Marketing and Margaritas

You’ve seen it everywhere: “Comment the word GUIDE and I’ll send it straight to your DMs.” But there’s a big difference between using a trigger word and actually having a strategy behind it.

In this episode, Ruby breaks down the DM strategy she’s been using with clients to turn content into conversations, qualified leads and ultimately sales.

We unpack how to connect your content, lead magnet and offer so there’s a natural next step, how this strategy can work for service businesses, local businesses and ecommerce brands, plus the role automation and personal follow-up play in actually converting the leads you generate.

If you’ve been watching the “comment a word” strategy everywhere but haven’t known how to make it make sense for your business, this episode gives you the framework to test it properly.

Q4 is around the corner, and the work you do now will determine how well you perform when the busiest period of the year hits.

In this episode, Madelene & Ruby take you inside the strategies we're currently discussing and implementing across our clients as we prepare for Q4.

If you're heading into Q4 and wondering what you should be prioritising right now, this episode will give you plenty of ideas to take back to your own strategy.

Black Friday success doesn’t start when your sale goes live. It starts months before.

Following on from our last Black Friday episode, we’re answering some of the biggest questions we received from business owners about what they should actually be doing now to prepare for the busiest sales period of the year.

We break down how early you should launch your Black Friday promotion and how long your sale should. We also dive into how to build and warm your email list before November, what to do if your email list has gone cold, and how to improve engagement and deliverability before inboxes become flooded with promotions.

Plus, Maddi shares the top-of-funnel content strategies brands should be running now; from founder and brand storytelling to objection-handling content, creator campaigns and AI cartoon explainer ads—to build awareness, trust and a warmer audience before Black Friday arrives.

Whether you’re a smaller ecommerce brand or already investing heavily in paid advertising, this episode will help you build the foundations for a stronger, more profitable Black Friday period.

Has AI killed the traditional online course?

With information now instantly available through platforms like ChatGPT and Claude, customers are no longer willing to pay thousands of dollars for another collection of videos and modules they may never finish. They do not just want more information, they want a clear result, personalised support and accountability to help them implement it.

In this episode of Marketing & Margaritas, Maddi and Ruby unpack the rise of paid challenges and why this increasingly popular offer model could be the future of digital products.

Using the viral Yap Challenge as an example, they explore how creators and service providers are transforming traditional courses into live, time-bound experiences that promise a specific result in a shorter period of time.

Whether you already sell a course, are developing a digital product or want to create a more scalable offer, this episode will help you rethink how you package your expertise and deliver better results for your customers.

In this episode, we're talking about Black Friday NOW and for good reason. The brands that win the biggest sales weekend of the year don't start planning in October; they start months in advance.

We break down exactly what ecommerce brands should be doing now to maximise revenue, reduce ad costs, and avoid the last-minute scramble. From choosing the right offer to warming up your audiences and planning your email marketing, this episode is your Black Friday planning checklist.

• When to launch your Black Friday campaign (and why waiting is risky)
• How to choose an offer that actually converts
• Whether to run a sitewide discount, tiered offer or gift with purchase
• How to use your stock levels to influence your promotion
• Why you should analyse your competitors before planning your sale
• How to build warm audiences with organic content and paid ads
• Why top-of-funnel Meta ads are critical before November
• How to prepare for higher advertising costs during Black Friday
• Why improving your email sender reputation now matters
• How to stand out when everyone's inbox is full

If you want this year's Black Friday to outperform last year's, this episode will help you build the strategy before the busiest shopping season begins.

Let us know what questions you have around Black Friday: https://www.instagram.com/marketingandmargaritas_/

Instagram is changing faster than ever, and the strategies that worked last year won't necessarily grow your brand today.

In this episode of Marketing & Margaritas, we're here to unpack six Instagram strategies that are driving real results in 2026. From the rise of Yap videos and Trial Reels to why caption SEO has replaced hashtags, we explore how brands can increase their reach, build genuine engagement, and stay ahead of the algorithm.

In this episode, we cover:
• Why Yap videos are outperforming overly polished content
• How to create authentic content that builds trust and converts
• Why replies matter more than likes on Instagram Stories
• The shift from hashtags to Instagram SEO
• How Trial Reels can help you reach brand-new audiences
• Why relying on Instagram alone is risky—and where you should be showing up instead

Whether you're trying to increase engagement, improve your Instagram strategy, or build a stronger social media presence, this episode will help you understand what's working now and where Instagram is heading next.

It’s time for Rapid Response, where we answer your marketing questions completely unfiltered and off the cuff.

We put up a question box on Instagram, you asked your questions, and now we’re giving you our raw, unprepared thoughts.

From strategies that work to industry hot takes, this is the no-fluff, real-talk episode you didn’t know you needed.

Follow us on Instagram to ensure you don’t miss our next Rapid Fire question box.

You all love these episodes! Ruby and Maddi breakdown their core focuses for Q3 and the new financial year including;

• Improving reach
• Paid ad funnels
• Webinar funnels
• Black Friday and more!

We're backkkk and Ruby has some exciting news to share!

With rising CPAs, unpredictable performance, EOFY pressure, and global uncertainty impacting consumer behaviour — a lot of brands are asking the same question right now: “What do we do when Meta stops working?”

In this episode of Marketing & Margaritas, Maddi breaks down why the worst thing you can do during a performance dip is panic, switch everything off and disappear.

Instead, we’re talking about the moves smart ecommerce brands make when paid ads get tough, from shifting towards efficiency campaigns, refining creative strategy, leaning into your best sellers, strengthening email marketing and exploring channels beyond Meta.

We cover:

🍸 When to pull back budget vs when to hold steady
🍸 How to adjust campaigns using cost caps and ROAS goals
🍸 Why creative cadence still matters (and what creative to prioritise)
🍸 Using organic content as your testing ground
🍸 Building revenue channels outside of Meta — TikTok, Pinterest, Google & beyond
🍸 Creating offers that drive sales without damaging your brand
🍸 Why offline activations, community and sampling still matter

Because the reality is: if one bad month on Meta can collapse your business, Meta isn’t the problem; your marketing ecosystem is.

Most marketers/business owners are wasting precious opportunities because they’re missing the true power of an effective hook. If your content isn’t passing the first 3 seconds in the attention game, all your effort may be wasted.

But what if you could flip the script and craft hooks that instantly stop scrolls and makes you sales? In this episode, Maddi dives into the psychology and mechanics behind irresistible hooks that do more than just catch the eye, they open the information gap that keeps your audience watching.

You’ll discover how to leverage a three-layer hook system; text, visuals, and sound that aligns around a core emotional trigger. Maddi reveals the three-point hook formula: pattern interrupt, angle, and curiosity loop, crafted to create content that is impossible to ignore. Whether you’re a creator, business owner, or marketer, understanding the three-layer hook framework and how to use data-driven insights will transform your reach and impact.

Unlock our subscriber only episodes here.