A dilemma came up in the Motorcycle Club call last week that I wanted to share with you because it’s such a common experience I thought it might resonate. We were talking about marketing with integrity, feeling unsure where to start, and how to talk about services in a way that didn’t feel sleezy or gross.

The marketing gurus tend to teach that you’re supposed to educate your audience as a way of nurturing them then when you’re ready to launch, it’s “easy to shift into launch mode”. Because your audience is already primed and ready.

EXCEPT…

You know that moment in a webinar where the outline goes from educational content to hardcore pitch? The host has sold you on something you wanted, you signed up for the webinar, they gave you a sprinkling of some proprietary formula (without anything transformative or new) then shifted hard into a heavy pitch.

This is an overt example of something that happens throughout the marketing world. Not just in webinar templates but in newsletters and social media as well. The problem with this approach is that it feels like a bait and switch. You’re there for the education and all of a sudden you’re in Pitchland being sold a multi-figure program.

What this does is create a disconnect from the transformation you were promised and what you actually experience. Which ultimately doesn’t do a heck of a lot for building trust.

The trouble is that even when you recognize the pattern, it’s still one most of us have found ourselves in:

1. unsure how to market your services
2. witness examples that feel out of integrity BUT
3. without an obvious alternative, you end up doing the exact same thing while simultaneously feeling unaligned, insecure, and awkward about the whole thing

I’ve been there and I’ve seen that so-called primed audience headed for the exit just as I’m getting to the benefits of the program. Frankly, it’s a super shitty feeling and the excuse that “this is just what marketing looks like” seems a bit too convenient to me.

SO WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?

This is the question that came up in our Club call. “Surely there’s an alternative that doesn’t feel so freaking gross, right?” Yep.

Here it is.

Talk about your services all the time.

You pre-pave your launch by talking about your program so you never have to participate in the bait and switch. If you know you’ll be opening doors in September, tell your people that the doors will open in September so that once you get to your August promotion window, they aren’t surprised. 

It’s so simple, right?

The beautiful benefits of this approach to marketing is that you create consistency of experience which cultivates trust in your clients and…wait for it…you build confidence talking about your work because you’re never not talking about it. It’s always part of how you educate.

You’ve heard me talking about the Love & Badassery Motorcycle Club for nearly 2 years. Whether you see me on social, inside the Facebook Group, on a podcast, as a Summit speaker, or here…chances are you’ve heard me talking about the Motorcycle Club. It’s easy because it’s an evergreen program but the premise is the same.

This last week, I finally publicly launched the full suite of the Motorcycle Club. For the last two years, I’ve been hand-inviting people into 3 different levels. But I’m done micromanaging your decisions. You know the level of support you need. Now you can choose for yourself, upgrade or downgrade anytime, and receive the support and accountability you need in your business when you need it.

The point is, you can educate people and nurture your relationships at the same time as letting your people know what you do and how they can join your inner circle of magic brilliance. You know how you can join mine.

Ultimately, marketing your business should feel like consistent integrity. 

It doesn’t have to feel shady.