On shitty marketing (in 6 short chapters)
Chapter 1
On marketing
Marketing sucks and everyone hates it. (Including me.)
Old-school marketing prioritizes sales over relationships. This type of marketing is sleazy, and people are too smart, too informed, too empowered, and too pissed off to accept sleazy marketing.
It’s not good enough.
Chapter 2
On storytelling
Good storytelling rocks and everyone likes it. (Including me.)
Sleazy marketing is telling creative lies about bad products. Good storytelling is sharing creative truths about good products.
If the only way to sell a product is to lie about it, then the product sucks and people don’t need it.
Good products naturally have good stories. Telling true stories about the value of good products inspires people to choose them .
Sleazy marketing sells. Good storytelling inspires.
Chapter 3
On sleazy marketing vs. good storytelling
When I interact with content, I make a deal with it.
The deal is that I give it my time (which I can never get back) and my attention (which is in short supply), and because I give it these things I expect something in return.
What I expect in return is usually one of three outcomes:
To be entertained through good storytelling, and/or
To be enriched by learning something new, and/or
To gain something of value.
The best content provides all three outcomes.
The third outcome (value) is usually the result of the first two (entertainment + enrichment) combined. At its most successful, this process unfolds in sequential order:
While being entertained through storytelling, I become
Enriched by learning something new, therefore
I exit the transaction having gained something of value.
This scenario feels fair. I feel reciprocated. I feel satisfied. I feel that this was a good use of my time and attention.
This is good storytelling.
If, however, I give a piece of content my time (which I have to fight to have) and my attention (which I have to fight to keep), and I receive none of these outcomes in return, then this scenario feels unfair. I feel cheated. I feel used. I feel annoyed. I know that this was a horrible waste of my time and attention.
This is sleazy marketing.
I voluntarily give my time and attention to good storytelling - even if it’s trying to get my money - because, in return, it gives me entertainment, enrichment, and value.
I aggressively retract my time and attention away from sleazy marketing - because it’s trying to get my money without giving me any valuable outcomes in return.
It’s my personal opinion that the only factors separating good storytelling from sleazy marketing are those of motive and relationship.
Chapter 4
On shitty motives and relationships
If your dominant motive is to tell creative lies about bad products in order to hold me upside down and shake money out of me, your motive is shitty and it makes me hate you.
I can discover your motive by interacting with your content.
If your content selfishly takes away my time and attention without giving back entertainment, enrichment, or value, this shows me that you are a sleazy marketer. It shows me that you view me as nothing more than a sentient dollar sign with arms and legs attached. It shows me you’re lazy, cynical, manipulative, unimaginative, and boring. It shows me that you don’t respect my time and that you view me as a gullible moron. As it happens, though, I am not a gullible moron. Like my friends in Chapter 1, I am too smart, informed, empowered, and pissed off to be treated that way.
It’s not good enough.
Selfish content reveals shitty motives, and shitty motives give rise to shitty relationships.
Shitty relationships suck and everyone hates them. (Especially me.)
Chapter 5
On cool motives and relationships
If your dominant motive is to entertain, enrich, and add value through good storytelling, your motive is cool and it makes me not hate you.
I can discover your cool motive by interacting with your cool content.
If your content rewards my time and attention, views me as a human being rather than a dollar sign, and treats me like the smart, informed, empowered person that I am, then I feel respected. I feel compensated. I feel trust.
Cool content reveals cool motives, and cool motives give rise to mutually beneficial relationships. A mutually beneficial relationship is one in which you benefit me through sharing entertainment, enrichment, and value, and I benefit you by sharing my dwindling time, limited attention, and hard-earned income.
Mutually beneficial relationships rock and everyone likes them. (Especially me.)
Therefore:
Chapter 6
On being cool and not shitty
Be cool.
Not shitty.