Does Your Marketing Get an “F”

Lessons From Our Teenage House Guests

Currently, we have a good friend’s two youngest kids (ages 12 and 15) staying with us while they take their oldest on a two-week graduation trip to Paris (lucky kid right!).

We’ve been having a blast baking and eating junk food, swimming and relaxing, doing some great craft projects, and even going fishing (check out the photo!) at S and J Mandarin Grove, my in-laws’ organic mandarin orchard in Newcastle, California! My two kiddos, ages 4 and 6, have LOVED having their new “big sisters” to play with every day.

During their stay, I’ve drawn some interesting conclusions about the similarities between my young teenage house guests, marketing a business, and why you might be a lazy marketer.

Just like teens, you audience WON’T DO ANYTHING UNLESS YOU ASK THEM TO. Teens aren’t going to do the dishes or clean up the house without being asked to. And, guess what? Your audience won’t hand over their email or buy your stuff unless you ask them to. You need to include a call to action in your marketing and make the ask! So many entrepreneurs forget to make the ask and then later wonder why no one bought.

Also, just like teens, your audience wants it to be easy and they wants to get something out of the deal. Teens don’t want to work hard or expend a lot of effort. Well, neither does your audience. Your audience wants an easy, no-brainer buying process that directly answers the two big marketing questions: What’s In It For Me and Why Should I Care.

If you’re a lazy marketer, you don’t put in the effort to get to know your audience, you don’t get out of your own head and into theirs, and you don’t take the time to communicate the results and benefits they will experience and achieve. Unfortunately for lazy marketers, you HAVE TO TAKE THOSE STEPS before you start copywriting or you may just get an “F” in marketing.