Let's Get Vulnerable with Christella Morris Artwork

Marketing Sucks

Marketing Sucks is the podcast for business owners who are looking for practical, fun, and strategic ways to get noticed online, and don’t want to sit through 30 minutes of filler to get to the good stuff.

Each week, Grind Social Media + Co founder Amanda Casinha sits down with the industry’s most interesting and unconventional ad experts, funnel developers, content creators, and changemakers to explore their off-the-beaten-path strategies and experiences in the world of marketing and business — and dig into real stories of failures, strategies, and how they got their jaw-dropping results.

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Marketing Sucks

Let's Get Vulnerable with Christella Morris

February 13, 2024 • Amanda Casinha-Ginther / Christella Morris • Episode 4

The #1 unavoidable lesson of entrepreneurship: life sometimes hands you a bag of sh*t and you just need to deal with it and keep moving. The trick? Staying vulnerable and authentic as you do. In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I’m joined by incredible brand photographer Christella Morris whose business, Christella Luna Photo Co., is a six-year-long love story with photography, community, and memory-making.

From big life changes to major health issues, Christella has definitely handled her share of sh*t while building her biz… and she’s not afraid to get REAL. We dig into how she dealt with a shocking medical diagnosis while prepping for the busiest season in her business - and why her choice to offer a raw and candid look behind the scenes resonated with her audience.

Tune in to learn how Christella balanced her desire to be authentic with her fear of going public with her diagnosis, the impact her illness and transparency had on her business, and the value of anti-aspirational content. She also reveals how to ditch your boring headshots and take brand photos that stop the scroll!

CONTENT NOTE: we talk about cancer between 03:19 and 18:09 - if you’re sensitive to this topic, skip ahead!

Marketing sucks. Let’s learn together. Hit play to discover:‌ ‌

Why your candidness must match your personality in order to hit the way you want it to
How to take brand photos that are weird, alternative, different, and 100% YOU
When to say no and how to let go when it comes to your clients and audience

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Guest bio: With a foundation in lifestyle photography, branding and content creation, Christella Morris captivates through her lens, creating fun, fulfilling experiences of being on camera, and capturing gorgeous portraits. A busy mom of three kids aged 5 to 13, Christella lives in Ajax with her partner Justine, kiddos, dog and cat.

Timestamps:‌ ‌

00:11 Intro

01:31 Meet Christella Morris

03:02 Cancer story

07:28 Planning mode & going public

09:31 Showing up authentically

12:57 Impact & anti-aspirational content

18:09 When to say No

20:03 Captivating photos

28:06 Prompting

33:09 Your action item

35:49 Quick-fire questions