Wow. That might have worked in the pre-feminism 50s… or in the uber self-conscious 80s… or in the ask-no-questions 90s… but in the postmodern era of Web 2.0, that’s just not gonna fly.

No, in the age of postmodern marketing, you are marketing on message and your message better be good. This campaign was written as a magazine “advertorial.” Those pesky ads that take you until half way through to realize there’s a note at the top that says “paid advertising.” Doh! Smart move if the “torial” part of the ad is smart, empowering, and useful. If it’s offensive, degrading, or preys on the fear of the people you’re marketing to, it’s a very very bad move.

Back in the day, marketing was the message. You convinced people to buy your brand because your sassy ads made a good case for your product. Now, as marketers, it’s our job to fulfill needs, empower people, and provide solutions long before wallets are opened and money is spent.

Social marketing – beyond Twitter & Facebook and into our day-to-day social interactions – requires a much more conscious effort than slipping your product in alongside some seemingly good advice. Social marketing is carefully crafting a brand message that is complementary to your product and empowering to your market.

A blogger that responder very strongly to this campaign, Lissa Rankin, who I’ve been following since BlogHer, runs a site called Owning Pink. It’s a community centered around empowering women in body, mind, and spirit. She wrote this piece in response to the ad campaign and received a message directly from Summer’s Eve brand manager, Angela Bryant:

In all honesty, we never made the connections when the editorial was reviewed and we apologize.

Although I find this hard to believe, it shows a complete lack of understanding of postmodern marketing. As marketers, our job is to make connections. If you don’t make all the connections, you lose the sale – and risk causing a viral uprising.

So, if you take anything from the Summer’s Eve ad campaign, understand this: in marketing your business, concentrate on the connections, the message, and the empowerment of your audience. Use your message to do great things that complement your product. Create great ideas and powerful stories that build relationships with potential customers.

And always remember not to be a douche.

Jessica Swift is a big thinker with a small business. She brings together crazy good talent, with ambition & big goals, and mixes in a tad of the creative divine as well. Jessica understands the power of intention and just knowing you can do something great. She also understands she’s is the only one who can make “great” happen.

I had the privilege of discussing big thinking with Jessica the other day. You can read the first half of our discussion on Scoutie Girl – but I’ve saved the best of the biz portion for here!

Tara: Everyone always wants to know about *marketing* – what works, new ideas, the magic bullet for getting more sales. Let’s take a different approach. What is one marketing technique that you’ve tried that absolutely failed?

Jessica: I love that question. Well, last Christmas, I made this animation that I thought was HILARIOUS. I wanted it to go viral and get me tons of exposure, and I wanted people to blog about it and love it and buy my stuff. TOTALLY didn’t happen. I’d like to try it again this year, but with something different….. I don’t know. Also, advertising on blogs hasn’t shown any significant usefulness for me– maybe I just haven’t stuck with it for long enough, but that just doesn’t seem to be my best way to get my name out there.

Tara: I vaguely remember that…
I suppose vaguely isn’t good, huh?

Jessica: Really? Ha ha. It was a total fail!

Tara: Yes, but we have a lot of the same friends so I had a higher chance of being exposed.

Jessica: True! And even then, you only vaguely remember. I need to rethink my strategy this year, clearly!

Tara: Well, I love the strategy on your website! The “work with me” page is just killer. It is so positive & confident. What advice do you have for creative business owners who feel the need to apologize for selling their work?

Jessica: You like it? YES!! That’s terrific. I think apologizing for your work is a sure killer of sales and respect.Why would you apologize for what you love doing? We are each unique and have amazing talents that no one else in this whole world has! We need to shine it! There are people out there who are waiting to find each of us and be inspired by us, and I really believe that you’re doing the world a disservice if you don’t do all that you can to get it out there so people can find it. We need amazing things!

Tara: YES!

Jessica: I like to think about how I would feel if I were someone else reading what I’ve written on my website. Would I be excited? Would I think I was pathetic? I certainly don’t want to seem pathetic! I’d rather feel inspired and want to work with me!

Tara: I don’t have too much more to say because you really nailed the way I feel about it too. I get so so so turned off by people who are less than confident about their work, whatever it might be. Turning off customers is a bad move!

Jessica: AWESOME. I totally agree. It’s a total bad move! Khristian and I talked about that a lot at Surtex and since it’s been over– people who complain and whine and are negative are just a complete turn off.
Positivity sells, and it helps you feel better about yourself, too!

Tara: it’s clear to me you have bold direction & lofty goals – love that! jan – who says “hi!!” – wants to know, have you had to adjust the balance in her life/work/day to meet new goals? has anything gotten lost in shuffle?

Jessica: I struggle with that, too, but I’ve given up worrying about it lately. (Say hi to Jan for me!) Sometimes things get lost in the shuffle, but I think that’s what happens when you’re passionate about things. Like for instance, right now I’m in the process of moving, and I’m really excited to get my new house set up, and work is sort-of taking a back seat a little bit. Which is shocking for me, because I’m a workaholic! But I think if your bosy/brain is telling you to focus on something, you’re supposed to do it for a reason. I think balance is a myth for creative people.

Tara: A HA! Yes: “I think balance is a myth for creative people.”

Jessica: I love Danielle LaPorte’s take on balance — that we worry about it too much, when really it doesn’t exist if you’re passionate. WE all know that feeling of a project taking us over, and other parts of life slipping away for a little while– I think that’s ok. I tend to go in cycles– I work really hard for a while, and then I take it easier for a little while. I’m trying to learn that that’s just how I work– the ups and downs of a creative life. Why not just do what we want to when we want to do it? It seems like that equation can’t fail to make us happy and feel fulfilled and energized.

Tara: So true!

Jessica: What about you– what do you think about balance?

Tara: Well, I do agree with everything you said. Totally. But I also have a hefty, hefty dose of mommy guilt. There really is a part of me that is SO jealous of the people who get to sit at their desk whenever inspiration strikes and make great stuff happen.

Jessica: Ahhhhhh, yes, that part of my life hasn’t happened yet. Oh geez, something else to worry about!

Tara: But then there’s a part of me who is dying because I feel like my ambition is outweighing my ability to care for my daughter. I definitely don’t want to make it sound like it’s “worse” – but it’s definitely a completely “other” perspective.

Jessica: You seem to be making great things happen ALL THE TIME! I can’t even imagine having to balance those 2 things– that’s probably part of the reason that I haven’t wanted to have kids yet. I’m too selfish with my business/creative life!

Tara: It’s funny. 8 years ago – I was the same way. Then I got stuck in a dead end job and lost all ambition & creativity. My daughter is the whole reason I have what I have now. BUT I know if I would have found this place sooner I would have waited to have a child for a LONG time.

Jessica: Well, it sounds like you got to where you are on your exact perfect path. Isn’t that always how it happens?

I think it might be. But I also think it takes a lot of conscious effort to get to that perfect path. It takes hard decisions and a lot of trust in yourself to make things happen. Jessica has made big things happen for herself by dreaming the dream & then making sh*t happen. Her website, her online presence, her work screams, “I’m going places, I hope you’ll come along for the ride.”

I know I will. Check Jessica’s website to come along too.

How to tell if you business story is earning its keep:

• the content you post generates discussion naturally.
• your email inbox is full of sales and not questions about your services.
• when a new customer writes, most often you feel they’re a new friend.
• you’re excited about your business.
• your customers are just as excited as you are.

Telling the story of your business – what you do, why you do it, how you created it – goes beyond marketing. It shapes your business.

Have you lost sight of the story of your business? Do your customers know your story inside and out? Do people get excited when you share a little bit more about yourself and your business? Or is it all just one big marketing message? Another thing getting lost in the noise…

The following is a short excerpt from my brand new eworkbook, Storytelling for Creative Biz Success, which is available for pre-order at a special discounted price (just $35 to build a whole website’s worth of content!) through Tuesday, May 25:

my experience with defining my own niche

Late last year, I noticed that, although I was consistently growing Scoutie Girl month after month, I wasn’t gaining the traction that I needed in my blog niche. How could I separate myself from other indie/handmade shopping blogs and create a more engaged readership?

Well, I looked hard at what my personal strengths were: writing, thinking about current events, delivering ideas & stories in a new and different way. No one in the handmade niche was blogging like that. So first, I tried creating “weekly issues” with the goal of developing stories around a central theme over the course of 5 days.

It was popular but I ignored a central characteristic of my personality… I’m pretty persnickety. I have a problem with just going whatever direction the wind is blowing. So I nixed that idea but came away from it knowing that others were willing to read long-form blog entries and were hungry for more in-depth writing.

Now I’m blogging from a place of real personal satisfaction. Sure, it’s not going to work for some people. But since I’ve changed, the majority of my content – even while producing a LOT less content – is going viral much more often. People are excited to read Scoutie Girl every day. They’re excited to participate in the conversation.

When a potential advertiser comes to the site, they can see dynamic posts with a bunch of comments. There is concrete social proof that my product (advertising space) is worth buying. And buying they are.

How can you create your own niche? Define your customer.

Take a hard look at your business and ask yourself the same question I’ve been asking myself for awhile now: are you trying to be everything to everybody? Or have you defined your business in terms that allow you to own it, inside & out?

Your business will be defined, ultimately, by the people who choose to be a part of it. Who are these people? Who is your ideal customer?

Describe your ideal customer. Consider everything! Think about what he/she looks like, her interests, her home, her family… Be as specific as possible with as many characteristics as possible. Avoid generalizations, wide age ranges, cookie-cutter people. Also avoid an ideal customer who looks & acts just like you – that’s called a competitor.

You are writing the story of the customer who will literally buy everything you produce or any service you offer. And then tell her friends.

From now on, when you write a blog post or develop a new page for your website, you will look at what you’ve produced through her eyes. Is she satisfied? Does she feel a personal connection to your work? Or is your blog post wishy washy, poorly focused, lacking useful information, and a clear point of view?

Your business story must be focused on this ideal customer for it to earn its keep – and to earn you real income. Speaking directly to your customer – her needs, her problems, her desires – with personal introspection creates a compelling story that builds traction for your business that results in more sales, more satisfied customers, and long-term growth through referrals. Further, speaking directly to your customer creates a niche where you business stands out from any other. You are one-of-a-kind, your business and your story should be too.

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To learn more & pre-order your copy of Storytelling for Creative Biz Success, hop on over to the book page. You’ll receive the introduction and chapter on writing an engaging about page immediately.

i got an excellent question in my formspring box after last week’s post on comments:

How do you know what blog is a good fit to target for your shop? I feel somewhat like I am shooting arrows into the dark. Do you have any suggestions to make the selection process easier?

this is such a fabulous question. you can comment, submit, stalk, and otherwise engage a blogger for forever – but if her readership isn’t your potential customers… you’re just wasting time. for instance, for everything i cover at scoutie girl, there is a laundry list of things i don’t write about – if you read scoutie girl, you probably have a pretty good feel for what might be on that list – children’s items, beaded jewelry (love it – just too much of it to fairly cover), bath & body, business products, etc…

of course, if you make those type of items, i still hope you read & contribute to scoutie girl.

to find the best blogs to reach your customers, you must first define your customer! this can be scary. because what you really need to do is narrow down a broad idea of who might buy your product into a very focused picture of who will buy your product. is it a mom who wants to feel pretty even though she wears sweats everyday? is it a guy who is buying a gift for his girlfriend? is it a 20-something gal who is obsessed with the 80s and the bangles?

get specific.

once you have that idea, run a google search for your ideal customer and tack on the word “blog.” once you have identified a single blog (or other media!!) that speaks to your ideal customer, take some time to go through their blog roll. the whole reason we have blog rolls is to highlight our friends and the people we look up to. most of those people are going to have similar styles and speak to your customer too.

go from blog to blog roll to blog to blog roll until you’ve got a list. subscribe to those blogs, read them whenever you have a chance, comment whenever something catches your eye, connect with the blogger on twitter or facebook. build a rapport. and then solicit a review or feature. this shouldn’t be a chore because this is the heart of where business, fun, and real life come together. this is why you’re in a creative biz to begin with, right?

spending the time to market yourself carefully and smartly means defining who you are, who your business is directed to, and finding out where they hang out. good luck!

{image credit: unconventional ida}

But many many of you noted that sometimes it’s hard to come up with something more than just “that’s gorgeous!” or “great find!” And I know. I understand. I feel ya!

It’s hard. And it should be – because growing your network & marketing your business isn’t all roses & puppy dogs – but I think in the craft & design niches it is even harder to write great comments sometimes because we bloggers rely so heavily on images and less on storytelling or solid information. So here are a few questions to ask yourself the next time you want to comment & you don’t know what to say:

• What is the one thing in the post that caught your attention?
• How will the post change your outlook on something?
• Do you have a similar life experience?
• Is there a similar or related post on your own blog?
• What do you disagree with in the post? it’s okay to disagree…
• Does a friend or contact have a similar style or or related product? Recommend them!
• How will you incorporate what was shared into your own work?

Those are just a few questions you might use to get your gears turning. If that doesn’t work: ask the blogger a question about the post!

Have you noticed how formspring.me (the ask me anything people) caught on overnight? And people who were crazy busy before now have endless amounts of time to write answers to random strangers’ questions? Yeah, it’s cause it’s fun! btw, you can totally ask me anything right here: formspring.me/scoutiegirl

If your question inspires another post from the blogger, you’ll almost certainly get a mention in that post, too. Bonus!

Regardless, write comments that are relevant. Write comments that are thought-provoking. Write comments that build people up. Write comments that drive discussion. Write comments that question convention – positively, of course. But above all, write comments!

{image credit: empapers – download these happiness bookmarks!}

want to know what i learned during the creation & launch of 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion? you can find out on the womenwise marketing blog today!

this blog and its editor, kelly watson, specialize in helping businesses large & small gear their marketing towards women. and help women use their inherent strengths to become better entrepreneurs and marketers!