Dr. Celia
00:00 – 00:17
Hey everyone, welcome to the Biz Mom Life. I am so, so excited. I have my first guest on the show and she is amazing, like you guys are gonna love her. Her name’s Laura Kendrick and she’s a copy co-conspirator and human-centered marketing strategist who helps founders make the marketing feel like actual human experience again.
Dr. Celia
00:17 – 00:31
And as the host of the Holistic Marketing Summit, she’s been diving deep into what happens when strategy, voice, and visibility are approaching with real thoughtfulness, relationship, and what she calls radical hospitality. Thank you so much, Laura, for coming on the show.
Laura Kendrick
00:31 – 00:37
Oh my gosh, Celia. Thank you. And by the way, I’m so honored to be the very first guest.
Dr. Celia
00:37 – 00:45
I’m so excited. Like, as soon as he said yes, I’m like, yay. This is going to be an awesome conversation. And I’m sure, like, my audience is going to love this.
Dr. Celia
00:47 – 01:11
Yay. So I was wondering, so many of us were taught that marketing means putting on a performance like being louder, being bolder, being on more than we actually feel. So for like mom business owners especially like this could lead to like a complete shutdown and exhaustion of what’s required from us. So what does human-centered marketing actually mean and how is it different from what we’ve been told of what we should be doing?
Laura Kendrick
01:11 – 01:41
You know what’s really funny is that I feel like human-centered marketing fits better with moms than with almost any other kind of group of people. Because we’re talking about… thinking about the person at the other end. So when you’re putting out marketing, instead of just kind of performing at your camera or doing a dance for the algorithm, this kind of nameless, faceless entity that you’re like, oh, I’m just supposed to do the thing.
Laura Kendrick
01:42 – 02:10
You’re actually thinking about the human being that is meant to consume it. And you’re thinking about it in a way of like, how do I actually build the relationship here? How do I take care of them in a way that they’re going to feel seen and heard and connected to me so that, you know, maybe they’ll take the next step, you know, and do whatever it is you’re asking them to do in that moment. And for we moms, because I too am a mom, it becomes one of those things where this is where we live.
Laura Kendrick
02:10 – 02:33
You know, we are constantly in this space of almost to our own detriment at times thinking of other people. So if you can flip the script on your own marketing and use that superpower you have honed, holy bananas, like you are now, like now marketing becomes inherent and easy and like, oh yeah, I get that. And it’s rather than this, like, let me dance for the algorithm.
Dr. Celia
02:33 – 02:36
Right, right. Which no one loves to do.
Laura Kendrick
02:36 – 02:38
I mean, there are some people, but they’re not me.
Dr. Celia
02:39 – 02:45
Definitely not me. If anyone saw me dancing, I think they would cut the road running.
Laura Kendrick
02:45 – 02:46
That sounds like a challenge.
Dr. Celia
02:49 – 03:03
Yes, that’s something that should never be on the internet. Believe me. I’m curious, how did you come up with human-centric marketing? Because I’ve never actually heard it in the online space.
Dr. Celia
03:03 – 03:06
Did it come to you over time? Was it like an ah-ha moment?
Laura Kendrick
03:07 – 03:16
Yes and yes. Are the answers there? I mean, I have heard other people use other people that I like. I’ve had conversations about this with my peers in the marketing space.
Laura Kendrick
03:16 – 03:30
And some of them have been actually, it was somebody else who said, it seems to resonate when I say human-centered when I’m talking about this. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that term. But I was like, yeah, that makes sense. It comes from a lifetime of experience kind of building into this space.
Laura Kendrick
03:30 – 03:50
Like, I was a high school teacher. So there’s an idea of like, how do you cater to a whole group of high school kids who would, you know, rather be off at a field party or, you know, a football game or whatever than here? And how do I make U.S. history, of all things, interesting to them? Right.
Laura Kendrick
03:51 – 04:18
So that was all about building connection. And then, you know, as through all this grad school I did, I waited tables, I attended bar, I managed restaurants, and always front of the house. And so that real idea of hospitality folding in. And then at the end of the day, so many of us and I, knowing you Celia, I have to imagine that most of the people who are listening to this are rather kind of empathetic humans who they want to connect with people.
Laura Kendrick
04:18 – 04:50
And part of the marketing that doesn’t feel good in this online space is the distance that it’s asking most people to create. And it just kind of all coalesced in so many ways where it’s like, ah, yes, like this is the thing is we’re all being told all the shoulds and the strategies that are oftentimes truly playing to the specific platform, which, yes, to play the marketing game on those platforms, yes, you have to fold in the best practices. You have to work with the algorithm.
Laura Kendrick
04:51 – 05:14
No, you can’t post an SEO blog once a year and think that you’re going to get anything out of that. You have to do what they require of you. But if we can just kind of check those boxes that that platform requires, yet still thinking about the human being that we actually want to consume it. And then also how are we seeing this as a relationship builder?
Laura Kendrick
05:14 – 05:46
It really changes the game in marketing from that dancing for the algorithm or that like hodgepodging, patchworking all of the things together and then being burned out at the end of the day because you are overwhelmed with how much you have to do, none of it’s working, and it’s out of alignment. Like I feel like that’s one of the biggest pieces of burnout and overwhelm that people don’t talk about is you get there, yes, because you’re doing too much, but you’re doing too much that just feels shitty.
Dr. Celia
05:47 – 06:13
You know what I mean? Especially like The reason you started your business versus how things are turning out over making decisions that don’t feel aligned and true to what you really are wanting to do and doing, you know? Yeah, yeah. So I’m curious, how can you connect as a human when you’re on platforms like social media or email or where there’s like, you’re on the online space, there’s a barrier.
Dr. Celia
06:13 – 06:22
It’s not like that in person, we’re going for a coffee chat and you get to see me and hear me. How do you actually make that connection and form that human relationship?
Laura Kendrick
06:22 – 06:40
That is such a good question and one that rattled around my brain for such a long time. Totally get it. Like, it’s such a good question. And I think it’s, I mean, it’s very multifaceted, but two kind of main pathways you can think of when you’re thinking of this is one, and I know it’s going to sound hokey, but energetically.
Laura Kendrick
06:40 – 07:08
Like, what you’re putting out there, thinking about, the actual person at the other end of it. And not just, well, I’m putting this out here because that’s what my content pillar says, or that’s what my social media manager says, or that’s what my content calendar says. Instead, it’s putting it out there because this is what this person really needs to hear right now, or what I hope they need to hear. And yes, of course, the data will tell you whether or not you’re right or wrong.
Laura Kendrick
07:08 – 07:30
And you can certainly be testing and keep trying. But the other thing is not to be like super icky about your CTAs, like we’re so often taught. So instead of having things that are, put this word here if you want this, or buy now, or things like that, what about thinking about it as an invitation? I like that.
Laura Kendrick
07:30 – 07:45
So very often I’ll put things, and all of mine is genuine, like in my emails. Instead of reply here and tell me this. It is truly an invitation and it sounds like that because I mean it. Of like if this is like, I really want to know guys.
Laura Kendrick
07:45 – 08:15
And the whole tone of the thing is very conversational and very meant to be kind of like two friends hanging out because that’s the kind of brand voice that I have cultivated and that’s the atmosphere I want. But then also like when I make calls to action, even ones that are the buy now in essence, it’s always met with a if this serves you kind of thing. Like if this feels good to you, I invite you to come in. So instead of kind of crashing into people and giving all the…
Laura Kendrick
08:15 – 08:39
fake urgency and the like sending 50 emails that are like just make you just feel slimy at the end of it where you’re like get this no you need it now it’s just like hey i’ve got this thing and if this feels really good to you i would love for you to come in and also by the way if you know somebody send it to them and being really honest about it too. By the way, like we’re all in this together. We all get it.
Laura Kendrick
08:39 – 08:50
We’re all trying to float the boats at the same time. So all of that, like people can feel it and they feel the genuineness of it rather than the car salesman.
Dr. Celia
08:52 – 09:22
right right right and as you were speaking like this kind of like popped into my head like i noticed that like it comes out a lot more when you do like sales emails especially that like somewhere along the line like you have your normal tone when you do your nurture and regular emails when it comes to sales emails then there’s a lot of like buy now before XYZ or click here or, you know, I was just curious, like, how do you bring that into your sales emails or when you’re actively launching or?
Laura Kendrick
09:22 – 09:39
Well, here’s the thing, is that if your marketing is all tied together, which it is, I mean, the thing is, is the things you don’t think are marketing are marketing. The way you treat your clients, it’s marketing. The way you onboard them, it’s marketing. Like, it all, it is very holistic.
Laura Kendrick
09:39 – 10:15
And the thing is, is if it’s all thoughtful and queued up well and really kind of mapped out in some way, even if it’s not like literally drawn out a map with arrows, if you’re just like in your mind, people come in here and then they come through this kind of hallway and walk through this door and I’m inviting them to sit down at this table. That makes it so that you have, by the time they get to that table, you know whether or not that table is right for them. And here’s the thing, the icky and slimy sales feels really bad.
Laura Kendrick
10:15 – 10:42
because those sales tactics are taking out people’s autonomy to make their own decisions. It’s assuming that the person at the other end is too dumb to decide for themselves and you have to hard pressure them because they just can’t figure that out. They don’t know this is the right option for you. Versus I think of it with this idea of radical hospitality of I have cultivated this space and I am inviting you to come into it if it feels right for you.
Laura Kendrick
10:43 – 10:55
And if it does, walk on in, sit at this table, welcome, let’s have a cup of tea and talk about it. But if it doesn’t feel right, that’s okay too. It doesn’t mean that this table is going to disappear forever. You will have an invitation.
Laura Kendrick
10:55 – 11:01
You know what I mean? It’s like a dinner invitation to somebody. Like, I’m inviting Celia to dinner on Friday night. She can’t come.
Laura Kendrick
11:01 – 11:06
Okay. Well, I will try again one day. It’s not a one and done.
Dr. Celia
11:07 – 11:11
Right. It’s like you’ll never speak to me ever again because I declined an invitation. How offensive. I know.
Dr. Celia
11:11 – 11:14
I know. Oh my gosh. I lost a friendship.
Laura Kendrick
11:16 – 11:35
I should have just said yes. Right. But that’s how sales treat it. And interestingly, if you actually look at it, And look at the buyer journey and also the sales psychology of how certain people buy and what they need to know and where they are in their particular scope of things.
Laura Kendrick
11:36 – 11:49
It doesn’t, just because they don’t buy right this minute does not mean that they’re not going to buy later. It just means right this second was not the right time. And you know what? Far be it for me.
Laura Kendrick
11:49 – 11:55
to dictate to you that it’s the right time in your life to have to buy this thing right now.
Dr. Celia
11:55 – 12:09
Right. And like as mom business owners, like we already been through like the block and like we experienced a ton of programs, ton of this, ton of that. And it’s just like, you know what, we’re going to do it on our own time. We’re going to pick what feels good and what resonates.
Laura Kendrick
12:09 – 12:33
And it doesn’t mean that like, cause sometimes it is real, you know, like you have live cohorts, they have end dates, but actually a friend of mine just launched a live cohort and I love the way she launches too, but she launched a live cohort and then she sent out an email like right after it started and it felt genuine and not like a like, Oh, this is how I do it all the time. I launched this and then like, you know, Just kidding. There’s two more spots.
Laura Kendrick
12:33 – 12:47
But she sent out an email that was like, we already got started, but this is the very last time I’m doing it with this much high touch. So I just wanted to make an invitation. I’ve opened up two more spots if you’d still like to join, come on in. So it wasn’t crappy.
Laura Kendrick
12:48 – 13:04
There is a sense of urgency. She did layer on honest urgency that she doesn’t believe that it’s going to be in this exact container again. She’s going to put it in a more Dialed back version. So for the right person who was kind of on the fence and is like, okay, let’s do it.
Laura Kendrick
13:04 – 13:25
And that’s okay because that’s their decision and she’s not pressuring them. But it’s not like, so I get that at the end of the day, there are moments of urgency where like there is an actual date where you’re starting something or there is an actual launch. So there is an open and close date. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t have to be like, oh my gosh,
Dr. Celia
13:25 – 13:31
At one point, I remember being on a sales call with somebody who was like, with every person who signs up, the price goes up. And I was like, bleh.
Laura Kendrick
13:31 – 13:35
Like, what cultivated urgency that is.
Dr. Celia
13:36 – 14:08
I think you hit on something. No one really talks about honest urgency versus the, I guess for lack of a better way of saying it, the bro marketing urgency. and I think that’s something even like ethically just bringing that more into your business just like honest urgency. Like I love what you said with the example of that live launch where they were just honest like hey this is going to be a different type of container join now because of xyz not like all right I have two spots but I really have 10 but you
Dr. Celia
14:08 – 14:27
got to sign up right now because I think also like Especially mom business owners who’ve seen the weight, the ebbs and the flows of marketing and seen it all, it’s not new stuff anymore. Things that happened in 2018, it’s not the same now in 2026, you know?
Laura Kendrick
14:27 – 14:41
Right, yeah. And we can see through it. That’s the thing. The buyer, especially when you’re business to business, the buyer is much more sophisticated, which is a little bit like, yes, we are actually in a trust recession.
Laura Kendrick
14:41 – 14:57
That has been documented. That has been, there’s a great report on that. But there’s an element to why that’s happening. And part of it is that, that we are all so much more aware, like we are truly, I know they’ve been saying this since the 90s, but we are in the information age.
Laura Kendrick
14:57 – 15:23
We all have the information. So now, like, I actually think about this sometimes, that the show Mad Men, There’s an episode where Don is doing a campaign for a beer. And his idea is to put the beer in an end cap in the grocery store in his wife’s grocery store. And they’re having the owner of the beer company and his boss and his wife over for dinner.
Laura Kendrick
15:23 – 15:43
And he puts it there basically to con her into buying the beer and proving his point. And she is taken aback at the end of it of like, like, I can’t believe you use me like this. Catches, though, is we all walk into grocery stores now and we know what the end cap is about. We all know that they’re trying to push that thing on us.
Laura Kendrick
15:43 – 16:03
We know that even though none of us in all likelihood who are listening to this are grocery store experts. We know that there is an element to putting the things at eye level, that there’s a point to that and the ones that are on the floor level are kind of just being pushed down because less people are going to buy them and there’s a whole psychology to that. We know these things.
Laura Kendrick
16:03 – 16:23
We know these things about online marketing too. So by trying to like pretend like the person doesn’t know, is just crappy. And by the way, that call that I was on with the person who was upping the price with every turn, I also saw all the sales techniques they were using. And the one was like, hide the pricing until I drop it.
Laura Kendrick
16:23 – 16:29
And then I sit in silence and wait for you to talk. And I knew what he was doing. So you know what I did? Never talked.
Laura Kendrick
16:30 – 16:38
I sat in silence. I made it as uncomfortable as possible and I made him talk. And it was such a fun little psychological game I played on him. But that’s the thing.
Laura Kendrick
16:38 – 16:49
It’s like, I know what you’re doing. This isn’t going to work on me. This is not a tactic that’s going to make me go, yes, take my money. I’m making a decision based on what’s inside.
Laura Kendrick
16:49 – 17:17
And I think a lot of people are missing that. And so if we can lean into, these people know that when I send an email, like I’ve gotten very honest about things like this. being on this podcast, when I share this with my list or on social media channels, I actually like to be really honest about it. And oftentimes it will be set up with something like, guys, I did this collaboration and I want their data in the backend to light up like a Christmas tree.
Laura Kendrick
17:17 – 17:25
Like I want them to walk away and be like, Holy bananas. This was amazing. Look at all the traffic. This makes me feel good.
Laura Kendrick
17:25 – 17:32
Like, I want them to feel good. I want them to feel like this was an amazing collaboration. And I share that with my audience. And you know what?
Laura Kendrick
17:32 – 17:41
They show up. They click. They read. I have people coming back to me that was like, I can’t believe how many people have listened to this.
Laura Kendrick
17:41 – 17:50
I actually just had somebody tell me they just were celebrating the first year of their podcast. And they were like, your episode was top 10. Oh, nice. Nice.
Laura Kendrick
17:50 – 18:10
And it’s not because I have, you know, Amy Porterfield sized audience behind me where I like come in with all my clout. It’s because I ask and I ask graciously and honestly and I tell them what it’s about and invite them if it serves them, but also. you’re doing me a favor, you’re doing them a favor. And by the way, this is how great collaborations work.
Laura Kendrick
18:10 – 18:25
So it’s also kind of showing them how to be an amazing collaborator at the same time. So it’s like all these amazing things and none of it is hidden behind this veil of like, hey guys, click here, because it’ll serve you. Like, oh, well, it also serves me.
Dr. Celia
18:25 – 18:34
Right, right, right, right. Which is like, you’re in the online business is partly to, you know, there’s so many different parts to it.
Laura Kendrick
18:34 – 18:50
Yeah. Being honest, I feel like, and isn’t that funny as moms, we’re like harping on that with our kids of like, honesty, honesty. But then half the time in the marketing world, they’re like, don’t share the whole thing. Well, I’d like my kids to be up front with me and share all the things.
Dr. Celia
18:51 – 18:58
Right, right, right. Same, same here, same here. And I thought you brought up an interesting point. I think the market has shifted.
Dr. Celia
19:00 – 19:11
Before, when I had started, it was a thing where you don’t tell the price until you’re on a sales call. And now it’s starting to shift where people are being more, tell the price, you know?
Laura Kendrick
19:11 – 19:37
Yeah, make it visible. because it’s not it’s not fair to the person on the other end like that is the exact opposite of like hiding it first of all honestly if somebody hides it i’m like this is either really high, which is not that I don’t want that right now. Or it is, I should say, for the most part, I’m not looking for that right now. I mean, sure, if I can’t even think of a good, like, Jason Momoa wants to come over and hang out with me, I’d pay a lot of money for that.
Laura Kendrick
19:37 – 19:39
That’s fine. But you know what I mean?
Dr. Celia
19:39 – 19:41
It’s like, whatever.
Laura Kendrick
19:41 – 19:51
But for the most part, I’m not looking to spend tens of thousands of dollars right now. And that’s what it makes it feel like. And then there’s also an element of like, why aren’t you telling me the price? Like, what are you hiding?
Laura Kendrick
19:51 – 20:17
And what else are you hiding that you’re not, like, I would rather have an upfront and honest relationship. But you’re also, if you’re telling the price, you’re qualifying the person on the other end. So they get to make, again, you’re kind of honoring their own ability to make their own decisions as a whole, complete human being and being able to say, OK, here’s the deal. If this still serves you, click the button.
Laura Kendrick
20:17 – 20:43
And it’s OK if it’s a high price. Because if the person who’s landing there, again, has been through all the marketing, and they are prepared, and they know they need this, and they know the value you bring, it doesn’t matter. They’re still going to click in. And even my Done For You services, which I’m currently moving away from because I’m going to be homeschooling my kids next year, On those forms, I have in there, this is the starting price for these things.
Laura Kendrick
20:44 – 20:53
I need you to confirm that you understand this. And also, I give them the, yeah, that’s great. And also, yes, but I’m going to need a payment plan. So it’s like, OK.
Laura Kendrick
20:54 – 21:07
I respect that. I often need payment plans. Totally cool. But I want you to know that this is this size investment so that you’re not coming to the call thinking, this will only be $0.50.
Laura Kendrick
21:07 – 21:08
And I’m like, just kidding.
Dr. Celia
21:09 – 21:16
Right, right, right. Or it’s just like what you thought is exactly not what you thought, you know? Right, right. Yeah.
Dr. Celia
21:16 – 21:31
So I’m curious, with human-centric marketing, how does AI come into it? Because with AI, when you put your copy in or anything, you kind of lose your tone, lose the humanness. It becomes very polished, but sometimes dull.
Laura Kendrick
21:31 – 21:35
You swear at it a lot.
Dr. Celia
21:35 – 21:39
No. I can’t. My kids are always around. In writing, though.
Dr. Celia
21:39 – 21:53
That’s true. That’s true. Sometimes you do the voice thing, but like, you know, I don’t want that, like, phone call from the preschool. That is my life mission, to avoid the phone calls from the preschool.
Laura Kendrick
21:53 – 22:05
I’m trying to cultivate it. No, I’m just kidding. No, that’s a really good question, and a lot of it has to do with training it, correcting it, and noticing it. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s the thing that is AI.
Laura Kendrick
22:05 – 22:22
So we all know AI is useful. Got it. But also, if you think of AI from your perspective of whatever your specialty is, think about, can AI truly replace you? And the answer is no across the board.
Laura Kendrick
22:22 – 22:41
Everybody has that answer yet somehow we all think that it can replace everybody else which is really funny. We’re so human. Anyways, but if you recognize that then also recognize it has its limitations. So yes, you can correct it and some of it has to do with like actually today.
Laura Kendrick
22:42 – 22:59
Today I was revamping my speaker page, which is an important page, but it’s largely written. It just needed to be shifted to meet this kind of new messaging that’s happening with these new offers, right? And so I was actually having it, there were only a couple sections that really needed to be redone. And so I didn’t have a ton of time.
Laura Kendrick
22:59 – 23:12
I was like, all right, yeah. And it’s so funny because almost every time the like headlines, the points that comes out, it’s so shamey. It’s so othering. It’s so negative of like, fits your website, your marketing sucks.
Laura Kendrick
23:12 – 23:31
And I’m like, whoa, dude, like nah, no. And mine is actually very well trained in my messaging, in my brand voice, all of the things, but it still goes off the, and I mean, it had it right. but the tone was into the negative. And I had to, I’m like, okay, we are not shamey around here.
Laura Kendrick
23:31 – 23:39
We are aspirational. Come on. And it flipped the script and made it positive. I’m like, good enough.
Laura Kendrick
23:39 – 23:42
Let’s go.
Dr. Celia
23:42 – 23:52
But it also says a lot that you took the time to edit it and make sure it sounds more like a human, more like, you know, how someone else would want to receive reading that or hearing that, you know?
Laura Kendrick
23:52 – 24:15
And I think that starts with the question. And really, all of your marketing should start with the question, how do you want somebody to feel when they read this? And that’s honestly how you should be thinking about your brand voice as well and your messaging. It’s not as simple as so many people tell you of just get the, I’m friendly, I’m funny, I’m warm, I’m approachable.
Laura Kendrick
24:16 – 24:32
Great. Those are things you need to understand. But that’s the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your brand voice. And getting it to understand what truly is the feeling that you want somebody to have when they’re interacting with your brand.
Laura Kendrick
24:32 – 24:41
Do you want them to feel as though you are the guru on the mount? Because that’s acceptable. If that’s your thing, good. Then it should always sound like that.
Laura Kendrick
24:41 – 25:04
Mine is much more like best friend bellied up to you at the bar having the conversation about your first ever crush and then also how much your husband sucks right now and how much you love your kids and how overwhelmed you are. You know what I mean? I like the deep dives. I’m totally that person who I am totally fine having dinner with 10 people.
Laura Kendrick
25:04 – 25:20
I’m totally fine having dinner with two people. But also if you tell me we’re having dinner with two people and you show up with 10 people, I have to have like a huge emotional check because I thought we were going to go deep and I was going to be in hog heaven. But I want that depth. I want that feeling.
Laura Kendrick
25:20 – 25:26
I want the humor. I want the like warmth. I want all of that to come through the email. So I have to think.
Laura Kendrick
25:26 – 25:36
when that stuff comes out of like, no, I don’t want somebody to be like, what are you doing wrong? I want them to think, oh yeah, I can breathe into this.
Dr. Celia
25:37 – 26:06
Yes, like it’s cultivating that space of safety and trust, you know? Which is why I’m actually super excited you’re my first guest because this is it, like this right here, the deep dive, the feeling of safety, the just making the person feel like a human being, you know? Because that’s like what for mom business owners we really truly want, you know? We just want to be like treated with respect, treated like a human and valued for our time and, you know, just having a relationship both ways.
Laura Kendrick
26:06 – 26:25
And I think if you stop and think about it, too. So I mean, I’m like opening the cats out of the bag now. But my very first semi-online business was I was teaching birth education classes. And I actually had people, I actually had somebody who came through for pregnancies.
Laura Kendrick
26:25 – 26:49
And actually, she just emailed me again, even though I’ve shut down the business. And every pregnancy she came through my class and it like I had students like that and part of the thing that they loved about me is my honesty about it where one thing that I really held on to is this idea that in pregnancy and in child rearing and in all of it. Yes, there’s the whole thing of like, you’re glowing in pregnancy, it’s exciting.
Laura Kendrick
26:49 – 27:19
But also there’s like, you have to mourn the loss of the life you had before. Whatever that, even if it was one kid and you’re moving to two, like that dynamics gonna change, you’re never gonna have it again. And you have to go through these dark things. You have to, like, your body changes in a way that’s sometimes delightful and sometimes like, awful and depending on like how grounded in your body you were before it can be like truly traumatic to have those changes happen and most people like the you’re the adults in your
Laura Kendrick
27:19 – 27:50
life are just like aren’t you excited and it’s like yeah and also i’m like really not excited because i’m losing the ability to like you know even though it’s selfish to just pick up and go have dinner or to go to a bar or to stay up late or you know what i mean like these really silly things that you took for granted But it’s still part of the human experience to have to let that go. And I think that honesty of being able to say, like, there’s a light and a dark side to this, and some of it sucks. But you have to say it out loud in order to be able to move through it.
Laura Kendrick
27:51 – 28:30
And I think that’s the thing with marketing, too. If you can say and make space for the, like, this is the positive, but also, guys, it is a full nuanced experience that is not just shiny glowy perfection you know it’s it’s a whole thing right people appreciate that right they want to actually know the human behind the brand or the you know the person running the business and outside of like yes and Because we’re often taught, like especially in the Instagram world, of like, they want to see your kids, they want to see you dance, they want to see you on vacation. And like, okay, but also where are your personal boundaries?
Laura Kendrick
28:31 – 28:39
Because you’re allowed to have them. Like, I don’t personally show my children on social media anywhere. Like, they don’t have an internet presence. We’ve actively decided to do that.
Laura Kendrick
28:40 – 28:56
So I will talk about them from time to time, but I don’t show them. I don’t… Like it’s a choice that I make and it doesn’t, like you don’t have to do the things just because they say. So you can choose to be like as honest or share as much or as little as you want.
Laura Kendrick
28:57 – 29:17
And that’s okay. And some of it though is just the honest journey that you’re having right now. Here’s a perfect example. I went dark on my email list for two weeks because my kids delightfully brought a stomach bug into the house and it made its way one at a time through the family and it was awful.
Laura Kendrick
29:17 – 29:30
I was the last one to get it and it was awful. I was like, how did you guys do this? But we, the funny thing is, though, is I was supposed to be doing some collaborations with people, including like a bundle, a summit. There were a bunch of things happening.
Laura Kendrick
29:31 – 30:00
And I went dark because I don’t schedule out that far and, you know, shortcoming. So I sent out an email. that was at least checking the boxes of like hey guys and explaining like we had the stomach bug come through here it’s been a whole thing there have been some things happening behind the scenes i wanted to make sure y’all saw them i’m gonna dive deeper into these this week but just so you have them boom boom boom and people clicked and went in but it was this honest moment of i wasn’t apologizing.
Laura Kendrick
30:00 – 30:17
I wasn’t sitting here wrestling around with, I went dark on my email list. It was simply a life is life and the people are going to understand it. And here, and I didn’t even present it in a way that was please click this. It was just a, there are these great opportunities.
Laura Kendrick
30:17 – 30:31
I just want you to have them as quickly as possible. And one of them, unfortunately, I was like right on the end of this thing, but I wanted to support my friend. I wanted, it was a really cool thing that she was doing. And I wanted to make sure that people had the opportunity to click.
Laura Kendrick
30:31 – 30:38
And so it was just an honest moment of embracing the things and people appreciate that.
Dr. Celia
30:38 – 30:52
Yes, especially because like moms, like kids get sick all the time, like things happen all the time. It’s like, you know, the lots of ups and downs and the chaos in between. So just realizing that like other mom businesses are feeling the same.
Laura Kendrick
30:52 – 31:04
Yeah. And it also embraces my style too. I prefer, for better or worse, to create my content in the moment. It’s just energetically, it’s creativity.
Laura Kendrick
31:04 – 31:20
It’s just how I like to do it. So it’s the thing of the upside to it is people can feel it. And they also, sometimes it’s very timely where it’s like, it’s playing into what is actually happening in the world or in kind of things happening. And so it’s easy to be very agile with those things.
Laura Kendrick
31:20 – 31:31
The downside to it is when I drop the ball, it is dropped. But it’s the thing of like, you got to honor who you are and how you work in some capacity.
Dr. Celia
31:32 – 31:44
Right. So I was wondering is like human centric marketing also being aware of who you are, how you operate your boundaries and all that, and then presenting that to your, you know, your audience, your collaborators?
Laura Kendrick
31:45 – 32:25
It’s, I mean, again, it kind of goes to this thing of like, you have to play with the platforms as yours, they need to be played with or else they’re just not going to work for you. right but and and it’s like if you agree to do something you know follow through don’t be that guy but the um but yeah this this idea of folding radical hospitality or human-centered thoughtfulness into your business and your marketing, it’s a two-way street, right? Because just like parenting, we can’t just give, give, give, give, give all the time without expecting to like fall down and die within a week, you know? It’s the thing of like, you also have to take some time for you.
Laura Kendrick
32:26 – 32:54
You have to take care of you. You have to make the space for you. Sometimes you got to make the selfish move and be like, no you can’t we can’t say yes to that party because a mama needs to like and so it’s gotta go both ways right so it’s the marketing and that goes to like if you hate instagram why do you think you have to be on instagram you know what i mean exactly if you hate, I don’t know, being on stages and don’t ever try and be on stage.
Laura Kendrick
32:54 – 33:06
It’s totally fine. Just be who you are and strategically find your way. And those are the things that, yes, we’re fed this line of like, you should have your marketing scheduled out. Yeah, in a perfect world, that sounds great.
Laura Kendrick
33:06 – 33:13
And for things like threads, yeah, I could schedule that all day long. That’s easy. And I do. Those go out, and it’s like, OK, that’s been scheduled for a week.
Laura Kendrick
33:14 – 33:32
But for things like my email, that doesn’t fit. feel good to me. So occasionally I’ll schedule them, but more often than not, if you’re on my email list, you’re going to get emails at the most random times. Because I literally just wrote it and hit send and it was like, send now?
Dr. Celia
33:32 – 33:39
Yep. No, but your real-time emails are awesome. Oh, thank you. You’re welcome.
Dr. Celia
33:39 – 33:46
I love your emails. Like, definitely your email is like, I look forward to it because it’s always so different from like what I normally read.
Laura Kendrick
33:46 – 33:53
I love hearing that. And that’s the thing. Like, I think all of us want to hear that, right? That it’s not just cookie cuttered from somebody else.
Laura Kendrick
33:54 – 34:30
I am a firm believer that you cannot copy and paste any facet of anybody else’s business just wholeheartedly on top of your business and expect it to just knock it out of the park. It’s just not going to work because you’re different, your audience is different, your offers are different. There’s nuanced differences in all of it that it’s like you really can’t Like sure, you can templatize little facets, especially for like short form stuff, but you cannot just package up, like this is a business model and throw it down on somebody else and be like, yeah, that’s gonna work.
Laura Kendrick
34:30 – 34:41
No, it’s just not gonna work. And you’ll burn yourself out. Your people will be like, what? Because people want different and they wanna feel the individual humanity behind it all.
Dr. Celia
34:42 – 34:50
Right, right, right, right. Laura, this has been so valuable. I love this interview. Where can our listeners find you and learn more about your approach?
Dr. Celia
34:51 – 34:56
And what do you have available for mom business owners who want to dive deeper into the human centered marketing?
Laura Kendrick
34:56 – 35:06
Oh, my gosh, they Yeah, first of all, this was super fun. Thank you for having me. And it was truly I’m so honored to be the first guest. I can’t wait to share it with my email list in a in the moment email.
Dr. Celia
35:06 – 35:08
It’s going to be great. I can’t wait to read that.
Laura Kendrick
35:10 – 35:27
But I’m at cheekycopy.co because apparently comm was taken. But that’s my website. I am also on most of the socials at Cheeky Copy and like Instagram threads. I do have a Facebook page, but I should want, I don’t actually, I was just talking to somebody.
Laura Kendrick
35:27 – 35:50
There’s not a single follower on there right now. Maybe one of you guys will be the first. But also on YouTube and I think that’s all the things right now. And I do have a private podcast that you can jump into called Welcome In, This is Hospitality in Marketing, which we just dive a little bit deeper into what this looks like, how this came around in my head.
Laura Kendrick
35:50 – 36:10
We actually talk a little bit about the ERAs tour. and some really interesting kind of places where hospitality kind of folds in in places you wouldn’t think about. And then at the end, I actually talked to a number of business owners who are folding this idea in their own way. Some of it, some of them had words for it, some of them didn’t, into their own businesses in really unique ways.
Laura Kendrick
36:11 – 36:23
So you can walk away with some ideas of how you might be able to start thinking about this a little differently and apply it in your world. So that is free and, you know, just a fun little thing to dive into.
Dr. Celia
36:24 – 36:38
Definitely check it out. I can’t wait to check it out myself. The link will be in the show notes and also the website. And any questions or anything, feel free to reach out at Celia at MindsetCoachMD.com and we’ll talk to you next week.
Dr. Celia
36:38 – 36:40
Thank you guys so much and we’ll talk to you soon.
