Lessons in Fearless Marketing

Your marketing sucks….most likely. It’s mired in a pool of mediocrity and apprehension; being careful not to offend anybody. Or worse, it’s full of B.S. (boastful superlatives); trying to impress everyone with false bravado. It’s no wonder business has a difficult time calculating ROI, there is none. You’re saying a lot, but really you are saying nothing. And that’s what people get from your marketing…nothing.

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
-Mark Twain

Why do Mark Twain’s quotes have such staying power? Because they are pronounced with fearlessness. Which political candidate today would utter Twain’s quote in a speech? None. Instead politicians are content to coddle and make nice for fear of offending someone. That’s a pattern mirrored in much of today’s marketing.

Twain’s quote gives us three qualities of fearlessness you would do well to inject into your marketing:

• Distinction
• Conflict
• Fearless Factor

Distinction
Blah Blah Blah, all marketing runs together because everyone is saying basically the same thing. That’s what makes Twain’s quote distinct. He was saying something that people don’t normally say. He broke a pattern of speech, and he broke from the norm. No promises are made and there’s no bragging.

Conflict
If everyone likes your idea, if everyone likes your message, you don’t have a good message. You just have a message that doesn’t offend anyone. The really good ideas all have detractors. Find someone who disagrees with you, and you might have a good idea. Create a little conflict with your message. Stand for something and, for God’s sake, offend someone.

Fearless Factor
Simply, it is the truth. Most businesses today are afraid to tell the truth. They get caught up in marketing gobbledygook and cute phraseology. Instead of saying something meaningful marketers tend to spout the same lines as everyone else.

Find the interesting truth in your business, say it with distinction, and create a little conflict. Then unleash your message on a public that is waiting for someone fearless enough to be a leader.

But why this way? Why must you be so bold and fearless, can’t we just sell something? No. You need to be fearless leader. You will understand why in our next installment of Fearless Marketing on Monday: General George S. Patton, William Elphinstone and Barney Fife.

Continue reading here: Case Study: Branding an Etsy Store

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