So, when you hear the word marketing, what do you think of? Do you think of glitzy advertisements with photoshopped models that make us feel we’re not enough? Greenwashing campaigns from fast fashion brands that tell us we can buy our way to sustainability? Perhaps sales emails telling us the latest and greatest discounts & doorbusters?
Well, I don’t believe that marketing has to look this way.
So, today on the show, we’re talking about marketing, and how to do it more mindfully. Because as it stands now, it doesn’t exactly have a great reputation.
In this episode, I am talking with Natalia Gomez of Green Studio Marketing. With over 8 years of marketing experience, Natalia offers ethical content marketing services for conscious entrepreneurs.
You’re going to hear Natalia talk about:
- What ethical marketing is all about and how she helps small conscious brands sell their products in a mindful way,
- Why branding and content marketing are important for small businesses,
- What her experience was like working in marketing for a mass consumption brand, and how that differs from what she does now,
- If she thinks it’s possible to change these big brands from the inside,
- And her advice for anyone else who wants to start their own conscious business.
If you have any takeaways or thoughts on what we talk about in this episode, we’d love to hear them — you can find me on Instagram @consciousstyle and Natalia is over on @green.studiomx.
And if you know a small brand owner, share this episode with them if you think they’d find it helpful or interesting!
Tune in to this episode of the Conscious Style Podcast below, or on your favorite podcast app
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Read the Transcript From This Interview:
NATALIA
Basically, how I started is a long story. I’ve had a series of life events that led me to become an entrepreneur. So at first when I was living in Mexico, working at a mass consumption company and I started to get a little bit bored with my full time job.
So I decided to start a fashion brand with my mom on the side as a hobby, because I’ve always loved to go to pop up markets, consume local, and find out about cool products that other people are also selling. So we decided to start this as a hobby and it was a really fun activity. And that’s basically how I started to become like an entrepreneur.
But then after that I had to move to the US, and I had to quit the job that I was working at that moment. So moving to the US was like a big life changing event also for me because I had to start from scratch and I was 25 years old, recently married, and I was like, what am I going to do for the rest of my life? right?
Like, I don’t want to stay at home, and not really like work for a company, because I had a lot of things inside me that I wanted to do, but I wasn’t really sure what that was.
So I guess when you are pushed out of your comfort zone, and when you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing like, at that moment, I couldn’t work for that company anymore, you get a little bit more creative and that’s where I just started to do what I like to: write.
So I said, why don’t I start, like a fashion blog, I started writing. And that idea came to me and I decided to start this sustainable fashion blog that became my hobby. But then eventually my hobby snowballed into what is my business right now.
And I never imagined that I would be doing what I am doing right now. Because when you work for a company, sometimes like your creativity is blocked, right?
And when you start doing things, outside of your comfort zone, you start to see that, I never imagined that I could be my own boss, I never imagined that I could be working with other brands, I never imagined that I would have that creativity inside of me to actually, you know, write and do all of the things that I’m doing right now. Like, I discovered, another part of my brain, basically.
ELIZABETH
Yeah, yeah, totally. I feel like I haven’t ever thought about it in those words, but I can completely relate to what you’re saying.
And I feel like that’s something a lot of entrepreneurs talk about is how it was sort of a winding journey to get to where they are today. You know, it’s not pre-set, it’s not pre defined. And they maybe didn’t even know what was possible until they, they just started and got going.
NATALIA
Yeah, and another thing that happened was like, I always thought that I had this corporate path, right? Like that I would work for a company, I would lead a team someday, those are my milestones in my life. And then when suddenly your life events, personal choices and things in your life change, you start to make different decisions in your life that actually make you realize that you can actually be happy and have professional growth, doing the things that you love.
And that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to work for a company, it can also mean that you can slowly create your own dream business. And that’s sort of what happened to me. So I’m excited about how I ended up here.
ELIZABETH
Yeah, yeah. I mean, life can be unpredictable, for sure.
NATALIA
Yeah, absolutely.
ELIZABETH
So your path has led you to marketing for conscious brands. And I’m really looking forward to talking with you about how you approach and marketing in a more thoughtful way, because marketing does not have the best reputation, of course.
It can be used to push overconsumption, maybe even get people to buy things that they don’t need, they won’t use, there’s a lot of greenwashing going on, you know, the list goes on and on.
But also, marketing is how all brands — including conscious brands, slow fashion brands — can connect with their potential audience, their potential customers. It just might look a different way.
So could you tell us how you balance that with what marketing is maybe perceived to be and then how you go about it helping conscious brands market their products or services in a mindful way?
NATALIA
Yeah, I think this is such a powerful, interesting question, because it’s like a, it’s a struggle every day, I won’t say that it’s easy.
Because like you said, marketing comes in line with selling and you know, all brands ethical or not want to sell. So you really, it’s hard to create that balance, but I think that as ethical brands, what I like to promote is a lot about being transparent and the storytelling part of things, right?
So it doesn’t matter if your product is really low ticket or high ticket, you have to learn to educate your audience about why it costs what it costs, about how this product will add value to your life, and it’s also about trying to shift the mindset of educating people to consume really what they need.
So I think there’s like definitely different marketing strategies that you can try and to create like this community and talk to your community and educate them, but also like make them a part of your sustainable consumption.
So it’s really also about being very authentic, knowing your worth, and also not feeling bad, either if you sell products or services about the price that you have, and being like really, really standing your ground of this is what I stand for. This is what I believe in, and this is why I choose to partner with certain people that are certain parts of my supply chain that might be a little bit more expensive.
But eventually, you have to find ways to tie that into your storytelling so that people know and understand that you’re doing things differently and that you didn’t just you know make up a price and you’re not just trying to sell.
It’s a struggle, but it’s about finding that balance of trying to sell without being salesy all the time.
Because I think especially in the digital marketing world, we’re always bombarded with a lot of information, right? It’s like, always take action, subscribe here, download this, in 24 hours the discount is going to expire.
So it’s also I think, for consumers, and for regular people, not just consumers, it’s a little bit frustrating that you’re always getting these triggers, and that there’s not enough messaging that’s like, it’s okay, if you don’t consume, right?
So if you’re a brand, that you are trying to put content out there, you have to sort of put more of what you believe in, in your content marketing, so that you’re making that balance between selling and promoting your value.
So it’s like putting content out there that you’re really trying to build a community that you’re trying to educate people. And that yes, sometimes I’m going to tie in my promotions, and I’m gonna ask you to shop if you want, but at the same time, you are being really authentic about trying to build that community.
So some examples of this would be like, I even talked about this in another Live as well, but it’s like if you are a brand that sells yoga pants, and I don’t know, like meditation, and mindfulness is something very important, you would like to build a community of people that want content, that want to consume content, to be mindful and to be more in the present and to meditate.
So you can think about ways in which you’re going to create content that adds value, and that you are using that content to drive people to become part of this community with you, when they’re gonna have you like in their top of mind, but at the same time, they know that you’re, you’re truly caring about what you’re putting out there, right?
So that’s sort of how I like to tie that balance. It’s not always putting your content of selling, it’s about adding value as well.
ELIZABETH
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Marketing can take many different forms. And I love how you talked about the education aspect and the community aspect. Like marketing doesn’t have to be just discounts and hard sales pushes.
So I would love to dive a little bit deeper into what exactly ethical marketing is, since that is, you know, what you focus on in your business. I think to many people putting the words ethical and marketing together might sound a bit like an oxymoron.
So could you share with us what ethical marketing is to you and how you go about it?
NATALIA
Yeah, so my definition of ethical marketing is really about making marketing less salesy, less urgent, and more valuable.
So it’s like about, tying these three things in. And really having, in the essence, being transparent as your core mission, right? So…
ELIZABETH
Yeah.
NATALIA
Sustainable brands are not perfect all the time so we really need to understand that as well. Because I know that especially as a sustainable business owner, as an ethical business owner, it’s really hard to choose what you want to claim and the values that you’re willing to commit to, because you can make one small mistake, and you’ll know that there’s going to be people that might get mad, because maybe, I don’t know, they found out that you’re saying that you don’t use plastic.
And if for some reason, you know, when one day they find that you use plastic, it’s like, a huge revolution, and people get really mad.
I know that sustainable and ethical brands are not perfect, but ethical marketing is being transparent and owning that process and sharing that journey and sharing the mistakes and saying, yes, maybe we make this mistake, but we’re also trying to do X, Y and Z to improve.
So it’s really about always communicating that to your audience and making sure that the values that you choose that first always are the non-negotiators and the foundations of your business, because it’s very important to have your brand values defined so that you can build your business around those values, say no to certain suppliers, manufacturers or people that you’re going to partner with if they don’t align like 200% to the values that you want to promote.
Because I think that if you have your core values defined, that will allow you to be transparent and to share that process and to share the ups and downs with your audience.
ELIZABETH
Mhm. Yes, transparency is so key. I would definitely take a conscious brand who shares what they are doing and also what they’re working on where they’re not quite there yet, rather than a brand who is pretending to be 100% perfectly sustainable and ethical because that to me is almost a signal that they haven’t dug deep enough in their supply chain. Because knowing of screwed up this system is, like…
NATALIA
Yes.
ELIZABETH
…yeah, there’s something that’s not perfect for sure.
NATALIA
Yeah, for example, some of my clients have come to me like with these struggles, like, oh, I’m not sure if I should claim myself, if I’m a sustainable or an ethical brand. And then sometimes they even take a few steps back. and they’re not willing to share their sustainability efforts, because they’re afraid of it.
And what I always tell them is like, no, you should definitely, like we’re mentioning, say what you’re doing and maybe you’re not perfect, maybe not all of your products are plastic free, but if some of them are, you definitely want to highlight that, because that’s being transparent.
And that’s saying, I do care, but it’s also really about not being afraid to share where you are, even if you’re not in like a perfect point that feels and sounds perfect to you.
ELIZABETH
Mhm, yeah. And for example, I love when I see on a brand’s website, maybe on their transparency page or their sustainability page, they’ll share the materials that they’re using, and maybe one material isn’t the most sustainable, but they’ll acknowledge that, and maybe they’ll share why they’re using that material at this particular time.
Maybe they don’t have the funds to invest in a better material, or they prefer to use a local material, or maybe the eco-friendly material they wanted to use wasn’t as high quality and it wasn’t going to be durable enough, so they decided to design a product for longevity. And they’re investing in creating a better material that is both environmentally responsible and durable.
Those are just examples. But I think that it’s really important for brands to let people into that process and share that they’re on a journey and where they’re going next. It just shows the shoppers that you’re thinking about it, and that you’re working towards it, even if you’re not all the way there.
NATALIA
Yes, and I think you’re touching like a very important aspect as well, with ethical marketing to make sure that especially to have all of these things on your website, because a lot of ethical and sustainable brands just have the basic website, the about page, and that’s it.
But they don’t have much more content there that starts to backup and to keep telling this story, that you have different efforts, and that you’re trying to make a difference with everything that you’re doing in your community and the material sourcing and all of that.
So that’s something that definitely, like if you’re a sustainable brand hearing this, like you want to make sure that all of that is on your website. And sometimes I think that people obsess like, no, my website has to look perfect, and I only want you know, certain sections and stuff like that, but the more content that you have, the more it shows that you’re not afraid to share that process and to be transparent as well.
ELIZABETH
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So there are clearly a lot of differences between ethical marketing and mainstream or mass consumption marketing.
And you have worked in this mass consumption marketing field, so I’d love to hear more about your experience with that and your journey towards this more ethical marketing mindset. And you know, what lessons you learned or what things you unlearned along the way?
NATALIA
Yeah, so first of all, when I was working at a mass consumption company, well, I’ve worked in several, at first didn’t feel bad because I was younger. And really, when you start working for a company, like I was more drawn to the big marketing message that they are sharing happiness with the world. And it was like my dream job, I felt like, wow, I’m so excited to work here — I didn’t feel bad at all.
Obviously, when you get older, when you start, educating yourself more, etc. Like I’ve found, okay, maybe they’re not doing enough, or maybe they’re not aligning with the lifestyle that I like, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not that like the same as in mass consumption companies and sustainable companies, they’re not perfect, right?
So the difference is that big companies have more resources and tools to actually make an impact. And I would say that from my point of view now, at this point, what frustrates me sometimes is that the companies that do have the tools and resources to actually help more people, sometimes don’t try hard enough. So that’s something that I would, I would say that I don’t like love about that industry.
But it’s also about understanding that especially when a big company like mass consumption company is providing products for people and providing solutions they’re probably also like on the stock market and they have to pay results to investors and to the board, and then top level management gets a lot of pressure, and they have to make decisions that not everyone is going to really like.
So it’s really also about having the right people in the top level management that can actually drive change within organizations.
And in the years that I’ve worked there are some things that I didn’t was that sometimes we didn’t pay enough, enough attention to the price, the prices that we would put on the products, because sometimes it was all about making more profits.
Because eventually any company wants to make more profits. And then when you have initiatives and you want to change things, it’s really hard to tell a CEO, yeah, my strategy is gonna make you sell less, but it’s more sustainable, right?
So it’s kind of hard to convince people that you want to run a business, where sometimes sustainable products will be more expensive. And if they’re more expensive, the market’s going to be a little bit smaller. And if there’s not a big enough market to compensate the prices, it’s not enough to make them shift to those decisions. You know what I mean?
ELIZABETH
Yeah, yeah, it’s really challenging, which I feel like points to, why we really need these bigger systems changes to actually create the change that we want to see. But that’s sort of a tangent, another conversation.
So you talked about that at first, you really enjoyed working for these mass consumption companies. But that slowly shifted over the years, and you started to see things maybe a little differently.
So can you speak to that, and what it was like towards the end of your time there, and how you were feeling at the point that you left that industry?
NATALIA
Yeah, I think a little bit at the end was that we always go through certain things in our lives as well, that makes us change our mindsets and stuff like that. But since I started Green Studio when I was in the US, after the blog, and all of that, and then I had to move back to Mexico, I had the opportunity to go back to working for a mass consumption company.
So it was a decision because I had to have stable salary, it was COVID. And sometimes it’s like, okay, this is a business that can provide a stable income for me…
ELIZABETH
Yeah.
NATALIA
…but then I was on the side, still doing what I loved. So the process of quitting my job around like three, three or four months ago, was because I just didn’t feel that passion anymore, because I felt that I could make a much bigger impact working with small business owners, and I’m really passionate about my business.
I think that people like me can have that same passion inside a business or with their own businesses, it’s just a series of life events that makes you change your mind and make decisions of what makes sense to you. So at that point, I was like, you know, having that stable salary, working nine to five, trying to do the best that I could with the marketing role that I had.
But still, I was like, I feel that if I had 100% of my time to focus on my business, I can actually help more people, and that’s gonna make me more happy. And if I work for it, I can probably double the salary that I’m having.
And it’s not really about the money part, it’s about having that balance of getting the income that you feel comfortable with. Because it’s not really like in my goals to become a millionaire, it’s just, you know, having enough to live and be happy, but at the same time, being happy with what I’m doing every day.
So a lot of those feelings also made me make those decisions. Because I was feeling very stressed, I had a lot of anxiety, I had to give those results, give those sales results, and it just wasn’t enough for me anymore. I just liked the other part of being your own boss, and all of that.
ELIZABETH
Totally. So I’m interested to know, and I feel like listeners would be interested to, based on your experience working for some of these mass consumption companies, do you think that it’s possible to change them from the inside? Or do you feel like it’s a bit of a lost cause?
NATALIA
I think it is possible to change big companies, but you need to have the right people there. So I’ve met a lot of incredible people working at mass consumption companies that share similar values to me. And if they don’t have a business on the side, and their life purpose is to grow inside a business, they’re going to be thought leaders within an organization that can definitely drive change, but it also takes to have the right people in those roles that can drive change within organizations. So I don’t think it’s like a lost battle.
Like some supermarkets are actually trying to push more sustainable products, but it also depends about the income level and stuff like that. So what what these mass consumption companies sometimes do they also do like market tests.
And it’s like, okay, we’re gonna try and launch sustainable shampoo bars that are not packaged in plastic or, sustainable cleaning products. And there’s many supermarkets, depending on the type of consumer that have those type of products, but they only have them sometimes in certain geographical areas, because that’s where there’s the demand for it.
And sometimes it’s also like sort of building that little journey for the sustainable products, because they test it in smaller areas, so that eventually they test well. And if they see that there’s a bigger demand, then maybe those products could go nationwide.
But it’s also like, as a business, they have to look at the things that are in the supermarket, like, okay, am I going to really switch this shampoo bar for this other shampoo bar that sells millions of dollars per year? Because as business owners as mass consumption business owners, you’re really selecting the products that you want consumers to buy.
So you also have to choose. You lose a lot of sales if you take a product out that with a sustainable product, you’re not going to compensate the loss. So it’s tricky. But it doesn’t mean that they don’t try.
Like I’ve seen some, some companies do these little trials and these tests and a lot of experiments to try and build and create like this demand as well for the sustainable products. But it’s also a struggle to try and make it a sustainable business for them as well.
ELIZABETH
Yeah, right, right. I mean, the dream world, in a perfect system, every product would always be made responsibly and sustainability wouldn’t be seen as this niche concept. And companies would just produce everything in an environmentally and socially responsible way. But we are a long way from that, I think, unfortunately.
But in terms of the tests, that reminds me of when Nordstrom launched a secondhand arm of their business for a little bit called See You Tomorrow. And then, like one day, I tried to check it out, and I couldn’t find it anymore. Like it just sort of quietly went away and I wondered why that was. If there wasn’t enough interest, or they didn’t make as much profit as they wanted, or if they never intended on it being a permanent thing.
But I do think that brands need to be willing to invest in these sustainability initiatives, and put up the upfront costs.
NATALIA
Yes.
ELIZABETH
And if it’s a big brand, be open to taking a loss for a period or to give it time to catch on.
And, of course, as individuals, we should try to up the demand if possible, email brands, choose the better option if we’re able to time-, income-, size, privilege-wise, and contribute to the culture change by talking about these things with our friends, sharing about it on social media, doing what we can to shift narratives around things like secondhand and ethical production, and just trying to like, show that we care about these issues and engaging with them.
And then finally, the incentives, I think have to be in the right place.
You know, regulators also have to hold brands responsible for their emissions, their waste, their chemical pollution. It shouldn’t be possible for brands to do some of the things that they’re doing.
NATALIA
Yeah.
ELIZABETH
So shifting gears a bit here. For somebody who does want to go off and start their own conscious business, whatever that may be. What advice do you have for them?
NATALIA
I don’t know, like, what would be my priority advice, because I could tell them a lot of things. But I think the first one would be to not be afraid to follow your passion, even though that sounds you know, a little cheeky or whatever.
But I never imagined that this would be my full time job right now. But I am very happy about what I do every day because I am passionate about what I do every day. So I know that it’s scary to make that shift from saying no or quitting to a company but there are many ways that you can make that happen.
Fortunately, I was able to do that because I also have a husband and we can, we support each other and it was like a life choice where I said, okay, I’m going to do this experiment, but I had some savings. And I knew that I had to work with certain people to make it happen as well.
And I don’t do anything alone, right? Because I think that mistake that a lot of business owners do when they’re starting out is that we have to wear all of the hats and we have to do everything on our own and learn a lot about digital marketing, about marketing, about sales, about product development or whatever.
Sometimes when you have all that weight on your shoulders and you do everything on your own, you can even lose the passion or make decisions or think that it’s not a good idea or that you’re not going to make it.
And when you delegate and when you have other people and when you’re, you know that you’re building a business, and that maybe your return or the ideal income that you want, you’re not going to have it probably in the first month. It’s going to happen, but it’s easier to make it happen when you are also in the mental space to take things one step at a time.
So that’s something that really helped me because when I quit my job, I’ve always worked with other people, because I do mostly copywriting and I always subcontract to other people as well. And then I was struggling for some months, like, should I, you know, do the copywriting now, like myself, or should I keep paying my other freelance partners?
But I’ve always made it a priority to have like a price range in my services. But this also can apply to someone who sells products to have like a proper price structure that allows you to have people on your team or to bring you the profits that you need to really make it a sustainable business for you as well.
Because you don’t want to be attached to your computer, you don’t want to be stressed all the time. And especially as the business owner, you have to have that mental space, and that clarity and that energy to draw people to your business.
And if you’re like doing everything, sometimes that energy can drop, and that has happened to me. And that’s why it’s become a priority to like, make sure that I have time for being the business owner, you know?
ELIZABETH
Yeah, totally, totally. I think that’s really great advice to not be afraid to bring on contractors to help you out in maybe the areas that you’re not as strong in or you just don’t enjoy doing as much. Because you can burn yourself out really, really fast when you’re running your own business. And yeah, that’s just something to consider when setting your prices.
NATALIA
And I think you went through a similar process as well, right?
ELIZABETH
Yeah, yeah. At first, it was just me and then I sort of slowly started bringing on contractors. First a partnerships manager, Abigail, who, yeah, listeners will hear from actually in this season. And I also have a content coordinator and contributing writer, and it has been amazing to be able to sort of focus on what I’m most passionate about, and also offer employment opportunities for other people to do what they’re passionate about and they’re most interested in, because it’s just — sometimes it just gets to be too much for any one person to do. And you don’t want to be glued to your computer, as you were saying before.
NATALIA
Mm hmm
ELIZABETH 32:57
But there was one time where a brand DM’d me on Instagram asking about partnering together. And I said, hey, email my manager, and she’ll be happy to get back to, she’ll share all the details.
And they were like, well, we don’t work with creators that have managers, because we found that their fees are too expensive. And I was really taken aback by that, because, A, they didn’t even see my prices. And I would say that the rates are very much in line with the market and also considering that I have to pay fair wages to my team, I want to pay myself a fair wage, and I also understand that small conscious businesses don’t have huge budgets like I would say the rates are very fair.
NATALIA
Yeah.
ELIZABETH
And be like, I can’t do this all myself, you know, should I burn myself out trying to answer every brand email, coordinate everything, do all the things and just run myself to the ground to have the lowest prices possible?
You know, that’s sort of antithetical to this whole movement. So I was just like, very confused and just frustrated by that whole thing.
NATALIA
No, I can completely relate and especially a lot of people want stuff for free. When I before I shifted to Green Studio, I also was doing more like you the sustainable fashion blog, I was always transparent as well, you know, you’re paying this fee because of the time and energy of creating high quality content for your brand. So it’s like a product, it’s a digital product. So you have to see it that way.
And there’s other influencers there that do it for free, and that’s fine it’s not bad to do things for free like in the digital space. I think that also collaborating is key to building community as well with other brands or with other people because that also opens lots of doors.
But it’s also like you said, standing your ground off if there are certain things that you do charge or that you are not willing to do it’s like being transparent about that fair pricing. And you know, and all of those things, because it is important too.
ELIZABETH
Yeah. And I mean, there are different variables to consider if someone is just starting out, and they’re really looking to build those initial relationships, and maybe it’s a genuine collaboration where the influencer is getting something out of it, the brand is getting something out of it, and they’re just doing it on the side for fun, they have maybe a smaller audience.
But that’s yeah, very different than someone who has spent years building their audience and maybe they do this as their full time job.
NATALIA
Exactly. Yeah, totally relate.
ELIZABETH
Yeah. And I could go on and on, but I will spare you all that rant.
NATALIA
No, but I completely understand what you mean. Yeah.
ELIZABETH
Yeah. So shifting gears a bit back to what you do in your business. One of the services that you offer is branding.
And so I’d love it if you could just share: why is branding so important for small businesses? I feel like this is something that a lot of small businesses, particularly conscious businesses, very focused on their mission might forget about. But you know, why does it matter?
NATALIA
Basically, it’s important because, like we’ve been talking about, you need to have your core brand values really, really impregnated in everything that you do. Branding is important so that you know and you have clarity of what your brand stands for, and what your logo means, what your name means.
And sometimes you’re not going to always tell yeah, my logo means that it’s a butterfly, because nature, but like, people like to know the story behind brands, but it also helps you to have this clarity, in terms of what is what am I going to promote? And what’s going to be my tone, what’s going to be my specific brand message that I want to make sure that whenever I’m writing something, people know that this is me, right?
So it’s developing the brand tone, the brand messaging the content pillars. And then once you have that, you can build anything you want. You can create anything you want that goes into those content pillars that you have that are you like the core of your business, the core values.
And that also allows you to have clarity in your planning and to have a content strategy that’s always aligned with the specific messages that you want to be repeating to people that follow you.
ELIZABETH
Yeah, totally. Branding can really give you that clarity and yeah bring cohesiveness to your business.
So another service that you offer is content writing and copywriting. So can you tell us more about the importance of that? You know, what can content marketing do for a small conscious business? And maybe what additional considerations are there for doing content marketing for a sustainably minded business?
NATALIA
Yeah, so content marketing opens a lot of doors, especially to build trust with the audience. So I guess like the main material, you know, explanation or example that I have for content marketing is to have a blog.
Because the importance of having a blog, especially in the online world, is not just because of writing content about anything. It’s about building that community, building that trust, and writing content that will speak to people, and that will also help you without being salesy all the time.
So if you are a brand that you’re focusing most of your efforts, maybe on paying ads for Facebook, and you have your Instagram, and you depend on algorithms, and if people didn’t see your post, or if people didn’t open your newsletter at that moment, there are always people searching online, right? There’s always people searching for answers, for products, or reviews.
So when you provide value, and when you are appearing on those search terms through your blog, you’re also helping people understand the importance of sustainability of ethical marketing or fabrics or whatever you want to talk about.
You can also tell people different ideas of how they can style your clothes, like if you’re a sustainable brand. I want people to know that if they buy my dress, they can use it in seven ways. And here’s an example, right?
If they buy a silk scarf, it’s like, oh, you can use it in different ways as well as an accessory. Yes, even a crop top for summer or you know, you can use it on your bag. So you can get really creative with how you want to market your products by selling without being salesy, right. And you can also create gift guides or educational content to help these people in their purchase decisions.
So it also shows and I think that there’s like an energy part of it where people will see yeah, this brand has amazing things and they’re not desperate to sell it right? They also have this amazing content there that I know that I can always go to or send out on their newsletters.
And it provides value because I I know that I’m following a community, a brand. It’s not just about the selling, it’s because you love the content that this brand puts out there.
ELIZABETH
Yeah.
NATALIA
People in the end make emotional decisions as well. So if you are not interested in creating that emotional connection, like, again, it’s gonna show so it’s always better to, to have more and to invite people and make people fall in love with what you’re doing, through the storytelling and through what you do with your content marketing in general.
And having a blog is like a really important strategy, because you’re not only doing that, but also in the nerdy aspects of digital marketing. You can get traffic from Google, you can repurpose your content, you can use it the same thing that you used on your blog, you can use it as your Instagram captions.
So yeah, there’s also like a big part about content marketing, where I like to preach, create quality over quantity like and everything in marketing and your life, but also with your content.
So if you focus your efforts on creating high quality content, you can spend less time creating that high quality content, but repurpose it into your marketing strategy as well.
ELIZABETH
Yes, I love that you said that about quality over quantity, even in the content that you produce. You know, it’s not just about the physical products, but fewer, better things can also apply to marketing or content.
And that’s definitely something that I’ve had to learn on my own blogging journey. But it’s, it can be a struggle, since you know, just as there’s fast food, fast fashion, fast everything, there’s also sort of fast media, fast content, and producing as much content as possible for, you know, just putting content out for content’s sake, to have consistency on social media platforms, like posting daily on Instagram, or whatever.
And it can start to feel that you’re just sort of churning out content for content’s sake, for algorithms. So I feel like that’s also part of ethical marketing is being intentional about the content that you put out there. And not just sort of adding fluff or, you know, overwhelming people, inundating people with information, just to sort of beat the algorithm or whatever it may be.
And I know that that is a lot easier said than done, because we do have to sort of deal with these algorithms to get seen on whatever platform it is.
But I think that was a really, you know, great point Natalia, you you had about having, like a core piece of content that you spend a lot of time on, and then you can use that to sort of create other forms of content.
NATALIA
Yeah, exactly. Because you don’t like people actually, you know, the ones that like to read that people like to consume content in different ways. There’s people that prefer to listen to a podcast, there’s people that prefer to read, there are people that are for them, it’s enough to scroll on Instagram, and learn some things in their day.
So it’s really about focusing those efforts into creating these systems for your business. And that’s why I love the blog so much, because having a blog helps you be strategic, and you’re like checking off a lot of things at once. Because you’re creating high quality content for your website, you’re repurposing it for your social media channels, you can also turn a blog post into a YouTube video or into a podcast.
There are many things, and it also gives you more clarity, you’re also being more strategic, you’re also making sure that you’re touching on those core values and content pillars that you want to promote.
And then that’s you’re providing value, you’re not just creating junk content, like you were mentioning where it’s like, it also can show like, oh, I’m desperate to rank on Google, I’m gonna write a blog post about the seven types of shirts that I sell.
That’s not really gonna help, you know, you have to, you have to get creative with what piece of content can really help and provide value, but at the same time, it could be a piece of content that I can repurpose, and that people will feel emotionally attached to as well.
ELIZABETH
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Creating content that actually adds value and not just sort of putting content out there for content sake to rank or, you know, do well in some algorithm.
So, thank you so much for sharing all of these insights with us on what ethical marketing is and why these various elements of marketing, like branding are so important.
For small businesses that want to work with you, could you tell us what that process looks like? How can they get started working with Green Studio Marketing?
NATALIA
Yeah, so I offer I think we talked about too, but in general, I have three kinds of services.
The branding, I also do website design or website audits, and you know, SEO audits. And then I do the content marketing part where I don’t offer monthly social media management because I like to teach people to be strategic as well and you know, I think that anyone can handle their social media.
But basically, how it works with any of those types of services is that we have a strategy call first, where you fill out a brief and we dive deep into the goals that you want. So let’s say that you want copywriting so we have a strategy call and then after that, I do the niche research. All of my services are based on understanding the best practices in the nich or in the type of industry.
Most of my clients have been sustainable brands, but still there’s best practices for every type of product, like for jewelry, or for fashion or for accessories, you know, there might be different things that we can find.
And then after that, I propose the content plan and the content categories that we can have for the blog. And I also deliver a package of the monthly topics that you can talk about with sort of like a brief of how to produce that content yourself. And then you have the option of producing that content or hiring me for the monthly blog writing. So that’s sort of how it works.
ELIZABETH
Cool. Yeah, I love that you have all those different options.
NATALIA
Yeah. And something that I also wanted to mention is that I do give like free strategy calls as well, because, like, we’ve talked about this in the whole episode that no business is perfect and we’re always evolving and making adjustments.
So, at some point, I was like, very strict about, no, I don’t do this, I don’t do that, I only help with this. But I think that there’s no one-size-fits-all marketing service or strategy. So I really like to genuinely help and understand, what is it that you need, and then I can also like provide a marketing plan or marketing services tailored to what each person really needs.
ELIZABETH
Yeah, that makes sense with working with smaller conscious businesses that are maybe just getting started out who maybe don’t know what they need are still figuring it out and yeah.
So for any small business that wants to work with Natalia, or if you just want to learn more about what Natalia does, I am going to leave all the links for Green Studio Marketing in the show notes over on consciouslifeandstyle.com and they will also be in the episode descriptions on your podcast app.
So Natalia, thank you so much for your time today. I do have one final question for you that I ask every guest that comes on to the show, and that question is: what would a better future for fashion look like to you?
NATALIA
Yeah, so for me, like a better future for fashion would be minimalist fashion, if you want to summarize it into two words. But it would be creating this cycle where people understand that they have to consume less and then, but they also want to consume less and only consume what they need.
So I would love to see more people having this mindset of not falling for trends, not falling for consumption habits, not buying what they really don’t need and being more thoughtful about their choices. So that’s how I would love to see the future…
ELIZABETH
And that’s a wrap for this episode with Natalia. As always, the links mentioned in this episode are going to all be available in the show notes on consciouslifeandstyle.com where you can also find the transcript for this episode.
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Alright, that is all for today. I will see you again right here. Same time, same place next week.
About Natalia Gomez:
Natalia is founder of Green Studio Marketing where she offers ethical content marketing services for conscious entrepreneurs.
Driven by passion and 8+ years of marketing experience, she hopes her slice of the Internet inspires millennial entrepreneurs to pursue conscious leadership in their businesses.
