If you're a long-time listener, you know a little less than a year ago Kelsie set out to launch her own agency focused on social media and email marketing. Today, Austin is interviewing Kelsie to explore what launching Curate Social has been like, what the biggest successes and challenges have been, and how she regained her confidence as an entrepreneur. This was such an encouraging conversation—if you're launching something new, are growing a business, or are considering stepping out as an entr...
Jun 19, 2025•32 min
You can’t just harvest all the time; you need to plant seeds too. In this episode, I welcome Mitch Nelson back to the show to dive into the balance between brand marketing and performance marketing, and why focusing only on short-term results can limit long-term growth. We talk about how brand builds future demand, creates deeper trust, and opens doors for opportunity down the road. If you’ve ever wondered how to balance creating marketing that works now and builds momentum for the future, this ...
Jun 12, 2025•45 min
We're back with Part 3 of our spring cleaning series! After taking a look at our mindset in Episode 59 and our platforms in Episode 60, we're zooming out to talk about the driver behind everything we do: Our goals. What are you tracking? Why are you tracking it? What do you need to adjust as you look ahead to the rest of the year? // 📸 Follow Austin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austin_savage 📸 Follow Kelsie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelsiezarko 🔔 Be sure to subscribe ...
May 30, 2025•30 min
Every leader of a business or organization wants to see more people taking action alongside their brand. So how do we both capture existing demand and create new demand for your product or service? When we're looking to balance short-term and long-term wins, intentional marketing and sales funnels are one of the best ways to do this. In today's episode, I (Austin) am welcoming Kristi Zobrist, Chief Strategy Officer at Savage Content Collective, to the show! She's an incredible marketer with a to...
May 16, 2025•40 min
We're back with Part 2 of our spring cleaning series! After taking a look at our mindset last week, we're going super-practical this week with 14 quick actions you can take across your social media, email marketing, blog creation, and podcast that can help you see some extra momentum. (Oh, and we get a little deep on our "this or that" for the week! 👀 Let us know what your answer would be!) It's always fun to get in-the-weeds about content marketing, and we hope some of these tips are helpful a...
Apr 25, 2025•46 min
It’s not just your closet that could use some freshening up this Spring... your mindset might need a little spring cleaning, too. In this episode, we’re dusting off the limiting beliefs that keep us stuck and replacing them with powerful truths that help us move forward. After a "this or that" about the best airplane seats, we're walking through 8 mindset shifts we all should make as we look ahead to the rest of the year. Think of this one as a deep clean for your confidence—because who you are ...
Apr 11, 2025•34 min
Ever feel like you're bothering people with your emails, posts, and marketing efforts? You’re not alone! In this episode, Kelsie and Austin tackle one of the biggest fears leaders have when it comes to showing up consistently: What if people start to get annoyed with seeing our content regularly? We’re breaking down the misconceptions behind this fear, the mindset shifts you need to make, and why your core audience wants to hear from you (yes, really!). If you’ve ever second-guessed hitting “pub...
Mar 06, 2025•25 min
What if your customer support wasn’t just about fixing problems—but actually informed your approach to content strategy? In this episode, Austin geeks out over Baldur’s Gate 3 (because what other video game has 7,000 different possible endings? 🤯) and takes a deep dive into how Larian Studios has turned player feedback into a powerful marketing tool. From engaging directly with their community to making improvements based on real conversations, they’ve built an insanely loyal fanbase—and there’...
Feb 20, 2025•21 min
Onyx Storm is the fastest-selling adult novel in 20 years. 🤯 The Empyrean series (which starts with the best-selling book Fourth Wing if you've heard that title!) has been taking the world by storm, pun intended. The third book in the series, Onyx Storm , just released and we can learn SO much from the launch process, including how Rebecca Yarros stretched herself as an author/creator, the huge role user-generated content (UGC) has played, and the significance of a strong brand. Whether you're ...
Feb 06, 2025•33 min
What's the biggest "hack" to building a brand through content marketing? Not stopping. It's true! During our recents ABCs of Content Marketing, consistency came up again and again. Consistency is a huge part of how we add value, how we build trust, and how we create community. But sometimes it's easier said than done. In today's episode, we're covering the 4 most common barriers people have to creating content consistently, and some shifts to consider for each challenge. // 📸 Follow Austin on I...
Jan 23, 2025•39 min
We're keeping it casual for this one, and after a New Years Eve themed "this or that," we chat about the past year and what we saw change and continue with content marketing. It's so fun to look back on the year and evaluate the changes we saw on social (Instagram specifically), podcast performance, blog strategy, and email marketing. Come look back on the past year with us—we hope you enjoy this conversation! // 📸 Follow Austin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austin_savage 📸 Follow Ke...
Dec 05, 2024•48 min
Every effective content marketing strategy is built on three basic principles: Adding Value, Building Trust, and Creating Community. In this mini-series, we're walking through each of these essentials! In today's conversation, after a "this or that" about the best way to drink hot chocolate, we're diving into the details of how to use content marketing to build connection and community with your audience. Connection makes all the difference, and we hope this conversation helps you think through ...
Nov 14, 2024•38 min
Every effective content marketing strategy is built on three basic principles: Adding Value, Building Trust, and Creating Community. In this mini-series, we're walking through each of these essentials! In today's conversation, after a deep-dive into our Halloween traditions and perspectives on Almond Joy, we're diving into the details of how to build trust with your audience through content marketing. Growth happens through connection and relationships, and content marketing is an effective way ...
Oct 31, 2024•35 min
Every effective content marketing strategy is built on three basic principles: Adding Value, Building Trust, and Creating Community. In this mini-series, we're walking through each of these essentials! In today's conversation, after our first-ever "this or that OR that," we're diving into the details of what it means to add value, 5 practical ways to incorporate value into your content, and why adding value paves the way for both trust and community. // 📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.ins...
Oct 10, 2024•38 min
We're back with a brand new conversation! In today's episode, after a football-themed "This or That," we're diving into some exciting updates coming up in Kelsie's life, the emotions that come along with team transitions, and 3 aspects of content marketing that we're doubling-down on this Fall and beyond. // 📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savagecontent.co 🔔 Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a future episode! 🔥 Learn how we can take content off your plate: https://www...
Sep 19, 2024•35 min
For Episode 49, I had the opportunity to chat with a friend from college with a different but parallel journey to my own. I loved connecting with him for this conversation! Luke Waite is the founder and principal consultant of two companies: Pomelo Coffee Consulting and The Lev Co . His background is marked by turning inefficient cafes, cold brew companies, and coffee roasters that are in the red into highly efficient companies that are solidly in the black. In this conversation, we talk about h...
Sep 05, 2024•49 min
It's incredible to see long-term clients gain momentum through hard work and consistency, and that's exactly what has happened for Tara Bohm. Tara helps women with curly hair understand how to embrace and care for their curls, and has grown by over 80,000 followers on Instagram in the past two years. In this conversation, she and Kelsie discuss the challenging part of rapid growth, how she has determined the right time to add new things to her business, the power of consistency that she's seen f...
May 16, 2024•40 min
Check out Austin's LinkedIn post featuring the MrBeast tweet being discussed. Can you imagine going from 15,000 views a year to 13 billion views a year on your content? That's what happened for MrBeast, the 2nd largest creator on YouTube. And guess what? It only took 12 years! In this episode, Austin and Kelsie are diving into an insightful tweet MrBeast shared a couple years ago, how to respond to years when you see a dip in engagement, why consistency creates momentum for new and old content, ...
Apr 25, 2024•24 min
Lisa DeWeert is a long-time friend of Austin's and the Co-Founder of an incredible organization called Moxie Adaptive, an organization committed to creating a space to connect and empower individuals with limb differences. Lisa was born with smaller muscles in her arms and hands, and as a result of a significant research project, met hundreds of people who didn't have a space to talk about the intricacies of life with a limb difference, which ultimately led to the launch of Moxie Adaptive. In th...
Apr 04, 2024•48 min
Have you heard the principle of content having a "shelf life?" Perhaps you've heard the statistics about how posts on certain social media platforms only have a "shelf life" of just a few hours. While this is certainly true in relation to algorithms, we believe this is an overly-simplistic way to look at content marketing and today we're sharing why. After a "this or that" about March Madness (Austin's favorite sports event of the year!), we're sharing 2 stories of old content helping us close s...
Mar 21, 2024•21 min
In today's episode, after a "this or that" about calling/texting (apparently Austin is the only person who calls Kelsie other than her mom and grandma 🤣), we're diving into a recent experience Austin had to present to a communications class at North Central College. Most of all, we hope this conversation is a reminder to break out of your routine every once in a while, and look for those little moments that remind you why you love what you do. // 📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram...
Mar 07, 2024•25 min
You've heard us say it before: Content performs on a human level. This is one of the most important foundations of an effective content marketing strategy. But what does that look like in practice? How do contextualize content that is personal alongside the value we want to provide to our audience? Ep. 15: Why Human Connection & Relationships Are Key to Brand Growth Ep. 38: Consistently Relatable: Building a Community That Would Follow You Anywhere // 📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.i...
Feb 22, 2024•24 min
Have you seen the trend across social where brands invite you to comment a specific word leading to an automatic DM popping up in your inbox? The primary tool that makes this possible is called ManyChat, and this has been a major opportunity for many brands recently, especially on Instagram. At the start of this year, we started offering ManyChat management to our clients and have really seen it be a game-changer for engagement. Like a 1000% increase kind of game-changer... Today we're talking a...
Feb 08, 2024•24 min
We've got a fun one today: Kelsie's brother Kendall, Advisor & Partner at 210 Financial (and one of our clients!), is joining us to talk about their journey to growing their firm by 10x in the last 6-8 years. In this episode, Kendall walks through how they've restructured their team, how they are marketing to an audience that is primarily over 50, what it's been like to launch and host a podcast, how he has personally grown over the years, and so much more. Learn more about 210 Financial: ht...
Jan 11, 2024•44 min
Austin recently released the 101 Affirmations coffee table book series! 🎉 Today, after a holiday-themed "This or That" about Elf on the Shelf (we really hope we don't ruin any kids' belief in Santa! 🎅🏼), Kelsie is interviewing Austin about the process of writing and releasing the books along with where the vision came from. At the end, you'll hear a reading from the first book in the series as well! We hope you enjoy, and thank you for listening! Grab the 101 Affirmations series at https://sa...
Dec 12, 2023•34 min
This week on the podcast, Austin is interviewing someone he PAYS to play Dungeons & Dragons with. That's right: Jesse William is a paid game master, someone who tells collaborative stories for a living. In this episode, you'll hear what a paid game master is, an in-depth review of why Lord of the Rings is better than Game of Thrones, how to add elements of mystery into the content you create, the journey of building a community organically, why creating content that actually excites you make...
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 2 min
What do Taylor Swift, Nate Bargatze, and Noah Kahan have in common? They've built communities that are excited to follow them wherever they go. In today's episode, we're exploring the connection between relatability and community, how you can take a step towards incorporating more genuine personality into your content, why the value we have to offer goes beyond the education we can offer, and much more. We hope you enjoy this episode! 🔥 // 📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sa...
Nov 09, 2023•25 min
Kelsie is here this week with a 6-minute solo episode with some GREAT encouragement for you about making sure what you do is clear to your audience. Approaching the end of the year, how can we make the best next steps simple for people? How can we balance value-centered content with clear offers? We hope you enjoy this episode! 🔥 // 📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savagecontent.co 🔔 Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a future episode! 🔥 Learn how we can take content o...
Oct 26, 2023•7 min
While Austin is in the middle of moving this week, we wanted to compile some of the monthly videos we send to clients of Savage Content Collective and share them with YOU here on the podcast! 👏 In these videos, we cover topics like: The challenge of black-and-white analysis of content performance, leading with your personality, how to think about viral content, and remembering the shelf life of content. We hope you enjoy this rapid-fire style of episode! 🎧 By the way, in the first video, Kelsi...
Oct 12, 2023•15 min
Having a rhythm and plan is so important. Occasionally, though, it's also valuable to challenge yourself and switch it up in the content you're creating! This can create some fresh excitement for yourself in your content marketing and can give your content a little burst of life in how your audience interacts with it. Today, we're sharing six ideas that you may want to give a try! // 📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savagecontent.co 🔔 Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a...
Aug 31, 2023•32 min
