Marketing With the Soul of a Poet?

Why marketing should be beautiful and how to do it ethically

Hello, Beautiful People!

I’ve added a section to the newsletter called The Business of Art. Every so often, not more than once a week, I’ll be posting hopefully inspiring essays about the work of building a creative business with a special focus on my areas of expertise, marketing and copywriting.

My “day job” has been as a copywriter for over 13 years. For most of that time, I have worked with authors, artists, and creative businesses to create marketing that sells but doesn’t make you feel sleazy.

Two of my favorite things to write are book sales descriptions (blurbs) and about pages.

I’m posting these essays here for two reasons. One, I think they will help people. Two, I’m working to consolidate all my work. I don’t want to run separate websites and social media for my copywriting and my poetry comics because both are part of who I am. I’m a copywriter and a poet—illustrator—essayist.

I promise you will never read a post from me here about how to succeed on Substack, how to grow your social media following, or anything of that ilk.

Instead, I write about what I consider to be ethical marketing practices, the principles of persuasion, brainstorming marketing ideas for artists, and anything related to building sustainable, financially viable businesses as artists.

This post was first published on my website and is kind of my marketing manifesto.

Marketing With the Soul of a Poet

What’s the purpose of marketing?

It’s a simple question, right?

Or maybe not.

Something’s changing. You’ve felt it. And it’s not just AI — though AI is a big part of it. Once anyone can push a button and instantly write and send 10,000 emails, everyone will be sending 10,000 emails, and nobody will be reading them.

The truth is we have never liked being sold to. The explosion of digital marketing over the past two decades has only made us more resistant to sales. How many ads do you give your full attention to? How many sales emails do you even bother to open?

AI promises to reduce the cost of brute-force persuasion to near zero, and many companies are finding that temptation irresistible.

This is happening because many people mistakenly believe marketing is about persuasion. It’s not.

Marketing is about connection.

Do you know the cliché “preaching to the choir”? It’s meant as a kind of insult. A preacher who preaches to the choir is only speaking to the already converted — taking the easy way out.

But in marketing, the best campaigns are exactly that. You want to be speaking to the people who are already converted to what you’re offering. Marketing is about connecting with the people who are a great fit for your product or service. It’s operating a beacon to safely guide your people into port.

You are tired of being conned and convinced at every turn. We all are.

What if instead of being annoying, marketing was delightful? What if your marketing was beautiful?

What if you marketed with the soul of a poet?

Poets evoke strong emotions with their words. A great poem can fill you with courage, comfort you when you’re grieving, and fill your soul with the ecstasy of being seen as your true self.

Take one of Emily Dickinson’s most famous poems. I’m Nobody, Who Are You?

I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you—Nobody—too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise—you know!

How dreary—to be—Somebody!
How public—like a Frog–
To tell one’s name—the livelong June–
To an admiring Bog!

Dickinson is stirring emotions, not spitting facts. This poem resonates more than 150 years later because all any of us want is to be seen. If you’re honest, you often feel like you’re nobody looking for another nobody to be with.

You already know that every purchasing decision is an emotional one. We love to be moved, and we hate to be convinced.

When you market with the soul of a poet you are not trying to persuade people of anything. You’re not shouting — you’re sharing.

You’re whispering the names of your favorite albums to try and find the other dorks who like the same music as you in the middle of a crowded party.

In a world of noisy, artificial algorithmic nonsense, daring to market with the soul of a poet is to show not sell.

No human wants to buy from a chatbot.

We cannot know, like, and trust a large language model.

You need to call your choir. They’re searching for you.

Just as importantly, you need to alienate people who are a bad fit for your brand. Nothing truly remarkable appeals to everyone. The faster you can scatter the people who don’t get you, the easier it will be for your ideal buyers to find you.

Marketing can be beautiful, and it should be delightful. Even if you’re selling to other businesses, it’s critical that every piece of your marketing oozes emotional appeal because you aren’t really selling to businesses; you are appealing to the people who work at those businesses with purchasing power and influence.

In the aftermath of the coming AI marketing tsunami, the companies and brands that are anchored in human connection will be the most successful. Human-to-human conversations may not scale but they do convert.

Now, you have to ask yourself who do you want to be? Do you want to be a chatbot or a poet?

I’m betting that in another 100 years, people will still be resonating with Emily Dickinson’s question, “I’m Nobody, Who Are You?” and that nobody will resonate with any AI-generated content, video, or ad, no matter how lifelike they become.

Are you willing to take that bet? Are you willing to bare your soul to find the right people for your business?

Are you going to take the cheap and easy way out with brute force persuasion, or do you have the courage to market with the soul of a poet?

Your people are looking for you—all you have to do is switch on the beacon.

If you’re interested in learning more about my copywriting services, visit my website or send me an email or DM.

Be the weird you want to see in the world!

Cheers,

Jason