Category: Marketing

Reduce Stress

The average adult
is extremely stressed.

According to the 2023
Stress In America report,
24% of adults
rated their stress
as extremely high
(compared to 19%
in 2019).

Stress levels are lower
for older people.

Only 9% of those aged 65+
feel extremely stressed.

In contrast,
34% of those aged 18 to 24
feel extremely stressed.

What does this mean
for business builders?

Our employees are likely
to be under a LOT of stress.

Our customers are also
likely looking for ways
to lower their stress levels.

If we can reduce stress
with our products, our services,
our management style,
we are more likely
to earn loyalty
from the people around us.

The Hype And The Reality

I have an elderly loved one
who REALLY loves Christmas.

For at least a month
leading up to Christmas,
she hypes it up in her mind.

Then, on Christmas Day,
she cries
because the reality
never matches the vision
she has created for it.

It CAN’T do that.

Reality is imperfect.
Things go wrong.
People say not-ideal things.
Emergencies happen.

This is true of almost everything.

The business you create,
for example,
won’t be the business
you dreamed of creating.

You’ll have grumpy customers.
There will be lean sales times.
Not everyone will understand
or appreciate
what you’re trying to accomplish.

Your reality won’t live up
to the hype.

But there will still be
awesome moments.

Enjoy those awesome moments.

And remember that
great stories
come from things that go wrong.

Marketing Tied To US Thanksgiving

Promoting our products
using Thanksgiving in the US
can be…problematic.

US Thanksgiving is tied to the pilgrims
and how Europeans treated
the Indigenous populations in the US
(i.e. horrifically).

(I think that is why
so many businesses
focus on Black Friday.)

In Canada,
there is no such tie.
Thanksgiving (in October)
is purely
a celebration of the harvest.

And there are celebrations
of the harvest
in almost ALL cultures.

If you want to run promotions
tied to Thanksgiving
in the US,
consider celebrating
the harvest.

Focus on the pumpkins,
the corn,
and other symbols of it.

Very few people
will object
to a celebration of the harvest.

For Their Health

A buddy in the the travel business
told me
they are seeing an increase
in bookings for vacations
for ‘mental health reasons.’

The world is a mess.
People are under
a lot of stress due to that.

They are searching
for ways
to decrease that stress.

Does your product/service
decrease stress?

Does it offer an escape?
Does it take some of the workload
off people?
Does it make their lives easier?

Stress that
in your marketing material.

Encourage prospects
to buy your products/services
‘for their mental health.’

There’s a growing need
for that.

Honest Yet Anonymous

Yesterday,
I posted about
how social media posts
under your own name
can cost you
your dream job.

But-but-but I’m not a writer,
you say.
I don’t have a pen name.

You likely have
a first name.
Post under that.
Or initials.
Or a passion.

The ‘trick’
is to not easily be
identified,
to leave some doubt
in employer’s minds
that the person posting
is you.

When you are approached
about it,
respond with
“Wow.
There are quite a few
Jills in the world,
aren’t there?”
And leave it at that.

Leave room for doubt.

Do Something Nice For At Least One Customer Today

The world has been
a tire fire lately.

People are struggling.

But we have the ability
to make
at least one person’s life
a little easier,
a little better.

Do something nice
for at least
one of your customers.

Forgive a late fee.

Add a happy face sticker
to the outside of a delivery package.

Send someone a personalized card
telling them
the world is better
with them in it.

Listen to them.
Really listen to them.

Do something nice.

It’ll make a difference
in their world.

AND it might make your world
a bit better also.

In Loving Memory Of…

I received mail
from a charity.
The envelope had
“In Loving Memory Of”
printed on it
and then my name and address.

I suspect
the marketer thought
it was a clever way
to encourage me
to put the charity
in my will.

I say suspect
because I didn’t open it.
I shredded it immediately.
Then I asked to go
do not contact
with that charity.

I spent the rest of the day
freaked out,
taking extra safety precautions,
feeling like
I might die at any time.

Don’t wish harm or death
for
your prospective customers.

Going Viral Isn’t Always The Solution

I had a social media post
go viral recently.
It received many, MANY thousands
of likes.

I didn’t receive
any new followers
due to that post.
Not one.

Sales
didn’t increase
due to it.

I gained no additional satisfaction
from the post
being seen by so many people.

All it did
was suck a lot of my time
as I had to manage the responses.

Going viral isn’t always
the solution
to your marketing woes.

Look into
a variety of possible solutions
and hope
one of those
works for you.

Hinting At Products To Come

One of my favorite things
to do
as someone running
a Romance Novel Business
is
hint at products to come.

I love casually mentioning
a character in a previous story
or a blog post,
for example,
and then
responding to readers (customers)
who suggest
I should write that character’s story.

I tell them
that’s a great idea.
And months later,
I publish that character’s story.

That makes readers happy.
They are super invested
in that story
because it was ‘their idea.’

They don’t know
I planted that idea
in their brains
and that this was so successful
hundreds of readers (customers)
also messaged me
with the same suggestion.

Hint at products and services
to come.

Get your prospects and existing customers
invested in those ideas.

Your Good Deeds Will Eventually Go Public

When I help others,
I do it
as quietly as possible.

I don’t want the recognition.
That’s not why
I’m helping others.

But I know
my good deeds
will eventually go public.

There’s always a trail.
And we live in a world
where everyone has a recording device
and is constantly using it.

Someone WILL say something
or post something
or tell someone.

When I help others,
I accept that will happen.

You don’t have to tell others
about your good deeds.

Someone else
will eventually share
that news.

And it will be more powerful
because it is being shared
by that someone else.

There is no need
to broadcast your good deeds.