Podcast Summary

Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson | Episode 406

Guest: Sophie Miller (Founder, Pretty Little Marketers)
Host: Jay Schwedelson (GURU Media Hub)
Date: September 4, 2025

Brief Overview

This episode features the trailblazing marketer Sophie Miller, founder of Pretty Little Marketers (PLM), a community-centric media brand with nearly 700,000 followers. Sophie unpacks how she built an authentic, engaged marketing community from scratch—starting as a university student in 2020—and shares deeply practical tips for organic community growth, creating killer content on LinkedIn, effective newsletter strategies, and much more. The conversation is energetic, insightful, and full of actionable takeaways for anyone striving to break through in today’s crowded marketing landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sophie’s Origin Story and Growth of PLM

• Starting in 2020: Sophie began PLM during the pandemic as a way to connect with peers and combat career uncertainty and isolation.
  • “I burst into tears... I have one year and I have absolutely nothing figured out.” (02:36, Sophie)
  • PLM quickly hit 1,000 followers in a week and 2,000 in two; by early 2021, there were 30,000 across Instagram and LinkedIn.
• PLM Today: Close to 700,000 followers, including a paid membership community.
• Mission: To make social media simple, accessible, and fun for marketers.

2. Can Today’s Marketers Replicate PLM-Style Growth?

• Sophie credits the timing of PLM’s launch for rapid community growth, but emphasizes replicable strategies:
  • Community must be a “shared space,” not just a platform for influencer-led education.
  • Early success attributed to “building this shared space... where if you have a thought, you can comment it and I will respond.” (08:32, Sophie)
  • Modern platforms now offer even more tools for audience involvement (polls, broadcast channels, Substack, TikTok channels).
  • "If there isn't something in it for the audience, they're not going to care." (09:42, Sophie)

3. The Power and Approach to LinkedIn

• Why LinkedIn?: Sophie saw an untapped opportunity for rich, conversational, and less “influencer-centric” community-building.
  • “I think LinkedIn is cool.” (15:37, Sophie)
  • Prioritized visibility and real conversation over polish; early posts were “nothing special” but created discussion.
  • “Being the most visible can be really quite beneficial.” (15:22, Sophie)
• Personal vs. Company Page Strategy:
  • Company Page (PLM): All about providing value—news, resources, tips; no hard sells, minimal links off-platform.
    • “Basically all you do is put out value... value, value, value.” (16:20, Jay)
  • Personal Page (Sophie): More casual, occasional selling; open invitations to join membership, newsletter, or events.
    • "I am much more unafraid to be like, our membership’s opening in a week, here’s a link..." (18:31, Sophie)
  • Engagement is much higher on the personal page than on the brand page.

4. The Science of Not Selling (But Still Selling)

• PLM’s approach to sales is subtle, relying on audience curiosity and routing to off-platform memberships/newsletters.
  • “If I offered you a bite of a really delicious cake, like you’re probably going to want the whole slice... I can give you a piece of goodness through PLM’s business page content, like, why would you not then click through..." (17:34, Sophie)
  • Overt selling drastically reduces engagement on company pages.

5. Rapid-Fire LinkedIn Tactics

• Links in Posts: Sophie isn’t afraid to include links, noting that engagement drops when posts are salesy, not because of the link itself.
  • “If I have a link, I expect it to have less engagement because I'm selling.” (22:53, Sophie)
• Reposting Content: No significant negative impact from reposting; recommends it for highlighting relevant community or business activities.
  • "I'm not reposting all the time. I'm using it intentionally. I personally don't see an impact on my metrics..." (24:14, Sophie)

6. Newsletter Strategy: Becoming a Thought Leader by Curating, Not Just Creating

• Newsletter Format: Weekly roundup with a chatty intro, two deep-dive segments, a digest section (“here are 15 things you need to know this week,” each with a 4-5 word summary and a link), and community engagement at the end.
• Value in Curation: Recognition that time-strapped readers value digestible news curation over original think pieces every week.
  • “You become a thought leader by gathering thought leaderships.” (25:18, Jay)
• Advice for Would-Be Newsletter Writers: Focus on what’s actually valuable to your audience, not your own urge to create.
  • “What do people want from you and how can you give that to them by way of email rather than... what do I want to write about?” (28:59, Sophie)
• Outcome: The newsletter fundamentally changed PLM’s business and deepened community engagement.

7. Accessibility and Inclusivity

• Sophie's PLM membership is kept affordable at £20/month, aiming for maximum accessibility while providing high value.
  • “I'm growing a business, of course, but I want everything we do to be accessible whilst reflecting our value.” (31:28, Sophie)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Community before I was doing Community... If I lost everything today... You absolutely can [rebuild], it's just the power of bringing your peers in and doing it together.” — Sophie (10:36)
• “I think the best communities are the ones that are communities without even realizing they're communities.” — Jay (10:45)
• “What really sold LinkedIn...was that conversational aspect. And my content was nothing special... what I love most was the comments.” — Sophie (14:08)
• “You become a thought leader by gathering thought leaderships.” — Jay (25:18)
• “Newsletter...the one thing that I get the most kind of great feedback on and I'm so pleased that everyone else loves it as well.” — Sophie (28:02)
• “You don’t have to be the best. I think just being the most visible can be really quite beneficial.” — Sophie (15:22)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Sophie Miller’s origin & start of PLM – [02:26]
• Can anyone replicate PLM growth today? – [05:08] to [10:44]
• Community building vs. "building a community" – [08:32] to [10:44]
• Why go all-in on LinkedIn? – [11:31] to [15:37]
• Content strategy: company vs. personal page – [16:02] to [21:07]
• Subtle sales funnel/free value strategy – [17:34] to [22:03]
• Rapid-fire: Links and reposts on LinkedIn – [22:02] to [25:05]
• Newsletter strategy and philosophy – [26:23] to [29:42]
• Membership pricing and value – [31:25]

Takeaways & Advice for Marketers

• Build communities as true shared spaces—foster conversation, not just broadcast.
• Prioritize curation: Summarizing others’ insights and news can be as valuable as original content.
• Separate your "value" and your "sell": Use company pages for pure value; personal pages for selling and deeper networking.
• Engagement > Polish: Authenticity, conversation, and visibility beat slick production every time.
• Stick to what your audience wants, not just what you want to create. This is central to both community and content growth.

Final Note:
Sophie will speak at the Guru Conference in November, diving deeper into newsletter strategy. Follow her on LinkedIn and check out PLM for more value-packed resources.