Can You Find The Human (in today’s content)?

Do you remember Where's Waldo? Those puzzles where what you have to find is REALLY well hidden, and you actually have to try?

Well, I feel like that's HUMAN-ness in our AI world of content creation.

I had a conversation last week with a new connection leveraging all kinds of tech to generate content; recording videos, pulling clips and transcripts, auto posting, the works. And yes, it's cool that we have all of these tech things to do what we REALLY HATED to do manually.

But because it's SO easy, we actually forgot to look at one really important thing...

Why did we REALLY HATE it in the first place?

So, we're actually going to look at THAT today.

Why people HATE "marketing".

And why—if you don't explore that FIRST—you'll just end up creating more NOISE.

Let's go.

NOTE: The sections below were created with support by ChatGPT, because he can synthesize marketers pain points faster than me. But I've only included the ones I want to talk about 😉

Endless Content Creation (The Hamster Wheel)

When I made the image for this article this morning, I realized it is the 103 article I've written on LinkedIn as a business owner (not including the ones I wrote BEFORE that).

That's a LOT of content.

But it doesn't FEEL like a lot of content.

Why?

Because, to me, creating isn't a CHORE.

It's sharing based on inspiration.

But if you're NOT sharing based on inspiration, it's SUPER easy to end up on the hamster wheel. Just doing the same thing—over and over—with the same lackluster results.

Maybe every once and a while you get lucky. But there's a lot of drag in between.

And when we get in our heads that we just HAVE TO create a lot of content to stay "relevant", but we don't like to DO the activity, we look at ways to automate it.

But then guess what happens?

You automate all your "I don't want to do this" energy, and send THAT out into the world.

And you're sending a LOT of it.

That's doesn't get you OFF the hamster wheel.

It keeps you ON it. Going FASTER actually.

Doing MORE, at a higher SPEED, and going nowhere.

💡If Instead...you STOPPED (instead of sped up), and asked WHY don't you like creating content, there's a WHOLE TON of information there. Like literally, if we could weigh information, I'm convinced it would be a Metric Ton.

Not Knowing What Works (The Uncertainty)

Ahh, the bane of all "data-driven marketers" existences. We're all trying to KNOW everything.

And we ignore what we're FEELING.

When I start working with a new client, I always tell them to:

Take off your Thinking Cap, and put on your Feeling Cap.

Because most of us are REALLY good at thinking. Learning, processing, regurgitating information (this is what school programs us to do btw).

But most people aren't actually very good at NOTICING their feelings. And getting curious about them, instead of just feeling them.

That's what your Feeling Cap is for.

I always ask my clients things like: do you FEEL like this is going in the right direction, can you FEEL a shift in your energy and excitement, how does it FEEL to do that activity?

"Fun" is my favorite answer to the latter. And "Forward" is good too 😊

The point is, there might not be any HARD data to prove that something is working.

But if you don't FEEL like it's working, it doesn't really matter what the data says.

It's WILL NOT be sustainable for you.

💡If Instead...you posted to serve YOU, so you could honestly answer the question, "what is this doing for me?" from a personal point of view, you're access to plugging marketing into a meaningful funnel increases tenfold.

Taking Away Time from what you LOVE (The Exchange Rate - pt1)

This is a big one actually; the fact that marketing pulls time and energy away from what you actually LOVE to do.

As an entrepreneur, that could be your service (coaching) or craft (building).

As a leader, that could be time with your people, listening and learning.

As a marketer, that could be designing or editing.

And while this is a big one, it's only one simple mindset shift away.

Marketing IS what you LOVE (your definition of "marketing" is just wrong).

See, to me, marketing is about showing your LOVE of what you do to the world.

And there are ways that you do it—for FREE—that demonstrate that.

💡If Instead...you LOOK for ways that you can GIVE AWAY your service or craft FOR FREE, that also FEELS GOOD to you, you can turn that into your marketing.

Feeling "Salesy" (The Exchange Rate - pt2)

Ugh, I still get this from clients all the time...but when do I SELL them something?

The easy answer?

When they ASK for it.

But in order to get to that point?

There's an investment in sharing, helping AND listening.

At the advent of digital marketing, everyone started believing they could collect all of the necessary data about their clients digitally. And instead of people remembering that's not actually true, "solutions" popped up that allowed you to use the information available.

Things like gender, age, household income, title, company size. Demographics.

But the demographics of a person is NEVER what determined whether or not they WANT your product.

It's a combination of them: 1) knowing you exist and 2) needing what you have.

Marketing can impact BOTH. But not if we only let it serve 1.

💡If Instead...we decided NOT to sell, but to HELP, in a way that moves people towards a solution IF they need it, then we're really in good shape :)

At The End of The Day...

Getting off the Hamster Wheel.

Embracing the Uncertainty.

Optimizing YOUR Exchange Rates.

All of these are activities that can ONLY be completed by a HUMAN.

YOU (in particular).

Not an automation. And certainly not AI.

The more we OUTSOURCE "solutions" to things that make us uncomfortable, we only become MORE uncomfortable with them. And therefore MORE dependent on someone else to do what FEELS right for our businesses.

But we all know that someone else CAN'T feel your feelings.

No matter their empathic abilities.

So, if YOU are feeling any of the above things about your marketing efforts, I implore you...

FEEL THEM.

And then DO something DIFFERENT.

Doing the same things just keeps you trapped on the hamster wheel, feeling uncertain, taking actions that don't have your desired exchange rate.

And unfortunately, there's MORE NOISE out there telling you to "just outsource it".

Done FOR you services, that take all your frustration away.

But I've worked with one too many clients who tried that a BUNCH of times, only to experience EXACTLY what I've mentioned above.

Still on the hamster wheel, plagued by uncertainty, without meaningful results.

Another "solution" out there that promises the same thing?

It's not going to work either.

Unless you decide to really dig into what's keeping you SEPARATED from your marketing.

Want to go on that archaeological dig? Let's chat 🎉