Why your marketing isn’t working

Develop your "outside voice" in writing

It’s raining as I write this. There’s a cup of yerba mate on my desk. If I squint my eyes a little and look out my office window, I can almost convince myselft that I’m in Seattle (not Miami).

It’s good thinking weather.

Before I share the thought, let’s set this up. As psychologists, copywriters, marketers, salespeople, and anyone who persuades for a living will tell you, there are two ways to move people to action. Pleasure or pain. You speak to your potential clients about what they want to move towards, or away from.

The standard line here is that pain is the more powerful of the two. An example: I was at the mall awhile ago (which I have sworn never to do again), and a salesman from one of the kiosks came up to me and handed me a free lotion sample. Looking back, I realize he did it to look at my fingernails, so he could tell which product I might be a mark for.

He took me through the whole product demonstration of a nail buffer system, complete with oil and scrubbing salts. As he was massaging all this into my hand, he noticed the freckles on my arms. But he called them “age spots,” and said I should buy ANOTHER one of his products, to protect me from the sun and aging.

He tried to get me into “pain” by bringing up a sensitive spot for some women—getting older and doubting their beauty. Unfortunately for him, this isn’t a pain I worry about much. So his approach backfired. Not only did I keep my money, I was annoyed by his willingness to agitate self-consciousness and insecurity in order to sell something. Boo to that.

But what about the other side of the coin… pleasure? One of my clients helps women lose weight by tuning into their pleasure. It’s a mix of intuition, and accepting that you’ve been using food to get love, sweetness, comfort, companionship and sensuality in your life. Her message is all about finding other sources for these needs. And tuning in to your own wisdom to guide you on what to eat, do, and be.

It’s totally uplifting. Plus, it flies in the face of so much of the conventional wisdom about losing weight. Which I adore, too. Any woman who says you can have your chocolate cake and eat it, too (so long as you are present + savor every bite) is my kind of crusader!

So here’s the thought: your writing—and the way you talk about your work—needs to stir pleasure or pain in order to rally action. This is part of developing what I call your “outside voice” in your writing. And it’s also key to building your marketing muscle.

My vote is for pleasure (why add to the pain?), but to successfully market and grow your business online, you need to be fully aware of the full range of emotions your potential clients are experiencing. So you can meet ‘em where they’re at. And make a connection that’s intimate and real, using your words.

Learn how to write so you connect with your ideal clients and have a solid marketing system that pumps new clients through your client pipeline. Registration is now open for Stella’s next production lab, the Find Your Voice program. For more info and to talk to Stella about whether this is a match for your business and revenue goals, visit: https://stellaorange.com/clientmagnet.

Mighty thanks to Sam Judson’s flickr photostream for the ink.