Brand with Jenn (2026)

07/11/2025

Marketing technology changes so fast, it’s daunting to keep up.

As a marketer who’s been doing this since years started with ‘19’, keeping up with the constant change has been exhausting. Marketing concepts as a whole still have their foundations, but not only has the ‘how’ of marketing changed several times, but the way people buy has also shifted.

I’ve gone from copy/paste graphic design to Corel Draw to Adobe, and now Canva allows anyone to create their own designs.

I’ve gone from billboards and bus benches to websites, and now sites like Wix and Squarespace allow anyone to build their own sites.

I’ve gone from copywriting on a typewriter to an old 8088 computer and a dot matrix printer to a Mac Pro with MS Word, and now AI platforms allow anyone to write content in seconds.

I’m all for progress, of course. I’ve spent most of my adult life continuously educating myself to keep up with the never-ending progression of marketing tactics and buyer pattern shifts. But what I’m seeing overall is that there is a lack of humanity in our progression.

When we stop hiring professionals to do work they’ve refined for decades, we rely heavily on tools that are built to simply get the job done (and make billionaires richer, btw).

There is no emotional connection left, and no real understanding of your audience. There’s no collaboration anymore, potentially discussing ideas we may not have considered.

Let’s not stuff ourselves into a vacuum.

Marketing your business shouldn’t be a chore you just need to get done, it should be engaging, emotional, and most importantly, it should build lasting connections with your buyers.

07/11/2025

Pity marketing will backfire on you, as it did this week for a small business owner.

If you’ve spent any time on Threads over the last week, you may already know about Stickergate. If you aren’t familiar, a small business owner who runs a politically-driven online sticker shop faced massive backlash today as her viral marketing campaign of the last week was discovered to be fabricated.

It started with a single post showing an alleged “hate mail” email she’d received from a follower regarding her product’s content. Sympathy poured in, and so did the online orders. In today’s political climate, we are all looking for connection in divisive times, so it’s not surprising.

Over several more days, posts by the sticker shop owner showed more hate mail coming in, complete with screenshots, and it quickly became a saga (almost soap opera) that drove engagement through the roof. More and more posts, more and more hate mail from a single person who seemingly couldn’t let go.

Thousands latched onto what was happening, biting their nails waiting for the next instalment. Each post earned more engagement than the last. Sales were flying and the shop owner was posting photos of the mass pile of orders being shipped out.

Until last night, when a competitor uncovered the truth. The competitor did a small online investigation and unveiled screenshots proving the entire thing was made up. The sticker shop owner was literally harassing herself.

Women have a hard enough time being believed as it is. This person exploited her followers' emotional connection to her business. She made money from it. When she was found out, she shut down her website and pretended to be her husband on social media asking for mercy.

If succeeding in your business means emotionally manipulating your customers, you don’t have a business.

Pity marketing for me has always been a giant “no”.

Trust and integrity are at the heart of everything I do. I could never imagine soliciting sales using emotional manipulation and all-out fraudulent content.

21/10/2025

As a small- or medium-sized business, your website is one of your most important marketing tools. You’ve likely invested time or money into building it, and you may even be publishing blog posts or updating product pages regularly. But here’s the real question: Is your website actually bringing in organic traffic?

Let’s break down how to assess whether your website’s content is pulling its weight in Google search—and what to do if it isn’t.

Visit my blog: https://brandwithjenn.com/blog/is-your-website-generating-organic-traffic-heres-how-to-find-out/

20/10/2025

Jenn, I think I need to sell my business.

I got this text over the weekend from a client whose business I've helped grow.

When she came to me, she had only been operating her business from a page, which was limiting her ability to find new clients.

We discussed goals. Developed a strategy. Defined measurement.

But my main question to her before we started was, "are you ready for this?"

Meaning, growing a business is hard work, and sometimes taking the next step requires careful planning for the future. Consideration for what's going to happen when you do grow.

She assured me they were ready. So I started the work.

- I built a website with sales-driven copywriting (written by me, not AI).
- The website was optimized for SEO foundations right off the bat
- We worked on claiming her Google Business Profile and got her verified
- We worked on a strategy to gather customer reviews
- I generated her a QR code for signage to use at each of her project sites that led back to the website
- I helped her develop processes and documentation that would streamline her operations
- We collaborated on a marketing plan to help build on these new foundations

It was a strategy that worked for her stage of business, which was relatively new.
Within 3 months of launching, she was faced with more inquiries than she had ever anticipated.

She was taking bookings into the following year by summer.

She thought they were ready for this kind of growth, but ultimately realized it was more than they expected, and more than they wanted to find solutions for.

When I ask clients "are you ready for this growth" I can't always match that with a volume because there are so many factors at play. But it's a serious question.

It means are you ready to take the steps to meet new demand for your product or service? Are you willing to hire and invest in additional equipment? Do you have the capacity to scale?

As business owners we always want growth. What that means in reality can sometimes hit us like a big old truck if we don't have a solid business plan.

17/10/2025

If your business is just starting out, or if you’re looking to expand your marketing efforts, you may be looking for low cost marketing ideas. While it is important to do the work to understand your audience so you can tailor your marketing efforts, there are some things you can do in the meantime to expand your reach and build more awareness.

I’ve compiled a detailed list of ideas here: https://brandwithjenn.com/blog/13-low-cost-high-value-marketing-ideas/

15/10/2025

I trust you.

I was speaking to a long-time client, and near the end of the conversation she said these words to me.

Let me tell you, this means everything.

In an industry that’s changing by the minute (it feels like) I work hard to ensure my clients feel they can lean on me. I strive to earn trust, and I don’t mess around with it.

What you get from me is investment in your success and transparency about the process. I have the big picture in mind for you, but I don’t sell you what you don’t need right now.

What we do working together is collaborate on solutions to your goals, and build the milestones and pathways to get there, right from the start.

14/10/2025

If you’re running any kind of marketing campaign where you’re directing traffic to your website, you’ll want to track your results in detail.

- How many of your website visitors came specifically from your campaign?
- What form of marketing drove them to your website?
- Does one medium (like email) work better than another (like Google Ads)?

There is an easy way to track this if you set it up right in the beginning. Visit my blog to learn more: https://brandwithjenn.com/blog/an-easy-trick-to-track-website-visitors-from-a-campaign/

10/10/2025

Whenever you perform a search for a business on Google, you might notice the panel that shows up in results showcasing that business. This is Google Business Profile, and it contains a variety of functions to help searchers find the business and services they need on the go.

If your business doesn’t already own its business profile on Google, I highly recommend claiming it and optimizing it to better connect with your prospects in search results.

Learn how to claim & optimize your profile here: https://brandwithjenn.com/blog/how-to-claim-optimize-your-google-business-profile/

08/10/2025

I have designed and built some pretty whimsical and fun websites in my past, and a couple of the most challenging ones belonged to the scrapbooking industry. When these clients approached me to build their websites, I wanted the user experience to be completely different from the norm.

Journaltopia:

The client wanted to build a digital platform on which scrapbookers could journal online. This was a brand new concept at the time, and other platforms were just being created by some of the bigger players in the industry.

The intent was to create a place where users could choose from a series of design themes, drag-and-drop icons and graphical elements on the page, and add text for their journaling. Users could create as many journal entries as they liked, and either save to an account or download to print.

I had created a whole plethora of design elements along with the website concept. While this project wasn’t ever officially launched, this was still one of my fave projects I’ve worked on to date.

The Scrap Yard:

A scrapbooking supply store in Calgary was looking for a fun and whimsical website design. The store’s overall theme was vintage, so we wanted to create a site that represented the visual experience of their shop.

The purple dresser was the icon in their shop, so it became the focal point of the home page. Back when this website was built, mobile devices weren’t yet mainstream so we were able to focus on a desktop experience.

Every element moved when moused-over. The drawers would open and products would peek out, and the picture frame and other text links would tilt slightly. The interior pages of the website were similar, using other physical elements found in the decor of the shop.

This website was live for many years before the shop closed.

06/10/2025

Mental Health Monday… Let’s talk about therapy

I know it’s a taboo topic but I’m going there today because I think it’s important. Owning and running a business is serious work, and not for the faint of heart. You have to have some pretty thick skin some days, but we are all human and some have seen me in weak moments for sure.

I started seeing a psychologist over thirteen years ago. Admittedly, it started out for personal reasons, but as the years have passed therapy has absolutely helped me as a business owner.

How therapy has helped me grow as a business person and serve my clients better:

- Imposter syndrome: It’s heavy, especially when marketing tactics change lightning fast. But refocusing my energy to remember my past wins helps me realize I know a lot more than my anxiety tells me I do.

- Stress management: Burnout is real, especially when you’re the only person in your business doing everything. But finding healthy ways to cope–and better ways to redirect the negative energy–has been a game changer.

- Setting boundaries: In marketing, I am not saving lives. I don’t need to answer an email at midnight on a Saturday and I certainly don’t need to cancel weekend plans to work for someone who didn’t plan better. With boundaries, I make my own decisions about what is important on my time off and what can wait.

- Strengthening decision-making skills: Business ownership, especially if you’re going it alone, is a high-pressure environment. Sometimes you can second guess yourself in the decisions you make, but therapy has helped me with clarity, prioritizing my values, and aligning my business with my personal purpose.

- Overcoming past trauma: This is a biggie. Negative thought processes and anxiety due to past trauma can absolutely affect how you perceive and handle situations in your daily work life. Working through that trauma helps you see situations with a different mindset, and gives you invaluable clarity.

It’s still a work-in-progress. It might always be. But therapy has been important to my growth in both my business life and personal life.

03/10/2025

As business owners, we tend to put emphasis on attracting the right buyers. But in order to understand who the right buyers are, we have to also define the wrong ones.

A negative buyer persona is exactly that. Contrary to a regular buyer persona, it’s a detailed outline defining the types of buyers that may not be our ideal customers. Understanding your negative personas yields better efficiency in your marketing and sales processes, allowing you to spend more time on the right leads.

Learn how to build your negative buyer personas here: https://brandwithjenn.com/blog/how-to-stop-wasting-time-on-the-wrong-leads/

02/10/2025

Old content can still bring new website traffic.

Don’t neglect the content you published years ago. If some of your old blog posts have been declining in traffic for a while, and maybe sitting around with almost no traffic at all, it might be ripe for a refresh.

I tested three blogs for one client earlier this year. All three topics are still relevant today, but the original blogs were published in 2021. Not only were they too short (less than 300 words), but they had ample opportunity to beef up the value and substance of the content.

What I did:

- Rewrote each to be a minimum of 800 words. (word count is less important than complete topic coverage, and in this case 800 words was appropriate)
- Expanded on the information offered in the original blogs by adding new information, updated any outdated information
- Ensured all internal links were valid and added new ones to newer website/blog content
- Ensured all external links were still working and added new ones
- Resubmitted URLs to search engine queues

As you can see from the charts, each blog skyrocketed almost immediately in search engine impressions. These impressions increase your overall visibility in SERPs (search engine results pages), which increases the probability for clicks to your website.

If you have content you published ages ago, it is definitely worth reviewing whether it can be revitalized to bring in fresh traffic.

Monday	09:00 - 16:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 16:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 16:00
Thursday	09:00 - 16:00

Brand with Jenn

07/11/2025

07/11/2025

21/10/2025

20/10/2025

17/10/2025

15/10/2025

14/10/2025

10/10/2025

08/10/2025

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