What If Marketing Started With A Verbal Headshot w Abby Duran

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You can feel it when someone finally finds the words for who they are and what they do, and that’s where this conversation goes. We’re joined by Abby Duran, a Charleston-based narrative strategist and spoken word artist, to explore how brand storytelling gets sharper when it’s rooted in truth. Abby explains how her work through VeraNation writing helps business owners and creatives uncover their values, shape their message, and turn a long-form personal narrative into practical assets for websites, presentations, profiles, and more.

We also dig into the local platforms that quietly power real community and real opportunities. Abby shares what happens behind the scenes at Creative Mornings Charleston, the global breakfast lecture series that pairs monthly themes with speakers, music, and art, and why it leaves people feeling lighter and more connected. She also spotlights Ohm Radio 96.3, Charleston’s only non-commercial nonprofit radio station, and how giving people a mic can change what a community hears about itself.

Then we get brutally practical about creative entrepreneurship. Why do so many creatives undercharge? How do you learn contracts, negotiation, and “no” without losing your voice? Abby talks time management, finding the right rooms, using tools like Google Alerts for grants and opportunities, and building a team when marketing feels uncomfortable. We close with her participatory poetry installation A Mountain of Crumbled Candor and the idea that releasing what’s unsaid can be a form of collective healing.

If you’re trying to build a creative career, strengthen your brand voice, or market with more honesty, you’ll want this one in your feed. Subscribe, share with a creative friend, and leave a review with the biggest insight you’re taking into your week.

The Harbor House Party Vol. II brings together conversation, connection, and live music for one unforgettable night in Charleston - all while raising funds to support the Harbor Entrepreneur Center.

On September 23, guests can choose how they experience the night, from an intimate VIP gathering at Share House to the roundtable and live music at Music Farm featuring the Futurebirds.

HarborEC.org

Join Camp Happy Days on Saturday, September 19th for Happy Steps, a 5K run/walk on Sullivan's Island in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The race starts and finishes at The Island Club, where we invite you to stick around for the afterparty featuring food, drinks, raffles, auction items, music, and race awards — all benefiting Camp Happy Days and the children and families we serve. 

https://www.camphappydays.org/happysteps

How can Charleston businesses get noticed, found and chosen? The Charleston Marketing Podcast, brought to you by Charleston AMA and recorded at Charleston Media Solutions, answers the marketing and media questions local business owners are asking. We explore media buying, advertising budgets, radio, digital marketing, storytelling and the customer journey, with practical strategies for growing your business in today’s attention economy. CharlestonMediaSolutions.com

Support the show

Title Sponsor: Charleston American Marketing Association

Presenting Sponsor: Charleston Media Solutions

Annual Sponsor: ‪SCRA; South Carolina Research Authority

Quarterly Sponsor: King and Columbus

CAMACast Cohosts: Stephanie Barrow, Mike Compton, Rachel Backal, Tom Keppeler, Amanda Bunting Comen, 

Silicon Harbor Hot Take Host: Stanfield Gray, https://digsouth.com

Produced and edited: RMBO Advertising

Photographer | Co-host: Kelli Morse

Score by:  The Strawberry Entrée; Jerry Feels Good, CURRYSAUCE, DBLCRWN, DJ DollaMenu
Studio Engineer: Brian Cleary and Mathew Chase

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