On April 11, 2022, over 15,000 Etsy sellers put their shops on vacation mode and went on strike. They spoke out against Etsy’s latest fee increase. They also protested a mandatory marketing program that costs additional fees and the Star Seller program, which tried to...
“If you don’t see results, you didn’t want it bad enough.” That’s become the prevailing narrative of the online business refund policy. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to guarantee results. And there are reasons to remind customers and clients that, no matter what...
Do you remember the internet before influencers? Before teenagers were regularly becoming millionaires on YouTube or TikTok? Before billions of us started sharing our lives online? The opening bit of Iliza Schlessinger's Elder Millennial special on Netflix always...
I’m starting to wonder whether attention is really a scarce resource. Perhaps what is truly scarce are media and messages worth paying attention to.
When you orient your motive toward making room for difference, including people who’s experiences aren’t like yours, taking steps to not hurt people with your business, I think you can find both some peace and the motivation for real, lasting change.
Today, I have a conversation with Alice Karolina. Alice is a brand strategist as well as the founder of the ethical move, which champions ethical marketing and sales among small business owners.
Alice and I talk about how the ethical move came to be, the values that guide the work the ethical move does, and how the business is set to evolve into the future.
Now, let’s find out what works for Alice Karolina.
Doing business in a capitalist economy has a way of turning people into users, clicks, page views, and targets. As business owners with more data at our fingertips than we know what to do with, we reduce relational questions to math problems and automations. What’s...
Sunday evening, I downloaded TikTok and made an account. I know, I know. I said I wouldn't do it… but I did. I have zero plans to post to TikTok, but I've been increasingly curious about the creators posting personal-meets-educational content. I was also super curious...
How do you know what content should be free? And, what should be paid for? This month, we've been talking all about building an audience and/or finding customers—as well as how those two things are different. And one of the things a conversation about...
I often hear from business owners that their customers are on their email lists or following their social media accounts for years before making a purchase. Maybe you can relate. Since there's overwhelming evidence that customers take years to materialize,...
Today, I’m talking with Felicia Sullivan, a brand strategist who has built a thriving business on marketing activities that don’t scale. Felicia works with startup founders and small businesses doing $10-20m in annual revenue—folks who aren’t looking for business help on Instagram.
So Felicia spends her business development time on 3 things: coffee dates, writing long-form articles geared directly to her prospective clients, and referrals.
This episode answers some of the questions I’m most frequently asked about when it comes to marketing businesses that aren’t built on online courses (which, you know, is most of them).
Get ready to take some notes.
Host of What Works
Tara is a podcaster, small business community leader, strategist, and speaker. She’s been helping small business owners build stronger businesses for over a decade.