We were lucky to catch up with Wendy Margolin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Wendy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Among my best memories of connection are sharing stories and music around a campfire. First at summer camp and now with my family on camping trips.

It’s not just me, though. Storytelling is literally in our genes.

As far back as we discovered fire, we’ve benefitted from the power of storytelling. Fire led to a more calorie-rich diet, and communities were built around the fire at night-–sticking together to tell stories.

Masterful storytellers became leaders.

Scientists today have shown that telling stories literally connects brain waves. And anyone who ever sat around a fire with friends doesn’t need to know the research to intuitively understand the impact of storytelling around a fire.

I never tire of hearing the stories of physician scientists and helping them share them with the world. Sharing their stories has the power to educate patients, connect with them and even save lives.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Long before COVID, I saw how susceptible parents are to misinformation online. I had started a healthy food blog in 2011, back when blogging was fun and casual and before every photo had to be Instagram-worthy.

Because my family became known for eating natural, whole foods before it was more common, people would wrongly assume that also meant we didn’t vaccinate our kids.

Around the same time, our pediatrician started a Facebook page. I offered some ideas of how she could use social media to educate and empower parents. If the experts weren’t providing engaging health content, there were plenty of others waiting to fill the gap. She invited me to work for her, and I’ve been creating healthcare education content ever since.

Today I do that work as a brand journalism and ghost writer for academic medicine health systems. I focus on sharing the stories of physician scientists with statistics, patient education and empathy. The work is both rewarding and more necessary than ever today.

I never could have predicted the work I do today when I was in college because it literally didn’t exist. But, I use the skills I gained by studying journalism and business every day.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Among successful marketing business owners, there are a few well-known influencers with books, podcasts and a massive number of followers. I listened to so many of those podcasts on my daily runs when I first started my business. I’m grateful for how much I learned from many of them.

Those influencers sent me down the course and membership rabbit hole in 2019. I’m glad I did it, and I’m even more glad I gave it all up. I spent dozens of hours taking paid courses and then designing my own course to teach social media marketing to clinicians. I even got a trademark.

To sell that course, I created a massive amount of content. I built up an audience on social media, wrote blogs, hosted a podcast, joined others’ podcasts and shared weekly live videos.

I did it all over again when I created a social media template and caption monthly membership for clinicians.

The course and membership were successful, and the clinicians who bought them found them helpful. But, marketing them was exhausting. And it took away from the time I spent on serving my actual clients and developing the client side of my business.

This past June 2023, I shut down the course and membership side of my business. I haven’t shared a live video since. I rarely post to Instagram. Instead, I focus on my clients and reaching more prospective clients. My only marketing is on LinkedIn and by writing a monthly article for a leading marketing website in my industry.

I’m so much happier as a business owner and have been more successful.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

LinkedIn has been the most powerful tool for growing my business. Besides word of mouth, most of my clients have come from LinkedIn. Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn is built for professionals and doesn’t carry the same pressure to craft beautiful, aesthetic content. It’s a space to network and learn from others’ expertise.

If you Google most small business owners, their LinkedIn profile will rank even higher in the search than their own website. This makes LinkedIn an important space to maintain an updated profile and photo, even if you rarely use the platform.

Besides keeping my profile up to date, I use LinkedIn to share my expertise and learn from others. I’ve built a large network and have met many people on Zoom because of it. I’ve connected people outside of my industry with opportunities and have seen others do the same for me.

I also use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify prospects and reach out to them. Many busy c-suite and manager level employees have been willing to meet with me to discuss working together. I know they would be less likely to do this if I had sent a cold email instead.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sparkrmarketing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendy.margolin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sparkrmarketing
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-margolin/