The Creative Bodega with Em Connors | Email & Content Marketing for Solopreneurs

Em Connors
  • 5.0 (106)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to The Creative Bodega, a podcast about email marketing, content, and personal branding for female solopreneurs who are done building their business on rented land. Here's the belief this whole show runs on: the followers you rent from an algorithm will never be as valuable as the audience you own. Instagram can bury you overnight — your email list can't.  So each week, host Em Connors shows you how to build an owned audience you actually control, stay consistent without the burnout, and turn casual followers into people who buy from you again and again. From what to actually write when the page is blank, to staying consistent when life lifes, to selling in a way that sounds like you and not a pushy sales bro — Em answers the real questions with strategies straight from her own million-dollar business. And because life happens, she doesn't hold back on the unfiltered truth of running a business while raising a family — the messy, the honest, and the "here's what I'm actually figuring out right now." Every so often, Em also pulls back the curtain with other women who've built businesses their own way — real conversations about how they grew, what they'd do differently, and how they stay sane while doing it. If you're ready to stop shouting into a feed that isn't showing you, and start building something you own — alongside a community of women who get it — you're in the right place.

  1. 3d ago

    88: 5 Ways to Grow Your Email List Without Adding More Social Media

    Want to grow your email list without adding more social media? SAME! If your list growth has stalled and you're one click away from signing up for another platform, you're so not alone. In this episode of The Creative Bodega Podcast, I share the 5 things I'm changing to make the content I already create work a lot harder, including the opt-in that brought me 53 new subscribers in 8 days. 📝 Grab this episode's FREE takeaway cheat sheet: RIGHT HERE 💻 Check out the full show notes for this episode: CLICK HERE Things I cover inside this episode: Why my new subscribers dropped from 329 last August to just 97 this August. The week I almost signed up for every platform with a login screenThe show-notes opt-in that brought in 53 subscribers in just 8 daysWhy I'm leaving Podia after six years, and what GEO means for AI searchHow podcast guest swaps inside The Coven get us all in front of new audiencesThe one-line question that got me 25 newsletter replies in a single weekA quick audit to find the list growth hiding in what you already makeResources & Links mentioned in the episode: Grab this episode's FREE takeaway cheat sheet: RIGHT HEREEpisode 86, optimizing your Instagram to grow your email listEpisode 87, the one Pinterest automation that got me a pin with 50,000 impressionsFlodesk (where I pulled my month-by-month subscriber numbers). Snag 25% off, or use the code: THECREATIVEBODEGAHeartbeat (where The Coven lives now) I absolutely love this membership & course hosting platformWant to swap podcast guest spots? Reach out here: emily@thecreativebodega.comQuick correction: in this episode, I compare my list growth to summer 2023, but those numbers weren't accurate. The real year-over-year comparison is 329 new subscribers in August 2025 vs. 97 in August 2026, about a 70% drop. Connect with me: 📲 Follow me on Instagram: @its.em.connors 💌 Join my weekly newsletter: 321 Create 🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership 💵 Snag 25% off Flodesk, or use the code: THECREATIVEBODEGA Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode!

  2. Sep 28

    87: The One Good Freebie Method: How to Build a Freebie AI Can't Copy

    📝 Grab this episode's one-page cheat sheet, [the 4 steps to one freebie that converts], right here! → https://thecreativebodega.myflodesk.com/podcastonesheet Made freebie after freebie and still nobody's opting in? Or maybe you've got a 40-page guide you know is good, and your list hasn't budged. I've been there. I've made over 45 freebies in six years, and most of them cost me way more time than they ever gave back. In this episode of The Creative Bodega, I walk you through The One Good Freebie Method: the foundation only you can build (AI can't touch it), plus the 4 steps to create one freebie that converts and keeps working for you. If you're tired of building freebies nobody downloads, this episode is for you. For the full blog post show notes, CLICK HERE. Things I cover inside this episode: The question that stumped me: what can you create that AI can't?Why your freebie should serve your whole umbrella, not one tiny sliceHow to find your freebie in the one question people always ask youWhy a 10-minute win beats a 40-page guide nobody ever opensThe stranger test for naming your freebie (and why clear beats cute)How my simple opt-in page converts at just over 69% with one buttonThe 8 places I promote one freebie every single weekResources & Links mentioned in the episode: Ash McDonald, my business strategist (her question sparked this whole episode)The One Good Freebie Method, free training replay (the full hour with slides and Renee's build)Episode 69: my content pillars episode (referenced when talking about pillars under your umbrella)Flodesk, my email platform (use code THECREATIVEBODEGA for 25% off your first year)Connect with me: 📲 Follow me on Instagram: @its.em.connors 💌 Join my weekly newsletter: 321 Create 🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership 💵 Snag 25% off Flodesk, or use the code: THECREATIVEBODEGA Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode!

  3. Sep 21

    86: 4 Free Instagram Moves That Grow Your Email List (No New Apps)

    📝 Grab this episode's one-page cheat sheet with all four moves and the exact steps to implement them right here! Ever pull up your own Instagram profile and realize a total stranger would have no idea what to do next? You post, you show up, you pour hours into it, and then you cross your fingers and hope the algorithm sends the right people your way. If you're tired of building your business on rented land you don't own, you're in the right place. In this episode of The Creative Bodega, I'm walking you through four low-lift, mostly free moves that make Instagram actually pull its weight for your email list. No new apps, no new subscriptions, nothing added to your already-full plate. If you want your list to grow without living on the app, this one is for you. Check out the full show notes for this episode CLICK HERE. Things I cover inside this episode: How to rewrite your Instagram bio so one clear next step points to your listThe three-pin grid audit that turns your profile into a list-building invitationWhat to do the moment a post takes off (hint: edit the caption)Adding a simple comment keyword so a post delivers your freebie automaticallyTurning on free auto-publishing so Instagram feeds Pinterest and Facebook for youThe one free setting that pushed a single pin past 10,000 Pinterest impressionsResources & Links mentioned in the episode: The takeaway (this week's one-page cheat sheet): all four moves and the exact steps, free.My pinned freebie post (the one I said I'd link so you can see exactly what a clear list-building pin looks like)The Email List Starter Kit (my freebie, referenced as the clearly named opt-in in my bio)Connect with me: 📲 Follow me on Instagram: @its.em.connors 💌 Join my weekly newsletter: 321 Create 🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership 💵 Snag 25% off Flodesk, or use the code: THECREATIVEBODEGA Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode!

  4. Sep 14

    85: Why I'm Going All In on Email (& Done Being the Posting & Instagram Girl)

    ✨💌 DOORS ARE OPEN: The Newsletter System: my 6-week program for building a newsletter you'll actually keep writing. Doors are open this week only. Limited spots, we begin Sept 24th! Have you ever felt called to change direction in your business, but froze because you were terrified of what people would think? You are not the only one. I spent six years known for one thing, quietly sensing I was meant for another, and doing almost nothing about it. In this episode of The Creative Bodega, I walk you through the real story behind my pivot from Instagram and Canva to email marketing: the tiny signals I ignored for years, the moment two out of forty women broke my brain, and the trust recession that makes a weekly newsletter the smartest bet you can place on your business right now. If your gut has been tapping you on the shoulder, this episode is for you. Check out the full show notes for this episode CLICK HERE. Things I cover inside this episode: Why a pivot that looks sudden from the outside was six years in the makingThe trust recession, and why a weekly newsletter is your best answer to itWhat made me stop being the posting girl and go all in on emailWhy I shrank my list from past 25,000 down to 11,000 on purposeThe five minutes I froze at the confirm button before changing my handleWhat owned versus rented means for your business, and why it changes everythingWho The Newsletter System is built for, and who it honestly is not forResources & Links mentioned in the episode: The Newsletter System: my 6-week program for building a newsletter you'll actually keep writing. Doors are open this week only. Start and Grow Your Email List From Scratch: my original email course, the one that came straight out of that two-hands-out-of-40 moment. Connect with me: 📲 Follow me on Instagram: @its.em.connors 💌 Join my weekly newsletter: 321 Create 🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership 💵 Snag 25% off Flodesk, or use the code: THECREATIVEBODEGA Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode!

  5. Sep 7

    84: The 5 Excuses Keeping You From a Thriving Email List That Sells

    ✨💌 Join the Newsletter System waitlist - hop on for first access when the doors open September 14th You keep meanIng to start the newsletter. Or you started one, then quietly let it go. And every time you think about picking it back up, a little pile of excuses shows up first. No one will read it. I don't have the time. This probably isn't for a business like mine. I've had every one of those thoughts myself, so there's zero finger-pointing here. In this episode of The Creative Bodega, I pick up the five biggest excuses one at a time and hold them up to the light, because most of them fall apart the second you look at them straight. If an email list has been sitting on your someday list, this one is for you. Check out the full show notes for this episode CLICK HERE. Things I cover inside this episode: Why "no one will read it" is the wrong fear to haveHow the platform you send from matters way less than you thinkWhy an email list works whether you sell a product or a serviceThe reason a newsletter is subtraction, not another plate to spinWhat I'm doing right now to grow my list without relying on InstagramWhy the people most likely to buy are quietly drifting away right nowResources & Links mentioned in the episode: The Newsletter System waitlist — hop on for first access when the doors open September 14thEpisode 81, my pivot episode — the full story of why I went all in on email after six years of teaching Instagram and CanvaFlodesk — the email platform I use and recommend (my code THECREATIVEBODEGA gets you 25% off your first year)Connect with me: 📲 Follow me on Instagram: @its.em.connors 💌 Join my weekly newsletter: 321 Create 🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership 💵 Snag 25% off Flodesk, or use the code: THECREATIVEBODEGA Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode!

  6. Aug 31

    83: How I Never Run Out of Newsletter Ideas (Or Stare at a Blank Page)

    ✨💌 CLICK HERE to hop on The Newsletter System waitlist (join for first dibs on the limited spots plus a behind-the-scenes tour of my full newsletter process) You want to email your list. You know you should. Maybe you even have the list sitting right there, ready to go. But you sit down, the cursor blinks, and your brain goes completely blank. So you close the laptop and tell yourself you'll figure it out next week. And next week? Same exact thing. If that loop feels familiar, you are not broken, and you are not out of ideas. In this episode of The Creative Bodega, I break down why the blank page was never a creativity problem in the first place, and the shift that made "what do I even write?" stop being a question I dread every single week. If staring at a blank newsletter makes you want to throw your laptop out the window, this one is for you. Check out the full show notes for this episode CLICK HERE. Things I cover inside this episode: Why the blank page is a structure problem, not a lack of ideasThe free assignment I give every week: subscribe to newsletters and study which ones you openWhy the section that connects most is almost never the strategic oneWhere my 3-2-1 format came from, and why borrowing a structure is the pointThe reframe that ends the panic: you are your own ideal client, one problem aheadWhy an unsure email that gets sent beats a perfect one stuck in your draftsResources & Links mentioned in the episode: One of my early newsletters sent 4/7/21 via Flodesk (referenced when talking about her short, unsure first j)James Clear's 3-2-1 newsletter (the original format Em's 3-2-1 traces back to)Connect with me: 📲 Follow me on Instagram: @its.em.connors 💌 Join my weekly newsletter: 321 Create 🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership 💵 Snag 25% off Flodesk, or use the code: THECREATIVEBODEGA Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode!

  7. Aug 24

    82: Here's Why You Keep Ghosting Your Email List (It's a System Problem, Not a You Problem)

    You started an email list. You were proud of it. And then...you never emailed it. 😅 Now every time you think about sitting down to write, the cursor blinks, your brain goes blank, and you tell yourself you'll do it later. Later never comes, and the guilt just keeps stacking. If that's the loop you're stuck in, you're not lazy, and you're not flaky. You're missing one thing. In this episode of The Creative Bodega, I break down why consistency with your email list was never a discipline problem, why a small list of people who trust you beats a huge silent following, and the one small move that breaks the blank-page spell. If your list has been collecting dust, this one is for you. Check out the full show notes for this episode CLICK HERE. Things I cover inside this episode: Why creators with huge accounts and silent lists are quietly losing moneyHow a list of 100 people who trust you out-launches 50,000 followersThe real reason the weekly blank page keeps beating you (it's not you)Why Instagram is a slot machine, and what owning your list changesThe two-creator test that shows exactly why the inbox wins the saleThe reframe: consistency is a system problem, never a willpower problemYour one small move this week to break the blank-page spell for goodResources & Links mentioned in the episode: 💌 The Newsletter System waitlist. My 6-week program doors opening September 14th, built to take the blank page out of your weekly email for good. Getting on the list means first word when doors open: join the waitlist.🎙️ Listen to last week's episode (81) on why every solopreneur needs an email list, not just a personal brand. It sets up everything in this post, so start there if you missed it!Connect with me: 📲 Follow me on Instagram: @its.em.connors 💌 Join my weekly newsletter: 321 Create 🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership 💵 Snag 25% off Flodesk, or use the code: THECREATIVEBODEGA Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode!

  8. Aug 17

    81: I'm Done Teaching the Thing That Built My Business (Going All In on Email Marketing)

    💌 Join The Newsletter System September Waitlist — first access when doors open September 14th, limited spots available! Have you ever been genuinely good at something, even known for it, and still felt a quiet pull that it is not the thing you want to keep doing forever? For years, I couldn't name that feeling. I just felt scattered and a little off, pouring most of my energy into the platform that gave me the least back. It took three weeks completely off Instagram to finally see it clearly. In this episode of The Creative Bodega, I share the biggest pivot I have made in nine years, why I am going all in on email, and what my two fiddle leaf fig trees have to do with all of it. If you have felt scattered too, this one is for you. Check out the full show notes for this episode CLICK HERE. Things I cover inside this episode: Why I am walking away from teaching Instagram after nine years of postingWhat three weeks off the app made impossible to unseeThe difference between rented attention and an audience you truly ownWhy Instagram tactics keep expiring while email stays a durable skillThe moment in Nashville that quietly cracked this whole decision openWhat is changing, what is staying, and what it means for youResources & Links mentioned in the episode: The Newsletter System September Waitlist — first access when doors open September 14th, limited spots available!Flodesk — the email platform I use and swear by. Grab 50% off your first year with code THECREATIVEBODEGAClick here to see what a fiddle leaf fig is! Connect with me: 📲 Follow me on Instagram: @its.em.connors 💌 Join my weekly newsletter: 321 Create 🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership 💵 Snag 25% off Flodesk, or use the code: THECREATIVEBODEGA Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode!

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Welcome to The Creative Bodega, a podcast about email marketing, content, and personal branding for female solopreneurs who are done building their business on rented land. Here's the belief this whole show runs on: the followers you rent from an algorithm will never be as valuable as the audience you own. Instagram can bury you overnight — your email list can't.  So each week, host Em Connors shows you how to build an owned audience you actually control, stay consistent without the burnout, and turn casual followers into people who buy from you again and again. From what to actually write when the page is blank, to staying consistent when life lifes, to selling in a way that sounds like you and not a pushy sales bro — Em answers the real questions with strategies straight from her own million-dollar business. And because life happens, she doesn't hold back on the unfiltered truth of running a business while raising a family — the messy, the honest, and the "here's what I'm actually figuring out right now." Every so often, Em also pulls back the curtain with other women who've built businesses their own way — real conversations about how they grew, what they'd do differently, and how they stay sane while doing it. If you're ready to stop shouting into a feed that isn't showing you, and start building something you own — alongside a community of women who get it — you're in the right place.

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