The Creative Bodega | Content Marketing and Instagram Growth for Solopreneurs

Do you ever wonder if the discomfort of putting yourself out there is ever going to go away? You post, you wait, you check the numbers, and some days it still feels like nobody's out there. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm kicking off a new series called Nobody Told Me, six honest truths about what it actually takes to build a personal brand. We're starting with the one...

If your Canva account is a complete disaster — designs floating in space, uploads you've had since 2017, and templates you used once and can never find again — you are not alone. Most solopreneurs are working inside a cluttered Canva account without realizing how much time and mental energy it's costing them. The good news? Getting organized doesn't have to be a full weekend project...

Have you ever posted something, checked back an hour later, and felt your stomach drop? You poured real energy into it. And the response was...crickets. If you've been using your follower count, your likes, or your email list growth as proof that you're good at this, I want you to know you are so not alone. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I get more vulnerable than usual. I shar...

If the thought of writing a newsletter every week makes you want to close your laptop and never come back, this one's for you. I get it. I've felt that exact dread, staring at a blank screen, deleting what I wrote, and deciding I just wasn't a "newsletter person." In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm sharing how I went from avoiding my newsletter completely to...

Have you been showing up consistently, posting tips, sharing your face, doing all the things, and still wondering why your offer isn't getting signups? You're not doing it wrong. You're just not showing it. There's a real difference between posting about your niche and showing people what it's actually like inside your world. And that gap is exactly where signups disappear...

If you've been staring down July thinking you have two choices: keep the exact same pace you've been keeping all year, or go completely dark and hope your audience forgives you in September, this episode is for you. You don't have to choose between burning out and disappearing. There's a middle ground, and I call it maintenance mode. It's where you stay visible, keep nurtu...

If you've ever sat down to plan your content and realized you genuinely don't know what to post, your pillars might be the problem. Not because you picked the wrong topics, but because most of us were taught content pillars the wrong way. Educate, entertain, inspire? Those are content values , not pillars. Your offer as a pillar? That turns every post into a pitch. In this episode of The...

If your freebie has been sitting out there and barely anyone is downloading it, you're not imagining it. And it's probably not your offer, your niche, or your audience. It might just be how your freebie is built. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm sharing real download numbers from my own freebies, including one that flopped hard, and walking you through the four questions...

Someone lands on your Instagram profile. You have two or three seconds before they decide to follow, look around, or leave. If your pinned posts are random, outdated, or nonexistent, you are handing a new potential client a business card with the wrong number on it. In this episode of *The Creative Bodega*, Em breaks down the exact three pinned posts every service-based solopreneur needs at the to...

If you've been grinding through carousel after carousel, reel after reel, wondering why your results still feel flat, you're about to get a reality check that's also a relief. In this episode of *The Creative Bodega*, I'm sharing the accidental experiment that brought me back to the simplest format on Instagram: a single static quote graphic, made in under two minutes in Canva....

Overthinking your Instagram Stories? Or only showing up when you have something to sell? Let's fix that. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm breaking down why Stories are hands-down the fastest way to build trust online—and why they don't need to be strategic, polished, or perfect to work. I'm sharing my exact approach to showing up Monday through Friday without a comp...

Think your content's the problem? What if I told you it's actually your conversion path that's broken?! In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm sharing the exact moment from a recent one-on-one call that completely shifted how a realtor (with really good content!) was thinking about her Instagram strategy. Spoiler: her content wasn't the issue—it was what happened aft...

Spending forever on Canva just to create a post that gets… crickets? Here's the truth: your design isn't just about looking pretty—it's actually affecting whether people trust you, stop scrolling, and take action. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm breaking down exactly how your colors, fonts, and design choices impact buyer behavior (yes, really). You'll learn h...

In a content rut right now? Let's be real—you're in very good company. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm sharing the 10 things I actually do when content feels heavy, my ideas feel stale, or my posts aren't hitting the way I want them to. This isn't about forcing yourself to be inspired or white-knuckling your way through it. It's about coming back to what...

Staring at a blank caption, wondering what the hell to write? Yeah, I've been there too. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm breaking down why your hooks might be falling flat—and it's not because you need some magical copywriting formula. The truth? People are exhausted by content that bosses them around. What's actually working right now are hooks that feel personal,...

Your Instagram is getting engagement, you're showing up consistently, but your email list? Crickets. If you've been wondering why your freebie isn't converting or why nobody seems to care about your newsletter, this episode is for you. I'm breaking down the real reason your email list isn't growing from Instagram—and spoiler alert: it's probably not what you think. Yo...

If your Instagram feed is quietly repelling people instead of enticing them, you're not alone! In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm breaking down the 2026 visual reality check: perfect is out, overproduced is out, but inconsistent doesn't read as real—it reads as confusing. And confusing does not convert. I'm sharing seven visual fixes that will make your Instagram feel...

What happens when you commit to showing up on Instagram for 30 days straight...and accidentally gain 140K+ followers in the process? In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm sitting down with Amanda Jefferson, a Coven member who went from 5,000 to over 150,000 followers (and counting!) using a simple jar of tech tips and a whole lot of authenticity. We're breaking down exactly what w...

Is your Instagram worth a follow? That's the question I want you to ask yourself today—and I know it might sting a little. But here's the thing: if a stranger clicks on your profile right now, do they immediately think "Oh, this is for me"? Or are they clicking away in three seconds flat? In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm walking you through the six bio mistakes...

Hiding from the camera while trying to grow your business? I've been there—and I'm calling you out with love. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm sharing the exact show-up strategy I used to go from absolutely dreading video (like, worst nightmare level) to posting daily stories without a second thought. You'll learn how to get comfortable on camera through strategic r...

In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm sitting down with Colleen Nichols (@noshamessalesgame) to talk about the messy, beautiful reality of building a business when life forces your hand. We're diving into what it really takes to grow on Instagram without ads, how to trust your gut when everyone's telling you to charge more, and why showing up authentically (cursing and all) m...

Tired of feeling like the algorithm is punishing you for showing up? Same. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm sharing the data-backed truth about what actually makes people follow, unfollow, and stop watching your content—and honestly, it's not what you think. Spoiler alert: it's not about posting more or having a perfectly polished feed. I'm breaking down five major...

Amy Porterfield just discontinued Digital Course Academy—and the internet has thoughts. But here's what I think: online courses aren't dead. What's dying is the low-touch, "here's your login, good luck" model. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm pulling back the curtain on why I think DCA closed, what the future of online education actually looks like, a...

Sometimes the hardest thing is to keep showing up when the world feels like it's falling apart. In this unedited (literally) episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm processing in real time what it means to stay visible in your business when everything outside your door feels completely wrong. I'm talking about the Minneapolis ICE raids, the fear people are experiencing, and why I'...

Drowning in "new algorithm" posts and conflicting advice about what you must do in 2026? Let's be real: you don't need a total content overhaul. In this episode of The Creative Bodega , I'm breaking down the six things that actually matter for service-based solopreneurs this year—and spoiler alert, it's not about posting more or buying fancy equipment. I'm sharin...