In The Storyhouse

In this last episode of Season 1 of In The Storyhouse, Jennifer and Erin reflect on the 2017 blogging year and run down five lessons and trends to carry into 2018; from compartmentalizing to 'the business of being you', this episode is a retrospective and a look forward to the ever changing digital influencer space.

This episode is a perfect way to launch into the holiday season with Guest Natasha Sharma, author of The Kindness Journal, TEDx speaker, psychologist, mother and entrepreneur guiding Jennifer and Erin through lessons on balance, finding and celebrating happiness and on the pursuit of kindness. We talk about overcoming the comparison game, Mean Girls and how to truly measure success.

This episode digs into the latest social media craze - Instagram Stories. We invite Kristen Sanger from Shutterstock Custom In The Storyhouse to give us the inside scoop on the development of Stories, how to use them, best practices and where they'll be taking social influencers in the future. PLUS - there is a special update at the end of the podcast including details on new features just added to the platform.

In this episode Jennifer and Erin take things from the brand perspective and ask 'does influencer marketing really work'?; does it work only if there is a big budget? What about smaller businesses? Can they afford to play the influencer market? They also touch on topics such as audience alignment and affiliate marketing.

Jennifer and Erin share details about the moment they 'became digital entrepreneurs' and explore the challenges related to working for yourself as a creative, as a woman, as a mother. They discuss how to manage change, conflict, balance and planning for the future all while working in a medium that is evolving daily.

We welcome Pinterest guru Meagan Williamson In The Storyhouse for Episode 11 and dig into the burning questions facing both bloggers and brand when it comes to using it to grow traffic and tell stories. Meagan walks us through best practices, tips for optimizing the platform and also dives into the emerging relationship between Pinterest and the scheduling app Tailwind. This is a must listen episode if you want to grow your blog or your brand.

Building on Episode 9, Jennifer and Erin dive into the reality of the 'blogging mean girl' - how does that behaviour manifest in the online world and what can bloggers, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs do to make sure it doesn't throw them off track. Also announced, the launch of the In The Storyhouse newsletter and fan-only Facebook Page.

In The Storyhouse for Episode 9 is Christine Martin of Amidst The Chaos, who turned her blog into a full-time business in less than two years. Christine opens up to Jennifer and Erin about the challenges of building a platform, making money and the toll it can take on friendships and relationships along the way.

Jennifer & Erin invite PR maven Keka DasGupta In The Storyhouse for an episode that answers questions like 'how do digital influencers compare to mainstream media?', 'what is a reasonable rate to charge for an influencer package?', 'how do we form meaningful brand partnerships and relationships?'. We also dig into the Brand Headspace and offer insights on articulating our value in unique ways.

Episode 7 In the Storyhouse is all about the 'heart versus the hustle'. Topics covered include 'Millenial versus Perennial' and how some brands are missing a key demographic in their influencer marketing; the struggle to tell good stories while also 'being real'; how the concept of 'being bold' has a new definition in the age of blogging and influencing.

This week In The Storyhouse, Jen and Erin sit down with Designer Shea McGee to talk about growing her business at Studio McGee, listening to her gut, balancing work-life as a young entrepreneur, taking risks and her thoughts on current design trends.

In this episode of ITSH, we are on location in Toronto, CA at BlogPodium 2017. Issues tackled include the brand-blogger pre-nup, tips for Instagram Stories, harnessing the energy of professional conferences and finding the courage to uncover your inner 'awesome'. The episode ends with Jen and Erin's raw and in the moment recording immediately following the close of the conference.

In this episode of In The Storyhouse, Jen and Erin go over some strategies for networking, how to prepare for professional conferences as a blog and as a brand representative and how to fine tune 'your story' to create meaningful relationships. We talk about how to decide if a conference is the right fit and what steps to take before you go to make sure you are getting good value for your dollars spent.

In this episode of In The Storyhouse, Jen and Erin address the listener reaction to the launch of the show - mentioning comments received from bloggers, non-bloggers, and brand agencies. They also tackle the ever-present struggle for digital influencers to 'get on the list' of people tapped for opportunities to work with brands; how to get on the list and stay there.

In Episode #2, we talk about the 'dark side' of influencer marketing, joined by guest Stephanie Fusco of Leopard is a Neutral; how to spot influencers with 'bought' followings; why it's hurting the industry, brands that 'get it' and how to build a stronger influencer-agency-customer relationship.