{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/612f97acc68da9001203e9e6/6a85a281a835875d379f82b3?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Build the Community Before You Sell: Pretty Little Marketer","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/612f97acc68da9001203e9e6/1787142185925-9b328e25-fa34-4787-b882-ee94451f935f.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Natalie Pearce sits down with Pretty Little Marketer founder Sophie Miller to explore how listening to your audience, experimenting in public and building genuine connection can turn an online following into a thriving business.</p><p><br></p><p>What started as an Instagram page Sophie created while feeling lost about her own marketing career has grown into a community reaching more than half a million people. Sophie shares how she built Pretty Little Marketer without a traditional business plan, responded to what her audience actually needed and eventually turned years of trust and community-building into a sustainable business. She also explores choosing the right social platforms, getting comfortable with being seen trying and why the systems behind your business matter long before you think you'll need them. </p><p><br></p><p>Whether you're building an audience, growing a founder-led brand or trying to turn an engaged community into a viable business, this episode offers practical lessons on social media, experimentation, advocacy and building around the people you want to serve.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p><ul><li>Starting before you know exactly what your business will become</li><li>Getting comfortable with the cringe of trying something new in public</li><li>Turning an Instagram audience into a genuine community</li><li>Why Sophie built Pretty Little Marketer by responding to what people asked for</li><li>The difference between building an audience and building a community</li><li>Creating connection between your customers, not just between them and your brand</li><li>Why community advocacy can become a powerful growth channel</li><li>Being an advocate for your business without making yourself the entire brand</li><li>Choosing social platforms based on what you want to be known for and who you want to reach</li><li>Why doing one platform well can beat trying to be everywhere</li><li>Using new platforms as a sandbox for experimentation</li><li>Why systems and processes can future-proof a founder-led business when life doesn't go to plan</li></ul><p><br></p>","author_name":"Virgin StartUp"}