Digital Women Awards 2025 Winner: Emma Hodges

Introducing Digital Women Award 2025 Winner

Emma Hodges: Digital Marketer of the Year 2025

Digital marketing now sits at the heart of every growth strategy – from AI-powered insight to creator-led storytelling – and the pace of change has never been faster. The Digital Women Awards honour the practitioners who don’t just keep up, but lead. Our Digital Marketer of the Year finalists blended data, creativity and purpose to deliver standout commercial results, elevate customer experiences, and push the industry into new territory. Meet our wonderful winner, Emma Hodges.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
Emma Hodges, founder of Biscuit Communications – yes, named after my love of tea breaks while working from home! With 25 years (this year) of marketing experience spanning startups to Fortune 500 companies, I've built a boutique consultancy that transforms how service-based business owners approach their marketing. I offer ‘done-for-you’ marketing for charities and SMEs, as well as ‘done-with-you’ mentoring and coaching for female founders.

What drives me is making expert marketing accessible and manageable. So many people find it totally overwhelming. After leaving corporate life in 2015 to better balance family life, I discovered my superpower: knowing what to juggle.

I combined enterprise-level marketing expertise with real-world understanding of running a business –while juggling everything else. I worked out what worked. I know firsthand the constraints of limited time and resources, which means I focus relentlessly on high-impact strategies that work within clients' real lives.

Away from marketing, and as well as biscuits, I love hanging with my family and spaniel Bailey, going to gigs, festivals, the sea, long walks and yoga.

What does winning this award mean to you?
So much! The Digital Marketer of the Year category featured nine incredibly talented women, and I genuinely didn't expect to win. Just being in that room felt like enough.

This recognition validates something I've worked hard to build – that you can deliver exceptional marketing results without hustle culture, that sustainable growth works, and that understanding both strategic depth and practical constraints is what drives transformation. It's also a good reminder to back myself more. I'm learning to lean into my "multi-award-winning" title now!

What career achievement are you most proud of?
Haha this win! There are a few over the years. But more recently, my six-year partnership with a housing charity for older people stands out. Through strategic digital campaigns, we achieved and maintained a 97% occupancy rate across six properties – since my entry was submitted this has risen to 100%. When launching their new 48-bed retirement village, our multichannel approach helped reach 92% occupancy within the target timeline – a significant achievement in that sector. [Plus, I’ve just started a large rebrand project with them, bringing in a connection from Digital Women.]

But what makes me proudest isn't just the numbers. It's that I created sustainable systems that continue delivering results years after implementation. By securing a Google Ad Grant, utilising well-defined Meta Ads and building a content repurposing system, the charity maintains consistent lead generation despite limited resources. As their board noted, "No one noticed it is recycled content; it all looks fresh and current." That's the kind of long-term impact that matters.

What impact have you seen from your work?
The transformation I see in clients and businesses goes beyond metrics.

What truly matters is watching overwhelmed business owners become confident, strategic marketers. Through my Strategy Accelerator programme, I've seen photographers go from feeling "miserable about the business" to "loving it" and getting their "zest back". Confidence scores jump from 1/10 to 8/10 in just six weeks. Business owners move from feast-or-famine cycles to securing monthly recurring revenue.

The impact extends to their whole lives – less stress, better work-life boundaries, and the confidence to charge what they're worth. That's what gets me out of bed in the morning.

What's the biggest lesson you've had to learn, and how did you grow from it?
Learning to work ON my business rather than just IN it was transformative but difficult. Like many service providers, I fell into the trap of prioritising client delivery over my own business development. I was brilliant at helping others grow while neglecting my own strategic planning.

The shift came when I invested heavily in my own development. That required a mindset change from viewing it as expense to recognising it as essential investment. It meant making peace with temporary profit reduction while trusting in future returns. That requires faith and the ability to back yourself.

This taught me to practice what I preach about strategic growth, and I strongly believe in accountability and community. That decision has enabled the clarity and confidence to scale my Done-With-You mentoring programmes, which is exactly where I want to grow.

What's one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
What started as a temporary solution to survive the early parenting years evolved into a thriving business that's now had its tenth anniversary. I'm often asked how I "planned" my business, but the truth is, I didn't. I took a leap when I needed flexibility, then kept showing up and learning.

So, the journey has taught me something: you don't need it all figured out before you start. Sometimes businesses are built by just solving your own problem first, then realising others need the same solution. Now I get to show my children that entrepreneurship offers big possibilities – and that's a great thing to model to them.

Plus, I bloody love Marmite and eat it every day!

What advice would you give to the next wave of Digital Women?
First, invest in yourself before you feel ready. I hesitated for years before committing to high-level coaching because I was protecting profits. But that investment has given me confidence. Find programmes with accountability and inspiring founders who understand your journey.

Second, sustainable growth beats overwhelm every time. Your version of success doesn't need to look like anyone else's. Whether you want £10k months or £3k months with maximum flexibility, both are valid. Build a business that enhances your life and freedom where you can.

Finally, back yourself more. Apply for awards even when you don't think you'll win. Pitch to the big podcasts or speaking events. Take up space. Share your expertise. The imposter syndrome never fully goes away, but you can learn to act despite it. Have faith, do the work, keep showing up.