Marketing Happy Hour - Affiliate Marketing 101 | Sarah Miotti (prev. Beachwaver Co.)

Starting point is 00:00:00 you're listening to the marketing happy hour podcast where we discuss career and industry insights with our peers in marketing we're here to talk about it all like the ups and downs of working in social media how to build authentic relationships in the influencer and pr space managing a nine-to-five and a side hustle at the same time, how to be productive in your life and career without losing your sanity, and more. Ultimately, we're here to build a community with you because we're all trying to navigate the world of marketing together. Are you ready? Grab your favorite drink and join your hosts, Cassie and Erica, for this week's episode. Sarah Miotti, an integrated

Starting point is 00:00:53 marketing strategist formerly with Beach Waver Co. joins us for a conversation on multi-channel tactics for building community and increasing conversions. More specifically, Sarah dives into how to actually drive sales using an affiliate marketing program and KPIs you should be tracking. Plus, she shares advice for aiming for a director of marketing position in your career and making big leaps to new positions and even taking time off. Lastly, Sarah gives us her tips for building an engaged team, increasing retention, and becoming a better leader in the marketing space. I am so fired up by this conversation and I know you will be too. So you know the drill, grab your favorite drink and let's get into the conversation.

Starting point is 00:01:37 Hi Sarah, how are you doing? Hey, I'm doing so good. Thanks so much for having me. I've just been like a long time listener and I genuinely love you guys. I love your show. I love that it has just such an approachable take on all things marketing and branding. So every time I listen, I swear it feels like I'm just like sitting at happy hour with a girlfriend chatting about work. So I'm so excited. We're going to have to use you as our new spokesperson because that's an amazing review. Thank you so much for that. That's amazing. I'm so glad that we connected on LinkedIn a couple weeks ago, and I'm excited to dive into your story today. But before we get started, I have an important question for you that I'm sure you know is

Starting point is 00:02:20 coming, and that is what is in your glass this afternoon? Yes, of course. So it's 9am here in Phoenix. So I of course need my coffee. And ever since we moved here from Chicago, I've been obsessed with Dutch Brothers. And I was so excited when you had their social team member on your show a few weeks ago. And I'm just like such a sucker for great branding. And there's just like so phenomenal. Went to pick up my cold brew this morning, my dog was in the car and they gave her this like adorable bandana that says Dutch pup on it. Oh my gosh. So cute. Like all their customer service

Starting point is 00:02:59 and just everything about them is awesome. So yes, I'm working on my cold brew right now. Oh my gosh. I love to hear that. I love to see, like, we don't have Dutch Bros here in Florida. So I love to see somebody enjoying it in another state where they have it. I was supposed to go to Nashville this upcoming weekend. And I was like looking to see if I could even stop at one on my ride up. But I'm not even going to end up going anymore.

Starting point is 00:03:21 Too busy to do that. But hopefully the next time I'm on my way, I will be stopping because it sounds so good. It's so good. Yeah. Yeah. And then whenever I, you know, during happy hour, my favorite new drink that I've been so excited to share with you is called Parch. It's this like non-alcoholic agave canned cocktail brand. You may have seen it, but they're founded and based in Arizona and they're female owned. And I got to work with their team recently on a few projects. So I definitely recommend checking them out. It's drinkparch.com and their Instagram is so cute. They have this like amazing branding. That's all like the desert theme and all of that. So my favorite is the prickly Paloma. If you check it

Starting point is 00:04:05 out. Oh my gosh. You know what? I think I have seen that brand before. There's this really cute farm to table restaurant in Michigan, um, up North and my friends and I always go there and I know that they have their cans there because I remember my friend got one the last time we were in their little like mobile bar area. Um, and I did try it and it was delicious, but yeah, that's so exciting. Thank you for sharing that. I just want to share really quick. I have this drink called wild wonder. It's a prebiotic and probiotic sparkling drink in the flavor guava rose. It is delicious. I'm not really like a soda person, but this one is like light and refreshing and kind of like the perfect little pick me up beverage if you're looking for something in the

Starting point is 00:04:50 afternoon. But they were kind enough to send these over to us. So we've been trying them and enjoying them. So shout out to the Wild Wonder team for that. All right, Sarah, let's dive all the way in here. I'm excited for our listeners to hear your story and kind of learn from you today. But first, could you briefly walk us through your background in media and marketing? Yes, of course. So I have a very diverse background with both agency and in-house roles across a wide variety of verticals. So everything from beauty brands to CPG food brands, pharmaceutical advertising, and so

Starting point is 00:05:24 much more. So we have a lot, pharmaceutical advertising, and so much more. So we have a lot to talk about, and I hope everyone listening can feel inspired or learn something new from my journey. So I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and I pursued a degree in advertising and communication. And my first job after graduating college was as an assistant account executive at a PR agency in Chicago called Finn Partners. So I worked with some amazing clients here, like Levy Restaurants, which is the food and beverage provider at major sports

Starting point is 00:05:50 entertainment arenas and stadiums across the country. FTD Flowers and Exact Target, which was an email marketing software that actually got acquired by Salesforce while I was on the team. So that was really cool to be a part of. So here I got to create media lists, develop creative pitches. I wrote fact sheets and briefing documents, press and blogger gifting. And I remember when I got my first major consumer press hit on E! Online, I was just like so ecstatic. So much fun there. And then after that, I switched to the paid media side at an agency in Chicago that at the time was called Maxis and is now called Wavemaker Global. So here I worked on the ACH food account, which is a parent company for

Starting point is 00:06:31 a variety of baking and cooking ingredient brands like Mazzola corn oil, Fleischmann's yeast, Carol corn syrup. And as the media planner on the business, I helped with the strategy and execution of campaigns spanning various channels, everything from national and local TV, TV sponsorships and in-show product placements, digital and programmatic, radio, print, out of home, everything. And one of my favorite campaigns was for Weber sauces and seasonings, where we had out of home placements at a handful of baseball stadiums across the country, including Chicago's Wrigley Field. So I just get so excited when I'd see our ads during the games. And, you know, we had local radio ads and local targeted

Starting point is 00:07:09 digital ads to support the campaigns as well. And then after this, I decided to make a major shift into the world of health care at an amazing agency in Chicago called Publicis Health Media. So here I worked on media planning with many of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies across a wide variety of therapeutic categories like rheumatology, neurology, hematology, and oncology. So pharma is an extremely challenging but rewarding vertical to work in. You know, the rules of like the FDA and the med legal review process that you have to go through before any ad is allowed to be in market is just super intense. And you know, all the medical jargon you have to learn. But

Starting point is 00:07:50 pharma is definitely something I recommend for anyone who is up for that type of challenge and learning something new. And then after this, which I'm so excited to dive into, I took my first in-house role with a company called Beach Waver, where I got to work directly with the brand's founder and CEO, Sarah Potempa. So for those of you who don't know, Beach Waver is a patented rotating curling iron that was invented by Sarah Potempa, who is also a celebrity hair stylist. And it revolutionized the hair tool industry over 11 years ago. And I was already a fan and a customer of Beach Waver for a couple years before I started working for them. So it was like truly my dream job. You know, Beach Waver also has other products like, you know, shampoo and conditioner, hairspray, dry shampoo, brushes, hair accessories, these amazing fragrances

Starting point is 00:08:35 that I use every day, and just so much more. So it's fun working with like a wide variety of products. And I worked with Sarah to build the brand's direct-to-consumer marketing initiatives. And over the course of four years, I worked on so many projects that I'm super proud of. I helped develop the affiliate programs, the influencer marketing programs. We launched text and email. We did tons and tons of brand partnerships and events. I helped with PR support. And I hired and managed many marketing coordinators and marketing interns and just truly so much more I'm excited to dive into. And I think, you know, everything I share about Beach Raver is just based on my own experience and my own opinions. And I think

Starting point is 00:09:13 that as I talk about it, you'll be able to see that I'm just like genuinely obsessed with the products. So I hope everyone listening will give them a try if you haven't already. They're all over TikTok, so I'm sure you've seen them. Yeah. I remember seeing like right before we hopped on here, I think I saw an ad for them. So definitely feel like everyone who listens to this show has probably at least heard of Beach Waver. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I love it. Yeah. And then six months ago, my husband actually got a new job that relocated us to Scottsdale. So since we didn't really know many people in Arizona and I wanted to meet new people and build a community here, I made the really, really difficult decision to leave Beach Waver and work for an Arizona-based event company as their director of marketing. I love that. Your experience is so well-rounded and I'm very

Starting point is 00:10:02 excited. I feel like there's a lot that we can dive into and learn from you, especially around some affiliate marketing things, some partnership stuff, and even SMS, which was something that I didn't write down on our little question guide, but I do want to dive into because I feel like that's something we haven't touched on a lot. So we'll probably get into a little bit of that. But I also it really wouldn't be, you know, marketing happy hour without some career advice. So your most recent title was director of marketing. Do you have any advice for our listeners who might regard that title or something similar as like their quote unquote dream position? Yeah, totally. So I would be I would just encourage you to be super open-minded about

Starting point is 00:10:47 how you get to that point. You know, there is no right or wrong path to take. So for example, when I decided to accept the position with Beach Raver, you know, some of my peers at the agency I was working at were kind of questioning my decision because I had just been promoted to associate media director and I'd been kind of like just climbing that agency ladder. But I knew in my heart and mind that Beatraver was the right move for me. You know, I loved the brand. I love the founders. I love the products, the company mission.

Starting point is 00:11:13 So I knew it was a leap that I needed to take. And being a part of a growing brand like that, there's no better place to learn and be able to be a part of developing new marketing programs and touch all the different areas of the business. And working directly with the CEO, too, is very rare and exciting. So if you're interested in kind of growing into a leadership position, I think it's important to just always follow your gut instincts and make sure that you're selecting jobs and roles that has an environment where you can grow your overall skill set. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I think it's super like helpful to be open to those opportunities because you don't know what's ahead for you.

Starting point is 00:11:50 You know, like you could be in a low level position and then all of a sudden there's a reorg and they need somebody in this higher up role. And you're there, you've been there, you've been doing the hands-on work and you're top of mind for them. So I always say, you know, be open to opportunities. You never know what can happen there.

Starting point is 00:12:12 Let's get into affiliate marketing. It's something that we haven't really talked too much about on the show. What was your experience like building a personalized high-touch affiliate program with both The Wave and campus wave, which those are awesome names by the way. Oh my gosh. Thank you. Yes. So when I, so when I first joined Beach Waver in 2019, building an affiliate program was like the first major project that I worked on with Sarah Potempa. So these two programs just truly will always have a special place in my heart. So up until that point, Beach Raver was

Starting point is 00:12:46 like a super heavy retail brand. They were in every Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom, every retailer. And Sarah Potempa really had this desire to build a brand community and get to know Beach Raver's customers and share the brand story with them. So Beach Raver already had a ton of organic fans of the product and creating an affiliate program was kind of that natural next step so we created the wave which is just like the general affiliate program as well as campus wave which is the college ambassador program you know so so to build an affiliate program there's of course a lot of technical setup you know you want to evaluate all the various affiliate platforms available. You know,

Starting point is 00:13:28 you want to craft your commission structure and bonus structure for your affiliates. You want to make sure you have a good, you know, contract in place with everyone, even like generating all the unique promo codes and tracking links for the affiliates. And then of course, like we worked with the design team to create all the marketing materials and recruiting materials. And then the actual recruiting process for these programs was so much fun. You know, we built the application forum just on the website, beachriver.com, where people can tell us more about themselves, what they love about the brand and why they want to join as an affiliate. And then the wave is just like an always on program that you can apply for whenever. And then campus wave, only a select number of college students are accepted and you can apply for that each semester. So yes, both of these programs were

Starting point is 00:14:10 just, you know, extremely personalized, extremely high touch. We did monthly webinars where we discussed new product launches, upcoming site promotions. We did tips and tricks with content creation and how to drive sales. We also announced like the monthly gifting campaigns. We shared new press with them. We'd even have guest affiliates like come on the webinars to share more about themselves or teach a new skill. Like, for example, we have this really talented makeup artist in the program who like taught everyone how to do a smoky eye over Zoom ones, which is so much fun.

Starting point is 00:14:43 And the list goes on. So we truly treated our affiliates as like an extension of our internal team. Um, and these programs also included a lot of in real life opportunities, uh, you know, once COVID ended. So, you know, we had like the campus wave top rep trip where the highest performers were flown to Chicago for a super fun brand trip with the leadership team, um, and beever marketing team, as well as in-person opportunities for reps to participate in, like attending New York Fashion Week or Miami Swim Week. You know, we did tons of in-store clubs with brands, with retail brands like Lively that

Starting point is 00:15:16 they could attend. And then, you know, modeling. One of my favorite parts was, you know, selecting ambassadors to come and model for Beach Favors, various campaigns and collaborations at the Beach Favors studio with Sarah Potempa. So, and then also with the wave, I had this idea to launch a virtual styling program where people could do like a one-on-one zoom with one of our professional hairstylist affiliates. You know, if they had like product questions or wanted to learn how to use the products or didn't know what products were the best for them. So I recruited a few hairstylists from the program to kind of lead that program and those customer calls, which was really cool. And then what's

Starting point is 00:15:54 also really cool about Campus Wave, it's like my favorite thing ever, is that so many of these reps that are college ambassadors for the brand actually go on to be interns. And then we even hired a few marketing coordinators from the Campus Wave program to join the team full-time upon graduation. So shout out to Bree and Sydney who are still killing it over there. But yeah, so it was just like super hands-on and so much fun. Oh my gosh, that is so cool. And you're taking me back. I worked for a hair care brand as well, and we did something similar. It wasn't as robust, obviously, as that. It sounds like that was a huge undertaking. But I just remember some of those really awesome opportunities

Starting point is 00:16:35 that I was able to be a part of. And I think that affiliate programs can be so impactful when they're well executed. I'm really curious just to hear how your team stayed so hands-on with the affiliates. Were there kind of specific platforms that you used or dedicated team members for that purpose? Yeah, so because these programs are so high touch, like it just requires a team effort across almost all of the internal teams at the brand.

Starting point is 00:17:06 So, you know, other than the marketing team, of course, that's like leading the charge. There's like the warehouse team who works on putting together all the custom boxes for the reps every month. There's the creative and design team who help with ongoing marketing assets and creative briefs. You know, there's the product development team who put together the product samples for the ambassadors to try before they're launched publicly, which is a really cool perk. There's the product sourcing team who help order like custom swag and everything for the ambassadors.

Starting point is 00:17:34 You know, there's the customer service team who helps when a package gets lost or someone, you know, buying from the affiliate forgets to use their promo code. So I could go on and on. And the brand has made these programs, you know, a priority for community and brand building. So, you know, as they grew over time from 2019 to now, there's now a dedicated team member, you know, building these programs even more and keeping all the affiliates engaged. So yeah, it's certainly a team effort and requires a lot more people than just, you know, the marketing lead.

Starting point is 00:18:11 Oh, absolutely. And it's probably amazing that you have a dedicated team member doing that now, just trying to think through the logistics of like organization and stuff and trying to, you know, talk within departments about what each piece is needed. So that's wild to me, but I love that so much. So the question that we are always hearing around affiliate marketing is more of that, like, how do you actually drive sales successfully from affiliates? You know, it can be fun. Like here's all of our new products, like post about it, like let's, you know, have a great brand love story, but how do you actually drive sales there? Do you have any insight on like how that works or what works?

Starting point is 00:18:46 And then what are some kind of examples of other KPIs engaging the success of an affiliate program if the sales are not immediate? Yeah, totally. So of course sales are gonna be like the ultimate goal when you build an affiliate program, but generally speaking, I'd encourage anyone working in affiliate marketing

Starting point is 00:19:04 to really lean into the community building aspect of it. And just trust that sales will come when you do the community building part successfully. So like, for example, another one of our goals with the affiliate program was to share all the amazing content that the affiliates create for us. So like, if they were okay with it, we'd, you know, repost their content. We'd share it in like social stories and email on the website. And for example, like on Mother's Day, we'd request photos of the affiliates with their mom or their kids if they're a mom themselves. And then like a quote about motherhood to go along with it. And then we'd work with the design team to like put together beautiful graphics to share on social and email and everything.

Starting point is 00:19:48 So things like that, where you're like truly building a community and show that you care is super important. And then I'd say like another soft KPI with the affiliate program is that you're really building these fans of the brand who will support you. So like on social media, they'll like and comment on your posts. They'll reshare your posts. They'll join a TikTok live show. they'll even help answer customer questions. You know, they'll attend your launch parties. So even if sales aren't immediate, if you focus on supporting your community in all of these different ways, your program is only going to grow and get more popular

Starting point is 00:20:20 and then the sales will be, you know, naturally come after that. I couldn't agree more with you. It naturally creates more fans of the brand and those fans of the brand will purchase eventually, whether it's, you know, down the line, maybe they became a fan of the brand in January because of some affiliates, you know, post on Instagram and then, you know, come Black Friday time, they're like, oh my gosh, I love this brand. Let me buy when it's, you know, have a good sale or something like that. So I definitely agree with you. I think that the number one answer to how do you drive sales is you create community, which is something that a lot of people don't realize today, especially in leadership positions, I would say, because, you know, they're all about let's get the most money for the most, you know, the most or the least effort right now and get the most money for that. But which that was very complicated in my head. Hopefully that makes sense. But I think that the real secret to success is building those fans along the way who will continue to buy from you in the future, knowing that you're a brand they can trust, that you're a brand that all of these

Starting point is 00:21:29 ambassadors trust. I just think that's super impactful. So do you have any additional advice for brands that are looking to start some sort of affiliate program? You know, maybe they have no experience in this area. How do you even get started? Yeah. I mean, I have so much advice, but I would say when you're getting started, like go into it with the mindset that you like genuinely want to get to know your community members and support them outside of just like a typical affiliate relationship. So for example, we had an affiliate named Jill who was a director at her local Humane Society in California. And we donated just like a ton of product for her annual charity auction and support her in that way. You know, another one of our affiliates named Alex, she's a super that's located in that area that was interested and available to help as like a brand rep or hairstylist on

Starting point is 00:22:29 site at the event. And even little things like if an affiliate has a baby or gets married or a big life event like that, like I would always go out of my way to like congratulate them and just make sure that like we're being a friend to them as well. So just like go into it with that mindset of like wanting to provide them with additional opportunities and other things like that, that will go a long way in building a successful long-term partnership. Absolutely. And you can apply those same principles to like influencers as well, not just affiliate programs. You know, I remember when I was working at this hair care brand, we would send out, you know, birthday gifts, you know, anniversary gifts, things like that, that just added a little more relationship building aspect rather than just the transactional

Starting point is 00:23:14 of, okay, we're paying you to post, you know, one time or whatever it may be. No, this is a relationship that we want to continue on. And it seems like you were able to do that as well with the affiliate program, which is even higher impact, I'm sure. Okay. One of my favorite topics to discuss on Marketing Happy Hour is partnerships. I feel like everybody knows that by now, if they've been listening to the podcast for a while. I know that done well, they can drive incredible awareness and tangible results. So you spearheaded Beach Wavers first custom product campaigns in partnership with some incredible influencers. Tell us a lot about that.

Starting point is 00:23:53 How did the team kind of realize that was an avenue worth exploring in the first place? Yes. Oh my gosh, so much fun. So Beach Wavers design team is just like this wildly talented, you know, group of women. And, you know, they would internally create these beautiful collections with patterns on the curling irons and tools and brushes and hair accessories. Like they have like the catwalk collection, the floral collection, the neon collection, and literally so many more.

Starting point is 00:24:20 So internally, internally, they made like just these beautiful collections that everyone should go check out. But so we had worked with some incredible influencers on typical paid campaigns, like you described, just like posting on their socials. And we really wanted to take it to the next level with a few of them, where we could work with them to design their very own beach haber collection. So we worked with a variety of creators. We had a fashion influencer, a makeup and beauty influencer, a professional hairstylist, and even a co-branded product partnership with the New York City-based cupcake brand Baked by Melissa, which is delicious. And that was in honor of Beatraver's 11th birthday earlier this year. So it was just like so much fun because we got to get more personal with the influencers and their teams to work together to ensure the overall campaign was authentic and successful. I love that. And I loved baked by Melissa. That's like one of my favorite things. If you're not familiar, it's those like mini cupcakes that you probably see. I think they sell them online. So you probably see them in ads like on Instagram and stuff like that, but they are actually so good.

Starting point is 00:25:26 And her story is actually really cool too. I think she did a How I Built This or a Second Life episode. Those are my two favorite podcasts where she talked all about it. So highly recommend those two, just a little tidbit in there. But back to those collaborations, was there anything kind of surprising that you found about the process of those custom products, like creating them, marketing them, anything like that? Yeah, I mean, maybe not necessarily surprising, but I was just so blown away by the creativity brought to the table by the influencers.

Starting point is 00:25:58 You know, our creative team worked closely with them to make sure that their individual visions came to life within the products and the product pattern. So the vibes of all the designs were so different too. Like one was a Daisy design with her personal affirmations written on it. One was like a super cool retro seventies inspired design. One was this like prismatic rainbow and iridescent pattern. And then baked by Melissa's was this like, you know, their branding, which is a super colorful tie dye design. So it's just like a blast kind of translating all of their individual designs into the marketing collateral and the campaigns in general. And just kind of mixing Beach Ravers voice and branding with the influencers as well. Very, very cool.

Starting point is 00:26:41 Did the process of like marketing these kind of differ at all between, you know, strategies around your other products and then these collaborations or how did that kind of work or did you kind of just, you know, apply the same principles to these that you had for your other products? Yeah. I mean, I'd say the marketing strategies were largely the same, you know, we do like a full social and web takeover with the designs. We seed products to our ambassador program, seed products to the press, promote the collection and email and text. And we leaned heavily on the influencer themselves to promote the product that they designed to their network, of course. So, for example, one of the influencers joined a Campus Wave webinar, which the girls loved.

Starting point is 00:27:23 And she shared her story and kind of chatted through the process of what it was like creating her own beach favor collection. You know, the influencers would host lives on beach favor social channels. And then one of my favorite parts too, of marketing these collections was the launch parties that we did with the influencers. So we did one in Austin, one in New York City and one in the Chicagoland area where the influencers invited their friends and family and we had press attend as well and there's just tons of like you know fun hairstyling and you know just celebrating and good food and and all that type of stuff so those launch parties were just so much fun to plan and execute yeah I remember

Starting point is 00:28:02 doing similar things again I'm'm going to always be referencing in this conversation, my experience at a haircare brand, because we did very similar things, but I remember my experience doing that and absolutely loved it. It was like my favorite part of my job. So definitely identify with you there. Let's shift gears just a little bit. Cause I do want to hear in the beginning, you mentioned a little bit around SMS. Do you have any, you know, tips or tricks for a successful strategy there? Yeah. I mean, I would say that the same principles that you apply to an affiliate program or an influencer program, I would also just urge people to think about it the same way with the same way as their text program. you know, texting is a very intimate communication

Starting point is 00:28:46 platform. You know, like when you're signing up for texts from a brand, like you're a fan, you know what I mean? Like you are accepting that you're going to just get texted at random times of the day by this brand. So you really want to speak to them like they're a friend. You want to make sure that you're giving them quality content and it's not just like, buy this, buy this, buy this. We would mix in editorial and educational content, inspirational content. So really thinking of them as just a friend or a fan of the brand and really fostering that relationship from a one-to-one perspective, which is hard to do when you have a massive email list. But, you know, if you think about it that way, instead of just like a blast, you know what I mean? I think that's what drives the success of Beach Wavers social,

Starting point is 00:29:34 or sorry, Beach Wavers text marketing platform. Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, we all get those text messages from like the local pizza place that every time they text you is just like 50% off today. But it doesn't really do anything to like foster your appreciation or love for the brand. But I have some companies that I won't, you know, text stop to stop their notifications, because I do love what they send out. I know there's one beverage brand that I love called Ouroboros and they're always differing their content that they're sending out. You know, sometimes it's those promotions or whatever. Sometimes it's announcements of new flavors, which people, you know, they're kind of like a, like brand, like cult classic in a way.

Starting point is 00:30:22 So there's people that like die hard for some of their flavors that only come around once a year. So that's always fun to receive. But I think more of the personalized touches, like they'll be silly and they'll just send out like a joke or something, or they'll send out like making fun of one of their team members that people know of because they have this textual relationship with the brand. So I love that. And I think that's super important. And I love how you said you can kind of apply some of the same strategies that you're using when you're having affiliates or you're interacting in a way with an influencer or something like that. You can apply

Starting point is 00:30:56 those same principles to your customers, which is really what you're doing when you're reaching out to them on their phones. So definitely love that. Let's switch gears again. Let's talk about building a team. Whenever we talk to somebody who has built a team, we love asking them about leadership. What do you think makes an effective leader? And then conversely, what do you think makes an effective team member? Yeah, I love this question so much. And I have a ton of thoughts on it. But two qualities that I think make an effective leader that really stand out to me are one, the ability to be vulnerable and two, the ability to be approachable. So it might sound kind of counterintuitive in some ways, but I feel like when you're a very confident and secure person, it allows you to open up more to the people around you and share your genuine

Starting point is 00:31:49 thoughts, opinions, ask more questions, share what's going on in your life inside and outside of work. So when you're growing a team and moving up in your career, you may feel like you need to put this shield up and portray that you have all the answers to everything. But when you're cultivating a team, especially a team of people that are just beginning their careers, there's just so much beauty in being vulnerable and sharing with them like what's going on in your life, what challenges you're facing, what you're excited about,

Starting point is 00:32:16 if you're having a good day and why, if you're having a bad day and why. And I found that just opening up to your team and building that camaraderie that, you know, we're all humans at the end of the day. We don't have everything figured out, but we do have the desire to work as a team to support one another through the highs and the lows, both professionally and personally. And then it goes hand in hand with being vulnerable.

Starting point is 00:32:37 But I also think being approachable is an important quality that you need to have as a team leader. You know, in order to build trust and foster an employee's growth, they need to be comfortable coming to you with any question, any idea, any feedback they have. And this means being approachable across many different communications that we use in the workplace, like face-to-face when you can, in email, in Slack, on the phone, via text, on a Zoom. You know, you need to be able to meet that person where they're the most comfortable expressing themselves and make sure that you're approachable across any

Starting point is 00:33:11 medium. So I think one of the things that I really appreciate in a team member is that they're able to absorb feedback given to them. And feedback is quite a broad term. You know, it's everything from what you think of it as like constructive criticisms or learnings to consider for next time, but it also includes positive feedback. So when I tell a team member that I love the email subject lines that they drafted, or I love a creative brief they wrote for an influencer or how they handled a reporting call, whatever it may be. I want them to truly take that positive feedback to heart and help them build their confidence. I think women especially sometimes have a hard time, you know, accepting positive feedback, accepting compliments. So I think collectively in general, like we just need

Starting point is 00:34:00 to take ownership of our accomplishments and be proud of ourselves. I love that so much. I think I've had, you know, many leaders in my professional career so far and, you know, only a handful were, you know, approachable and personable. The others were like, I don't care about you. I care about work and the work that you're doing. And I, you know, you know, you thrive in an environment where you feel cared about and, you know, work is part of your life. It isn't just the only thing that matters. And I think when you are in a leadership position, it's important to recognize that and to make sure that you are fostering an environment where your team member

Starting point is 00:34:39 feels that they are valued and that they, you know, they can have that work aspect be an enjoyable part of their life and not something that causes them stress even outside of the office. So I love that you said that. Thank you for sharing. All right, Sarah. Well, we initially connected as you're currently open for hire. What would be your ideal next step? I know you moved now to Arizona. So what are you looking to do next? Yeah. So after about six months here in Arizona, I decided to take a career and mental health break just to explore my community, get settled in, spend more time with my adorable two-year-old daughter and just making sure I'm taking care of my mental and physical health. So yeah, now I'm fortunate enough to really take my time with the job search and

Starting point is 00:35:30 make sure that my next move is a great fit. I'm really interested in helping grow brands and implementing fresh and innovative integrated marketing programs. So whether that's in-house or at an agency or even freelance opportunities, we will see. Oh my gosh, that is exciting. Every time I talk to somebody who's open for hire, I'm like, I cannot wait to see what's next. So I am rooting for you, cheering you on. If anybody out there is listening to this, I'm sure you've already, you know, in your

Starting point is 00:35:59 mind been like, wow, she would be a great addition to our team. So she is open for hire. Reach out to her. We'll have all of the links to contact her in our show notes. But first, before we approach the end of the interview here, we love to ask this question on the show. And that is, what do you know now that you wish you knew earlier on in your career? I love this question so much. So, you know, when you're new and you're in meetings and you like, aren't sure if you should speak up and share your thoughts or opinions on something,

Starting point is 00:36:31 like I would always just get so shy and think to myself, like, whatever you say or whatever you think, like someone else has already thought of that, or they already have the answer to that. Or I just, you know, come up with any excuse to not raise my hand. But what I can tell you now after over 10 years in the marketing world is that these people like genuinely want to hear your voice. Like I always, always ask for my team's opinions on things like, what do you think about this idea? Or can you proofread this for me and make sure that it makes sense. So just know like that everyone's different. Everyone brings a different perspective to the table, especially the younger generation in marketing. So just know that your thoughts and your opinions are completely valued and appreciated. And don't be afraid to raise your

Starting point is 00:37:15 hand in your next meeting. I love that. And especially in this industry, when things are changing all the time, and maybe people who are super established in their career, and they're in leadership, they might not have the hands on everyday experience that somebody who's new to the team has. So it is important to speak up and speak your mind. And I know I was the same way. I was always just like, I'll just do what I'm told. And, you know, try to get by and just learn as much as I can. But, you know, most of the time, your awesome ideas are something that's going to really help the business. And so you have to keep that in mind that the ultimate goal is to make sure that you are having a positive impact wherever you go so that the company can flourish and you can flourish with it. So I love that. Well, thank you for answering that for us. Where can everybody find

Starting point is 00:38:06 you follow along with what you're up to now and contact you if they want to hire you? Love it. Yeah. So I've been living on LinkedIn lately, so I would love to connect with everyone there. If you just search my name, Sarah Miyoti. And then my Instagram handle is at Sarah underscore Jano. And I just share, you know, things going on in my personal life and exploring our new home in Arizona on there. So would love to connect on Instagram as well. Yeah, absolutely. And like I said, we'll have everything in the show notes for people to connect with

Starting point is 00:38:38 you there. But thanks again, Sarah, for joining us today. This has been an awesome chat. Thank you. I've had so much fun. Thanks for listening to this week's episode. We hoped you loved it as much as we did. If you enjoyed the conversation, we'd love to get your feedback on the episode. Head to the review section of your favorite podcast app and let us know what you thought.

Starting point is 00:39:18 Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week. We are so excited to share that our first ever free marketing happy hour digital resource is now available. Download the dream career game plan today at marketinghappyhr.com forward slash freebie. That's marketinghappyhr.com forward slash freebie. This five-step workbook will guide you through defining your goals, building your network, diversifying your skills, influencing where you're at and investing in your growth. Cassie and I created this resource with marketing careers in mind, but the framework can be applied to any industry. Our hope is that this workbook will help you truly elevate your career, whether you're in the market for a new position or just looking to make your mark in your current organization. No matter where this resource finds you, we are cheering you on every step of the way. So go check it out at marketinghappyhr.com forward slash freebie to download and make your career dreams come true.

Marketing Happy Hour - Affiliate Marketing 101 | Sarah Miotti (prev. Beachwaver Co.)

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