Once Upon a Brand: Why Your Marketing Sucks

Without this, you just sound like another corporate douche

Oh, the evil necessity of marketing copy.

Why the fuck does it come so easy to some people and not others?

I’m going to give you one tried and true way to humanize your marketing copy, which will skyrocket your engagement.

You’ve heard me say this time and time again.

Tell a fucking story.

Storytelling has been a fundamental part of human communication since ancient times.

Let me give you a practical example.

If you decide to create an Etsy shop making Star Wars stickers and you hate Star Wars, it doesn’t matter at all if that product is trending. There’s no way you’ll be able to sustain production.

That is not creativity. That is soulless production.

And if you hate making the product, you will absolutely hate marketing that product. You’ll just be going through the motions and putting out content that resonates with no one, which equals a death scroll.

Don’t worry, there will be more delightful metaphors.

How do I become a good storyteller? And how do I incorporate that into my marketing?

This is your opportunity to connect with your audience.

The problem is you assume that nobody cares about your story. Wrong. We’re all a sucker for a good story.

I’ll prove it to you.

Why is the show Cops on its 35th season, debuting in 1989?

That’s a harsh example to illustrate the point. I’m not saying your life is worthy of being seen on Cops. Shit, or maybe it is. If that’s the case, why are you depriving us?

What I’m saying is, people love the fly-on-the-wall perspective.

Your marketing efforts don’t necessarily have to be contrived and scripted.

As an artist, establishing and maintaining an emotional connection with your audience is the whole freakin’ point of creating.

Even if your art serves as a vehicle for you to work through your own emotions, if you’re at the point in your career where you’re hoping to market yourself to galleries or potential buyers, you’ve got to connect.

The best way to do this as an artist is simple, incorporate your own story into the work and then most importantly, into the marketing.

People want to know you.

Your imperfections make you relatable.

Your opinions make you human.

Your mistakes make other people feel less alone.

Let me give you another example.

Think about it: how many times have you been met with sterile navigation after clicking on an artist’s website?

Same ole, same ole.

Home.

About.

CV.

Portfolio.

Blah.

Blah.

Blah.

I get it, the whole point is to focus on the artist’s work and not be distracted by too much text or pop-ups.

While this is true, you could still implement this theory into your artist bio and make your bio part of your home page so that the viewer has no choice but to be immersed in you from the moment they land on your page.

BOOM! Now you’ve introduced yourself by controlling the experience and not giving the viewer a choice but to connect with you.

People click on artists’ websites because they expect to be entertained. They want to see you running around barefoot slinging paint everywhere.

They want to see you fuck something up so they can see if you fix it, or how you fix it or don’t.

People would rather see your flaws. They want to know how your failures have influenced your work because that makes you relatable.

The problem with marketing in general is that it feels impersonal to the consumer. Nobody likes feeling like they’re being talked at instead of being talked to.

Listen, I know that just putting yourself out there raw-dog style on the internet is frightening and feels risky and unsafe. I know that people are mean and hateful and your work is probably the single most important thing to you. I know this.

Do not let the world’s shittiest examples of people scare you back into your cave never to be seen again by humanity.

Fuck that. Do not give them the satisfaction.

It should be the other way around. You should be creating and publishing with the same mentality your dog has when you put him in the car and roll the window down.

He’s so happy to be a dog, your dog, and feel the wind on his face. Never once does he process the thought, “My tongue is slapping me in the eye and someone might see this and say something mean to me about it. I’d better sit back in my seat and put my seatbelt on.”

Never has that happened.

If you are willing to take the risk, have an opinion, embrace your flaws, and put them out into the world, you’ve just given your audience a reason to put you in their car and roll the window down. That reason is because they are inspired by you, and your fearlessness.

The fact that not everyone will like you only means the ones who do will be die-hard fans. Trust me, I know this from experience. I’ve been told I’m abrasive countless times. The people who adore me don’t see it as abrasive. They appreciate that I don’t beat around the bush or make them waste time trying to figure out what I really meant. They know that if I said it, I meant it. They know that they will never have to guess where they stand with me.

Weaving your true and authentic personality/story into your brand will without a doubt open the doors of opportunity for creative people on every level.

It’s not enough to put your emotions into your work. Duh. That’s old news.

You’ve got to apply the same principle to your marketing efforts to make people care, otherwise, you’re just another corporate douche trying to sell your product with clickbait titles.

People are over trick-bait content. They are sick of it. Be different. Offer up the one thing you have that nobody else has, you.

And, if you’re going to do something, do it all the way.

What’s the worst thing that could happen?

They can’t take your birthday away.

Jacklyn Miller - Chief Rebel at Renegade Art Co