with b-roll, you can communicate a lot without saying a single word. B-roll footage tells a story without the use of dialogue or text. When you see Reels set to the latest hit single showing people having a blast at a hot-ticket conference, giving a product de...

To niche or not to niche? A lot of biz owners and course creators resist the idea of really niching down. But the more you tailor your offer and marketing to a carefully chosen niche, the more they’re going to check the boxes for those people who need you the most.   In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I chat with the incredible Megan Walker, a health and medical marketing expert who helps her cli...

Here’s the thing about growing a business: you need to just get up and do the damn thing… even on those days when life feels hard. If you sometimes struggle to find the motivation to make your moves, you’re not alone. Literally no one has their sh*t together all the time — not even the shiny business gurus posting branded Reels daily.  But when grief enters the picture, doing the damn thing can so...

Have you ever followed a biz owner for years, loved their content, and finally started working with them… only to find that their offline personality is totally disconnected from the way they show up online? Yikes. It can feel like a Twilight Zone moment (and maybe even make you wonder what else they’ve been faking). In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I sit down with Natalya Sebastian, creator of...

How do you turn a total stranger into your latest happy customer? You meet them where they are in the customer journey… and give them exactly what they need in order to keep moving through it.  This episode of Marketing Sucks is all about the five stages of the customer journey —  from ‘totally unaware’ to ‘pulling out the credit card’ — and how to let your potential customers know who you are, wh...

Maybe you’re at the point where you feel good about the Reels that you’re posting… but how much time do you sink into creating them? If you’re spending half a day putting together a one-minute video, you’re not getting your best ROI. Even worse: spending hours making a Reel and then second-guessing yourself out of posting it at all!  Let’s make your next batch of Reels your best batch. In this epi...

Dori Adams is a former advertising creative, a brilliant storyteller, and the owner of one of the coolest businesses I’ve come across recently. Her shutterb platform connects business owners and event planners to a community of affordable smartphone camera creators (aka shutterbz) available to capture their events — absolutely genius! As a former corporate marketer who worked on multi-million-doll...