Molly Ruland:

Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to camp content, where today’s minds, in marketing and communication gather around the proverbial campfire to share strategies that ignite brand narratives and fan the flames of innovation in the digital world. That’s a whole mouthful right now. But today, we got Jennifer Kelly on the show. She is a steadfast contributor in the b to b marketing sphere and the founder of New Initiatives Marketing Inc. Since 2009, Jen has been at the helm of the firm, seamlessly stepping into roles as fractional CMO and leading an expert marketing team dedicated to crafting and executing heavyweight marketing strategies tailored specifically for b to b CEOs. Beyond her leadership at NIM, Jen ventured into the SaaS domain with Nimble Quotes, a novel service that was designed to enrich the Twitter feeds of subscribers with uplifting quotes from 2015 to 2024. So I just wanna focus on 2009, since 2015 and 2 to 2023.

Molly Ruland:

We’re talking about a massive digital space there, analog did. There’s a lot of valuable expertise, information, and experience in this conversation headed your way. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Jen’s career was decorated with senior marketing roles at global powerhouses such as Future Shop, Siemens, and then the Financial Times in the UK where she also chaired 3 enriching years living abroad, or broadening her horizon in international business. We’ll definitely get into that because you know I love a good traveler, and so we’re gonna talk about living abroad, of course. A notable highlight in her community contributions is her involvement in bringing TEDx women to Toronto setting stages in 2013 and 2015. And to that, I say, hell yeah, Jen. Representation for women on stages is super important. Today, she’s here to dive into the intricate dance between sales support and marketing and b to b environments, the value of consistent marketing efforts, and how seasoned companies can still find themselves at crucial turning points requiring skilled marketing directions.

Molly Ruland:

So without further ado, welcome to the show, Jen

Jennifer Kelly:

Wow. Thank you.

Molly Ruland:

Absolutely. Thank you. I am legitimately excited to have this conversation. You know, anybody that’s been in the marketing space for as many years as you have has a lot of value to bring to the table, and I think that matters more than ever in this rapidly changing environment that we live in, and that we’re all trying to survive in with our businesses. So thank you for coming on the show today.

Jennifer Kelly:

Absolutely. I’m looking forward to it. That’d be great.

Molly Ruland:

Yeah. Me too. So let’s talk a little bit, number 1, about the business, about new initiatives marketing. Let’s just do a quick business snapshot. So, you know, 2009, is that when the company was formed?

Jennifer Kelly:

It was. Yep. Yep. Just me. Just me, and then I have grown it.

Molly Ruland:

Alright. And how many employees and contractors do you have?

Jennifer Kelly:

We have 6 people that our clients interact with every single day, and then we have a bench of 12. And what I mean about a bench is, there’s things in marketing that you need from reliable sources, but you don’t need them every single day. So an example of that is research. Right? So 6 +12 would be the answer.

Molly Ruland:

Gotcha. And, where are your clients based for the most part?

Jennifer Kelly:

Clients are based, they’re usually evenly split between Canada and the US. So, we’re based in Toronto, but we work North American wide.

Molly Ruland:

And what are you working with, like, small companies, really big companies, a combination? What’s your client profile look like?

Jennifer Kelly:

Yeah. Our client profile so we focus on, b to b, and I know that’s, like, a huge a huge bucket as well. Where we typically focus is so b to b. So think of, non food manufacturing, industrial, oil and gas, electric utilities. Some people call it the real boring stuff. We find it interesting, small, so our largest client we’ve had is, $70, 000, 000, 000 on the stock exchange. So I can talk about how we help those kinds of clients. Most are 3, 000, 000 and above.

Molly Ruland:

Gotcha. That’s super helpful information. Alright. So let me talk about the inception of new marketing initiatives. Where did that come from? What lit that fire to create the company?

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh, what lit that fire? Well, I would call myself the reluctant entrepreneur, I have to tell you. A layoff. So in 2009, when there was a, you know, financial crisis, people say, you know, 2008, 2009. Anyways, in July 2009, I was laid off from my lovely corporate job. I was 1 of those weirdos that enjoyed the corporate world. I enjoyed being part of a big marketing team, and, yeah, laid off. So it was the kind of thing where I didn’t really know what to do. At the time, in this area here, so within Toronto, there was that.

Jennifer Kelly:

That was happening all across the board. So it wasn’t as if, you know, our company was having a hard time. I could go somewhere else. It was, you know, all right across the board. And, I think I have to owe it to my old boss that kinda lit the idea of, like, how this could work. Because I remember, you know, he was telling us, okay. You guys are laid off. It was, you know, not a surprise, but still, right, you think maybe you can, you know, be spared.

Jennifer Kelly:

Right? And, so everyone at that time, director and below director was laid off, and we had a huge marketing team. And I remember asking him, I was like, what are you gonna do with all these campaigns that have to get out? And he was just like, I’m not so sure. You know? And I I don’t really know. And, then I had the idea. I mean, maybe I could come back to freelance for a while. And so we did that deal, and I came back in a couple days a week. And I thought, if this is happening here, maybe it’s happening in other places too. So I was able to cobble together, you know, a couple of a couple of clients that way.

Jennifer Kelly:

And, you know, right now it just seems to me, as I tell you this story, I’m like, duh. I mean, that’s an obvious thing. But for me, I was kind of raised corporate. What I mean by that is, you know, I went from school and did a big corporate job and just swiped from corporate job to corporate job. And in my experience, it was more like in the corporations I was in, it was kind of like you waited for the job opening. You waited for the next opportunity. So I was kind of really, I guess, tuned to waiting for my next opportunity instead of going for it. Right? And so to be out sort of on your own and you realize, you know, it really is up to me.

Jennifer Kelly:

I really can go make a deal. If I, you know, if I can convince them there’s enough value there to exchange some money and we have a deal, that’s great. And that was just mind blowing to me. Like, the freedom to be like,

Molly Ruland:

oh, I don’t have to

Jennifer Kelly:

wait for that job posting. I could just go for it. So, so anyway, so that’s how it started. And the idea was to, to sort of, wait out the recession and then get right back into a corporate job. And the reason I didn’t go back is because of that. Because I found, wow, I can go. I could kinda go and make my own block. I know that sounds so ridiculous, but it was so eye opening from where I came from, and it was working too. I’m like, wow.

Jennifer Kelly:

Can I do okay on my own here, and I see the need that these other companies have a hole in their marketing and need some help there? So, that’s how it started, and that’s how it kinda kept going.

Molly Ruland:

Yeah. I really love that. I think that’s brilliant. I mean, that’s the heart of an entrepreneur is, like, recognizing a gap, you know, recognizing the demand and and filling that, you know, or a good entrepreneur anyway. So how are you, you know, there seems to be an interesting comparison between 2, 008 and and right now. Right? There’s so many layoffs. There’s so many things happening. You know, how do you see this role to fractional c m CMO then versus now? Like, how are you navigating those spaces and figuring that out in this new world? Because there’s a lot of that happening right now.

Jennifer Kelly:

Yeah. There is a lot of it happening right now. It’s just so funny, though, like, going through recession by recession. Each 1 is different. Right? Even though you’ve been through a few and you just think, okay. You know, it’s it’s it’s, you know, I I I’m armed for this 1 this time. There’s always something out of left field that makes it, you know, your experience you’re experiencing certain challenges for the first time too. So they’re not the same.

Jennifer Kelly:

What is different about this time is, having come through COVID, most companies now have a different view about virtual work and about hiring vendors that deliver virtually. Prior to COVID, that was probably our number 1 objection, was like, you’re kinda, you know, a virtual company and, you know, we’re we’re not really sure, not really comfortable, not really sure. So that would be an objection. Obviously, the clients that we did bring on didn’t have a problem with that, or we won them over, and we were able to, you know, deliver and make them, you know, make them trust that we could do the work. So right now, that is a huge opportunity for people. So if you’re thinking of, if we’re talking about someone who’s been laid off and wondering, you know, how do I get going? How do I, you know, sort of cobble together some work until the idea of being a consultant, about being virtual, about being able to, you know, come in for a few months and do something. You have an excellent opportunity right now because that kind of work or or that kind of way of working is not viewed with any kind of disdain or any kind of, like, I’m not really sure about you. It’s not very professional.

Jennifer Kelly:

It’s very professional. So for that, there’s lots of hope out there for sure. What I’m noticing as well is, in comparison, the plans. So we do a strategic plan for a company for their marketing. The plans previously could look out 3 to 5 years. Now they’re like, maybe a year at best, but give us something rolling. And how do we, give us a plan for how we react if the market changes, if something new comes into the market, if we have to change. So there’s a lot, it’s a lot quicker, and they wanna be prepared for the change.

Jennifer Kelly:

I know that sounds kind of funny, but, like, what do we do if this thing isn’t working? How fast can we pivot on that? What’s your plan b? That kind of thing. So I haven’t seen that before, so that would be the difference.

Molly Ruland:

And how do you, like, assess the needs of a company that’s traditionally been sales led? How do you navigate those spaces?

Jennifer Kelly:

Yeah. Well, they will come to us. So sales leads are all great, until your sales start to plateau, and you’re like, what is going on here? Right? And so that’s the time that it’s best that we can come in and assist. Some of the things that we have seen when we go into those businesses is that, there, there may not be, I guess, robust messaging, meaning that the sales team feels really beat up on price. They’ve tried a couple of different messages and they end up discounting, and so that can largely be because of, either, some, positioning that needs some refreshing or perhaps positioning wasn’t done in the beginning. Perhaps they were their only kind of show in town and were, you know, off to the races that way. And now it’s getting more and more competitive, and they gotta figure out where you sit next to what’s going on in your market. So that will be 1 thing.

Jennifer Kelly:

The other thing we notice is that there is no lead or little lead nurturing. So meaning they have an interesting lead coming in. They may be speaking with them. They may get them a proposal. The follow-up is just either nonexistent or not fast enough, and that’s another area that we can help with. I mean and this is not to say that the sales folks aren’t doing their job. I mean, they got enough to do, going out there, you know, doing the pitches, following up, getting rejected. We have to remember that.

Jennifer Kelly:

I mean, it’s a really hard job. Right? And, and just, like, honestly, you can’t expect them to also run lead nurture campaigns and that kind of thing. So for us, again, positioning, some kind of messaging around what’s special about them, that they can back up with, and then, lead nurturing just to help keep those things warm until they can be closed or, you know, moved along.

Molly Ruland:

Or moved out. Yeah. You know, it’s interesting because I talk a lot about that with podcasting too. There’s so much you know, there’s a lot of bad information. It’s like interviewing people, just keep it moving. Next, next, next, and then you don’t even follow-up. And I mean, how many podcasts have you been on where you don’t even know if it went live or not? You never even heard from them again, and it’s like, these are relationships that you need to nurture. So I think it’s a common I. I think we’re in this, like, this generation of more.

Molly Ruland:

Right? Like, if you didn’t get a 1000000 likes or a 1000000 impressions, it’s all these vanity metrics. And it’s like, is your phone ringing? Did you send them a nice email? Did you know, I think we’ve really lost, you know, if you have a company that’s doing 70 $1, 000, 000, 000 on the, you know, exchange, then, yeah, then it’s a numbers game. But for a lot of people, it really comes down to nurturing those relationships, so you know they’re gonna close or not. Right? And I think we’re missing a lot of that, for sure. So can you give me a good, success story from your, with your company for a client that you have achieved? Something that you know you could replicate again?

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. So it has to do with the lead nurturing. It really does. So, we had a client that was serious about marketing in the way that they really took trade shows very, very seriously. And so we’d go to many, very specialized trade shows. They had their trade show strategy as far as picking the shows. Damn, Pat.

Jennifer Kelly:

Very good. While at the shows, the folks in the booth were the right people. They could explain all this is very technical information. They could explain it all. That was great. Problem was when they came home, it’s almost like those leads just stayed on the machine. Yeah. Yeah.

Jennifer Kelly:

Yeah. And they and and this would happen over and over and over again in several years in a row. And, of course, the sales team would come home with some hot leads that, you know, they were following up on immediately, and that would turn into a deal. But there were anywhere from 100 to probably about in the 100, I have to say. You know, maybe 50 to a 100, not 1, 000, but 100 would be a, you know, a good deal for them that would come home and just kinda sit there. And so what we were able to do is sort of explain the, you know, here’s what we’re seeing that we here’s how marketing can actually help sales. And, we were able to introduce a very good lead nurturing after the show and then getting them into the sales pipeline if, you know, if qualified, and we were able to turn around a certain amount of deals for them. So it obviously brought dollars in for them, but also to me, it was the kind of thing I mean, did they know better? They were just kind of focused on the next show.

Jennifer Kelly:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We got the leads. Kinda didn’t really even think about it and didn’t really even have the staffing there to be like, okay. Here’s the lead. Here’s what we do. Because, you know, if the salespeople have 2 or 3 really, you know, pressing deals that come in from a show, they are a 100% on those 2 deals.

Jennifer Kelly:

You know? Of course, they are. Right? Of course, they are. Right? So so and that’s you know, we call it maybe a leaky funnel. That’s the kind of thing. You don’t need more leads. You gotta nurture the ones that you have, and you’ll probably be pretty surprised that you can turn those into deals.

Molly Ruland:

I couldn’t agree more. I love that. And I mean, even from small events to somebody walking around with a clipboard and a pen collecting emails to massive corporate installations that they’ve spent, you know, 1, 000 and 1, 000 of dollars on. I mean, let’s be honest, by the time you pay for flights and hotels and the setup and all this and the fancy things and the lighting and the meals and all that, you’re spending a lot of money. And then, yeah, what happens with all those business cards? Are there notes on them? Are they detailed? Are they being followed up on? Because, you know, that’s direct contact with people and a much, you know, richer and more valuable lead than something off Instagram or I don’t, you know, I don’t even know, but yeah. You know? Yeah. Really follow-up on that. And I, yeah, I think we’ve just gotten to this, like, consumerist society where it’s like next next next next next.

Molly Ruland:

Like, no. The success is not that I got a 100 emails. The success is I collected 100 emails and turned 10 of them into deals. Like, you only got half of the equation there. You know what I mean? The email doesn’t mean anything. I work with a lot of coaches and smaller businesses, and they have email lists, and none of them are tagged. I don’t know where these people came from. They’re not emailing them.

Molly Ruland:

You know what I mean? By the time they do, they’re probably gonna get unsubscribed because they’re gonna go,

Jennifer Kelly:

Who the hell are you?

Molly Ruland:

I don’t even remember what you are anymore. Right? That, you know, it’s going to Hotmail addresses, like, come on, man, like, what are we doing? You might have waited too long. So I think that’s brilliant. I’m really focused on relationships. I think that in this crazy world we live in right now with so many divisive things happening, I think the quality of your life and business is based on your relationships. And I think it’s more valuable to spend time nurturing the ones you’ve already created instead of constantly looking for more. You know? Yeah. I I really do.

Molly Ruland:

Yeah. Alright. So can we talk about, yeah, I don’t wanna talk about AI because there’s enough of that going around, but how are you navigating? Like, you know, everything is changing. So how do you keep your team nimble in this space, or is what you’re doing relatively old school with a new school lift?

Jennifer Kelly:

That’s interesting. The thing I’m I’m glad please don’t ask me about the future of AI. I’m the wrong person to ask. I don’t know. It’s probably gonna be pretty intense. That’s my, that’s my answer. What I’m finding is, I call it the human side of it. Well, let me explain.

Jennifer Kelly:

There’s a lot of, I guess, hesitation, fear. So you have to think, our company produces a lot of content. So written content, we’re interviewing the thought leaders in our clients’ companies, we’re getting their information right from the horse’s mouth, we’re putting it out as their information, we’re getting them to sort of rise in their visibility throughout their industry. We’re getting the potential customers to trust these companies more and more because they’re seeing, you know, who the folks are internally and whatnot. And so, our writers, our designers are feeling like, well, you know, is AI gonna take over my job or it already is, or I’m having a harder time getting other, you know, other, other opportunities because they’re like, no. We don’t need you as a blog writer. We’re gonna just run it through AI. So the thing has been, trying to calm them not calm is it calm them down? Trying to have them see that there could be ways that AI could help them and that they’re not going to get replaced.

Jennifer Kelly:

At least we’re not gonna be replacing them. And we’re not gonna be replacing them because, 1 of the things we do so we work from b to b, and what tends to happen in B2B is either technical, it’s kind of invisible work. Right? You see the end and output. You don’t see all the, you know, the thinking or the science behind it. And those are the stories that we’re bringing out to differentiate our clients. And, as well, with the expertise in the companies, they’re either the engineers or, you know, the sales engineers or the CEO that created the company. We’re getting their input, their point of view on, like, how they created this, why they created this, how it solves a problem in their industry. And, their point of view is really helping to distinguish the company.

Jennifer Kelly:

I guess in time, a robot could go and interview them, but what we’re finding is that most of these executives have never put out their own content this way. Very few of them have written a blog. They may have keynoted something in a speech for sure. Right. Right. Few are putting out weekly, here’s what I think. And so it can be quite intimidating, and it can be quite a time suck on your calendar for sure. So our model is we have a professional writer that comes in, interviews you, and we can get, you know, 3 to 4 blogs out of a 1 hour interview.

Jennifer Kelly:

But the key is in that person to person interaction, even if it is over Zoom. So, yeah, there are interview questions, but the writers are picking up on nuances, picking up on things that they might not understand, digging for more explanation, making the executive feel comfortable enough to say more about it. And, at least for right now, I’m like, that is golden. Right? So you got the writer that’s got those skills. You produce better content. You’ve got an executive that now feels more comfortable telling your story. We know we have them when they come back to an interview, and they’re like, hey. I had this idea.

Jennifer Kelly:

We’re like, yes. Yes. It’s working. Yeah. Exactly. They’re and I guess the other test is that they feel proud that once they see the article with their name on it, they’re like, yes. I can show this around. Yes.

Jennifer Kelly:

I’m I’m I’m happy with this. So we kinda help them find their voice in the industry as well. And, and so for all that, we can’t put that into jet chat gpt and just have it come out. So, that’s a long winded way of saying right now, our work is so personal, and those kinds of skills and interviewing and making someone feel at ease and pulling out their excellence and then writing about it, I’m saying to my writers, like, what? I need you. You know? Stay with me. We need this. We need this.

Molly Ruland:

I agree. You know, I love that because, you know, I do a lot of that stuff with my clients too. Like, we do stuff with Department of Health online learning modules, and these doctors come in and they’re like, my name is and I’m like, oh, Jesus. You know? It’s your name. Come on, man. You got this. You know? And we had this 1 client that was, like, we’re having a couple sessions, and it was really difficult because it was, like, the doctor they hired to do the course. And my team was struggling and they were struggling.

Molly Ruland:

I was like, invite me to this session. And I was just like, you got this doctor Kelly, you got this. Come on, you talk about this stuff all day. Come on, look real nice. Alright, what did you have for breakfast this morning? What are you doing this week? You know, just just just bringing them back down, looking them in the eye, having a conversation with them, you know, it’s like night and day the content we would get from them. You know, they would literally be struggling to say their own name. I’m like, you’re smart you’re the smartest person in the room, but you’re not acting like it right now. So I need you to just, like, wusser, take a deep breath, scream, do whatever you want.

Molly Ruland:

You know? But you get them to smile. You get them to come out a little bit, and then that’s where the really great content comes out because they feel comfortable. And, like, you just, you know, that’s not something you can learn, and that certainly isn’t something that AI can do. You know? It’s a certain type of person that can, like, bring that out of people, And a writer is a really good snapshot of that type of personality because they’re inquisitive and, you know, interested and thoughtful, you know, and good listeners. Right? Good listeners. Yeah. All things that I am probably not, but, you know, I’m working on it. I’m working on it.

Molly Ruland:

It

Jennifer Kelly:

takes all kinds. It takes

Molly Ruland:

all kinds. Okay. Really good. My backup plan is stand up comedy, so if all else fails, you know. Oh, okay. Alright. Well, this has been great. So I wanna move into the speed round questions, because I have a few for you, lightning round, whatever we wanna call them, And they’re just a little bit more fun to kinda show some of your personality.

Molly Ruland:

So the first 1 is, what is the last book that you read that had a profound impact on your marketing philosophy?

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh my goodness. It’s right here. This isn’t even me. I didn’t even set this up. It’s this 1, buy back your time. So this is not necessarily a marketing philosophy, but it certainly helps me with running the business, structuring the business, being better, for the team to be able to go off and do their work better. And it’s, I guess it’s practical for sure, Very, very practical. But there’s also some mind mindset stuff in there, and I don’t mean the woo woo. I mean the, you know, like, it’s it’s, you know, calling you on your BS, and it’s time to get it together.

Jennifer Kelly:

Right? So, that would be the book.

Molly Ruland:

I got 10 credits on Audible, so that’s about to be 1 of them.

Jennifer Kelly:

I love

Molly Ruland:

Book credit. I’m a big, well, my brother’s an author, so I can’t say I’m a book reader because I listen to Audible. He’s let me know several times. You are not reading a book. You are listening to a book. And I say hogwash. Oh, yes. I’m a book book listener, so I will add that because, you know, there’s few books in my life I’ve read that have changed my entire life, so you never know when that’s coming through.

Molly Ruland:

Alright. Number 2, if you could have a coffee chat with any marketer, who would it be and why?

Jennifer Kelly:

Any marketer?

Molly Ruland:

Or any business person. It doesn’t have to be marketing, but you know?

Jennifer Kelly:

Let me go with my first thought here. So Seth Godin. So he has been around for a long time. I’ve seen him present at certain conferences. I’ve read some of his books. What’s really neat about him besides being, you know, very, very intelligent, very, very, able to communicate his ideas, he’s got a very calm mannerism. And in our industry, you know, Mark and I know we’re not in sales, but we’re pretty close. Folks can be a little too loud, a little too rah rah, and I just respect his, I don’t know, his solid calm nature.

Jennifer Kelly:

And I think it would be really interesting to have that conversation with him.

Molly Ruland:

That’s a great answer. Number 3. What’s 1 marketing buzzword you think is overused?

Jennifer Kelly:

Right now, it’s AI. And, I guess it’s in the phrase, like, kill your digital marketing. AI can do it for you. How about that?

Molly Ruland:

I would agree. I muted myself for a second because my dog was barking, and then a bit of fire on me. Okay. I live in Costa Rica, you, they ‘re just dogs that just show up at your house. It’s just you can’t help it. You just

Jennifer Kelly:

enjoy. Not even your dog.

Molly Ruland:

No. They’re my well, they are now. I love those little Oh. Little girls. But yeah. Okay. Number 4, can you name a brand whose marketing strategy you secretly admire?

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh, secretly admire me. Oh my goodness. I would say, yeah. NYX in the early days, So this is, or NYX. I don’t know how you pronounce it, but it’s, it’s, I guess, a lower budget, cosmetics brand.

Molly Ruland:

Okay. Cool. I’ll have to check that. And why? Why did that draw you to them?

Jennifer Kelly:

Why? Well, just because so usually, the lower budget doesn’t get much attention because they don’t have much money to, you know, explode into the market. So, they were able to do that, as well as the quality for the price point is, you know, can rival some of the fancier stuff. So I was impressed. I was impressed by that.

Molly Ruland:

I love a good scrappy deal. I love it, especially if it’s good quality. You know? Okay. Quick choice. Twitter or LinkedIn for b to b networking?

Jennifer Kelly:

LinkedIn.

Molly Ruland:

I agree. Twitter’s a dumpster fire if you ask me at this point.

Jennifer Kelly:

It used to be great, though. It did. Let me tell you. Let me tell you. Yeah.

Molly Ruland:

It used to be There’s still a lot of journalists and stuff on there, but for the most part, yeah. Alright. Okay. I have a wild card question for you. Okay. And I like this 1. If you were to start a completely different business outside of the marketing industry, what would it be?

Jennifer Kelly:

What would it be? Oh my goodness. I think it would be something to do with personalized tours somewhere. And when I say personalized, I’m making this up as I go because I don’t know if it’s out. Maybe it is out there. But, from my travels, I have seen that, people are scared to travel certain places, and I don’t mean that we’re going anywhere dangerous, but, happy with perhaps, the tried and true. And it’s only until someone can show them that new restaurant or the new city or the new place or the new thing or the, you know, hidden thing down this alley that serves the best pizza or whatever it is. Right. Then you just see them just open up and be like, oh, what else is in this town? So if I could do personalized tours, like that, I think I would like that because I like showing people new things.

Jennifer Kelly:

I like opening their minds to it. I do like the travel, and I do like the personal interaction with folks. So I think I’d open something like that.

Molly Ruland:

Jen Jen Kelly travel agency. It’s got a nice ring to it. I I love that too. I like traveling and experiencing things. I mentioned earlier I was a secret shopper for hotels, resorts, and casinos for a year, which as a whole it was, like, before 911, so I had aliases and, like, fake IDs. I went to New York City and got fake IDs and, like, you know, on the credit card, you could get an alternate user card, and so I would get matching. So 1 of my aliases was Dallas Mahoney. Oh my god.

Molly Ruland:

So ridiculous. But the problem is I’m a terrible liar, and so people are like, what’s your name? And I’m like Dallas. You know, like, I’m just not. I’m not a liar. Unless you’re like the police or the IRS, and then maybe I can squeak out a liar too. But the rest, I’m just a painfully honest person. And so, I messed myself up a few times, but I loved moving around and being alone. I met so many amazing people, and it changed my life.

Molly Ruland:

Because before that, I wouldn’t even eat alone in public. And then I got thrown into this job, and I had to eat alone in public all the time. That is my job. It was, like, literally doing restaurant evaluations for these hotels and stuff. So it changed me as a person, and I think travel is super important. I love that. I was thinking about this question. For me, I would love to, like, have a boat business or some just some opportunity where I could be on a boat, be on the water, and make money.

Molly Ruland:

I don’t know what that looks like exactly, but

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh, wow.

Molly Ruland:

I love boats. I love boats.

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh, amazing.

Molly Ruland:

All boats. Even ferries. I’m like, yay. I’m very easy. I believe I am. I’m like, it’s my friends who all make fun of me. They’re like, are you happy that you’re on a boat by any chance? I’m like,

Jennifer Kelly:

shut up.

Molly Ruland:

You know, it’s better than being angry. Right? You know, like, at least I’m silly, excited about being on boats. What can I do? Alright. So So 1 we got 1 more round here, and this can be a lot of fun too. This is the real or fake round. So I’m gonna list off some podcast names, and then you can tell me if they’re real or fake.

Jennifer Kelly:

Okay.

Molly Ruland:

Alright. The number 1, the digital marketing podcast.

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh, that’s gotta be real.

Molly Ruland:

That is real. That was super lame. Why did I start with that 1? Okay. Marketing over coffee.

Jennifer Kelly:

That’s gotta be real.

Molly Ruland:

You’re killing it. Alright. Market movers and shakers.

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh, that’s probably real too.

Molly Ruland:

It’s fake. I gotcha.

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh, it’s fake? Okay.

Molly Ruland:

That’s a pretty good 1, though. That’s a Yeah. I was gonna say the name. Somebody should do that. Movers and shakers. Okay. B to b buzz builders.

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh my god. It’s probably real.

Molly Ruland:

It’s fake.

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh, it is fake.

Molly Ruland:

Oh my goodness. These are kinda boring today. Usually, they’re more fun, but that’s okay. Alright. And then the last 1, viral voices behind the campaigns.

Jennifer Kelly:

Oh my god. I’m gonna say fake.

Molly Ruland:

That 1 is fake. That 1 is fake. But, you know, it kind of, it kinda reminded me of I was gonna ask you a question about the importance of having the c suite be visible, but you answered it without me asking. And that viral voice behind the campaigns kinda ties into that a little bit. You know? Like, who the maybe not viral voices, but behind the campaigns, behind the company, you know, behind the curtain. You know, who is it really? You know, who’s running this operation? So do you ever wanna start the podcast?

Jennifer Kelly:

Yeah. Well, it’s important too because, a lot well, it seems like a lot of our clients before they work with us, they’re like their number 1 complaint. We’re the best kept secret in the industry. Like, you know, like, we’re better than these guys and these guys. We have more, you know, innovative technology than those guys. Like, well, yeah, you gotta get your story out there.

Molly Ruland:

If nobody knows. Yeah. Then they can’t champion your story. They can’t like you. They don’t want to tell other people about you, you know? I know, like, you know, if I like something, I’m telling people about it. Like, I subscribe to the morning brew. I’m sarcastic. I’m Irish and Catholic.

Molly Ruland:

You know what I mean? My mom’s from Brooklyn. My dad’s from the Bronx. My whole DNA is sarcasm. So when the morning brew came out, I was like, finally, a news digest I can get behind. And then I shared it with a lot of people because I liked it. Right? So it’s like, you know, if you want people to tell your story, you gotta tell it. You know? If you want them to share that story, you gotta tell it in the first place. Otherwise, nobody knows.

Molly Ruland:

Right? And the best kept secret is the worst kept secret, technically.

Jennifer Kelly:

Yeah. Not good. Not good. I mean, it’s great for referrals, the whole bit. That’s great. But, like, you gotta grow your business. Right? If you got this interesting technology, if you’re really solving these problems that, you know, the whole world in your industry has, like, let’s let’s go help some people. Right? So

Molly Ruland:

Well, I think that’s an excellent way to end this conversation. If you feel like you are the best kept secret in your industry and you don’t understand why people don’t know about you, then you should hit up Jen Kelly today because she can help put all that together. Jen’s company is constantly growing and, and is absolutely ready for some new business and new clients and can expand at the drop of a dime. So if you are interested in furthering this conversation with Jen, definitely hit her up in the links below. But, Jen, before we go, what would be the last thing you’d like to leave our listeners with before we say goodbye?

Jennifer Kelly:

Before you wrap up, whatever you’re doing in marketing today, just keep it consistent because that’s, that that would be, 1 of the major problems that we see. Folks go into try this and try that and try this and see something the competition is doing, and then they try that. And then they come back to square 1, and then they just think, you know, maybe marketing doesn’t work for our company. And it’s not true. So whatever you’re doing today, if it is working for you, keep it consistent. So that’s my advice.

Molly Ruland:

I think that’s fantastic advice. Very practical, very realistic, and can be used for anybody with a business big or small. So thank you for that little gem. So, Jen, it was absolutely wonderful hanging out and chatting with you today. You know, we didn’t even get into, like, you living abroad and all that, so maybe we’ll have to have you come back, and we’ll do a whole episode about that. But, cheers to you for being a trailblazer, truly and honestly. And, I can tell from talking to you that you really have a lot of experience and knowledge, and I’m sure that our listeners will resonate with that as well. And, hopefully, the phone will start ringing, and, and hopefully, we’ll see you again.

Molly Ruland:

We’d love to have you come back another time and talk more about living abroad and running a business because

Jennifer Kelly:

will do. Yeah. Whoo. Absolutely. Thank you so much.

Molly Ruland:

Thank you. So thank you for tuning in to Cam Content. I hope you find the information valuable. I know these conversations just seem to be getting better and better every single week. So much knowledge and actionable items that any business can do. So if you’re struggling with getting clients in 2024 and things have changed and your pipeline isn’t as full as it used to be, I hope you enjoy these episodes because this content is exactly for you. So until next time, be excellent to each other, and I will see you on the Internet. Alright.

Molly Ruland:

Alright. Thank you so much for tuning in to the episode of Camp Content. This is Molly. And this is Matt. And we are Heartcast Media, AKA Camp Content, and we appreciate all of your support. If you found this content valuable, please comment on social media, LinkedIn, wherever you find us and we will make sure to comment back. And be sure to go on and subscribe and like on your favorite platforms, Spotify, Itunes, YouTube, you name it. Leave us that subscription to give us that good review.

Molly Ruland:

We’ll love you forever. So until next time, be excellent to each other, and we’ll see you next week. Produced by Heartcast Media.