• It's not about you. It's never been about you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I will shout this time and again because it's the most common misconception when it comes to marketing.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You have to post what people care about. You have to craft your messaging in a way that your customers identify with. You have to put their innate needs, issues, and desires above your own desire to "just post something."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you want your marketing to "work," you need to approach it from a place of radical empathy and purpose - what is really bothering Sally today? What does Sally really want to hear today? And in turn, how can you meet her in that place?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I talked about my big, big, big belief in empathy, especially when it comes to business, on my brilliant friend Kim's, @pattern_ofpurpose, podcast recently. Give it a listen if your marketing feels stale and off lately.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Chances are you're just forgetting it's about them, not you. Search "Pattern of Purpose" wherever you listen to podcasts and hit play on episode 102. ✨
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    It's not about you. It's never been about you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I will shout this time and again because it's the most common misconception when it comes to marketing.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You have to post what people care about. You have to craft your messaging in a way that your customers identify with. You have to put their innate needs, issues, and desires above your own desire to "just post something."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you want your marketing to "work," you need to approach it from a place of radical empathy and purpose - what is really bothering Sally today? What does Sally really want to hear today? And in turn, how can you meet her in that place?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I talked about my big, big, big belief in empathy, especially when it comes to business, on my brilliant friend Kim's, @pattern_ofpurpose, podcast recently. Give it a listen if your marketing feels stale and off lately.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Chances are you're just forgetting it's about them, not you. Search "Pattern of Purpose" wherever you listen to podcasts and hit play on episode 102. ✨
  • Remember how Texas tried to kill us all last week? Remember how that was just last week??? Oof. This has been one doozy of a month and I’m beyond ready to welcome March with open arms and a whole lotta sunshine. ☀️
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    Remember how Texas tried to kill us all last week? Remember how that was just last week??? Oof. This has been one doozy of a month and I’m beyond ready to welcome March with open arms and a whole lotta sunshine. ☀️
  • Small business owners can and will change this world, and the many, many, many, many, MANY lives around them.
 
As the state of Texas fell apart last week, and in the days before, as so many of our neighbors and our friends and our family struggled in a situation none of us ever thought we’d be in, I witnessed SO. MANY. SMALL. BUSINESSES. showing up and literally saving their neighbors.
 
The many famous taco joints in Austin… each giving away over 100 free meals a day.
 
The local independent coffee shops we all love so much in Austin… taking all the coffee they could brew to two of the largest hospitals in the city who were without power, heat, food, water… whose employees had been working for days on end at that point, because their coworkers couldn't make it in to relieve them of their shifts.

The famous chef cooking up 1000 free meals to take to warming centers.
 
The many, many, many, many, MANY, delicious, local small restaurants giving away hundreds of free meals every. single. day.
 
These are all small local businesses.
 
All businesses who were losing out on making any revenue the last seven + days.

All small businesses who were no doubt feeling just as much strain, worried if their business could survive another freaking week of being completely shut down, zero customers, zero sales. All small businesses who have been fighting to survive this pandemic the last year.
 
And yet. They changed lives this last week. They SAVED lives this past week.
 
Small businesses have the power to change lives and communities and towns and cities.

YOU have that power as a small business owner.
 
What a beautiful thing.

As we head into another week, as Texans start to thaw out and come out of this shell shock, as you begin to stress over deadlines and clients and customers and fulfillment and all the other small business crap you deal with, remember what it’s all for.

Remember small businesses can change this world.
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    Small business owners can and will change this world, and the many, many, many, many, MANY lives around them. As the state of Texas fell apart last week, and in the days before, as so many of our neighbors and our friends and our family struggled in a situation none of us ever thought we’d be in, I witnessed SO. MANY. SMALL. BUSINESSES. showing up and literally saving their neighbors. The many famous taco joints in Austin… each giving away over 100 free meals a day. The local independent coffee shops we all love so much in Austin… taking all the coffee they could brew to two of the largest hospitals in the city who were without power, heat, food, water… whose employees had been working for days on end at that point, because their coworkers couldn't make it in to relieve them of their shifts. The famous chef cooking up 1000 free meals to take to warming centers. The many, many, many, many, MANY, delicious, local small restaurants giving away hundreds of free meals every. single. day. These are all small local businesses. All businesses who were losing out on making any revenue the last seven + days. All small businesses who were no doubt feeling just as much strain, worried if their business could survive another freaking week of being completely shut down, zero customers, zero sales. All small businesses who have been fighting to survive this pandemic the last year. And yet. They changed lives this last week. They SAVED lives this past week. Small businesses have the power to change lives and communities and towns and cities. YOU have that power as a small business owner. What a beautiful thing. As we head into another week, as Texans start to thaw out and come out of this shell shock, as you begin to stress over deadlines and clients and customers and fulfillment and all the other small business crap you deal with, remember what it’s all for. Remember small businesses can change this world.
  • Lessons from a 130 car pile up...Though now let’s also add “lessons from being snowed in & the state power grids failing. oh, and the water is off, too.”

Every Sunday I send out an email to my Bespoke Content Club members. The entire point of the email is all about our marketing prompts for the week ahead, but there’s always a little (okay, fine, maybe it’s usually long & not quite so little) note from me at the bottom.

This past Sunday’s note has really had me thinking. Swipe through to read it.

The infrastructure of my friend Adrienna’s home in Wisconsin is entirely different than my home here in Texas. It’s not built or constructed the same. Not at all.

Both are bad ass houses meant to do their thing in their respective cities (well, when the cities and Mother Nature behave, that is).

Nor are the paths of my talents paved the same way as yours.

Different infrastructure, different strengths.
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    Lessons from a 130 car pile up...Though now let’s also add “lessons from being snowed in & the state power grids failing. oh, and the water is off, too.” Every Sunday I send out an email to my Bespoke Content Club members. The entire point of the email is all about our marketing prompts for the week ahead, but there’s always a little (okay, fine, maybe it’s usually long & not quite so little) note from me at the bottom. This past Sunday’s note has really had me thinking. Swipe through to read it. The infrastructure of my friend Adrienna’s home in Wisconsin is entirely different than my home here in Texas. It’s not built or constructed the same. Not at all. Both are bad ass houses meant to do their thing in their respective cities (well, when the cities and Mother Nature behave, that is). Nor are the paths of my talents paved the same way as yours. Different infrastructure, different strengths.
  • 23 MPH⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“THANK YOU”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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21 MPH⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“THANK YOU”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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20 MPH⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“THANK YOU”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“Ah, that’s nice. You’re welcome!!”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Said me to the orange flashing sign on the side of the road the other day as I felt a little bit of silly joy for a split second. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Thank you. From an electronic sign meant to keep my speed in check in the friendly family neighborhood.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If I got the warm fuzzies from a machine blinking an automated pleasantry at me, then how starved must I be? How starved must you be too? Where have all the pleasantries gone?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Did we lose our manners and our care for each other alongside the loss of seeing each each other’s smiles in the grocery store checkout lines?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Did we lose our gratitude as we lost our routines?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Did we forget how to say “hello! it’s really lovely to meet you” as we forgot what it was like to shake hands with a new friend? Did we forget what it’s like to make new friends?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Did we forget how to say “thank you” as we forgot what it was like for the stranger to pick up the pen we dropped, as we forgot what it was like to look our postman in the eye as he handed us our package, an exchange from his hand to ours, an appreciation for the hard work and delivery, for being able to receive it so? Did we forget how to express our appreciation?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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A very simple “thank you.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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A nod to the effort it took. Whether obeying the speed limit, delivering the service and materials, delivering the product, refunding the error, doing the favor... a very simple thank you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It goes a really, really, really long way.
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    23 MPH⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “THANK YOU”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 21 MPH⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “THANK YOU”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 20 MPH⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “THANK YOU”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “Ah, that’s nice. You’re welcome!!”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Said me to the orange flashing sign on the side of the road the other day as I felt a little bit of silly joy for a split second. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thank you. From an electronic sign meant to keep my speed in check in the friendly family neighborhood.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If I got the warm fuzzies from a machine blinking an automated pleasantry at me, then how starved must I be? How starved must you be too? Where have all the pleasantries gone?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Did we lose our manners and our care for each other alongside the loss of seeing each each other’s smiles in the grocery store checkout lines?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Did we lose our gratitude as we lost our routines?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Did we forget how to say “hello! it’s really lovely to meet you” as we forgot what it was like to shake hands with a new friend? Did we forget what it’s like to make new friends?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Did we forget how to say “thank you” as we forgot what it was like for the stranger to pick up the pen we dropped, as we forgot what it was like to look our postman in the eye as he handed us our package, an exchange from his hand to ours, an appreciation for the hard work and delivery, for being able to receive it so? Did we forget how to express our appreciation?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A very simple “thank you.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A nod to the effort it took. Whether obeying the speed limit, delivering the service and materials, delivering the product, refunding the error, doing the favor... a very simple thank you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It goes a really, really, really long way.
  • 3 CONTENT IDEAS FOR FEBRUARY - save this to return to time & again 👇🏼⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If we were sitting across from each other in my fave coffee shop right now, I’d tell you to turn inwards, to focus on what YOUR heart wants to say + what your customer needs to hear.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Cause THAT, my friend, is the best kind of marketing - honest, empathetic, purposeful.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But since that takes a bit of deep digging and uncovering and building (aka my fave thing in the world to do with clientfriends), let’s get you started with three strong universal marketing prompts that any small biz can use this month:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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1️⃣ SHOP UPDATE - Whether you recently launched a new collection or not, give your peeps a shop update - from low inventory alert (“eh em, grab it now while you still can!”) to restocks to current customer favorites.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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2️⃣ LADIES CELEBRATING LADIES - Galentine’s Day is February 13th and in a season when we’re all really missing our best ladies more than ever, now’s the perfect time to send each other little love packages, gift cards, greeting cards, that particular necklace they’ve been eyeing, etc. Help your ladies celebrate their ladies!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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3️⃣ YOU! - You brilliant product based ladies have a habit of hiding behind your products. I. Want. You. To. Stop. This. We WANT to see more of you - whether that’s behind the scenes of your studio or shop, you updating us on life, your kids, your dog, your latest coffee obsession, etc., we want to see you, ya hear me now?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Alright, off you go! Don’t just let this sit in your saved folders. Go create your content. Connect. Market well and with empathy and purpose. Go, go. ❤️
    00
    3 CONTENT IDEAS FOR FEBRUARY - save this to return to time & again 👇🏼⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If we were sitting across from each other in my fave coffee shop right now, I’d tell you to turn inwards, to focus on what YOUR heart wants to say + what your customer needs to hear.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Cause THAT, my friend, is the best kind of marketing - honest, empathetic, purposeful.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But since that takes a bit of deep digging and uncovering and building (aka my fave thing in the world to do with clientfriends), let’s get you started with three strong universal marketing prompts that any small biz can use this month:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1️⃣ SHOP UPDATE - Whether you recently launched a new collection or not, give your peeps a shop update - from low inventory alert (“eh em, grab it now while you still can!”) to restocks to current customer favorites.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2️⃣ LADIES CELEBRATING LADIES - Galentine’s Day is February 13th and in a season when we’re all really missing our best ladies more than ever, now’s the perfect time to send each other little love packages, gift cards, greeting cards, that particular necklace they’ve been eyeing, etc. Help your ladies celebrate their ladies!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 3️⃣ YOU! - You brilliant product based ladies have a habit of hiding behind your products. I. Want. You. To. Stop. This. We WANT to see more of you - whether that’s behind the scenes of your studio or shop, you updating us on life, your kids, your dog, your latest coffee obsession, etc., we want to see you, ya hear me now?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Alright, off you go! Don’t just let this sit in your saved folders. Go create your content. Connect. Market well and with empathy and purpose. Go, go. ❤️