Going from “selling” to educating, storytelling & community-building for lasting brand success.
Shift from ‘selling’ to educating, community building and inspiring to build a lasting community of customers that buys consistently.
This is where marketing gets more human-centered. You are a leader with an innovative product or service who wants to help people. Doesn’t that sound so much better than marketing to get sales and drive numbers? For the right-brained, artistic spirit, most likely, it’s a resounding yes.
I’ll be frank: nobody wants to be ‘sold to'. I feel cringy when I try to ‘sell’ or when I feel like someone is trying to sell something to me. You can smell the ulterior motive from a mile away. Honestly, it just doesn’t feel natural to me or reflect who I really am as a person — this whole ‘selling’ thing. Not to say it's bad! Some people are born for sales, but usually it’s because they’re a great relationship builder, or they’re a people person. If you operate in a different way, are a little bit more introverted or just want your products or services to speak for themselves without this whole 'selling' business, then my friend, you are in the right place. From ‘going after’ clients to easily attracting them.
What feels more natural for me personally as an introvert is to write, to educate, and to inspire — and those are the traits I find in brands that I personally love and buy from often. They create wisdom-rich and beautiful content, but I never feel like they’re trying to ‘sell’ me something — I simply buy more often from them because I really love what they’re doing and what they’re about. By having a strong voice as a brand, it’ll be that much easier to target your ideal clients. By removing the barrier and worry of 'selling', you'll have honest conversations, from person-to-person, that will strike a chord with your audience in a much more authentic way. In my own life and career, I find more success when I attract rather than "go after" ideal clients. By just emanating who I am and what I offer, while sharing my unique knowledge and talents with consistent, inspiring and honest content, the right people come to me — because it’s just a natural progression. They know that by following my work, they’re becoming more knowledgeable, more connected to themselves and others, and perhaps feel more peaceful and inspired, too! So, how does this translate when you have a business in need of clients?Start by shifting your mindset and your strategy so you can attract your ideal clients effortlessly. Shifting your mindset: a practice
Close your eyes for a moment so you can experience this idea in your body and not just in your mind. Take a couple of deep breaths to bring yourself to the present moment for this short exercise. Let go of your other ‘to dos’ for a couple of minutes to be fully here in this practice. Imagine you just created a new product or offering. You are SO excited to put it out there. Now put your salesperson hat on: ask how will I market this and how will it sell? Notice how your body feels, there is no right or wrong. Maybe for you it feels good! However, if you feel frozen or confused or even cringy, it might be a sign that going another route may be a better option for you (and if you feel empowered in that sales/marketing person hat, amazing!) Now take a breath and imagine scenario #2: you've just released a great new product or service, and you want to put it out there. Now, shift the mindset from salesperson to LEADER. You are an innovator who is meant to help people through a specific problem with your amazing product or service. You’re so excited, you start thinking of different areas to educate people on, and you’re happy to spread the message, share your story and connect with others around this amazing thing you’re putting out there. Now how does that feel in your body?Open your eyes and take some notes: which route felt better for you? Again, there is no right or wrong.When you’re a leader, you don’t need to sell to anyone. You simply share knowledge and wisdom. You come up with creative ideas and put them into content. You tell your story in hopes to inspire others to change their lives in some way, too. This is where ‘marketing’ gets more human-centered. You are a leader with an innovative product or service who wants to help people. Doesn’t that sound so much better than marketing to get sales and drive numbers? For the right-brained, artistic spirit, most likely it’s a resounding yes. By shifting from “selling” to educating or creating inspiring content consistently, your brand will, over time, start to sell itself. This isn’t an overnight success thing (although it can be). This is about building a legacy brand that builds a loyal community of followers that builds and expands over time. And isn’t that what you want to leave behind in this life?Here are some ideas of how to generate educational and/or inspiring content that positions you as a leader:
Create a weekly or monthly newsletter that keeps followers in the know, teaches them something and maybe provides a discount (but that doesn’t have to be the focus).Create regular social media content, whether it’s a 5-tips-list or a beautiful behind-the-scenes photoshoot of how you make your products (strategies are key here).Share insider knowledge and be brutally honest. Trends can be helpful, but share what’s from deep down inside your core and see how much more aligned your clients will be.Interact with others and post on LinkedIn often of how to do business better.Create regular YouTube videos on specific topics or inspiring content. My favorite artist and YouTuber for the sake of inspiration is Jonna Jinton, who has grown her following to more than 4M subscribers just by being herself and sharing her art.
On a deeper level, what I’m trying to get at is this: if you’re selling for selling sake or because you think it’s what you have to do to get clients… the inauthenticity will be felt by others. If sales don’t come naturally to you, but being a knowledgable or artistic person in your craft is, and you want to connect with others and help people and share wisdom, then reframing and taking a more authentic approach to your marketing strategy is what will actually get more aligned clients to your door.
If you need help coming up with content, finding your brand voice or brainstorming how to translate your zone of genius into art, education and content, then I'm your gal. For a limited time, I am offering a FREE content audit (this could be your website, a newsletter, or social media) OR you can get one free newsletter written by me specifically for your brand. Schedule a complimentary call to see how we can make your messaging more authentic, more engaging and more honest to your brand and your vision. Visit brittanynelson.co and email brittchristinenelson@gmail.com to set up a free call. 
Brittany is a senior copywriter and editor with 12+ years of experience. With a primary focus on health and wellness, she also works in many industries, including: luxury goods, architecture, higher education, B2B and businesses who genuinely want to help people. She’s also a yoga instructor and Ayurveda health counselor who loves frolicking in the forest and being inspired by nature. Visit www.brittanynelson.co to learn more. Instagram: earth__intuitive.