Authentic marketing is such a hot concept. We all want to be authentic marketers, business owners, and people.
But at what price does being authentic online really come? Now, I’m not saying that you should lie or hide things, but I think that sometimes trying to be authentic can sabotage your business growth.
How Trying to Be Authentic Can Sabotage Your Business Growth
Here’s how.
Let’s say that you’re a health coach, and for the most part you’re a healthy eater who exercises regularly. But you’ve got a big product launch coming up, and you skip a few workouts or end up drinking coffee.
Does that mean you should stop marketing your product because you’re not perfect?
No, because your program will help many people exercise more and quit coffee, so there’s no need for you to pull the plug because you had to make adjustments in your lifestyle temporarily.
You might doubt your ability to be a relationship coach when you’re having an argument with your kids or your spouse, but that doesn’t put your ability to help others at stake as much as your own confidence about it.
Yes, you don’t want to be a broke business coach or a miserable happiness coach. You need to get certain things in line in order to be confident in what you bring to the world.
And you are still a human being who will have off days and life lessons to learn along the way.
Is Being Perfect In The Way Of Authentic Marketing?
Your business can’t shut down every time you feel like you’re not being 100% perfect, because there is no such thing as perfection.
Plus, when you admit to not being perfect all the time, you’re also giving others permission to be themselves, and start with where they are on their journeys.
In my raw food coaching days, I often felt so much shame and guilt if I ate something that wasn’t raw, because it was my business.
When I went to a restaurant with friends or colleagues I always agonized over what I was going to eat. Not because I worried about the food itself, but because I didn’t want people to think I was a fraud.
And yet, the most shared and commented blog posts on my real food site were the ones where I talked about not being perfect. About my love/hate relationship with raw food, and how I got a lot of benefits out of it but I didn’t eat all raw all the time, and I snuck in some treats.
Authentic Marketing Starts With Showing People That You’re Human
You can practically feel the sigh of relief when you show people that you’re human, just like them. Yes, you have tons of amazing coaching tools and practices that you can share to help others, but you don’t need to retreat every time you’re not practicing them all in your own life.
Often times we teach what we need to learn. If relationships have been a challenge in your life, you’ve likely learned a lot and can pass that on to your clients, but it doesn’t mean you’re done learning or going through tough times.
There’s also the possibility that you’re sharing so much of yourself in your area of expertise that there isn’t a lot left to apply in your own life or business.
Just like a launch strategist might have amazing ideas for their clients but not much juice left at the end of the day for their own launches. Or, a web designer might have a really crappy website while their clients get their best work.
That’s why we hire coaches in the first place: to help us get perspective on our lives, and to help us get unstuck and moving forward.
Over to you now…
So now I’d love for you to leave a comment below on your definition of authentic marketing.
Has being authentic ever stopped you from putting yourself out there in business because you don’t have everything figured out? Leave a comment below, and let’s get moving!
