Hey, I'm Koren Helbig
I help for-good small business owners do great marketing, using permaculture design and thinking. I also dabble in journalism, city gardening, sustainable living workshop facilitation and arvo naps.
Kor…what? Here’s how to say my name:
MY THEORY OF CHANGE
Your small business can be part of the revolution to a brighter future
The world feels like it’s going to hell in a handbasket right now.
And yet, I remain a practical idealist. As we navigate late-stage capitalism and the climate crisis, we need more good, honest, right-sized businesses — ones committed to making a positive impact as well as a profit.
That’s where Permaculture Marketing can help. Guided by the patterns of nature, your brilliant biz is supported to thrive in ways that are sustainable for you, your bank balance, your customers and the planet.
20+ years of experience
From national Australian newsrooms to leading charities and brands.
Values-based approach
Specialising in ethical marketing and storytelling for small business.
Permaculture qualified
Considering purpose, people, planet and profit in all strategies.
200+ clients worldwide
Supporting change-makers in Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and beyond.
Writing has taken me on a wild ride over the past two decades
It all began in 2005, as a cadet journalist interviewing grape growers in muddy Barossa Valley vineyards (naturally, I remain partial to Shiraz).
From there, I wrote my way across Queensland as a political reporter for the state’s largest daily newspaper.
After a small move to the opposite side of the world (hola, Spain), I set up my own marketing company in 2013 to help ethical small businesses amplify their impact online. In 2017, I returned home to South Australia and studied permaculture, which profoundly changed my life.
Since then, I’ve founded Permaculture Marketing and helped launch businesses big and small, revamped dozens of websites, grown social media followings into triple digits, sold out online courses and helped raise millions for charity.
All while staying true to my ethics and values, and helping my clients do the same. 🙌
Interviewing former Queensland deputy premier Andrew Fraser aboard the government jet.
With my friend Toby, dressed for the traditional Hogueras de San Juan festival in my adopted home of Alicante, Spain.
At the heart of my work is a deep desire to help accelerate the transition to a regenerative, one-planet future.
Permaculture is the framework that makes this possible.
Guided by permaculture ethics
Earth Care
Marketing that regenerates nature
We actively look for ways to make businesses and marketing lighter on the planet, while promoting environmental protection and regeneration.
People Care
Marketing that’s connective and kind
We prioritise wellbeing for everyone our businesses and marketing touch: our audience, customers, collaborators and even ourselves and more-than-human species.
Fair Share
Marketing that gives back
We aim to promote our businesses in ways that create mutual benefit and fair exchange, while gifting a sustainable amount of revenue, time and skills to the greater good.
Values for working together
Inner-led wisdom
You know your business best, I’m here as a guide. We’ll blend what feels right for you with marketing science, data and permaculture to design solutions that match your own values and capacity.
Honest kindness
I communicate clearly and directly (hello, autism) but always with deep care and respect, so our work together feels safe, constructive and empowering.
Nature’s pacing
We’ll mimic the natural world and move at a steady, sustainable pace, designing marketing that’s calm, holistic and at least a bit enjoyable, rather than robotic, rapid and manipulative.
Fun!
I believe business can be energising, playful and fulfilling. That’s the approach we’ll take to both my work and yours, while ensuring everything’s high-quality and effective.
My qualifications and experience
As a working journalist and experienced strategist, I bring a unique mix of deep marketing know-how and pro-level storytelling.
Proud member of
Giving 1% for the planet
Business can (and should) drive environmental and social good, don’t you reckon? When we work together, you’re supporting that. I give at least 1% of my income and 1% of my work hours to protect our planet’s future.
- Monthly donations to Groundswell and Ethos Foundation
- Monthly Pay the Rent donation to the Living Knowledge Network, in acknowledgement that I live and work on unceded Aboriginal land
- Weekly pro bono marketing support for Permaculture South Australia
✱ 1% for the Planet is a non-profit that verifies its members donate 1% of annual revenue to environmental groups. But the $500 annual fee for a biz my size is money I’d rather give directly to hands-on charities. So, for now, I’m running a DIY version.
Making our cities greener and wilder, one backyard at a time
My love for permaculture extends into my home and garden, which I’ve turned into an urban Adelaide permaculture demonstration site. Here, I show fellow city-dwellers how to live more sustainably in the suburbs, a crucial climate action given 9 in 10 Aussies reside in urban areas.
Slowly, I’ve made energy-efficient home renos, a local native butterfly garden out the front and a veggie garden and mini food forest out back.
My garden truly is my happy place. It opens to the public once a year; newsletter subscribers get first dibs on tickets.
