"You Are Not Special!" - and It's Good For Marketing

I am a huge fan of claiming our superpowers and marketing our uniqueness as individuals, so we can fully express our value and passion in our business, while standing out from competition.

However, there is ONE thing about us not being totally “unique” can work in favor of our marketing.

And that is, we are human beings marketing to other human beings who share the same underlying psychological triggers and drivers. (Even if you service pets, it’s a human that is paying you.)

What about that? That means if you can tap into your own experience, emotions and stories, and make them transcend into universal experiences or emotions, your marketing communication can speak to your ideal clients in a deep resonating way that makes them want to work with you.

Your emotions, frustrations, intrinsics drives, or deep desires are human nature shared by your ideal clients. Your life experience, no matter how unique it is, reflects human conditions shared by all.

Using shared human conditions and emotions can move and motivate people into action – in a way that inspires commitment (because they are not “strong-armed” into buying by some scarcity tactics) – and commitment leads to results, happy clients and referral (aka good for business!)

Going into such deep places can trigger a lot of “stuff” that can sabotage your effort. Here are a couple of mindset shifts to support you to step up:

Mindset Shift #1 :: How You Think About Marketing

To make this approach work, you need to stop thinking marketing as something alien, or a “necessary evil.”

Marketing at its most authentic form is honest and transparent. It is a way for our individual value, vision, passion and expression to come through in all of our communications – fully and unapologetically.

It is a way for us to get clear on who we are, because unless we have clarity about what we stand for, we cannot amp it up to create effective marketing communications. (If you are confused, your marketing will amp up the confusion.)

Mindset Shift #2 :: Own Your Vulnerability

Embracing your vulnerability allows you dig into all your life experiences, emotions and stories to find the gem that will hit the bull’s eye for your ideal clients. This is where real connection and fruitful relationships begins.

You cannot be authentic, transparent and honest if you hold back, play small, or puff up because of the fear of being vulnerable.

But it doesn’t mean you have to dole out everything and the kitchen sink! In fact, if you tell your entire life story without considering what you are trying to communicate or how you are going to inspire action, you are just babbling.

Owning your vulnerability means you are in a position to look at all your experience and stories from a neutral perspective – because you are not trying to conceal – so you can select the ones that strike a cord with your ideal clients, and tell the stories or experiences from your audience’s perspective, in a way that is relevant to them and inspires action, so they can relate and connect with you.

Over coming your fears can go a long way to help you step up and be honest and transparent in your marketing to make genuine and fruitful connections – here is how.