I have a pet peeve about how I’m marketed to.
Now, I have no beef with marketing itself – marketing is simply communication about what’s on offer and that’s good for both buyers and sellers – but one particular strategy really frosts my oats.
The Teaser.
You know when a marketer talks up their shiny new strategy, tells you how it makes you look sexier, acts like a money magnet, and solves all your problems?
They wave it under your nose like a yummy vegan brownie fresh from the oven until your salivating…and then say:
“I’m not gonna give it to you…unless you respond to this email with the words, “I WANT IT NOW!!!”
I hate that strategy. You get me all hot and bothered, and now I have to work for it?
It feels manipulative.
Except today I noticed something fascinating.
I dug through my inbox and found three emails using this same Teaser strategy.
Two of them really pissed me off (that’s why I remembered them) but the third was one I enjoyed receiving.
I ignored the first. The second one got a begruding response from me because I really wanted the bait they were offering. But I didn’t like it. 😠 And the third got my happy reply.
All three offered me a similar “quid pro quo” offer in exchange for a response.
So why did two of them irritate me and one delight me?
The only difference was what I was thinking at the time.
I made up a story about each of these requests.
My story about the marketing that irritated me:
“They’re deliberately using this tactic to manipulate me into responding. How dare they!”
My story about the marketing that intrigued me:
“They really care what I think. What a nice person!”
None of these stories are true. And even as I re-read the same emails now, I don’t have a negative reaction to any of them. The feeling is gone.
How can this be?
Because it’s not the marketing itself that created my reaction – it was my thinking about it.
It’s astonishing how real and permanent thought can feel, when it just isn’t.
And guess what?
You can feel however you like about marketing. Your own or someone else’s.
It’s not the content, the platform, or the tactic that feels uncomfortable; it’s the story you’re telling yourself about it.
When you understand this, everything shifts. You’re creating how you feel. You get to create from clarity, not fear. And you can actually enjoy marketing.
If you’re curious about exploring business and marketing from this kind of fresh, freeing perspective, come join us in the IMPACT membership.
Our next Community Jam happens Wednesday, and it’s networking with a playful twist. We’ll explore what lights us up, connect in real time, and share what we’re up to. It’s real talk that inspires real action.
https://www.theawakenedbusiness.com/impactinvite/
Yours in love and play,
Steph
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