Have you been posting on social media about your new offer? What about telling your family members about it? Have you been sending out personal emails asking friends and colleagues to share it for you?

If reading any of these questions has you feeling a bit squeamish, you're not alone.

“I just don’t want to be pushy.”

So many authentic coaches, healers or creative entrepreneurs don’t want to be a bother, or seem rude. They think that marketing their offers feels like talking about themselves or their businesses all the time, so they hold back.  

They say it feels pushy.

Maybe you remember icky experiences you've had when salespeople have bombarded you with syrupy, manufactured interest. I do. 

Back when malls were a thing,  going anywhere near a cosmetic counter in department store gave me that feeling.  I used to purposely walk out of my way to avoid going near it. The same thing with the car dealers, where the sales people seemed to descend out of nowhere with their quotas top of mind.  I'd go on a Sunday so I could browse in peace. =

No one wants to be that person. The one that causes others to duck around the corner when they see them.

And I know you don't want to be the person that causes people to cringe when they see your name pop into their inbox.  But it doesn't have to be that way.

SO HOW DO YOU MARKET WITHOUT SEEMING PUSHY?

Like so many things, it starts with intention. From there, everything else flows.

If your intention is to "make people buy something" from you, you’re going to transmit that into your marketing and people will sense that energy. On the other hand, if you approach marketing to make connections and be in service to those who might need your help, your energy and your marketing will be different. More importantly, you’ll feel differently too. 

Let me share two scenarios with you to illustrate what I'm talking about.

A NOT-SO HIDDEN AGENDA

For example, let's say a friend of yours complains about how her sister-in-law’s clutter drives them crazy. Every time she comes to visit, she’s tripping over Playskool blocks, board books, piles of old records. The sister-in-law has never said anything about the state of her house to your friend, although your friend can't understand why.

In reading the latest Better Homes and Garden’s magazine, your friend hears about Marie Kondo’s book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. After looking at a few reviews of readers who say they’ve given away garbage bags full of possessions and their houses are now serene oases of calm, she decides this is just what her sister-in-law needs.

 The next time your friend sees her sister in law, she mentions the book, telling her how many other people have found it so, so useful. Your friend might go on to explain that for the cost of the book (just $12.17 on Amazon!) people have completely transformed their lives. She brings it up time and time again, even switching the subject to talk about it.  

She eventually buys a copy and one day leaves it “on accident” at her sister-in-law’s house. Her sister-in-law just needs to pick it up an read it for goodness sakes. How much easier could she make it?

I can imagine how the sister-in-law feels.

GENUINE ENTHUSIASM

In contrast, let’s imagine you just read a new book. You love, love, LOVE it! It’s full of practical wisdom, inspiring exercises, or wickedly funny insights.

What might you do?

Well, you might bring it up in a conversation or two after you finish it, or even while you’re reading it. I did this just last week when I wrote a letter to a friend telling her about the book I'm finishing by Cal Newport called Digital Minimalism. (Which, has some pretty eye-opening perspective on the attention economy and what it’s doing to our sense of humanity…)

You’ll probably tell your mom, your sister, and definitely your best friend.

You might recommend it in your book group as a possible selection for an upcoming month. Perhaps you’ll list it in a Facebook Group, offering it as good reading for a quiet weekend, inspired motivation, or whatever fits the bill.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE HERE?

In both scenarios, there’s the idea of a book helping someone.

In the first example, though, that help was really for your friend. So, she’d feel better going to visit her sister-in-law’s house. It has nothing to do about what the sister-in-law needs or wants.

In the second case, you believe in the book because you’ve seen and experienced how helpful it was. Your enthusiasm in talking about it to others who might find it helpful comes through naturally, authentically. You don't overthink how you tell people about it, you just do! It's such a good book.

And this is how you can approach your marketing and talking about your offers in an authentic way. In a way that feels good to you.

YOUR OFFERS AND YOUR MARKETING

If you have a genuine desire to help people through your work, and you’ve lovingly crafted an offer you think will help your potential clients with a problem they have, then talking about it becomes a way for you to channel your genuine enthusiasm about the offer.

Your marketing isn’t pushy. It's a real deep seated desire to share something you're genuinely excited about.

If on the other hand, your main (or sole) purpose in marketing the offer is for you to make money, then that's the energy you're going to be putting into the marketing. Pushy sales and marketing tactics feel pushy because they’re based on trying to get someone to do something we want them to do. (Buy this thing here now.)

Notice I’m not saying making money has no place in your business. It does. But, if  you want to approach marketing from a place that feels genuinely better, and is ultimately more effective, it can’t be the primary driver.

If you want to feel better about your marketing, find your genuine desire to help others through your work.  Authentic marketing feels so much better, for both the practitioner and the potential clients, because it’s grounded in a deep desire to be of service.

I want you to go out and talk about your business in a way that feels freeing and genuine so you can help the people you’re meant to serve. I think that’s something worth pushing for.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash