Month: April 2022

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Rise & Shine

What gets you up each morning? I recently read that the latest estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) show that the total number of cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2017/18 was 595,000, a prevalence rate of 1,800 per 100,000 workers. Many of them struggled to even get up in the morning.

I remember those days – where energy, calm and ease felt like they were in a foreign land. One of those episodes, many many moons ago, required setting up home with my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. Life was a pretty bleak place to be. The call of the darkened room and no company, locking myself into the cocoon of a duvet were a place of safety and isolation.

But it often stopped me from doing the normal things – cleaning my teeth, having a shower, taking medication, or going to the shop – I would have quite happily stayed in that “pit” (quite literally) for months if I could.

But every single morning, two little faces would greet me at the bedroom door, encourage me to drink, get up, go again, take the medication, find some energy to walk them to school, tell me a joke, sing me a song, or make up silly stories.

I was hell to live with at times – I was struggling to live with myself, let alone other people having to face the wrath of anger that often came their way.

But still, every morning, those two faces would show up before they headed off to Primary School.

I look back with an element of shame on that time – because those that I loved the most in the world, so young and vulnerable themselves, were the ones pleading with me to go again. They shouldn’t have had to do that. But I am forever eternally grateful that they did.

In the same breath, I look back on those times with fondness – experiencing unconditional love every single waking morning. I smile at the numerous talks that we had as I walked them to school, the trial and error of doing scooter tricks, or making up names for each other. We giggled in a way that still rings in my ears, warms my heart and brings a tear to my eyes even now as I write.

The reality of life’s lesson being this……

In the worst of days, I gained some of the most beautiful and treasured memories, priceless for the rest of times, ones that I will hold onto forever.

And now, some eight years on, two of those beaming faces are grown and at University, following in my footsteps of becoming a teacher . I couldn’t be prouder, not even by the university status – although that in itself is MAGICAL.

No, I am even more proud of the human beings that they have become and continue to be.

Today’s lesson is a simple one – however hard it may feel, light and love are around every corner – from a smile from a stranger, to the breeze in the trees, to the blues of the skies. Just keep going, one small step at a time.

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4 powerful emotional marketing tips to make your customers buy

Emotional marketing creates a connection.
Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-and-woman-sitting-together-in-front-of-table-951290/

When you create marketing that shamelessly targets your customers’ emotions, you’ll sell more. That sounds pretty cynical, doesn’t it? It doesn’t have to be. You’re excited about your products and services; you love what you do and feel a warm glow when your customers are happy. Your marketing needs to show them how they’ll feel after they’ve worked with you, so they can get excited too. If you’re wondering what you can do to get emotional marketing working for you, here are my top 4 tips to get you started.

Show them the before and after

Great marketing shows your future customers that you understand their needs and can help them. You could tell them how you help, but it works better if you show them. I could say something like “I save you time by writing your blog for you.” It’s easy to understand but rubbish as a piece of emotional marketing. What if I said, “are you tired of being stuck to your laptop writing another blog post when you’d rather be putting your kids to bed?” If you’re a business owner with mum guilt the second version is going to be more powerful because it has a detail that hits home. Talk about the feelings that your customers have now and how they’ll feel when they’ve worked with you. Get into details and your marketing will be much more effective.

Show your customers what you have in common

Emotional marketing helps your customers to connect with you as a human being. Its one of the advantages that small business owners like us have over the big brands. We can use our personalities in our marketing and attract people who like what they see. (My main challenge with this is that sarcasm doesn’t always come across in print.) When you use emotional touchpoints in your marketing you create understanding. It’s incredibly effective when your customers are where you used to be, with a baby that won’t sleep or a challenging health condition. Show them where you were and how far you’ve come.

Use emotional marketing to connect with what they want

People are motivated by lots of different things, but some emotional motivators are more powerful than others. Your future customers might want to stand out from the crowd, feel more confident or that they’re taking care of their own wellbeing. What needs and feelings are bringing your customers to you? You might appeal to some deep-seated emotions, like a need to belong. If you offer something that might be considered a bit niche or offbeat, your marketing could help your customers feel that they’ve finally found someone who understands them. Think about what feelings go with your customers’ aspirations and talk about them.

What do you want them to do next?

Whenever you create a piece of content, ask yourself what it’s for. I know that all marketing is designed to let people know what you do and how to buy from you, but each blog post, social media post or email will have its own specific aim. Some things are educational or designed to raise your profile, while others are more focused on selling. Ironically, while you want your audience to feel good about your business, they’re more likely to act if they feel a negative emotion. That could be you telling them that today is their last chance to buy that Christmas present, or something more general.

Are you ready to get some emotion into your marketing? I can help with that. Book a call here and let’s have a chat.

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Why you need to start using emotional marketing

A woman experiencing emotional marketing.
Photo by Ekaterina Bolsova via Pexels

Does your marketing get in touch with your customers’ emotions? I don’t expect you to have them sobbing into their cornflakes all the time, but emotional marketing can be incredibly powerful. The adverts that you remember are the ones that made you feel something. Think of that McDonalds Christmas ad that made every mum wish her children would stop growing up so fast and you’ll get what I mean. Emotional marketing doesn’t have to be hysterically funny or make your audience cry to be effective. Here’s why you need to start thinking about your customers’ emotions when you create your marketing content.

Know like and trust

You may have heard this one before, but the know, like and trust factor is one of the key things you need to build if you want a successful business. People are learning to trust their local small businesses, but they can still be wary of handing their money over to someone who might disappear into the night. If you regularly share marketing content that shows your audience you’re a real person they’ll start to trust you. Make it something human and relatable and they’ll start to like you.

The great thing about emotional marketing is that you can be yourself. That might be terrifying, but it helps you to attract your kind of people. Your marketing makes them feel seen and understood. We’ve all learned the value of community over the past two years; emotional marketing can help you to build a community around your business.

Decisions come from the heart as well as the head

Have you ever made a logical decision then hesitated because it didn’t feel right? Or had a gut feeling about something that eventually proved to be correct? Our brains process emotional information far more quickly than facts. In fact, emotions bypass the logical part of the brain altogether. It means that emotional marketing helps you to create a great first impression before your customers know anything else about your business. They might still make a list of pros and cons, but it’ll probably come later. Or be completely irrelevant if they don’t like you.

That doesn’t mean that your marketing has to be ‘likeable’ as long as you make your audience feel something. Creating a connection is the most important bit.

Emotional marketing can be used in different ways

As you might expect, different emotions get different results. Negative emotions are more likely to encourage people to take action. Content that makes them laugh or feel happy is more likely to be shared. Your business will influence the kinds of emotions you want to evoke, but it’s important to include a mixture. You might help people with a challenge that makes them feel stressed or anxious. Maybe you want them to think about something difficult that they didn’t know about. It doesn’t mean that your marketing needs to be relentlessly depressing. You can still share the positives. This is particularly true if you’re showing your audience the before and after – more on that in a future post.

Are you ready to get some emotion into your marketing? I can help with that. Book a call here and let’s have a chat about how I can help you.