It's a book review episode! We’re discuss the whistleblowing Meta memoir Careless People, and how the disturbing insights found within it will shape the way we do business on social media forever.

We cover:

+ Whether or not the algorithm actually is out to get us

+ The role social media plays in elections + politics

+ The (lack of) morality in the targeted ads world

Plus lots of other tidbits from this high-key terrifying (but also essential) read. Oh, we also gently roast Gen Z for an annoying but actually kind of smart partying habit, reminisce about Vodka bars, and confess our new exploration into the world of designer replicas.

MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST ↓

The Marketing Shift is happening this week, and it’s free! Get instant access to the workshop, community, and co-working sessions this week right here.

LOIS IS BACK! We’re talking on 2x speed about all things messaging and sales, going in on topics like:

• Sales psychology, buyer types, and how to align your approach with the people you ACTUALLY want to attract

• What exactly a “marketing language bank” is and why you need one to build more confidence showing up and saying what you mean

• The antithesis to creative stagnancy and how to break free from feeling trapped in your own brand

• “Positioning” as a verb, reading the room and adapting your message for the current cultural climate

• Why the traditional “copy/paste” messaging strategies aren’t working anymore (and never really did)

• How to create messaging that can evolve with you as your opinions and perspectives shift

• The comparison trap that is THREADS! And the secret to letting negativity roll off

• How to actually engage in a healthy discourse online even when you disagree

• Why the trust of our community is so critical right now, and how to adapt our content in response to that (hint: it’s not just slapping a story into a sales email and calling it a day)

• Making the shift from competition → collaboration and the role strong messaging plays in being able to confidently share your community with others

• How we co-created the Uncategory method and what an aligned collaboration actually looks and feels like behind the scenes

We mention Uncategory 9834082 times so here’s the link to hop in, if you’re curious. It's currently $100 off until June 10!

(Here’s a link to Lois’ original episode from the last retreat if you want to binge our chaotic collaborative energy for another 60 minutes).

This week’s episode is packed with discussions around:

• The problem with the “propaganda” trend and how it got so popular

• How to navigate posting something you change your mind about or learn from

• Whether getting “distracted” from your goals is inherently bad

Some moving updates including:

• That time Frank stole from a poor innocent college girl

• A “wrinkle” in the pursuit of our white pickup truck dreams

And marketing strategies like:

• A campaign idea if you want to call in more local community to your online platforms

• How to pivot your content when your capacity to write captions feels limited

MENTIONED:

• The Uncategory waitlist (you’ll get the free workbook we mentioned as soon as you sign up!)

• This podcast episode with Lois (one of our most popular eps!!)

It's a deep dive on all the steps we’re taking to dismantle our life in LA, spend the summer in Canada, and then move to Barcelona in September!

We cover:

• Which Spanish Visa we’re applying for and the steps we’re taking to get it

• Tax implications we’ll navigate as Canadians in Spain

• What we’re packing, selling, and sending to make the move

• The health insurance situation while bopping through multiple countries

• What we’re doing about vehicles and drivers' licenses

• Our plans for landing in Spain and finding a place to live

• Xanthe’s new equestrian pursuits

This episode can serve as a resource if you plan to move to Europe — or just a rundown on what we’ll be up to over the next 17 weeks, if you’re nosy like that.

LISTEN WHERE YOU GET YOUR PODS! ♡

There’s no LOL in the constitution! Today we unpack two recent studies around how using abbreviations in your marketing might be rly hurting ur biz and why “safety” is the hottest marketing tactic for the younger generation.

We cover:

• The difference between communicating casually vs. carelessly

•  An important debate about coffee cup lids

• How we feel about the new Spotify announcement around visible data

• An uptick in offers that promise “safety in the body”

• The partier to entrepreneur pipeline and how raging in our 20s helped us build more resilient relationships with our businesses

• Move abroad logistics like business operations and banking

And with six months of podcasting under our belt, we’re seeking feedback on what you’ve loved and want to see more of on the pod. Leave a comment below or shoot Xanthe a DM on Instagram!

SPONSORS:

It’s Launch Your Own Way season! This program had a massive impact on the success of our business over the last three years, and Kelsey is offering 10% off to our listeners with code LYTTC here.

Surprise! Or, you can at least pretend to be.

After two weeks of amazing guests, we’re back in the rhythm to bring you an Appleyard classic of life updates laced with takes about marketing in the digital age. We cover:

• “Robot Friends” and another reason not to trust Mark Zuckerberg

• Our unique dilemma as millennials raised by the internet

• The recent resurgence of early 2000s indie music

• Why TikTok is undeniably the “cooler” platform

• Colour science and an (allegedly) new hue gracing our eyeballs

• Bon Iver’s incredible album launch campaign

• And obviously… moving to Barcelona

If you loved this episode (or have any discussion requests for the next one) review / comment / tell all your friends!

From building an app in public to hosting events with major brands, Camber founder Mady Maio is proof that messy action is where the magic happens. Cozy on our couch in LA, we giggle and yap and go deep on:

• How Mady manages her personal brand online while building a business beyond herself

• Her experience stepping away from her popular podcast, Okay Sis, and what self-expression looks like without that medium in the mix

• How she’s using Substack to expand the Camber community

• The ChatGPT and content creation debate, where it helps with efficiency and where it hinders our confidence

• Fostering brand relationships with major partners like Netflix and Amazon Prime and how that has supported Camber’s ability to create so much valuable free content

• Pivoting a brand in the public eye and having the stamina to stay the course as it evolves

• Her experience creating an app from scratch and the lessons learned as they get ready to relaunch it as a web platform

To connect with Mady:

Instagram

TikTok

To learn more about Camber:

Website

Instagram

TikTok

Substack

This guest episode with Hannah was SO full of rich reflections on content, self-trust, leadership, and committing to living a creative life on your terms.

We cover:

• What it means to live and lead unapologetically

• Behind the scenes of Hannah’s prolific content creation process

• Juggling a multifaceted career as an agency founder + content creator

• Betting on yourself and figuring it out along the way

• Staying connected to your vision and being open to surprising yourself

GUEST LINKS:

Follow Hannah on Instagram

Listen to the How I See It podcast

Work with Unapologetic Strategies

SPONSOR LINKS:

Pitch Perfect (Get 10% off ‘til April 28th)

Last week’s debt episode sparked so much discussion, we recorded a follow-up! In this episode, we answer some of the most common questions while shedding light on a few different dimensions of our money journey to add further context to the conversation.

We discuss:

• How we decided to invest in a local natural wine shop last year, and what it will look like when we leave LA

• The profitability of short-term rentals and our experience investing vs. profiting off of the spaces we’ve listed on Airbnb

• The negative implications of the Airbnb industry and our future plans for navigating the short-term rental space

• Our personal finances and what accounts we keep separate

• Why Xanthe is the primary breadwinner, how that affects our relationship dynamic, and how we navigate running the household and business on a single income

• Things we disagree on when it comes to money

• The emotional elements of purchasing properties and making large investments

• Mindsets that helped us get out of the debt and overspending cycle

PS. Everything in our online shop is on massive sale right now! Stack your social media skills for 34% OFF using code ERA34 at checkout.

Tax season is bringing up lots of money shit for our community so we wanted to shed some light on our entire business finance trajectory — what it took to get the business off the ground, the financial struggles along the way, and a full rundown of where we’re at now in terms of debt, investments, and perspective on financial risk.

We cover:

• How we finally saved enough to pay our taxes this year

• Our finances when we met and how Xanthe finally stopped living in overdraft

• What we invested to start the business and where our finances were at when we launched

• How we bought our Tulum house and the debt incurred from purchasing + renovating it

• Why we had to shut down our agency and the financial implications of that decision

• Selling our Tulum property and where we reinvested the cash

• What debt we’re currently carrying and our repayment goals

• Beliefs around debt, taking financial risks vs. being “responsible”

This is a robust conversation about both financial failure and financial opportunity — with a very loud acknowledgement of the privilege that has underpinned every success we’ve had, money and otherwise.

If you have any questions about any of the topics or experiences we covered, please reach out to @frankappleyard or @xanthe.appleyard on IG! We’d love for this dialogue to continue and deepen!