Personal branding isn’t about jumping on the latest trends or creating an identity that isn’t ‘you’. It’s about owning who you are, sharing your expertise and connecting with the people who need what you have to offer.

You’ll have your best impact (and success) when people know what you stand for, the strengths that set you apart and the experience that influences the way you work (and makes you so great at what you do).

Today we’re talking about how to step into your role as a thought leader, how to showcase your expertise without feeling ‘salesy’ and how to build a really authentic personal brand (without blurring the line into TMI or oversharing).

For more information about us visit, www.themarketingcollective.co.nz and www.markmywords.co.nz.

For many of us, the new year feels like a bit of a clean slate, especially for us in New Zealand where we’ve had a summer break and space to think about what we want to achieve in the year ahead.

The last few years have been tough for many; but we think business sentiment is looking more optimistic for the year ahead. Planning is an opportunity to take charge, regardless of what the market, economy or political decisions may send our way.

Planning can feel daunting though, so in this episode we’re breaking it down to help you prepare a plan-on-a-page that will keep you focused and intentional with your actions.

To help you get started, Marijke has shared this helpful free resource with you which you can access here: https://marijketimmers.com/strategicplan

For more information about us visit, www.themarketingcollective.co.nz and www.markmywords.co.nz.

This episode is the first to go live for us in 2025, and we wanted to kick the year off with some inspiration for the year ahead. We’re talking to Libby Robertson, a coach who helps entrepreneurs manifest their next level by mastering their strategy, mindset and energetics.

Her business is called Parradiigm, and she’s on a mission to pave the way for a whole new paradigm in business. She believes businesses have the power to transform lives, families and communities in ways which will be felt for generations to come. Libby shares more about her own journey, being connected to purpose, why the current ‘system’ is broken and how we can use our businesses as a means to drive positive change.

You can learn more about Libby’s work at www.parradiigm.com or follow her journey on Instagram.

For more information about us visit, www.themarketingcollective.co.nz and www.markmywords.co.nz.

It’s nearing the end of the year and fatigue for business owners and their teams is at an all time high. The holiday season can also evoke a lot of emotions and expectations. Which is why we thought it would be timely to chat to Kim Houdebine Benjamin, a coach who uses Human Design to help us understand ourselves and those we care about on a much deeper level so that we can have more fulfilling relationships.

Whether it’s with your partner, your kids, your colleagues, or even your business, we know it often starts with the relationship we have with ourselves.

This chat is an opportunity for listeners to check-in on their relationships with and within their business, those most important outside of their business and most importantly, their relationships with themselves - all of this, from the context of Human Design.

Learn more about Kim’s work and your own Human Design chart at www.kbhcoaching.com/hdchart

For more information about us visit, www.themarketingcollective.co.nz and www.markmywords.co.nz.

In our previous episode, we talked about how to create personas that represent your intended audience. But what next? How do you use what you know about your audience to communicate in a way that really resonates with them and helps them connect what they need with what you’re selling?

Brands grow through emotional resonance. At the heart of great brand messaging is a true empathy for the humans you’re here to help. When you start with empathy, you can offer relevant solutions (not sales spin), alleviate rather than agitate a problem, connect rather than coerce and pull people towards a decision that’s right for them (rather than pressure them through potentially unethical techniques).

In this episode, we’re talking about why leading with emotion creates the connection you need to sell, how to understand the emotional drivers behind purchasing decisions, and why storytelling will be one of your best brand assets.

For more information about us visit, www.themarketingcollective.co.nz and www.markmywords.co.nz.

Without knowing your audience, you’re shooting in the dark. It's essential for your marketing, messaging, and product development. As the adage goes: if you’re marketing to everyone, you’re marketing to no one. Really understanding your audience goes beyond demographics - especially in an increasingly diverse world. In this episode we’re talking about how to craft effective, inclusive brand persons (or buyer personas) by digging into the psychographics that drive decisions and avoiding bias and stereotypes.

And if you want to grab that free persona workbook we mentioned in this episode, visit www.markmywords.co.nz and hit the ‘DIY copy resources’ tab.

For more information about us visit, www.themarketingcollective.co.nz and www.markmywords.co.nz.

In this episode we’re joined by Gina Cook, a Partner at advisory firm, BDO Auckland, who shares more about sustainability - or ESG - reporting. ESG stands for environmental, social issues and governance, and is all about how an organisation can understand, and manage, its environmental and social impacts.

Sometimes reporting like this can be hard to start, because we’re not actually sure where or how to begin. Gina shares some simple first steps that we can do as businesses to actually make a start when it comes to measuring and understanding our impact.

Helpful tools mentioned in this episode:

Cogo

Carbon Trail

Sumday

Spotlight Sustain

Find out more about BDO’s sustainability and ESG services and learn about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For more information about us visit, www.themarketingcollective.co.nz and www.markmywords.co.nz.

We’ve heard horror stories and picked up the pieces of clients who have been burnt by bad experiences or paid high fees for inadequate results. It happens everywhere, not just in marketing. In every industry, there are people who do what they do well and others who let their clients and the industry down.

Paying for creative skills for your brand is an investment. How can you be sure you’re getting a good return for your business? In this episode we’re talking about red flags and green flags to look out for when it comes to choosing a creative or marketing agency to work with, and also, the part that you play in ensuring you get the best results.

If you’re interested in accessing the briefing document mentioned in this episode, you’ll find it alongside a bunch of other free resources at www.themarketingcollective.co.nz/resources

For more information about us visit, www.themarketingcollective.co.nz and www.markmywords.co.nz.