Unlearning Marketing’s Awful Lessons

Why we need more writers and fewer “marketers”

You are a great writer, Christina — which means you can be a great marketer. You have 90% of the skill set if you can write.

That extra 10%? It’s a simple mindset shift. Marketing often feels “icky” to writers and other creatives. When you are your brand, you don’t want to be a self-promoter. Soft-touch marketing is the answer — not only does it feel better, but in light of today’s consumer behavior, it’s also more effective too.

If you’ll suspend disbelief for 10 minutes, I’ll make my case in my own words, my own voice:

Soft-Touch Marketing Is More Respectful — and More Effective (Episode 103 of Marketing Without the Marketing)

It requires that we unlearn some of the “conventional wisdom” about marketing. For instance, that marketing is no longer a campaign — it’s an ongoing set of relationship-building activities.

Some of the new principles of the “new marketing” are about:

• Thinking past the repetition hammer and forging deeper customer relationships
• Ditching the shortcuts and putting in the real work of real connections
• Earning more reader loyalty and advocacy — instead of “eyeballs”

And… if you don’t do it, who will? Waiting to be discovered — or for someone else to do your marketing for you — is not a safe strategy. Hope is not a marketing plan.

All the best to you — rooting for you from here in the bleachers!