This is the second in a series of posts by the amazing Andrea Mansfield of Brand and Bloom.  We’ll be sharing her posts on Tuesdays for the next few weeks!  Please let her know if you loved this second piece by leaving a comment!

You want to be profound at marketing? It’s all within who you are.

In my first post, The Best Kept Secret to Creative Business Success, I asked you to set aside all that should in your creative business and focus on what makes you feel vibrant. If you missed out you can catch up by reading it here. Today we are going to dive into what has become a dirty word to creative business owners–marketing. And I can’t blame you–it seems to be the one idea everyone talks about, some even flourish at it but how is marketing the most effective? I will tell you…when you change the word marketing to relationship.

The best marketing is the kind that doesn’t feel like marketing! Think about it–when you
feel marketed to what is your reaction? Mine is to walk away, I will buy when I feel like
buying. What makes me feel like buying? Most often it’s when I need some sort of pick
me up in my life and whatever it is I am looking to purchase is, at least to me, going to be just that.

Your customers don’t care about the feature of your work; they care about
how it is going to make them feel.

How do you know how your customer is feeling? Chances are you are your best customer and can use this to your advantage. Most creative businesses stem from who we are and what we love–we aren’t trying to capitalize on sheer ideas rather we are connecting with something inside of use. This means we can learn what makes our customer’s tick if we just become honest with ourselves.

Be honest about things like your riches fears, your most profound desires, and that silly little voice which usually always wins over us with shopping therapy or impulse purchases. Write down what each of these feel like.

For example, one of my most profound desires is consistency because having consistency really means feeling safe. What do I want to feel safe from? I want to feel safe from one of my richest fears–not making enough money. I know that I am not alone in this experience and so I aim to aid this with each one of my client’s businesses because I know how powerful it is for me.

It doesn’t matter if you design homes or make jewelry–your best customers all have fears and desires. Unlock them and you will unlock how to market to them in a way that
makes them buy.

Today’s free writes are about your customer’s fears and desires. To tap into these begin
with your own! In my next post we will take these and talk about how to sell in a way you
never have before.

Free Write no. 1: Write out your customer’s 5 riches fears as they relate to your business.

Free Write no. 2: Write out your customer’s most profound desires as they relate to your business.

You might discover that your customer’s fears and desires are interchangeable. Sometimes we believe what we desire can solve our fears, or our desires exist to calm a fear.

Free Write no. 3: With these two lists in front of you write out all the ways you bring your customer’s desires into their life. For example, if you are a jewelry designer who prides herself on making statement jewelry I will say you help other’s feel seen and stand out in a beautiful way. Who is afraid of not being seen and how are you solving this?

I understand that these are tough so I want to open this discussion up–if you get stuck
and want some general feedback please email me here: [email protected]

With heart and mind,
Andrea