Imperfect Marketing
Imperfect Marketing
What Marketing Foundation Do You Need Before You Launch?
In this episode of Imperfect Marketing, host Kendra Corman sits down with Berlyn, founder of Planted Marketing and creator of The Greenhouse community, to explore what it truly takes to build a strong and sustainable brand in today’s digital-first world. From simplifying your marketing strategy to embracing what works best for you, this conversation is full of practical insights for business owners at every stage.
The Evolution of a Modern Marketer
Berlyn shares her journey from photographer to agency owner—how creativity, curiosity, and a desire to make an impact led her to launch Planted Marketing in 2020 and later, The Greenhouse in 2025. The Greenhouse supports solopreneurs and small business owners in the DIY phase of marketing, helping them grow confidently with practical strategies and community support.
Building a Strong Brand Foundation
We dive into the three essential pillars every business needs before they dive headfirst into digital marketing:
- Clarify Your Brand Identity: Beyond logos and colors—define your mission, values, and why. Putting this on paper creates alignment across everything you do.
- Own Your Online Space: Your website is more than a link in bio. It’s your home base for traffic, email collection, and long-term growth.
- Create a Marketing Wheel: Don’t rely solely on one channel. Develop a balanced strategy across multiple touchpoints—like SEO, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or email—so your business doesn’t collapse if one channel falters.
Simplifying the Marketing Process
With endless platforms and strategies available, Berlyn emphasizes the importance of choosing what fits your strengths:
- Do you love creating videos? Lean into Reels or TikToks.
- Prefer writing? Focus on blogs or newsletters.
- Thrive in conversation? Build through networking and community events.
Consistency, not ubiquity, is the goal. You don’t have to be everywhere—just show up where you enjoy creating.
Community as a Growth Engine
Community building, both online and offline, is a key growth driver. Berlyn highlights:
- Using social media as a nurturing tool—not just for visibility but for deepening relationships.
- Engaging authentically through DMs, comments, and Threads to strengthen visibility and trust.
- Creating systems to stay connected beyond initial meetings—through intentional engagement, coffee chats, or follow-up messages.
Email Marketing: The Underrated Powerhouse
Both Kendra and Berlyn agree—email is your most valuable marketing asset.
Social media algorithms change, but your email list is yours to own. It’s the most reliable channel for building ongoing relationships, sharing updates, and staying in front of your audience.
The Rise of AI in Discovery
Berlyn shares a surprising trend: businesses being found through ChatGPT search—even without formal SEO strategies.
Her advice? Make sure your keywords and messaging are consistent across all platforms. Even a single optimized landing page can make a difference in how AI tools surface your brand.
Key Takeaways f
Looking to leverage AI? Want better results? Want to think about what you want to leverage?
Check and see how I am using it for FREE on YouTube.
From "Holy cow, it can do that?" to "Wait, how does this work again?" – I've got all your AI curiosities covered. It's the perfect after-podcast snack for your tech-hungry brain.
Watch here
Hi, I'm Kendra Corman. If you're a coach, consultant, or marketer, you know marketing is far from a perfect science. And that's why this show is called Imperfect Marketing. Join me and my guests as we explore how to grow your business with marketing tips and, of course, lessons learned along the way. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Imperfect Marketing. I'm your host, Kendra Corman, and today I'm very excited to be joined by Berlin and talking about one of the things that I'm very passionate about, which is digital marketing. And I think we're even going to talk a little bit about some community building, but digitally. So I'm looking forward to this conversation. Welcome. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00:I'm excited to dive into all of this.
SPEAKER_01:All right. So digital marketing is now pretty much most of marketing. Yes, there's still traditional channels and things like that, but it's all driving digital online, right? And so I think digital marketing is now really the core of marketing. How did you get into this?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, isn't that funny how everything has really swapped for sure? So my background is in photography. And I got started working with small businesses who like very small startups who were like, oh, can you also do this and this and this? And I just kept saying, sure, why not? Um, so the photography led into like Instagram, which led into like influencers and more and more things. And I really loved all of that because it kind of like with photography, it was fun and creative, and I love all of that, but it wasn't like super fulfilling. Like I wasn't really feeling like I was giving back in some way. So this was kind of a nice segue to like I can still be fun and creative and do all the little fun things, but I'm working with brands that like give back and make a difference to their audience or their community. So that just really evolved. And um in 2020, I was able to go full-time. I launched Plains of Marketing as my agency. And then um just earlier this year, so January 2025, I really missed the like small business solopreneur side of things. So that's when I launched the greenhouse, which is a community for people who are in the DIY stages, can't afford to like outsource yet, or still it's kind of testing out the waters. So that's where I teach them everything I know in a really attainable way and kind of support them as they grow. And that's where I'm at today.
SPEAKER_01:Very cool. Congratulations on hitting the five-year mark. That's always um fun. I mean, I know it's been longer than that, right? But full-time five years, fantastic. So congratulations. Got to take time to celebrate those wins. Um, because that's one of those milestones, right? They say what 80% of small businesses don't make it to the first five years or first three years, even. So we got to take the wins where we can. Congratulations. Um, especially as we went through the pandemic where digital marketing really became so much more. And then hang on, side note for those listening and watching, if you want to jump into the show notes or the video description, you can and will have ways to connect with Berlin there and the greenhouse and all those wonderful things. Okay. So let's talk about building a strong brand foundation, right? That's one of the things that you like to talk about and push for people that are looking to start the digital marketing or digital marketing, right? You need a brand foundation. You need to know who you are. Talk to me about what you go through for that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So I'd love to hear your input as well. I'm going to share like three things that people should really get started with and kind of miss as we get like, we come up with our idea, we're ready to launch, we get really excited, we throw it out there. And then we get kind of stuck around the six or 12 month mark because we're like, wait, what's what am I actually doing? So one is your branding, and that's like more than just colors and fonts and logo, which you do need, but it's also about like your mission and your values and your why. We kind of like forget, like we in our minds have like, yeah, this is what I want to do and why I want to do it. But really, like putting pen to paper, getting all of that like concrete and really taking time to dive into it will set up everything else for you. So, like how you talk to your target audience, how you present your brand. Um, so it's really important to go through that process, which I'm gonna be honest, five years in, I just did my own marketing strategy this year. So it's something we all forget. And yeah, it made a huge difference. And like, um, especially as I kind of like separated my business into like the greenhouse and my agency, it really, really helped me like dive more into like how I'm speaking to each of those different audiences. So recommend. Don't wait five years to do that. Um, another big one is your website. So a lot of people get started on social, then they do like a link in bio situation, or they just use if they're like an e-com brand, maybe they just use like Etsy or something like that. And a lot of people forget their website. So that's super important. You want to own all that traffic. You want to have like a place to get email addresses, you want people to come to you instead of like just kind of being at the hands of social platforms. Um, and then the last tip I have is to set up your marketing wheel. So I like to think of like everything that we're doing as spokes on a wheel. So like social media, emails, networking events, um, joining different communities, whatever it is, that um, you know, a lot of people just kind of dive into social, which is great. I think you should like take one thing and just dive into it. But also like when social stops working or if your account gets banned, like you don't want your business to end there. Um, or if you're just not feeling up to posting, then you know, you don't want everything to fall apart. So kind of find like maybe four or five things that can really support you and are more evergreen so that way when one thing falls out, you're not just like, oh, my whole business is down. So like maybe SEO or Pinterest or LinkedIn or something like that. So just identifying a few ways to keep your business going when one way isn't working for you at the moment.
SPEAKER_01:So I love that you said that it's taken you five years to do your own marketing plan. I I don't know if I can say I did it within the first five years or not for mine. Uh so you might have beat me. I can't remember. Um, but I definitely waited way too long. Um, this is a as a do as I say, not as I do type of situation, right? It does. It it just it really solidifies your clarity, right? Around it. You know, again, clearly we didn't launch with them because we knew what we were doing. Yeah, it would have been way better and we would have grown and been way more successful if we had jumped in from the get-go. But it is what it is. You live and learn. Progress, not perfection. So, yes, jump in and do that. Same thing with the website. I think that that's great. Yes, you can start with a link in bio to grow your email list, but it needs to be on the priority list to own that traffic, right? For sure. And I would start with email over social media because you own that. Um, but social media is the way you get reach, right? That's how you're gonna reach all of these people and be able to get permission to engage with them on a regular basis. So it's all important. I get it. You gotta prioritize because there's so many things out there, and everybody thinks that they need to be everywhere. So, what are your tips for simplifying this marketing process and the fact that there's 85 billion and a half channels out there for us to pick from?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So this is another big thing because right, we're if you're like a solo business owner, you're doing all the things, and marketing just has to be one of them, but it doesn't have to be like, oh, this is a big thing that I have to do. I have to be here, here, here, and here. So I always recommend is people thinking about like what they really like to do themselves. So do they really like to create visual graphics? Do they like to record videos? Like, is it easier to just come on, record yourself talking, and that's it? Do you like to talk to people? So, like networking, workshops, things like that. So, whatever it is that you really like to do and using that to like create the bulk bulk of your content, and that will take off all of the pressure. So, like I personally hate creating graphics for myself and like posting carousels and like doing all that, it makes me really annoyed. So I was like noticing that I wasn't doing my own social for so long because I was like, I don't want to do that today or today or today. But I do love coming on, creating like TikToks or reels and posting it, and that's no problem for me. So I was like, why am I even why are we stressing with this? Why don't I just post your reel or TikTok every day or like when I'm feeling called to do it? So we all have these things that we like are hold us up or things that we really enjoy doing. So I always recommend to just have that as like what your main thing is and just kind of like forget about everything else. You don't have to be everywhere doing all the things, you just have to be consistent and so find whatever that is that works best for you.
SPEAKER_01:I love that there are very few people that give that kind of advice. And like I always tell people, they're like, Okay, well, I don't I don't want to be on the social media platforms. Like, how do I pick one? And I say, okay, where do you like to spend your time? Right. Because all of the big ones, and they're usually talking about Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, right, um, Twitter, um, all of the big ones, your audience is there. Odds are, with a billion plus people logging in, your audience is on on them, right? So, you know, and TikTok, I forgot about TikTok. Um, so where do you like to be? Where do you like to interact with people? What type of content do you like to create? I love how you said, hey, do you like videos? Do you like pictures? Whatever that happens to be, because that that does drive it, right? That does do some of that creation. So I think that that's really, really good. So love that. What's the best thing that you found that helps people move the needle in their business?
SPEAKER_00:I think that like obviously some sort of community space. So networking, in-person, virtually, joining different online communities, um, and then using social to like nurture all of that. So, like, um personally not big on like Instagram for myself in terms of like growth and like brand awareness and stuff, but I use that as a nurturing tool. And as somebody who is B2B, personally, I think that works really well as I go to all of these like community events, um, make connections, and then use social to kind of like keep those relationships going. Um, but it really works for anybody like e-commerce, service provider, B2B, B2C, anything.
SPEAKER_01:So let's talk about this community building. I love how you're mentioning that it could be in person, that it could be online. There's a lot of different ways to meet people and then nurture them through social. People do business with people that they know, like, and trust. And so if I've met you at an event and then I feel like I know you through your social posts, right, I'm more likely to do business with you. Is that the big impact that you're seeing? Or how are you finding that the communication or the conversation is able to continue after these meetings? And I'll I'll say why I'm asking the question is I have a lot of friends who run their own businesses and they're like, I've got so many meetings, I've got so many places to go and so many places to be. And then I don't, I don't have time to follow up with the people. How, how am I gonna do this? Right, they'll talk about hiring salespeople or you know, whatever else. And it's like, no, you don't need to, you just need to create a system to nurture. And you're saying social does that. Are there other ways that you're using to get them off of social or following up or that you recommend that people do?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, coming, bringing like the relationships back to like Instagram tends to be a really good hub for everybody. And then, like, what I like to say is if you're feeling overwhelmed and maybe you want to use this as a strategy, maybe you're posting just once a week or something on Instagram, but then spending the rest of the time that you would dedicate to social to just engaging with people. And then yeah, that can be, you know, that moving forward after that can be whatever it makes sense for that relationship. So are you gonna do like a one-on-one coffee chat? Do you just want to keep them top of mind or keep you top of mind for them? So one thing that I really like to do is get people like conversation started in the DMs because that will help you see each other's content more. That like signals to Instagram, these people want to see each other's content. Um, and then I also like to sort the feed by like people I'm following. So when you go tap on the Instagram logo in your feed, you can see like different orders, which they don't talk about. They don't want people to know that. So every time I share that, people are like, oh my gosh. So you can put your feedback in chronological order or just see people that you're following, which really helps like actually engage with those people again. So you can just spend that time commenting and like interacting with their content again to kind of like deepen that relationship. Instagram's really good for that. Threads is really good. I put off joining threads for so long because I did not want, I don't like meta. I didn't want to join another social platform, but I finally did it and it's been really good for like creating conversations, people that you know, and even like people you don't know. I've met a lot of people through threads already too.
SPEAKER_01:So, one thing that I like that I'm gonna highlight is that um I hate Instagram. Like I just do never want to go there. I spend no time at all on Instagram. I do post to it, but I don't do anything. I definitely don't do any interaction. Um, I'm doing most of mine on LinkedIn and YouTube. So, but I think that the important thing to note here is that we both have successful agencies. We're both B2B, right? Um, our targets may be a little bit different, and they probably are a little bit different, right? In terms of what we want to do and the impact we want to have on and who that is, right? And what they want to do. But that's not bad, right? So it's okay, you know. Again, you're finding success with Instagram, which I think is fantastic. And I hear people talk about success with Instagram all the time. It feels like work to me. I'm not doing it. I'm not gonna do it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And that's totally fine. That exactly goes back to like simplifying it and just making it what you like to do because you'll make it work anywhere. Your people are gonna be everywhere, people are on all the different platforms, so like you don't have to stress, like, oh, my target audience is only gonna be here or only gonna be here. I think those lines have really like gotten blurry or don't even exist anymore. So, yeah, if LinkedIn works for you, that's great. For me, I hate going on LinkedIn. So it's good, you know, we each have our things, and that's what's important.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and I think it's really important if you're if you're watching or listening to hear the different stories on how how we're interacting differently on social media. There isn't a right and wrong answer. I think I shouldn't say that. There is a wrong answer, and that's not doing anything, right? Um, I've talked with people and had guests on the podcast who are not on social media. I I don't know how, but they're not on social media, right? They leverage other ways to get that reach, um, usually podcasting or podcast guesting. I yeah, as long as you're replacing it with something that has a similar reach and that has access to your target, it's usually okay. There's no hard and fast rules, and there really isn't only one right answer, right? Um, although I usually do say that email is the one right answer because email email serves you up and people um so that you're not um beholden to the algorithm. What what are your thoughts on like email marketing? And you're welcome to disagree with me.
SPEAKER_00:No, totally agree. Um I always recommend when you're building out your website, that's what you need to do first, and you need to automatically build in your newsletter and like sign up. Even if you're not ready to commit to like doing the whole process, you want to immediately start capturing people because yeah, Instagram goes down, all the platforms go down sometimes, and then what like your business stops, you don't can't contact people. Instagram stops showing your post to people, like things change all the time. But email you can send it, you'll be in their inbox no matter what. So there's no, you're not at the hands of anybody. So yeah, email is super, super important.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and I think it's important to know that you own your email list. You can take it, you can change from constant contact to kit, which was formerly known as convert kit, or you know, wherever you want to go with it, you own that. You don't own your real estate on Facebook, Instagram. I mean, when they started changing the algorithms way back when, which I don't even want to guess what year that was, because it was way long ago, I'm sure. And Facebook became a play-to-play marketplace. People, businesses really suffered because they didn't have a backup plan for what would happen if they lost contact with all those people. I've talked to people who've been hacked, who've lost access to their accounts, just a million and a half different things that that I could probably share with that, right? But it really comes down to figuring out what you're gonna do for reach, right? Which a lot of times is social media because it's super easy, especially when you're picking what you like to do, and then getting them offline and getting them onto your email list. So, which I think is is fantastic because then you can continue the conversation. Um, what has been your most surprising tactic lately in the world of digital marketing?
SPEAKER_00:What's been surprising to me lately is people finding other people through ChatGPT. And particularly when people are like, oh, I don't even do like they don't even have an SEO strategy. And it's just like, oh, people are finding me on Chat GPT. I haven't ever posted a blog. I'm like, oh, that's kind of crazy. I do focus a lot on like organic content marketing and SEO, so that's already like what I'm doing. And a lot of that really transfers into AI um search results pretty simply, but it just does blow in my mind when people are like, oh, people just found me here and I don't know how. So like I think that's why it's really important to have your everything like optimized. So even if you just have one landing page, all of your social stuff, like you need to have your keyword and like who you help on every platform that you're on, because I think it's scraping like everything. Obviously, it's scraping everything. So if you don't want to invest in like SEO fully, like um, yeah, have your keywords somewhere for sure.
SPEAKER_01:That is surprising. I've heard a couple of people talk about that, but that is just it's so eye-opening, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Um that's okay.
SPEAKER_01:So this has been a fantastic conversation. I appreciate everything that you've been sharing. I hope that everybody listening and watching has learned something because I do love to hear people that are doing things differently than me because it still works, right? We don't all have to be the same and we shouldn't be the same. So when you see someone while you're scrolling through TikTok talking about the million dollars that they made using generative AI or Chat GBT and making TikToks, that may not necessarily work for you. And that's okay. Um, I don't think it works for a lot of people, but we'll roll with it. Um, because I think you do need unique content. But um, you know, again, think about how you're moving forward um with what you're doing and know that there isn't one right answer right answer to everything. Now, Berlin, before I let you go, um I have to ask you the question that I ask all of my guests. And that is this show is called Imperfect Marketing because marketing is anything but a perfect science. What has been your biggest marketing lesson learned along the way?
SPEAKER_00:I think that like is our whole conversation is that you know, nothing is one size fits all. And I think that's been what's been the most interesting is that I've worked with people all over different industries and all different sizes of business. And like you can think, oh, this is what's gonna work. I'm gonna do this, this is gonna be flawless, and like almost never works. So, like that's why it's important to like work with a marketing strategist in some capacity, because there is so much testing involved, and like nothing really is one size fits all. And so having like a strategy behind the testing is important. Um, but that's the thing, is nobody really knows. And we can all do things that work for us and make it work. Um, and yeah, I don't know, it's fun. That's why it's so fun.
SPEAKER_01:It is, right? Because it's part art. Marketing is part art and part science. It's definitely imperfect for sure. And that's why the show is called Imperfect Marketing. But again, I think that what you shared today about building that solid brand foundation, making sure that your website, your socials, everything is lining up and saying the same message. And of course, building that marketing plan that neither one of these two marketing strategists did for a few years really does help and can help you grow a lot faster, probably than both of us did, just by not writing it down. Putting pen to paper is so important. I can't stress that. Winging it not quite the same level. Um, but it does happen. And uh don't kick yourself if you haven't done it, right? Just progress, not perfection. Move on and move forward. Thank you again so much, Berlin, for joining me. Thank you, all of you, for tuning in and watching or listening. If you learned something today, it would really help me out if you would rate and subscribe. Until next time, have a great rest of your day.
