About Carylis Palacios
The best digital marketing strategies are never built around how consumers behave, but why they do it. Their needs and desires. That’s why stories that center around these motivations never die…
From history to fiction… to even personality quizzes… storytelling is behind everything that makes us tick.
I use storytelling to help brands connect with real humans in the real world.
Storytelling & Strategy Approach
Great Marketing in a Nutshell
Real Value
One of the most critical components of marketing is plain old empathy. Understanding our market and how our business has the potential to change people’s lives.
You see, my start in marketing was by pure chance. I’d say the only reason I managed to “get away with it” was because I promoted something amazing. I was selling people’s chance to live the life they wanted for themselves as well as their families.
Not everyone has something so literally life-changing to offer. But we all should strive to sell something that has a real impact on the end user.
Specific Audience
That brings us to the second most essential aspect of marketing: targeting the right audience.
I couldn’t even count how many times I’ve heard, “Everyone can benefit from my service” or, “My service is the best option for anyone looking for XYZ.” I love the passion… but, quite honestly, that has never been the case for anyone I’ve worked with.
All consumers are different and have varying needs. Consequently, all businesses should cater to different needs. This means going deep rather than wide and leveraging uniqueness over fitting in with the crowds.
Identity Over Trends
Due to the first two points, I always insist you focus on meaning beyond all-singing, all-dancing trends.
Successful brands, those that connect with and move people, are the ones carrying their message like a badge of honor. No matter what, no matter when.
Awesome brands never compromise their message, values, and goals. Nor do they change their entire identity when the wind changes. Why? Because no one likes a sellout!
Goals Build Up
Focusing on long-term goals is the best way to stay true to your brand’s identity.
No matter how great a tactic seems on the surface, or how successful it proves for someone else, our criteria shouldn’t flicker.
Achieving marketing goals is about knowing what we want, having a realistic action plan, and sticking to it until results are met, or… until data suggests an alternative path.
Rinse and Repeat
Changing the tune can be entertaining, but it won’t necessarily drive results. Marketing has many moving pieces, some of which aren’t even close to controllable.
Observations can be more circumstantial than consequential. Some excellent results might not be repeatable, and some epic fails could have seemed fine on paper.
Repeating similar tactics and testing small variants is more effective (and useful) than reinventing the wheel on a whim.
Stats Don’t Lie
The most we hype about something, the most suspicious we should be about our judgment.
Subjectivity is the worst enemy of strategy. When building a brand and its marketing campaigns, we need to look at results over time and how they play into our overarching goals.
We’ve got to look at the big picture and focus on the path that goes upwards long term. Historic data is all that matters when predicting where your story should go next.
It Wasn’t a Straight Path
January 10, 2017
Clueless Landing
I was a cardiology hospital’s CEO assistant when all young professionals started fleeing Venezuela. A crazy situation, but not as much as my former boss deciding I was the right person for managing the organization’s website, social media, and PR.
September 29, 2017
An Unexpected Hit
As I powered through small tasks, mostly intuitively… I published a new magazine issue and organized the biggest World’s Heart Day event in the country. Successfully. But without even realizing the magnitude of its audience until the event’s day. That’s when I started to think, maybe, I wasn’t bad at marketing at all.
April 18, 2018
Crossing the Rubicon
I was thrilled with my job and the astonishing promotion offer I got thanks to my wit, adaptability, and willingness to figure anything out. But Venezuela’s instability worsened every day, and I had to decide. Either stay and hope for the best… or leave the country, burning my glowing progress while at it. Needless to say, I left.
August 18, 2019
100 Years of Mess
As anyone who’s migrated will know, your career goes down the drain when you leave your country. At least that was my case. I had to start all over again, and it appeared as if I had used all my lucky stars back in Venezuela because this time, climbing the corporate ladder was rather slow and painful. That’s why I started freelancing.
April 22, 2022
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Freelancing was cool, but my gigs were lacking in the scope and reach departments, and I had experienced enough roadblocks for a lifetime. So, I decided to gain that extra experience at 2x speed. I worked in two marketing agencies, on hundreds of projects, for dozens of companies. I got promoted every time and played around like a mad scientist… until I burned out. Mission accomplished, though. In a few years, I was a true marketing veteran.
January 12, 2024
Stories Worth Telling
My birthday commitment was to only write stories I believe in, not the ones other people wanted to push the most. Certainly not the ones whose mission shifted as the sexy new thing came along. Now I tell stories that impact people beyond the surface.
Why Strategic Storytelling for Inbound Marketing?
1
Meaning fuels connection—not marketing.
2
Built for real humans, not just the algorithm.
3
No chasing trends. Just smart, steady growth.
4
Clarity-driven plans that compound over time.
5
Content flows that support, not suffocate.
6
Built to last: rooted in values, refined by data.
There’s no small task for her.
Her ability to work independently and make things happen has been invaluable. I highly recommend Carylis.
Juan A.
Love the new content!
Thank you! You did a great job on the content calendar and I know it is only going to get better.
Madelyn M.
I’m really happy with it!
I’ve been getting a lot more casual comments lately that people are loving the content. Happy with it all!
Laryssa W.
Real World Case Studies
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The Lead Magnet Strategy That Got 41 Qualified Leads in 30 Days (0 Ad Budget)
The B2B lead magnet strategy turned a consultant’s regular content into a list-building tool. If you charge $1,000+ USD, you might want a funnel like this too.