It’s fair to say that I’ve been guilty of not always giving my audience the respect they deserve. Not in a bad way I hasten to add, but I’ve not always put their needs or interests before mine.
For example, want some quick cashflow? Blast them with an offer… If I’m honest, that’s not something that feels congruent.
But then again, for the last 5 years or so my business hasn’t felt congruent. Not in what I was teaching that has always been congruent, but the business itself, the branding. It never felt right. Deep down “Prosperous Photographer”, “Working A Better Life”, they felt like place holders until I could find what I was looking for.
There was nothing wrong with them, but for me, as a way of showing up in the world, they didn’t feel right. I felt like I was hiding behind something that was inauthentic, and I didn’t feel respect for them so I didn’t always treat my business, or the audience it served with the respect that they deserved.
With Forge & Flourish, it’s different. It feels right, fits like a glove. What it stands for, is fully in alignment with my beliefs, right down to the etymology of the words.
And with that comes a new found freedom to march to the beat of my own drum.
That may manifest itself in seemingly simple or small ways, but the shift in energy or intention behind that will be profound.
Let me give you an example.
All my emails now come with a “branded” header. I never used to do that.
There is a school of thought in marketing that you should send unbranded emails that look just like the emails that you would receive from friends.
If you are writing in an informal style like I tend to, and you are not an e-commerce business with lots of products to sell. The thinking is that people are more likely to open and read your emails if they think they are from someone they know rather than a business.
The theory makes sense. I used to do that until recently.
But as I’ve evolved and found my happy place, a place where I feel genuine in what I’m doing, with a brand that feels right, it no longer felt like the right thing to do.
I want it to be obvious exactly who the email is from, and why you are receiving it. That’s why I have different headers for different types of emails.
For the right people, I want my emails to be something that they look forward to. Something that they look out for. That will make them think, that will resonate.
And if my emails land in the inbox of someone for whom none of that is true, I want to make it as clear as possible that I respect that, and as easy as possible for them to unsubscribe.
It’s also why the Back Matter at the bottom of each mail is more than the bare minimum. It too is evolving and varies with the type of email.
I’ve just added a bit about receiving multiple emails from me. I get multiple emails from some people but I don’t want to unsubscribe to any of them because I don’t know which ones are linked to my purchases because I can’t remember which email I used for what!
I could just email them and ask, but it’s easier just to use the delete key 🤣 .
So I want to make it easier for people on my list to do something about that, because I know that there are several people on my list with multiple email addresses.
At the heart of these seeming small changes, is respect.
Respect for you as a person and respect for your time.
Which leads me to two questions for you:
- Are you giving your clients and audience the respect they deserve?
- What small yet profound ways can you give them more respect?