Summer is officially here, which means it’s time to talk about how you’re going to market your business this summer (and share my best summer marketing tips)
Listen, whether we like it or not, most of our businesses have seasonal fluctuations. And even if they don’t, your audience reacts to and consumes content differently depending on the season. Another Pinterest manager I follow posted the other day and said something like, “Just a reminder: analytics drop every single summer. Fewer people are online, more people are going outside. Touch some grass and stop refreshing your analytics.”
I just love that perspective, and I think you can apply it to any platform.
There are really two ways to handle the fact that we’re marketing our businesses online while fewer people are online. On one hand, you can double down and do more. That’s a great idea if you have the capacity and energy for it, because the reality is that fewer of your competitors will be posting over the summer too.
But for me? I find it a little hard to go hard during the summer. I’m distracted. I want to have fun. That’s kind of the whole point.
So in this episode, I’m going to talk about why I’m personally choosing the other option: to scale back strategically. You’re not going to see me drop off the face of the earth, because I think that’s the worst strategy. (Last fall I had Taylor from Enji come on to talk about the whole “but what if we just didn’t market our business this summer?” question. Hopefully that won’t be you this year.)
Table of Contents
If you’re new here, I’m Kara, and I specialize in search-driven marketing. Basically, getting you found online. I work with small business owners who have something to sell, mostly through blog writing, Pinterest management, podcast show notes, and all that kind of fun stuff. And if you’re a regular listener, thank you so much for tuning in again. I appreciate you.
Now let’s get started.
Full disclosure: I usually do some kind of summer marketing episode, just because it’s naturally timely. So I went back and listened to the one I aired last year about my summer marketing plan, and I was in a very different season of life. I had a higher capacity then, which I think is important to address, and I had about six platforms I was planning to be fairly active on. In that episode, I also disclosed that I have a whole team helping me. So I’m not sitting here saying six platforms is attainable for most small business owners.
Here’s the thing though: even with the same team as last year, I’m cutting it back almost in half. There are really only three platforms I’m giving attention to this summer.
So I’m going to talk about why that is, what I’m personally choosing, and then of course some tips to market your business this summer as effectively as possible in as little time as possible.
What I Was Doing Last Year (Spoiler: Too Much)
Last year, I told you I was going to blog three times a week, which I did, by the way. But it was a little bit of a cheat to say that, because one post was dedicated to a podcast episode, one was dedicated to the YouTube video that went live that week, and one was straight-up evergreen blog content. I also had a weekly YouTube video, a weekly podcast episode, a weekly email, plus Instagram posts, Pinterest, and Instagram stories.
I was literally trying to do all the things. Reading that back, I was having flashbacks. Oh my gosh, that was so much.
But the advice I gave then that I still 100% stand by is this: at the minimum, you need one awareness platform and one nurture platform.
The Framework: One Awareness Platform, One Nurture Platform
This might be the most important of the summer marketing tips.
You need one platform where new people can easily find you. I believe the best way to do that is through search-driven marketing, so SEO, blogging, Pinterest. I’ve heard TikTok is great for discoverability too, though it’s not something I’m on.
And then you need one nurture platform, which could be your email list, Threads, Instagram, anywhere you have a chance to connect and get more conversion-focused content in front of people.
I still believe that’s the framework. One awareness platform, one nurture platform. And as you grow, you can start to have two of each, then three of each.
They don’t have to be in a perfect one-to-one cadence, either. If you have one really strong nurture platform, you could have five awareness platforms all leading back to that one, if that works for you and your audience.
Do diversify, though. If you listen to this podcast regularly, you know I believe in diversifying your marketing. We don’t know when a platform is going to change the algorithm on us, or when our audience might shift. We hear “diversify your revenue” all the time, and I really think marketing is the same. You’re in the best position when you diversify everything in your business.
The Three Platforms I’m Focusing On This Summer
So this year, I’m focusing on just three things.
First, podcasting. I’m going to put my very best foot forward here. You might have noticed over the last couple of months that I’ve been repurposing more than I ever have in the history of having a podcast. It was a busy season. But this is 100% where I’m focusing my energy and my best content.
Next, my email list. I send weekly emails on Thursdays, so if you’re not on the list, head to thekarareport.com/newsletter to start getting them. The podcast and my email list are really where I’m going to nurture and connect with people this summer.
And then Threads is going to be more of my discoverability platform, which is a new one for me.
Now, you’ll notice I didn’t say Pinterest or blogging. And I’m sort of cheating here, because I blog every single podcast episode, and my Pinterest is scheduled so far out that I’ll be maintaining it all summer without much effort. I’m just really ahead, thanks to some fun new AI things I’m experimenting with, which I’ll share more about once the results are in.
So it’s not that I’m ignoring those platforms. They’re actually my two favorites. It’s just that they’re so locked in that I can take my foot off the gas on doing anything extra over the summer. That’s a position I’d love for you to get to, if you want to, and if you want it off your plate, you know you can reach out to me.
The logic behind my summer marketing plan
Threads is the one I’m paying more attention to this year for awareness. I think a lot of conversations are happening there, and it’s easy to get reach while staying relatively low effort. I have so much content, I create so much content, and I’m a words girly. So I don’t think this is going to be a hard platform for me to be consistent on. It makes sense to focus my energy there to get in front of new people.
And here’s how I’m thinking about it (sorry to jump around on you): if my podcast content is solid, my email and Threads content should be easy. Not because I’m just regurgitating what I say on the podcast, because that’s not what I’m doing. Okay, that’s part of it. But it’s not the only thing I’m doing.
I really believe this, especially during the summer when your capacity might be lower. I know mine is. We have a few trips coming up, we’re going to take long weekends here and there, and I’m going to enjoy my summer. In order to do that, I need the things I’m doing to still be working for me, because I love my business, I love my customers, and I want to do more of it.
So that’s what I’m focusing on this summer.
What I’m Cutting (and the Honest Reasons Why)
Now, as for what I’m cutting, I’m going to explain my logic. But I’m not telling you to just do what I do and cut everything I cut.
Instagram: Gone
First, Instagram. Gone. I quit Instagram in November and I haven’t looked back. The short version is this: I gave it a hard, hard push for about six months, and that was after six years of being consistent. I put in infinitely more effort in those last six to eight months before I decided to quit, and the numbers did not move. So, we’re done.
I might show up more on stories (I want to talk about why a little later), but I’m not making it part of my marketing. I don’t expect to get clients from it at all.
YouTube: Paused
Then there’s YouTube. This one I’m just pausing.
I feel weirdly vulnerable sharing this, even though it doesn’t really matter. I made YouTube a major part of my strategy back in January, and I’ve just been struggling to do it. I’m struggling to record the videos. And I don’t want to spend the time or capacity editing them myself. Video editing is expensive, not because my editor isn’t worth every penny (they are, it’s genuinely hard work), but since I can’t do it myself, it adds up.
I struggle to say it hasn’t been paying off, because I don’t think I’ve given it enough time, effort, or consistency to really know. I’m not taking it off the table forever. But I felt like I was starting to phone it in, and why am I paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month for videos I’m phoning in? You know what I mean?
So I decided to pause it for the summer and revisit in the fall.
If you’ve noticed so many of the business owners you follow getting on YouTube lately, that’s because it’s such a smart platform to invest in right now. It’s search-driven, which you know I love. The video piece is huge for connection and sales. And it’s long-form content, so it’s great for repurposing. There are so many reasons that if you were only going to choose one platform, I’d almost argue for YouTube. And yet, I was still struggling to do it.
So instead of feeling guilty all summer, which I refuse to do, I’m pausing it and reminding myself: there’s always more. There’s always more I could be doing.
And sometimes, especially in the summer, we just need to choose what we’re going to drop, and choose it in advance. I’m choosing it now, on purpose. Not because I keep staring at it on my to-do list and moving the deadline.
Now, onto the practical summer marketing tips!
Summer Marketing Tip #1: Keep It Fun
So now that I’ve thoroughly roasted my own marketing strategy for the summer, let me share some summer marketing tips that I think are really important right now.
First: we have to keep our marketing fun. I know some of us have serious brands. I’m thinking specifically of luxury brands, where things can feel a little stiff sometimes.
Especially in the summer, what I’m finding is that people who are having fun with their content are so magnetic. I want to watch you have fun this summer. I want to see you in different locations. Can I just say that? And I don’t think it’s just me. We want to see you out enjoying your summer and living your life.
That doesn’t mean you have to share a ton of personal content. Goodness knows I won’t be. But this ties back to what I said earlier about touching on stories.
I stand by quitting Instagram. It was the right decision for my business. But if I’m being honest, sometimes I do miss it. If I had to name one thing I miss, it’s the connection and conversation that would happen when I’d post a simple story. My cute coffee, something fun I did with my kid, what I’m doing that day, what I’m thinking about. The most low-lift thing. Not showing up face-to-camera and yapping, although I think that’s incredible when people do it well. Just, “I want to see you out and about. I want you to see me out and about. I want us to both enjoy each other.”
I know that sounds a little weird. But have fun this summer. Know that my business is allowing me to enjoy my summer, and your business is allowing you to enjoy yours. That makes me want to buy from you.
Create the content you want to see
This might be another little tangent, but I feel like a lot of people are getting a little too vulnerable and authentic online in a public forum right now. We know business can be hard sometimes. We know the market has changed. People aren’t buying as fast, and on and on.
But here’s the thing: just because it’s true for you doesn’t mean it’s true for every single person out there. And that kind of content doesn’t really make someone want to buy from your business. I’m hesitant to say that, because I know some of us don’t have a sense of community outside the online space. But if that’s you, focus on building one. Focus on having a friend. I’m voice-messaging my friend Laura all day, every day. Every single thought in my head goes to her, and she’s doing it right back to me.
If you do one thing for your business this summer, make it look fun. Make your life look fun. That’s the best summer marketing tip I could possibly give you.
Nobody wants a seven-part “how to fix your website in 30 days,” or anything heavy. The best you’re going to get is a “save it for later.” People are tuned out. They just want to have fun. And if they see you having fun, they think, “Oh yeah, I do need a new website. I should reach out.”
Circling back to my own marketing: when you aren’t spread thin, you have more room to enjoy what you’re doing. So if you heard my earlier spiel and thought, “I’m not cutting back on anything,” let me say it again. It’s okay to cut back. You might have places you can cut. And if you don’t want to cut platforms, maybe you cut back on cadence, how often you’re posting. Because when you’re spread thin, it is so hard to have fun with your content. It really is.
Same goes for checking your analytics every three seconds. Just have fun. Have fun with your life, have fun with your content. Isn’t that the best advice you’ve ever heard?
Summer Marketing Tip #2: Repurpose (But Repurpose Well)
The next big one: repurpose, but repurpose well.
There’s so much you can do with AI now. Here’s an example from my own business, and you might find a way to apply it to yours. I have a podcast episode going live every Tuesday, and the blog post goes up every Tuesday too. Then I have a scheduled task in Claude Cowork that scans for the latest blog post and builds me a Threads document, basically a week’s worth of threads promoting that episode.
Now, I don’t want my Threads content to only promote the episode. It gives me about 12 threads and I might use four of them. But it’s on autopilot. I’m not even typing the prompt. When I open Cowork, the doc is just waiting for me. So on Wednesday, I can go schedule my threads in Enji and move on with my day.
When we talk about repurposing, we can also look at past content we’ve created and repost it, recreate it, reshare it. There’s so much you can do with it.
This episode is nothing like the summer marketing episode I aired last year. But I got the idea by looking back at past episodes. I asked myself, “What should I talk about?” and landed on, “Oh yeah, summer marketing.” The difference is that what I have to say about it in my current season of life is completely different. I’m a little busier, I’m feeling a bit more burnt out on marketing and business in general, and I also have a really full life right now in a way that I love.
So the advice I’d give, and how I’m currently feeling, is so different. But the topic itself isn’t some brand-new reinvention of the wheel.
I’m really going to treat my weekly podcast episode as my anchor, and then find ways to share about it in my email and on Threads. And I already have the Pinterest piece handled. The point is, I’m not trying to come up with eight unique topic ideas and spread them across platforms, because that’s hard to do. You’ll eventually phone it in, unless you have help and enough white space to actually think creatively about that many things.
Summer Marketing Tip #3: Build a Little Runway
This next tip might be a little late depending on when you’re reading this, but if you have a chance to get ahead and build a little runway so you can unplug for a bit, I highly recommend it. I know I’m publishing this at the very end of June. I probably should have given you this tip in May.
But for example, with the podcast, I’m trying to record two episodes a week for the next month to get ahead. Not even so I can take time off, but just so I have some room if life happens. And by “life happens,” I don’t mean it in a negative way. I mean I’m out and about and I’d rather go to the park with my four-year-old than record an episode. Or I’m feeling uninspired one week and I don’t have to choose between “I have to post” and “I have to skip a week.”
Summer Marketing Tip #4: Keep It Light, But Plan for Q4
The other thing I want to tell you: even though I think the best strategy is to keep it light, do start thinking about Q4.
I’m going to be launching my AI blogging membership again in September. Since my podcast episodes are my anchor content, I’m planning out all the episodes I want to go live. They’re not all blogging-related, but you better believe the ones close to my launch are.
I might talk to you about marketing and business strategy for the next eight-ish weeks.
I don’t have it perfectly mapped out, I’m kind of brainstorming out loud here, but I’m going to come up with my juiciest, most shareable, most clickbait-y topics, because I want to market those on Threads and get more listeners to the podcast.
That’s my plan for the next eight weeks or so. Then closer to the launch, I can move into the heavier stuff: why blogging is so important, the AI tools you need to use (mine), how to blog, and so on.
So as you think about your summer marketing, treat your summer content, your fun content, your lighter content, as a way to get people into your orbit and introduce yourself, your brand, and your philosophies. Worry about the heavy selling later. That doesn’t mean you have to have an official launch like I will for the membership. It just means you can save the more industry-specific content, the stuff people need to sit down and focus on, for the fall.
Summer Marketing Tip #5: Embody What You’re Selling
One more thing I’ve been thinking about: embodying what you’re selling.
I had Sabrina Gebhart on the podcast a while back, and I’ve mentioned this before, but it was one of my favorite interviews. She’s a business coach for photographers (she actually coaches across industries now), and she really embodies what she sells. Our episode was all about prioritizing joy, walking away from easy money, and embracing seasons of hustle.
Since our conversation, which was a few months ago now, I keep coming back to this: blogging, Pinterest, and search-driven marketing are the things that will help you build a sustainable business and live a life you love.
Right now, I’m focusing on being my own case study again, in a way I really like. And I want you to be your own case study too.
I know we’re not all in the B2B space, but the principle applies across industries. If you’re a wedding pro, throw your own parties, invite your friends over, host people. Do the things. I hope that makes sense. As someone who has a tendency to fall into work all the time, this is something I’m personally working on: actually embodying the life I’m selling.
I don’t know, that sounds more forced when I say it out loud than I actually mean it. But that’s it for my summer marketing tips.
A Little Summer Challenge for You
If I were going to challenge you, it’d be this: give yourself one thing you want to practice this summer in your marketing, while fewer people are paying attention. Maybe you’ve never done a green screen reel. Maybe you’ve been doing B-roll and want to practice “yapping,” like the yap challenge everyone’s talking about. Maybe you’ve never tried blogging.
For me, the skill I want to get better at is taking B-roll, which is funny because I’m not the Instagram girly. But I want to get better at it for my YouTube videos when I start YouTubing again, almost like vlog-style content. I was at this drag streetcar event with a friend recently, and she was actually hired to do content creation and B-roll for it. We went to the same event, and what ended up on her iPhone versus mine was so vastly different. I was like, “Okay, you have an eye for this.”
Not that I didn’t think it was a skill before, but it really showed me how two people can see the same thing and walk away with completely different footage. That’s a skill I’d like to improve this summer. And what better time than when fewer people are paying attention?
So anyway, that’s all for me this week. If you read to the end, thank you so much. I know I shared a lot about my own business, but I hope it was helpful as you think about yours.
I’m excited to spend the summer with you. I’ll chat with you next week.
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