Feel-good Marketing
By: Cameron Chapman
Tags: Marketing, Business, Social Media, Clients, Social Media Marketing

Feel-good Marketing

Create a Marketing Plan that Doesn’t Lead to Burnout

I’ve been working in marketing for years, and the more I think about it, the more I realize how much I don’t really like marketing.

Or, at least I don’t like the kind of marketing that I see everywhere, invading my social feeds and inbox on a daily basis.

Most of it feels…well…not great.

It’s why I’ve struggled so much to market myself. Because while I can get behind a lot of these tactics for someone else’s product or service, I have a really hard time doing those same things for myself.

It took a long time for me to admit that to myself, let alone to the world. But if I’m not marketing myself in a way that feels aligned, then all the marketing in the world isn’t going to bring me the kinds of clients I actually want to work with.

After a lot of consideration of the way people market to me, the way I like to be marketed to, and how I’ve marketed things in the past, I came up with a way of marketing that feels good to me (hence, “Feel-good Marketing”). I’m still in the early days of actually implementing these ideas, so I can’t say yet how effective they’ll be. But I can say that I’m not feeling drained by the idea of marketing myself anymore. And that’s a win in and of itself.

Marketing That Doesn’t Feel Good

Let’s start with the marketing methods that don’t feel good. If you’re trying to figure out your own feel-good marketing plan, this is where I’d suggest you start. Look at all the marketing activities that leave you feeling “meh” or “bleh” as a starting point. Disregard whether they work or not for now. This is all about how these methods make you feel. Your list might vary from mine, and that’s 100% okay.

The Bait and Switch

I responded to a free webinar ad recently that promised to reveal a marketing secret that sparked my curiosity. I entered my email address and sat through a 30-minute video that never revealed what the ad promised. Instead, it invited viewers to book a free call in order to find out. Curiosity still piqued, I booked a call.

Instead of finding out the “secret” marketing method, I ended up on a sales call (which was expected, but at least deliver on the promise) that turned into the person attempting to make me feel insecure about what I was doing and then trying to guilt me into investing tens of thousands of dollars. Nope, no thank you, we’re done here.

And I still never got the “secret.” (I wonder if there even was one…)

Dozens of Super Salesy Launch Emails

If you’ve ever signed up for a newsletter from a coach, consultant, or online educator, you’ve likely been subjected to at least one launch email sequence. Any time a company releases a new program or offering, they send out anywhere between five and fifteen (or more) launch emails, designed to grab your attention and get you to buy.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this strategy, and obviously it works or you wouldn’t have thousands of people using it. But there’s a big difference between launch sequences that provide value and those that are just focused on sales.

If you’re going to send a dozen emails, make sure that each of those provides value to the person reading it. If it’s just telling them how awesome your new offer is, you’re likely going to turn off way more people than you turn on.

Being “Authentic” (But Not Really)

Authentic is one of those buzzwords that has gotten way overplayed, to the point it’s almost meaningless. We have to be “authentic” in everything we do online.

Well, duh.

Antonyms of authentic include untrustworthy, false, corrupt, and unreliable. None of us want any of those words associated with our products or services, so of course we need to be authentic.

But the way that many people show up in an “authentic” way doesn’t really ring true. They’re still painting a pretty rosy picture of their life and business. The word is just played out at this point.

Authenticity should be the bare minimum, not something that we strive for.

Shaming and Making People Feel Insecure

I already talked about the business coach who tried to shame me for not spending tens of thousands of dollars with them. The only thing it accomplished was that I will never spend money with them.

But there are many marketers who use more subtle versions of this. Their sales pages are focused on making people feel like they’re lacking something. They aim to drum up all the insecurities a person might have in order to convince them that the only way out is to buy their product.

Again, this is one of those tactics that definitely works. But I’m not crazy about preying upon people’s insecurities and doubts.

Spending a Ton of Money on Ads

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-advertising. But ads can be used as a replacement for building a genuine audience. Need more sales? Spend more on ads! It’s a quick and easy solution.

But if you’re not also building an audience organically, your success is forever tied to your advertising budget.

Convincing People They Absolutely Need Whatever You’re Selling

Selling people something they want or need is admirable. But convincing people they need what you’re selling when they don’t isn’t.

You shouldn’t need to convince people they need what you’re selling. That doesn’t mean you don’t offer it to them (they may decide they need it after all). But you want customers and clients who are excited about what you’re selling, not who regret their purchase three days later because they realized they don’t need it after all.

Giving Away Your Best Content

This is a popular marketing trope in the infopreneur world: that you should give away your best content in order to attract customers.

But if you’re giving away your best content, why would someone buy your other content? And if they do, they might be disappointed in the value they get. Because it won’t measure up to the freebie you gave them first.

You should give away good content for sure. But keep your very best for your paying clients.

Following the Latest Marketing Trends

I’m a big fan of experimenting, especially when it comes to marketing. But that doesn’t mean you have to jump on every single marketing trend that comes along.

Video is huge right now, especially live video. Personally, I hate doing videos. I’ve tried to force myself to do them. And I’ve done a few. But they’re uncomfortable and I end up procrastinating for hours (days…weeks…) and waste a lot of time and energy. So I gave myself permission to stop doing them.

Does that mean I’ll never ever do a live video? Of course not. If inspiration strikes and I feel drawn to making a video or going live, I’ll do that. But I’m not going to hinge my marketing strategy on doing it. Because if I’m uncomfortable and don’t like it, that’s going to show and deter people from wanting to work with me.

Try the trends if you feel called to try them. But don’t jump on every single trend that comes along because you feel like you should.

A Marketing Plan that Feels Good

There might be other marketing strategies that don’t feel good to you. Make a list. Then start thinking about what does feel good. Here’s what I came up with:

Honesty About What You’re Selling

If you promise something to your customers, deliver on that promise. Being honest about what you can — and can’t—do is key to marketing that feels good.

That also means ruling out customers who aren’t a good fit or wouldn’t benefit from what you’re selling. Don’t be afraid of not being all things to all people. Find the people who are really going to benefit from what you have to offer and forget the rest.

Emails That Feel Like Conversations

Email marketing has been my jam for a long time. I can double open rates and click-through rates in my sleep.

But just getting opens and clicks isn’t all there is to effective email marketing. Connecting with the people who have explicitly given you permission to communicate with them is vital to long-term success.

That’s why writing and sending emails that feel like conversations is a better strategy if you’re trying to build a business that lasts. Instead of constantly striving for that higher open rate or a few extra clicks, focus on building a relationship with each and every one of your emails.

Being Vulnerable

Authenticity is the bare minimum. Vulnerability is more like the gold standard. Especially if what you’re selling is yourself.

Showing your potential clients the darker side, the nitty-gritty, and the less-than-fun parts of what you do is a way to form connections. Telling them about the times you failed, the times you were wrong, the times you’ve struggled—all of those are ways to show them that what you’re offering is genuine.

Very few people want to work with someone who’s perfect. They don’t want to work with someone who’s never struggled with the same issues they have. They want to know that the person they’re turning to for help actually understands where they’re at. And besides, no one is perfect. Anyone claiming to be so (even in one area) is lying (either to you or to themselves).

Uplifting People and Giving Them Hope

Obviously, we create solutions that solve problems, no matter how big or small those problems are. But our goal should be to give people hope about their problems, not make them feel worse and like we’re the only people who can help them.

We should show people the options for how we can help them, but that doesn’t mean guilting or shaming them into buying. Uplift them, give them hope, and make them want to work with you out of joy, not out of fear.

Organic Connections First

Your goal with any marketing activity you do should be to build organic connections with people. People want to work with people they like. They want to work with people they admire and feel connected to.

That means showing up consistently and being real about where you’re at, what you do, and what you can do. It means having conversations, being vulnerable when you feel called to, and genuinely wanting to help people.

And organic connection isn’t built through advertising or paid methods. It can be reinforced with those methods. But it can’t be built from there. So spend time building an audience organically before you worry about paid marketing.

Calling in Soulmate Clients

Don’t let the term “soulmate” deter you as being too woowoo. A soulmate client is simply someone who you’re excited to work with and who’s excited to work with you. When both parties are thrilled with the work you’ll do together, you’ll end up with better results.

The way you call in those soulmate clients is by building connections, being vulnerable, and being honest about what you can do for them and how you’ll do it.

Feel-Good Marketing Should Feel Good for Everyone

The key to feel-good marketing is that it should feel good for everyone involved. That means it should feel good to you as a marketer as well as for those you’re selling to. There needs to be balance.

Taking time to build a marketing plan that you enjoy and that connects you with the perfect clients is worthwhile. It may take some trial and error and definitely takes commitment and planning, but overall it creates a marketing strategy that doesn’t leave you feeling burnt out.