Marketing Made Simple: How to Focus on What Really Works with Sophia Parra [Badass Is The New Black S6e35]

Marketing can feel overwhelming, especially when you're juggling the need to grow your audience, nurture relationships, and make sales. I recently interviewed marketing expert Sophia Para, and she broke down some key strategies for staying consistent, leveraging personal connections, and adapting to business cycles for long-term success.

She also has two amazing free gifts for this community and you can learn more about then both below: 

#SorryNotSorry: A real talk marketing series to help you audit + adjust the stuff you got goin' on and get real with the stuff you do NOT got goin' on.

FREE 1:1 Client Attraction Audit: A limited-time one-on-one audit of your business ecosystem to help identify crucial next steps for improving your lead generation and sales.

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What It Really Means to Be Consistent in Marketing

In the fast-paced world of digital business, consistency is more than just showing up every day. It’s about delivering value, maintaining a recognizable brand presence, and building trust with your audience over time. When we talk about marketing consistency, it doesn't mean spamming your followers with useless information on the daily. Instead, it’s about maintaining a steady rhythm across your platforms with a consistent message that keeps your audience engaged and aware of your presence without overwhelming them.

Consistency helps reinforce your brand’s message, values, and services, making it easier for your audience to remember and trust you. According to Sophia, there are three key pillars where this consistency should show up: Growth, Nurturing, and Sales. Each one plays a vital role in your marketing ecosystem, and neglecting any one of these can disrupt your efforts.

A great example of maintaining consistency in marketing is knowing how often to show up. If you find daily posts overwhelming, start with once a week or once a quarter for events or nurturing touchpoints. The goal is to stay top of mind, even during quieter periods, which prevents the cycles of self-doubt from creeping in—those moments when you start questioning whether your audience is listening at all. Regular touchpoints, even in smaller doses, can prevent those slumps and help you maintain clarity and connection with your community.

The Three Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself About Your Marketing: Grow, Nurture, and Sell

When evaluating your marketing strategy, it’s essential to ask yourself three key questions: How are you growing your audience? How are you nurturing those relationships? How are you converting those relationships into sales? Let’s break down each of these concepts to understand how they fit into a cohesive marketing strategy.

Grow: Building Your Audience

Growth is the foundation of any marketing strategy. It’s about attracting new people to your world. But growth doesn’t necessarily mean chasing vanity metrics like followers or likes. Instead, focus on attracting the right people—your ideal clients, collaborators, and those who resonate with your values and message.

Growth can come from many sources, like SEO, social media, collaborations, and networking. However, as Sophia points out, sometimes your social media might not directly lead to sales but could be a significant growth lever for your brand by introducing you to collaborators or affiliates. Think of social media as a tool to widen your network, not just with potential clients but with people who can help you grow your influence.

For instance, if you’re not seeing direct conversions from Instagram, don’t get discouraged. Instead, look at it as a platform to connect with podcast hosts, summit organizers, or other business owners who may bring you to their audience, creating more avenues for growth beyond just direct sales.

Nurture: Building Relationships

Nurturing is where you deepen the relationships you've started during the growth phase. This is the critical middle step where many entrepreneurs drop the ball. It’s not enough to attract new people—you need to maintain and strengthen that connection over time. Sophia highlights the importance of nurturing events, like quarterly workshops, live Q&A sessions, or even personal emails, as a way to build real, lasting relationships with your audience.

Nurturing can come in various forms, from personalized emails, follow-up messages, or regular content that adds value. It’s about making sure that the people in your community feel seen, heard, and valued. A nurturing strategy could be as simple as checking in on a client who hasn’t engaged in a while, offering help or support, or hosting exclusive events that make them feel special.

Nurturing is about consistency, but it's also about personalization. For example, Sophia talks about sending personal invites to people who signed up for an event but didn’t attend. That small gesture can make a big difference—it shows you care about their experience and keeps the relationship warm.

Sell: Converting Relationships Into Sales

Finally, selling. This is where many entrepreneurs start to feel uncomfortable, but when done right, it doesn’t need to feel pushy or transactional. If you’ve nurtured your audience well, sales should feel like the next natural step in your relationship. The key is to make sure your offers are clear, compelling, and timely.

When thinking about sales, consider your audience’s needs and how your product or service solves their problems. Be direct in your messaging but also thoughtful. Sophia's approach to sales is all about being in tune with her audience and not being afraid to have a direct conversation about what she’s offering and how it can help them. This process works hand-in-hand with nurturing because when your audience trusts you, they're more likely to buy from you.

In Sophia's case, she uses her nurturing efforts to inform her sales strategy. For example, after hosting an event, she may follow up with a personal invitation or offer to work together, tailoring her message to the specific needs she’s identified through her earlier interactions.

The Importance of Having an Email List and Making Personal Connections

In a world dominated by social media, it’s easy to forget the power of a good old-fashioned email list. But, as Sophia points out, your email list is one of the most valuable assets in your business. Unlike social media platforms that you don’t control, your email list is yours. It’s a direct line to people who have opted into your world and are more likely to convert into paying clients.

However, simply having an email list isn't enough—you need to actively engage with it. Sophia shares how personal emails to individuals in her community helped her stay connected and offer support, even when she wasn’t in a big sales period. These personalized touches create a stronger bond and make your audience feel valued on a more intimate level.

This is where the combination of automated systems and personal connections can be powerful. Automating your email sequences can save time and ensure consistency, but personal outreach, like checking in on a client who may have had a health issue, brings a human element to your business. It’s this blend of automation and personalization that creates a thriving email marketing strategy.

Pro tip: Personal invitations may take a little extra time, but they can make a huge difference in maintaining engagement and building loyalty.

Navigating Business Cycles

One of the most valuable insights Sophia shared is the idea that business operates in cycles. It’s easy to feel frustrated or panicked when things slow down, but understanding the natural ebbs and flows of business can help you stay grounded.

There are seasons when your business will thrive, and there will be times when it feels like you’re barely treading water. External factors like economic shifts, holidays, or personal life events can also impact these cycles. Rather than getting discouraged, use these slow periods to reconnect with your audience on a personal level, refine your marketing strategy, or work on internal projects that will set you up for success in the next cycle.

Sophia points out that during these slower times, she leverages more personal outreach to keep momentum going. Whether it’s sending personal emails or hosting smaller events, staying active during business lulls helps keep relationships warm and prepares her for the next growth phase.

Understanding these cycles also allows you to plan better. For example, if you know your business tends to slow down during the summer months, you can use that time to nurture your relationships, host low-pressure events, or focus on strategic planning for busier seasons. It’s all about leaning into the natural rhythm of your business instead of fighting against it.

How to Use This Information in Your Business

If you’ve been trying to grow your business but feel disconnected from your audience or overwhelmed by social media, this fresh perspective may be just what you need.

• Start small: Don’t overextend yourself. Hosting nurturing events once a quarter can help keep you engaged with your audience without burning out.
• Send personal invitations: Reach out to your audience with individual emails or messages to invite them to events or check in.
• Audit your social media: Instead of trying to go viral, use social media as a tool to attract collaborators and showcase your personality.
• Adapt to business cycles: Recognize when your business experiences natural slow periods and use that time to connect more deeply with your audience.

Final Thoughts: Putting It All Together

Growing a business takes time, patience, and strategy. By focusing on growing, nurturing, and selling through consistent yet manageable actions, you can build a sustainable business that thrives through every cycle. You don’t have to do everything at once—imperfect action is better than no action at all. Focus on what feels most achievable right now and build from there.

By understanding what it means to be consistent in marketing, asking yourself the right questions, and leveraging both email and personal connections, you’ll be well on your way to creating a business that not only grows but also sustains long-term relationships with your audience. And when business slows down, use that time to nurture, refine, and set yourself up for future success.

Remember, marketing doesn’t have to be about doing more. It’s about doing what matters most, consistently and intentionally.

Important Links

"Sorry, Not Sorry" Private Podcast Series – This series takes a no-nonsense approach to the parts of marketing that don’t work and offers actionable steps to fix them.

Client Attraction Audit – A limited-time one-on-one audit of your business ecosystem to help identify crucial next steps for improving your lead generation and sales.

Turn Your Followers Into Email Subscribers - Don't let all your hard work of building a social media following go to waste. Get them on your email list so you never have to worry about losing your audience to uncontrollable circumstances and you can sell more while you sleep!

Connect with Sophia on Instagram

Sophia’s ‘Marketing Unfiltered’ Podcast