The Kara Report | Online Marketing Tips and Candid Business Conversations

Are you thinking about launching something for Black Friday, but you're a service provider and unsure what that would look like for you? Maybe you're feeling pressured to create something new? Or you're an introvert like me wondering how you'll find the energy to maintain a launch during the busiest time of year? In this week's episode, I interviewed Wandi Ruiz all about how planning Black Friday now, can help YOU stack recurring revenue for 2025.

Wandi has a challenge starting today if you want to dive into this even further! Head to her Instagram for details: https://www.instagram.com/thewandiruiz/

🎙 In this episode:

• Wandi shares BTS of her two-month launch last Black Friday
• How detailed your planning process should be vs. what you can do on the fly
• How to "sell your stuff" on Black Friday WITHOUT offering a discount

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/40
• Follow Wandi on Instagram (and join her Black Friday planning challenge): https://www.instagram.com/thewandiruiz/ 
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport

Five minutes into this episode, I realized just HOW much value Colie was bringing to the conversation. I already knew she was brilliant in systems and client experience, but if you’re not familiar with her yet, get ready. After recording, I made it a goal to implement everything she recommended, and it took me about two and a half hours (though it could’ve been quicker if I hadn’t overthought the details!). You're going to LOVE this episode so let’s get into it!

We dive into the bare minimum customer experience, her five-minute booking process that boosts your revenue, and how to personalize your customer experience with automation. She also shares how she uses Airtable—without giving too much away, this episode is packed with insights. 

🎙️ In This Episode:

• What does a "bare minimum customer experience" look like?
• How to set up a 5 minute booking process (to get paid fast)
• How to personalize your customer experience WITH automation
• How we can use Airtable to keep organized

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/39
• Learn more about working with Colie (and shop her templates): https://coliejames.com/
• Follow Colie on Instagram: https//instagram.com/coliejames
• Subscribe to The Business First Creatives Podcast (Kara's episode airs Thursday!): https://coliejames.com/podcast/
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport

Do you ever have a hard time turning off your business brain? This week’s episode was inspired by a moment that hit me a few weekends ago while driving home from camping. On the way home, we listened to Eminem’s new album—out of sheer curiosity, since I honestly don’t usually listen to that kind of music anymore. But it got me thinking about his lyrics and just how talented he is, honestly, which naturally led me to think of Taylor Swift and, then naturally, business. I couldn’t help but start jotting down ideas, and I’m excited to dive into them with you today!

🎙️ In This Episode:

• What I thought about the new Eminem album (lol)
• What stuck out to me about two very different artists with decades-long careers
• Lessons we can take away as business owners (when it comes to building a brand and connecting with our people)

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/38
• Hire us to write SEO-driven blog posts for you: https://thekarareport.com/blogging
• Join Blogging for Bingeable Brands (Use Code PODCAST20 for 20% Off!): https://thekarareport.com/bbb
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services 
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport 

Is anyone else feeling that new fall energy? It’s that time of year again—Labor Day has passed, and suddenly, everyone seems ready to dive back into their goals and projects. If you’ve been putting off those big dreams or plans for Q4, chances are they’re now front and center in your mind.

Today, we’re exploring four powerful ways to channel that fresh, autumnal energy to make the most of this season. And be sure to stick around until the end, where I’ll share one thing that might be on your mind but might not be the best use of that new fall energy. Let’s get started!

🎙️ In This Episode:

• 4 things small business owners should focus on with their new fall energy
• What might actually be a distraction
• How to set yourself up for Q4, the holidays, and beyond! 

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/37
• Hire us to write SEO-driven blog posts for you: https://thekarareport.com/blogging
• Join Blogging for Bingeable Brands (Use Code PODCAST20 for 20% Off!): https://thekarareport.com/bbb
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services 
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport 

How do we actually come up with ideas for our marketing content? That's exactly what I want to know, and Nicole Czarnecki has answers. Nicole is absolutely brilliant at the creative side of marketing, especially the kind that's very intentional and designed to drive real results. Sometimes, we think of marketers as either creative types or data-driven types. Personally, I lean more towards the blogging side because I don't consider myself overly creative—I find the keyword first, and then the idea follows.

On the other hand, those who excel at social media content tend to lean more into the creative piece, though, of course, there are exceptions. But here’s the thing about Nicole: she’s incredibly creative, yet you’d never expect her to be so strategically focused. After many conversations with her, I’m consistently blown away by her brilliance, and I’m beyond excited to share our latest conversation with you on the podcast today. So, let's get into it!

🎙️ In This Episode:

• Where "trendy content" should fit into your strategy as a small business
• The different types of content small business owners should create
• How to leverage the collab tool like big brands (as a small business)
• How to come up with killer content ideas (all the time)
• The amount of time social media actually takes (and how to batch it and make it easier)

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/36
• Learn more about working with Nicole: https://www.sayheysocial.com/
• Follow Nicole on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heynicoleraye
• Check out the Content Clubhouse (Nicole's Membership): https://www.sayheysocial.com/clubhouse-register
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport

Are you ruthless about what you listen to? Are you surrounded by people agreeing with you and complaining that this year sucks, it's slow, the economy, etc? I'm not here to say it's not valid, but today I'll enter with a hot take - more of a pep talk than my usual tangible tips. Let's get into it.


🎙️ In This Episode:

• What's driving me crazy on threads lately
• One of the easiest ways to self-sabotage
• How I'm adapting to changes as a marketer right now (having my best year yet tbh)

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/35
• Hire us to write SEO-driven blog posts for you: https://thekarareport.com/blogging
• Join Blogging for Bingeable Brands (Use Code PODCAST20 for 20% Off!): https://thekarareport.com/bbb
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services 
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport 

Is Your Business Ready to Hire a Virtual Assistant? Or have you tried hiring virtual assistants in the past based on advice from your business coach or business bestie? Maybe you’ve hired one, maybe you’ve hired many, and you’re always like, “why is it not the magic pill that everyone says it’s going to be”? That is what we’re going to talk about today.

But before we dive in, I also just want to say this: we talk a lot about misconceptions and myths and what it’s really like hiring a virtual assistant, things that go wrong when you hire a va, mistakes, etc, but I also just want to say that growing your team and hiring a virtual assistant isn’t really optional if you want to grow a big business. There are exceptions to every rules, but when you get to a certain point in your business, you need help. So let's talk about it! 

🎙️ In This Episode:

• How to know whether or not you're ready to hire a virtual assistant
• Finding someone to help you with what YOU uniquely need
• What you need to do BEFORE you make the hire
• Some of the biggest mistakes business owners make when hiring a virtual assistant

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/34
• Learn more about working with Sophie: https://hellosophierobinson.com/
• Follow Sophie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellosophierobinson
• Listen to this episode on the Breakthrough Brand podcast about team communication: https://elizabethmccravy.com/team-communication/
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport

Not working all the time has been a struggle for me because I genuinely love what I do. Like many entrepreneurs, I have a tendency to overcommit myself. I often don't notice the effects until it's almost too late and I'm way overextended. I genuinely enjoy the projects I take on and the clients I work with. However, I want to live my life too.

If this resonates with you, you're going to love this episode. I brought on Simone to discuss why work-life balance doesn't exist and how we can release guilt while remaining productive. We'll explore how to get out of hustle mode while still accomplishing our goals.

To be clear, we're not suggesting you can stop hustling, sit on your couch, and make a million dollars a year. That's not what this podcast is about. (If I figure out how to do that, I'll definitely pass it on!) What you'll find in this episode are practical examples and customizable advice, which I really loved. Let's get into it!

🎙️ In This Episode:

• The difference between hustling and when you "just love working"
• What to do if you've already overcommitted yourself
• How to find more joy in small pockets of free time
• Get things done (without guilt!)

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/33
• Learn more about working with Simone: https://www.thesimonelittle.com/
• Follow Simone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesimonelittle 
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport

Today, I want to talk about three weird things I've done to get more wedding clients. This episode is going to be different because I'm not saying, "Do these three things and you'll explode your business." I want to talk about subtle things and hopefully get you to brainstorm different ways to market your business beyond social media, blogging, and Pinterest, which I always talk about here. So let's get into it.

🎙️ In This Episode:

• 3 ways I booked more wedding clients by accident
• How to market your business in new and interesting ways

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/32
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services 
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport 
• Curious about my wedding business? Check out Love at First Travel: https://loveatfirsttravel.com 

 How should you come up with blog topics? That's one of my most frequently asked questions. People either say, "I have so many ideas, I can't get my thoughts out," or "I sit at a blank screen with no idea what to blog about." After doing this for four years, I have a system.

I cover everything you need to know about blogging for SEO in my Blogging for Bingeable Brands mini course, which you can get 20% off with code Podcast 20, but today, I'm sharing how to find your best blog topics!


🎙️ In This Episode:

• 3 Ways to Find Keywords That Are Trending/Profitable
• How to Turn Keywords Into Topics
• What To Do if You Already Have a Ton of Ideas

Links Mentioned: 

• Read the full shownotes: https://thekarareport.com/31
• Hire us to write SEO-driven blog posts for you: https://thekarareport.com/blogging
• Join Blogging for Bingeable Brands (Use Code PODCAST20 for 20% Off!): https://thekarareport.com/bbb
• Learn more about working with our marketing agency here: https://thekarareport.com/services 
• Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekarareport