Have your efforts to “sell” sold you out?
Lately, I’ve been chewing on the idea that a lot of marketing out there is like fast food. Predictable, cheap, and ubiquitous.
And I feel sick, unnourished and hungry after I eat it.
Why? What we call fast “food” isn’t much like real food at all. It’s been scientifically developed to store, travel and reheat well. Much of what we taste is actually chemically crafted. In a lab. By engineers and scientists.
The same holds true for marketing messages in a lot of people’s stuff:
“Make more mo.ney with ease and grace!”
“Are you struggling to grow your business?”
“Lose weight in 3 simple steps!”
“Transform your life and shine!”
These aren’t real “messages.” There is no “point of view.” And I, for one, won’t read the copy with a headline like this. Even though they are following the “secrets” of marketing. It’s cheap, fast, and mass-produced. Not Stella’s cuppa tea.
Because I prefer the gourmet marketing message. Like small batch microbrews, locally grown heirloom tomatoes, and eggs from free range, happy hens, gourmet marketing messages costs more.
They take a bit more thought to craft (at first, anyway).
They don’t attract a mass market.
They mess with your SEO keywords.
But man, they are nourishing, satisfying and delicious. And I, for one, am willing to pay more for it. Which is why this kind of messaging wins you raving fans and high caliber clients. They build real, long-term relationships (with people who haven’t even met you yet—a.k.a. your future clients) like nothing else.
This is what we’re up to in Stella’s neighborhood. Helping you find your gourmet core message… and showing you how to infuse it into every morsel of marketing you put out there.
Why not hijack the secrets of marketing and the psychological insights of persuasive writing… and pump the world full of messages that actually say (and teach) something?
But let’s not stop there. Let’s also make a fabulous living while we do it. And laugh all the way to the bank…
This will sound crazy: the way to win raving fans and high caliber clients isn’t to sell.
It’s to dazzle, delight, educate and inspire in your marketing. Now, this doesn’t mean you stop asking for business. Far from it. It means you understand how the marketing game is played, and then you beat the dealer.
You don’t just “write marketing.” You craft messages that help people improve their lives, with whatever tools you have to do it.
Which means, for many of us, we need to push ourselves to not only study marketing strategy, but copywriting skills and how to express the core message of our businesses and lives in ways that other people want to hear about.
Because when you start doing that, you become dangerous. More generous with your good ideas. And freakin’ EXCITED about sharing your message. Marketing as much of a chore as breathing is. You just DO it. It’s who you ARE. It’s how you serve the world.
Join Stella for her latest teaching call: “The truth about online marketing: The missing ingredient that will make or break your business” on Wednesday, April 11th 8 p.m. EST. There’s no cost to attend, and she will be teaching on how to craft your own core message, so that you can expand your client base nationally and internationally, and move beyond one-on-one work to more leveraged business models. To register, click here: https://stellaorange.com/truthcall. Mighty thanks to Tom Bozeman on Facebook for sharing this image (and Marcia Baczynski for posting it. Alas, I don’t have photo credits, but will post ‘em if I find them. Thank you, anonymous talent for this non-billboard.)
