Mastering The Art of Content Marketing to Attract Customers Without Feeling Pushy
Marketing can bring up a lot of emotions for those of us who are sensitive or creatively led. It can be confronting to think of selling and marketing.
Traditionally we associate marketing and sales with sleazy and often manipulative copywriting. We’ve all read the blogs and seen the IG posts that make us cringe inside to out.
And whilst you do need to market yourself in some way, it can be done authentically with integrity and soul. You don’t need to sell out in order to sell out!
Lean into ‘storytelling’
The better way to approach sales and marketing is to weave storytelling into your content, and lean into the idea of content marketing as a sales approach.
Storytelling and content marketing in essence is you providing value and insightful information without being pushy, sleazy, or fake. It’s about being intentional and authentic in what you say and how you create it.
It's more than just a way to convey information; it's a means of connecting with your audience on a deeper level, eliciting emotions, and building lasting relationships.
In today's competitive landscape, where consumers are bombarded with messages from all directions, storytelling stands out as a way to cut through the noise and make a memorable impression.
How to sell without feeling pushy
Often the feeling of pushiness comes from selling to the wrong people. When you lead with integrity, connect to your most aligned audience, and sell from the place of giving and providing, rather than taking (money) you will inevitably feel better when promoting yourself.
And instead of ‘convincing and pushing’, storytelling in content marketing will attract your customers. So you don’t have to convince anyone, your content does the selling for you.
Another crucial element of selling without feeling pushy is to very clearly understand who you’re selling to. It helps a lot in your marketing to have a clear vision of the qualities of those you want to attract to your work.
It’s a huge misconception that you need to create multiple client avatars and profiles before you can sell, it’s my belief that you actually need to know who they are as a person to understand them more deeply.
When you know their core values, desires, passions, and struggles - you’re far more likely to connect to them on a deeper level than simply knowing their key demographics.
When you know your customers, you can create content that resonates. Relatable content that resonates with your customers will speak to them far better than content that’s pushy or sleazy.
You want your customers to read and take in your content and go “wow, she’s in my head!”.
Write a list of 5 core values your desired customers hold, then a list of 5 core goals they have right now, and then a list of 5 struggles they’re facing.
These may be similar to values, goals, and struggles you previously held - that’s OK. Often we are our customers, just a few steps ahead!
Some examples for my clients:
VALUES:
“I value honesty and integrity - they love being authentic and open and themselves”
“I value time freedom much more than monetary goals”
“I value connections and deep friendships and conversations”
GOALS:
“I want to build a successful profitable business without burning out”
“I’d love to generate consistent income every month so I can go on vacation”
“I want to be authentic in my brand and show up as myself, always”
STRUGGLES:
“I feel like I’m in an echo chamber of everyone around me in my niche”
“I don’t know how to be productive without working harder and more hours”
“I struggle with the confidence to show up and sell my work”
Once you know these core statements you can start to build offerings and content around them. so you can tune into the keywords and phrases your customers are saying and providing as a way to bring nuance to your content.
TIP: don’t guess these answers! Do your market research! Need help? Download my Aligned Audience Attraction Kit Here.
So, what’s next?
Your content is about connecting to people and providing them with enough information to make them feel seen and heard. It’s about allowing them to make empowered decisions about working with you. And most importantly it’s about demonstrating why you’re the best person to work with them. Not everyone will want to work with you, but the ones who will need to have enough information from you to make an informed decision.
Try not to overthink your content, and don’t get distracted by all the noise online. Follow your intuition and always use your customers as your north star.
