How to turn a viral moment into a community

Most viral content spikes and disappears. Some of it actually builds something.

In this episode, Sophie Miller, founder of Pretty Little Marketer, joins me to get into what separates the two. We break down her big door, small room framework - the strategy behind content that casts a wide net without losing the plot - and why virality and intention don't have to be opposites.

We also get into the vanity metrics debate and why your platforms aren't interchangeable - each one is its own room in your marketing house with its own audience, its own goal, and its own rules.

Oh, and there's her upcoming conference called Everybody Hates Marketing. Sign me up!

Highlights:

(00:00) The “Big Door, Small Room” content strategy

(02:07) How Pretty Little Marketer took off

(07:53) Why virality doesn’t build authority

(08:21) Planning content around business goals

(10:10) Community > Views

(18:27) Viral vs. memorable content

(22:42) Turning viral content into a funnel

(29:07) Everybody Hates Marketing

Resources:

Hear more from me in the Stop the Scroll Newsletter: https://briannadoe.substack.com/

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianna-doe/ 

Follow Sophie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiealicemiller/

Pretty Little Marketer: https://www.prettylittlemarketer.com/

Register for the Everybody Hates Marketing Conference: https://www.prettylittlemarketer.com/everybody-hates-marketing 

Transcript

Sophie Miller (00:00):
Once we have our big door open, we're going to build a bridge to the small room. My goal when I approach, I guess quote unquote, viral content is to cast a wide net so that the people that do fall into that marketing need social media made simple category. They're the ones that are going to swipe and they're the ones that are going to enjoy it. So almost treating viral content for me as a funnel, LinkedIn took my top voice badge away from me. I was genuinely upset and I know it doesn't mean anything on paper, but to commit time to a platform and feel rewarded and have that removed, I was mad. So I was like, screw this. I'm going to go to Substack. So went for revenge.
Brianna Doe (00:39):
Hello, hello. I am Brianna Doe and this is Stop the Scroll. So let's get into the content that makes us stop, click and care. For today, I am so excited to have Sophie Miller, founder of Pretty Little Marketer. And for context, I've always been so curious about what happens after you go viral. Why is it that some people can take that and grow with it while others kind of peak at their biggest moment? And most viral content gets so much attention, but very little of it leaves an imprint or legacy. And that's why Sophie is one of my favorite people. She's just so interesting because she arguably built that imprint or that legacy first. We're talking 750,000 people who remember Pretty Little Marketer, love it, come back, join the membership in the community and feel part of something. And most creators who hit that big audience moment can point to the spike, but Sophie's story is very interesting.
(01:28):
So thank you so much for joining me today.
Sophie Miller (01:30):
Of course. What a flattering introduction. You've made me sound very interesting. So I'm hoping I can live up to the bar today, but you know that I'm just the biggest fan of you with everything you do. So it is exciting. I'm looking forward to chatting.

Brianna Doe (01:50):
Thank you. The feeling is mutual. I'm actually the president of your fan club. I don't know if I told you that. We meet every Thursday. Thank you so much. So I'm curious, if you can just take us back, what did your growth timeline for Pretty Little Marketer look like and how has the brand shifted?
Sophie Miller (02:07):
Of course. So I want to shift our minds back five and a half years. So it was June 2020, which was just the worst year for everyone on the holiday.
Brianna Doe (02:22):
Terrible, terrible year.
Sophie Miller (02:24):
I was in my second year of university. So you can tell from the accent, I'm from England. And typically, I'd say it's pretty similar timeline to you guys, but typically you'd go to university at 18. I, however, from 18 to 21, was stuck walking in a telecommunications call center. So everything you see on the sitcoms, everything you see on the movies, it was just me and my Brittany mic all day answering phones. And God, I absolutely hated it. I constantly felt like there was more out there. I wanted to do something different, but I had no idea what it was. Fast forward to 21, I discovered marketing, couldn't get a job because I didn't have a degree. So I bit the bullet and I studied. Into my second year, I had one year left. I was near the end point. I submitted my final assignment of the year.
(03:20):
And what should have been a really exciting moment, I've got a year left. Oh my goodness, I'm then free. I literally burst into tears on my sofa and I was so overwhelmed, but more than that, I was so lonely. I was studying from home. I was a pandemic student, I think we're called. And I felt like I, as a new marketer, just had no one to ask, no one to turn to. I had no network. My CV was literally empty. And I am a Gen Z baby, so naturally the internet solves my problems. So in that moment, I opened Instagram at PrettyLittleMarketer. The handle was free. And from there, I just started posting. And the content in the early days kind of just looked like me journaling my thoughts. I love this campaign. I love this founder. This is what I've learned at university. We grew a thousand followers in a week, 2,000, in two weeks, and six months later by January, I think we were at around 30,000 followers across platforms.
(04:32):
So that was Instagram and LinkedIn. Lord knows when we hit our first 100K, but PLM's growth journey, it's just never stopped. It's never plateaued. It just keeps accelerating and accelerating. The brand has changed a lot since day one. It started as a baby blog, just me figuring things out. 2021, I graduated and I freelanced. PLM gave me really great visibility as Sophie, so I worked as a social media manager and consultant. And then in 2024, content and my roles shifted slightly when I got rid of all of my clients, the best day ever and decided to take PLM full-time. So as a creator, but also I launched our membership. So there's been many iterations of PLM, but despite every shift in change, metric-wise, it just keeps going. So I guess we're doing something right.
Brianna Doe (05:37):
I love that story too, because I think, yes, 2020 was a horrific year for so many people, and it was a very lonely year for many people. And so for you to take that experience and turn into something that's just created such a home and a community for people around the world, I just find really inspiring and I hope you feel inspired by yourself too. I'm curious, is there a piece of PLM content that you would point to as the one that shifted maybe how people thought of you or how you thought of the business? It doesn't have to be your biggest or your most viral, but do any come to mind?
Sophie Miller (06:09):
Oh, I wouldn't really pinpoint one specific post. I think PLM and growing it has been a process of doing one thing and then just doing the next thing. So in those very early days, and I remember, again, we had a thousand followers in a week, 2,000 in 2 weeks, started on Instagram a few months later, decided to try LinkedIn. Someone mentioned it. It sounded like a good idea. And it was at that point when I saw those numbers growing, I kind of thought, okay, cool, this could be something. So those early days of figuring out what this could be and who we're for. But it was 2024. I work with an amazing business coach and we rebranded just six months ago as well. But for the last two years, my mission has just been make PLM proper. I don't want it to look like Sophie's thing. I want it to be a true and recognized and trusted and really different industry resource.
(07:10):
So every single thing I post, everything I do is strategic, but especially with our content, everything's pointing towards that. And we do that in many different ways via who we associate with and guest post on our Substack or the topics that we align ourselves with, the brands I talk about because I want to tag them and hope their marketing manager follows us and checks us out. So yeah, I wouldn't say there was one big moment. It's just been a case of literally building, I guess, brick by brick, what that reputation might look like. But it's a long slug to build authority, isn't it? It doesn't just happen in a moment. So yeah, no one post, I would say.
Brianna Doe (07:53):
Yeah, that's a good point too. And I think that's what I find so fascinating about the idea of virality is going viral is good and I'd love to dig into your thought process around it too. But when it comes to building authority, as you've mentioned, it happens over time. It takes time, it takes hard work, it takes consistency. Obviously you've had content that's gone viral and you grew very quickly, but I'm just curious how you measure success for PLM when it comes to content performance. Is it those larger spikes or ...
Sophie Miller (08:21):
I like this question. I approach every single piece of content as its own individual thing. And I also map out our business and our content quarterly depending on what's happening that quarter. So for example, in March at the end of this month, I'm announcing our conference. I'm hosting our Fast Hour conference in September. And so that's going to be a really big sales moment. I'm selling tickets, I'm selling an event, I'm trying to get people on a wait list, but everything I did in January set myself up for that. So January for me was a reach month. My goal in January was to create content that reached the most amount of right people as possible. That's across Instagram and LinkedIn. Our strategies do differ, but right now, because things are busy, I kind of just cross post and repurpose, as we say. So January was a reach month.
(09:18):
I wanted to get the most amount of right people in front of me as possible. That means that in February, I can shift my content slightly, less reach pieces. They'll still be in there, but it'll be more nature. Maybe you'll see more reels. So you see Sophie's face and there's a face to the business or maybe there's more community features. I did a Q&A on our Substack with one of our membership members so that now in March, I can begin to talk about the themes that we're going to be sharing at the event. So by the time we launch our event tickets at the end of the month, we've got new people as well as our existing audience members. We've then nurtured everybody through February. And then in March, when I share my announcement and the topic and the theme, oh, well, we've been talking about that this month, even subtly.
(10:10):
So you're warm and ready. So that's how I plan and map. And based on that, obviously each month will have its own goals and measurements. For me, my goal with PLM is to be a valuable resource, but in a way that other publications aren't, and that's by connecting our community. I only have so much experience. There's only so much I can observe and share. So my goal is always to facilitate. So there are two things that I look at despite the kind of peaks and the different goals. Number one is our community health. So by that, I look at our comments sections, and that's not just people responding to me. I'm really interested in seeing, we see this a lot on our LinkedIn, Brianna comments and then Sarah replies to her. And then Alice, Alan, they get involved. I want to see shared interactions. So our community health, reposts, I love it when people share, I saw this on PLM, here are my extra thoughts.
(11:19):
And then our mentions and sentiment, I want to see reposts, but more than that, and more so on LinkedIn, our level one people like at, I saw this on at Pretty Little Marketer, here's what I think, here's my experience. So our community health and our mentioned and sentiment are the always on measured, but the specifics, again, kind of ebb and flow on that quarterly basis.
Brianna Doe (11:45):
Interesting. Okay. Well, one, very excited for this conference. Is it going to be in London?
Sophie Miller (11:51):
It is, but we are going to have virtual tickets.
Brianna Doe (11:54):
Amazing.
Sophie Miller (11:55):
Have only ever hosted events in the UK in terms of in- person. And our community are very passionate when they share that. They want to be able to join from the internet as well. So it will be in London, but I'm hoping people can join us via the powers of the internet as well. So it's exciting.
Brianna Doe (12:14):
Wow, that is exciting. I'm very excited for you for everybody that we'll get to attend, and I'll make sure we put that in the show notes too. I will be attending for sure. And you bring up a really interesting point around how you measure success or community health and measures or mentions. So you have LinkedIn, you have Instagram, you have Substack. You also have a separate newsletter, correct? Or have you completely migrated to Substack? I
Sophie Miller (12:39):
Do, yes. So our Substack is called The Case, where every Monday I either interview someone, write my own thoughts, or someone guest posts, and they submit their case for or against something in marketing. I wanted it to be different to our weekly newsletter. To me, Substack's still content. Weekly newsletter is email marketing. In my brain, I see them differently. My weekly newsletter is the weekly Roundup where I round up the biggest stories in marketing. I'm much more salesy here. It feels like a more intimate space. I don't plan on doing any kind of sales or mentions on Substack just yet, but I'm figuring that out. So yeah, I treat the two completely separately.
Brianna Doe (13:22):
Okay. So if we go back to your mention of building authority and how that takes time, how does that play out across all of these different channels?
Sophie Miller (13:32):
Yeah, good question. So as you mentioned, we have our Substack that was actually launched just last month, so I'm kind of figuring that one out. That was launched for two reasons. One, LinkedIn took my top voice badge away from me.
Brianna Doe (13:47):
They did.
Sophie Miller (13:47):
So frustrated. I was genuinely upset. And I know it doesn't mean anything on paper, but to commit time to a platform and feel rewarded and have that removed, I was mad. So I was like, screw this. I'm going to go to Substack. So went for revenge.
Brianna Doe (14:05):
I was mad for you, by the way. That whole situation was insane.
Sophie Miller (14:08):
Oh, I saw about 40 people lose it, if not more. LinkedIn's a funky platform, isn't it? No matter how much I love it, she has her flaws.
Brianna Doe (14:16):
It's weird. She's a little quirky.
Sophie Miller (14:19):
Yeah. So one, I was in my revenge era, but two, I really wanted a place to just start from nothing. I think as marketers, we get so comfortable. On Instagram and LinkedIn, I know I can post and I can predict how things will perform. I wanted somewhere to be like, oh, this is scary. What's going to happen? So almost like a stretch of confidence for me. So we have our Substack. I have our weekly newsletter that goes into people's inboxes. We have Instagram as PLM, and then our LinkedIn is split into two. So Pretty Little Marketer has the company page, but there's also Sophie as a sub-brand to PLM. So there's what, five? Is that five? Yeah, five-ish avenues where you can learn from PLM. I, up until September just gone, had been a team of one. I'm a team of three now. So I have an operations manager who helps bring ideas to life, membership, conference, other event.
(15:24):
And three weeks ago, I hired a graphic designer who takes my rambles and makes them beautiful. So I teach a concept and I'm a guest lecturer at the moment, but I have shared, I guess I've been a social media educator since I started in many capacities. I teach a concept that I call my platform map. And I guess the analogy I use is that your platforms are the rooms that build your house. So I would hope that what you do in your bathroom, you don't do in your kitchen. And the same way that you sleep in your bedroom, you're going to nap differently on your sofa. Every room, every house has a function. I treat my social media platforms the exact same way. Our Instagram audience is very much freelancers, creators, and brand marketers. So our content there is much more trend-led. It is what's happening right now.
(16:21):
It's much broader. On the PLM page, we have a lot more industry marketers. We've got senior leaders, we have senior marketers. I know I want to build authority here because that's where brand partnerships come from. That's where my speaking gigs come from. So our content will be more industry-led. It will be features, it will be social media updates. It will be, for example, how I schedule content would go on LinkedIn, but it wouldn't go on Instagram. So without going through them all one by one, each platform has its own audience and its own goal. All of it leading back to the roof and the point of our house, which is that PLM makes social media simple. That's what I do. It just looks different in those different locations. So I've got a document on my notion that's like LinkedIn, these people, this goal. And having something that I can go back to is really helpful when juggling multiple different platforms because it can get overwhelming, can’t it.
(17:26):
It's a lot to juggle, but yeah, I've always been quite anal about each place is its own thing. It's its own room. And I think it comes with practice. I've been doing it for six years this year, so you intuitively know what works where. So I think that comes with time as well.
Brianna Doe (17:47):
Yeah, I would agree. I love the way you phrased that though. You have these different rooms in your house, you do different things within them. They're all within the same architecture or have the same foundation. And I think that's something that a lot of brands could take as advice too, because you don't have to show up the exact same on every single platform. Your audience is going to be slightly different. So actually, switching gears, because I would love to dig into the marketer brain a bit. You make social media simple, you talk about what's going viral, what's trending, et cetera. How do you think about trending content? Do you think the content that's most likely to go viral in general, not just for PLM and the content that's most likely to be remembered can be the same content or is it usually different?
Sophie Miller (18:27):
Oh, good question. I use what you need to know about me guys. I have an analogy or a framework for everything.
Brianna Doe (18:36):
Love it.
Sophie Miller (18:36):
I've started doing this much to my boyfriend's dismay in my personal life for my neoph, my gym plan. He's like, "Sophie, please." We don't need to talk about this. We can just order dinner.
Brianna Doe (18:47):
No.
Sophie Miller (18:49):
No. No,
Brianna Doe (18:51):
It's just no.
Sophie Miller (18:52):
If I reflect on our most viral content, both of those, have they been on Instagram? I think they both have been on Instagram. I think it's much easier to provoke people on Instagram. Everyone's got a thought and a feeling. Is it the bean soup theory that people talk about? The internet's a crazy place. But when it comes to, I call it my reach content, but when it comes to my reach content, I kind of teach again this concept or framework that's big door, small room. So our most recent, I guess, top performing post was on Instagram. I posted it in January and it was about, I think the title, like the hook, I suppose on the first slide, it was a carousel post, was Kim Kardashian just showed us what the future of content looks like or something like that.
Brianna Doe (19:46):
I saw that.
Sophie Miller (19:47):
You know who also
Brianna Doe (19:48):
Saw

Sophie Miller (19:48):
It? Kim Kardashian saw
Brianna Doe (19:49):
It. Kim Kay saw it. I saw that too. It's incredible. And it
Sophie Miller (19:53):
Likes my freaking post. Listen, I don't care if it was her social media monitor, 10th removed, the account saw it and they liked it and I will take
Brianna Doe (20:02):
It. Yeah, that's all that matters. Did you frame it and put it in your office because that's what I would do? I do
Sophie Miller (20:06):
Have it screenshotted. I've actually just got a new sideboard, so maybe it can go up. Kim Kim.
Brianna Doe (20:13):
Just saying.
Sophie Miller (20:14):
So what's funny is that post actually wasn't about Kim Kardashian at all. So the big door was using Kim Kardashian just showed us what the future of social media looks like. This is the big door. This is our first slide. Once we have our big door open, we're going to build a bridge to the small room. So I think the second slide was about Kim Kardashian just produced a live. It was called Kimmers where I think it was like 20 minutes. It was like old school game show, a TikTok live where she was selling skims, outlined it. And then the second slide was about gamifying social media immersive experiences. And then into our fourth slide, I'm then exploring, you can't host a TikTok Live that's going to make a million dollars in two minutes, but what you can do to bring your audience from the outside inside is one, two, three, four, and then the rest of the carousel will walk through it.
(21:06):
I did it in a recent video as well that worked really well, where I was talking about B2B marketing on LinkedIn and how brands should be investing there. But the hook, the first 10 seconds of the video, I opened with, I think it was something like LinkedIn is cool now or something around those lines that everyone's got an opinion on, they're going to tell me what it is, but that's the big door. And then I'll build a bridge into our small room, which is the niche topic. So for me, I think yes, there's ways to engineer content that it gets maximum eyes. Not everyone's going to read it. Okay. Some people on this Kim Kardashian post, the comments were just like, "I hate Kim Karnashian." That's cool. Why? I'm talking about-
Brianna Doe (21:53):
Amazing. Thanks.
Sophie Miller (21:54):
World building. What do you want about, guys? What's going on here? So obviously not everyone's going to read and remember, but my goal when I approach, I guess quote unquote, viral content is to cast a wide net so that the people that do fall into that marketing need social media made simple category. They're the ones that are going to swipe and they're the ones that are going to enjoy it. So almost treating viral content for me as a funnel. It starts up here, we get people in, and then as the slides or as the video goes on, we're getting nicher and niche to our actual point and what we're actually talking about. So I think there are ways that it can be a reach piece, but also be memorable with a really valuable point. I also think it depends on why you're on socials. For me, I want to be known as a marketing expert.
(22:42):
So I use reach pieces as a tool for them. Creators, brand selling products, I think viral posts or attempts will hold different weight. I also, again, I plan my business and content quarterly. So this was really important to me in January. I couldn't care any less about our reach piece now. I don't care how many people see my LinkedIn posts. I did that two months ago and I've set up for this sales moment now. So I think it's something that should be flexible. Maybe sometimes it is a big priority and we can test. Other times we're in a sales period. This looks different now. So big door, small room, I think is my way of trying to balance both.
Brianna Doe (23:28):
First of all, you need a podcast where we can just listen to you talk about all of your frameworks and analogies because- I love
Sophie Miller (23:33):
Many.
Brianna Doe (23:35):
I love it. And while you're walking through that, I kept thinking about the debate that I'm sure you see, not just on LinkedIn, but other channels where marketers just call those vanity metrics, which I've always personally found to be a bit of a lazy take. It depends on to your point, the story you're trying to tell, what your goals are, what you're doing with that content. And even if it is just to get reach, is a vanity metric even bad? So I don't want to assume, but it sounds like maybe you feel similarly. How do you think of vanity metrics then?
Sophie Miller (24:04):
Yeah, I think it just depends what you're doing with those people. If we just want an audience for the sake of wanting an audience, then maybe we are being vain. But for me, it has a place. I think on Instagram, we've got 11,000 followers from that post, the Kim Kardashian post in January. And on our membership waitlist, one of the questions at the bottom, so you put your email in, you'll get an automated email. It'll be like, we open in a month or whatever. And then the question at the bottom is like, why did you sign up? How did you hear about the membership? I have obviously not flurries, but I have real examples of people being like, "I found you from this Kim K post. I really love the teaching. I followed the rest of your content. I like the community feel." So for me, it's just the top of the funnel.
(24:59):
And again, I'm big door, small room. I'm really passionate about, I want to say, I only want to post when I've got something to say, but also I want everything I do to have substance. I will never do anything for anything's sake. So I guess it's the motivation, isn't it? And it's always that tricky conversation that social media marketers have to have where you get a client or your boss, we want to go viral. And it's like, okay, but why? And I think it can be justified. There is a why. It's just finding it because it's going to be different for all of us. But yeah, I do think it's a lazy take. I think it's just one of those things that we've seen someone else see, and it sounds good, right? It's a vanity metric. It's easy to argue, but I don't think it exists.
Brianna Doe (25:48):
I agree with you. And I love how you approach your business strategy or marketing strategy quarterly. I think that's so smart. People think monthly and annually, but so much can change in just a quarter. So if we were to fast forward, let's say five years, you've mentioned that you want to build authority for PLM, being known as this marketing expert, which congratulations, I think you've accomplished that, but you want to continue building authority. What do you want the business or brand to look like in five years and what is the role of each of these channels in that?
Sophie Miller (26:18):
Oh, I don't think I've ever planned farther than six months in my
Brianna Doe (26:23):
Business. Love it.
Sophie Miller (26:25):
Last year-
Brianna Doe (26:26):
Five years is a lot. It is. Five years is ambitious. Let's take it like a year.
Sophie Miller (26:31):
Five years ago, so I had two really cool calls today to flex for a second. I'm speaking at an Adobe event next week, which is a dream, my favorite brand. And then straight after that call, I had a call with the team at Meta to talk about walking together. And I was texting my boyfriend afterwards and we're literally in the same apartment, but he was in another room and I can buy the room. Oh my goodness, James. Five years in, it never gets old and nothing I do fails to surprise me. I get used to nothing. Everything, I'm a golden retriever puppy. I'm so excited. So I think to five years and I honestly just think who, God, who knows, in hopefully a good way. I hope I saw positive vibes out there in the future. But last year was actually the first year where I sat down and made an annual plan.
(27:28):
So in 2025, I mapped out every launch and every big, so launch-wise event, and then we have a membership that opens quarterly. I really want to do different activations around those quarterly opens. So getting organized for this year specifically was really important. I couldn't just last minute send an email to the wait list when I want to do a community campaign or maybe get some photos taken with some props. So last year was the first year I actually sat down and was like, "This is what I'm going to do next year." But I guess my boring answer is just more of the same. I feel like we have this really good setup. Our content works. I love it. It's interesting. It's engaging. Our membership is the space for the people that want more than just that self-learning, but want to connect with the people together.
(28:19):
And then our in- person events, and we're doing more public virtual events this year as well, is the place that marries those two things so you can have an online experience of our brand. So just more of the same stuff, which if it's not broken, don't fix it. As a business, have been through so many iterations of I freelanced, then I consulted, then I coached for a year. I launched templates, I launched a freelancing course, and I know what works. I know what I want to do, and I know what my audience wants from me. So I think simplicity's a really underrated strategy. If I can just do one thing, why wouldn't I? Why are we making it hard for ourselves? So more of the same stuff, I hope.
Brianna Doe (29:02):
Yeah, I love that. I support it and only positive vibes for that too. Okay. So then to wrap up, I would love to learn a little more about the conference coming up, the theme, if you're comfortable sharing it and what people can expect.
Sophie Miller (29:13):
I should say no one has asked me for a conference. I just decided that I want this year to be really, really hard. Again, why not? I am lucky enough to speak as a public speaker at a lot of events and a lot of the bigger ones in London as well. And I run a business, I've been doing it for six years, but I still feel like a junior marketer. I still feel like just a baby. And I feel like so many events are, it's for your boss to go to and then come back and tell you what to do. So I really wanted to create something for the people who are actually doing it. I think these are the people that deserve a day, but they never get it. So I have themed this year's in event and it's been an interesting one to get sponsors for.
(30:02):
And you'll see why when I tell you the title of the event, but it's called Everybody Hates Marketing.
Brianna Doe (30:09):
Okay, love it.
Sophie Miller (30:09):
So it's been an interesting one to pitch like, "Hey, yeah, I'm going to complain for seven hours, but if you could just join us and help me pay for my
Brianna Doe (30:16):
Venue,
Sophie Miller (30:17):
That would be really cool." But the goal of the day is to walk you through that thought from start to finish. So in the morning, we're going to be exploring why as marketers, why does it feel so hard? I'm a baby marketer. I've been doing this for six years and so much has changed. It is so much more challenging now to do anything than it was even two years ago. So my goal in the morning is to walk through it as marketers, why do we hate it? Why does it feel hard? Why do audiences feel so resistant? People are so marketing literate now, especially on social media. We can spot sales from a mile off and we hate it. And then platform wise, what has changed? So we're talking about the why, because I think if you can understand the why, you can get to the root of your own frustrations as a marketer and then kind of dig at them.
(31:08):
And then in the afternoon, into the evening, we're going to talk about the fix. Marketing sucks. Here's why, here's why everyone hates it. What do we do about that? We have two panels, two keynotes in the afternoon, and then we're trying ... Have you seen varieties actors on actors where it's like two people just chatting?
Brianna Doe (31:30):
Yes. I love those. I
Sophie Miller (31:33):
Love those. We want to try that for a session, like a marketers on marketers, just putting two people on stage and being like, "Talk. What do you do? What do you hate?" Have a chat and we're all just watching. So yeah, everybody hates marketing and I didn't want it to be an event for everyone. I don't want to talk about UGC and then LinkedIn marketing and then X, Y, Z. So I wanted it to do one thing and solve one problem, which is more important to me than being appealing to everyone and selling tickets to everyone. Hopefully a really focused day that gives people practical solutions to quite debilitating challenges. So many times, even, I guess I'm a solo marketer making decisions and filtering what walks and what doesn't. And we have so much information from accounts like mine, marketers on LinkedIn, like, "Do this, don't do that.
(32:29):
This is dead. This is in. " None of that matters. This is a day about helping you figure out what's for you and what's not, which we've been pitching our sponsors. We got off our sponsor last week. And we're trying to secure the after party venue and it has a fricking karaoke floor and it has bowling. Sorry, what more do you want from me guys?
Brianna Doe (33:00):
That's it. That's all anybody could ask for,
Sophie Miller (33:03):
Candidly. Just me singing all of the wicked soundtrack to the day. It's a good
Brianna Doe (33:09):
Time. Please.
Sophie Miller (33:10):
Get your money's worth.
Brianna Doe (33:12):
The perfect ending to an incredible conference. And I love that name so much. I'm laughing internally at how hard it probably has been to have those sponsor conversations, but the title is, the name is Flawless.
Sophie Miller (33:25):
Yeah, I tried my best. I always. But yeah, I hired my operations manager, Louisa, in September, and she's amazing. So I think that was one of the reasons why heading into this year. Again, it was my first year with an actual plan. We're doing things like a conference we've never done before. I think having someone that ... Louisa is very much a higher up. She's got more experience than me. She's older than me. She's a mommy. So I feel like I can message her all the time and be like, "Louisa, Mother Louisa, what do I do? " Because I am just a baby. So I think that gave me a lot of confidence to be like, let's just try it. We're in this together now, so I have no idea what I'm doing. Louisa does. So that's the balance. So it's going to be exciting.
(34:15):
I love a challenge. Why not? It's only loads of money to lose, guys. Why
Brianna Doe (34:22):
Not? No big deal. Whatever. No big deal at all. No, I think it's going to be amazing. I can't wait to hear how people enjoy it. I can't wait to attend. And thank you so much for joining me today. Before we wrap this up, where can people find you? We'll drop the link to the conference and the show notes, but anywhere else?
Sophie Miller (34:41):
Thank you. I know before we started our conversational thing, I don't do many podcasts. I did a lot in the early days and I feel like a lot of my strategy and story, it hasn't really changed. And I just feel like no one needs to hear another person telling you how internet changed their life and all of these things. So I really value having the opportunity to talk about something different and I guess go deeper on thoughts that I wouldn't usually share. So yeah, I really appreciate the opportunity to chat and to meet you finally. We were saying we've known ever on the internet, but we've never seen each other in 3D. Never. You're just as beautiful as I imagined. So it's been an honor.
Brianna Doe (35:26):
Thank you so much.
Sophie Miller (35:27):
Of course. If you did want to find me on ... The internet is my whole job, so I'm there often. It is @prettylittlemarketer on Substack, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And then I am also on LinkedIn as Sophie, and the name is Sophie Mella. So that's where you'll find me.

Brianna Doe (35:47):
Well, like I said before we started recording, I feel really honored that you joined me today. And if you're listening to this and not watching, please go watch it on YouTube because I've been staring at Sophie's skin the whole time. You need to drop the skincare routine.
Sophie Miller (36:00):
I actually have a microneedling session last Thursday, so I'm in the crusty phase, but I'm hoping next week I will- I couldn't even tell. I will glow. It's like the glaze of sweats from a busy day. But if you're not on microneedling, guys, invest. I recommend.
Brianna Doe (36:18):
I'm actually having my first session in a week and a half.
Sophie Miller (36:21):
Exciting. I'm very excited. I'd say if you don't have a hyaluronic acid serum for afterwards, find one because it ... Yeah, dry crusty fade.
Brianna Doe (36:32):
That's good to
Sophie Miller (36:33):
Know. You get through it. It's good. I recommend. Yeah. Why not outsource your skin, right? I can't do it myself.
Brianna Doe (36:40):
Exactly. I was on the HydraFacial train for a very long time. Yes. But I've heard microneedling is longevity as opposed to those quick viral wins.
Sophie Miller (36:51):
That's the goal. I mean, you look great already, but why not? You will enjoy it.
Brianna Doe (36:57):
Thank you. Well, thank you again for stopping by. This has been so much fun. And if you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. For more on what's shaping the definition and demand around all the content we consume, you can sign up for my newsletter, link in the show notes, and I'll see you in the feed.