 someone asked me what I mean by authentic marketing. And I thought it was a good question because even though I talk about authentic marketing all the time, I've never done a video to define what I believe authentic marketing is. So before I go on, I would actually love for you to tell me what does authentic marketing mean to you. In fact, you can even pause this video if you want and comment below before you continue watching because you'll be biased by my answers. But yeah, let me know what you think authentic marketing means. Where have you seen marketing be authentic and where have you seen it not be authentic? I'm really interested to know your examples. Now if you do share examples, try to, if you are praising somebody for their authentic marketing, absolutely tag them. Put their website link or whatever you like. If you're criticizing somebody for authentic marketing, don't mention their name. Just say that you've seen somebody who has done this or that. So talk about the behaviors rather than about the person. Okay, so I look forward to your responses below. So here's how I would define authentic marketing right now. Essentially, it is about making sure that your marketing is aligned with the reality of the product or the service. Now that sounds so obvious, but it's not in the actual experience that most of us have as consumers. When was the last time you bought somebody's, well, this is true in the coaching world a lot, in my world. You buy especially an expensive coaching program that promises you the moon and the stars. You're going to make a six-figure income. You're going to, by buying this, you're gonna make a six-figure income. You're gonna have all the support and then you buy into it and the support isn't really there. And then after a year of being in the program, you don't have a six-figure, seven-figure income yet. Like they promise so strongly that it's so easy or just by following their program, you know, step by step you'll have a six-figure stuff. So this is why I never promise income goals anymore. I think that if you ever see somebody promising you a six-figure, seven-figure income or even just suggesting that by doing this, you'll have that kind of money, you should probably run the other direction because nobody can promise you an income goal because everybody is different. They can't guarantee what kinds of actions you're gonna take. They can't guarantee it. What all they can guarantee is that they will deliver a certain thing. That's all they can guarantee. So all I can guarantee is that I will deliver you the best experience that I can as a coach that I know how to. That's all I can guarantee. I can't guarantee what's gonna happen to you. So whenever marketing starts to guarantee to promise or at worst guarantee results but even just promising results or even suggesting that you're going to get these results that are kind of hyped up, to me that's not authentic because that's not the average experience of the buyer. So we really need to ask what is the average experience of people who are buying into these programs? They should market. They should talk about the average experience. Oh, most people who buy into our program, yeah, our program is $5,000, $2,000, $1,000 and most people, maybe they earn $100 more. Maybe over the next 10 years, they might make up their makeup, how much they paid in this to where we're at but then the first year they might make $100 more to $500 more, maybe. A few people, maybe like the 1% of people who buy into the program, they do make six-figuring incomes but that's probably because they already were well on their way and they just needed a few tweaks before they should be honest about these things but of course, if they were honest about it people wouldn't buy their program. So instead of saying, okay, then maybe the average results are discouraging, well then don't even talk about the results. Be authentic about what you can talk about. We're not gonna talk about results, we're gonna talk about what we deliver. We're gonna deliver you this kind of support, that kind of support, we're gonna teach you this or we're gonna teach you that and then just be mum about the results, got it? So when the marketing meets the reality of the consumer experience, I think that's authentic marketing and that's surprisingly rare. Because it is the easiest thing in the world for marketers to use hype because hype works. I can promise you Moon and Stars and get you to buy, guaranteed, almost, right? Because you believe me and if I don't deliver the Moon and Stars, you believe me a little bit less and a little bit less and a little bit less until you no longer believe me but that's the problem is that marketers are just burning and churning through audiences because audiences generally believe marketing when they first see it, especially if it's well designed, especially if it's well written, they just like, oh well, why shouldn't I believe this? Unless they've been burned before but a lot of people haven't been burned yet. So most people will just take it on face value and buy into it and they get burned a little bit every time until they have no more money and then they come to me. It's like once they have no more money they come to me and say, George, I shouldn't have spent the $80,000 here and there, I should have spent a thousand on you, right? But that's the reality is that people have to be burned before they learn and the marketers are making money hand over fist by burning people. Now, which I did a little bit of that in the past. I gave a lot of my money away that I did make but in that darker way, but I couldn't do it anymore. I burned myself out by burning through audiences using hype even though it made a lot of money. So I, and it didn't set me up for life in any way. I mean, it gave me maybe a years of buffer and then I gave away a lot of the money, but I couldn't do it. It wasn't the sustainable livelihood, right? So the only thing that's really sustainable is to be ourselves, to be authentic. So that's the other, the second definition of authentic marketing is not pretending to be somebody else. I think it's really easy when we see other successful people in our industry, we feel like, well, if they're successful and they're doing that, then therefore, I need to act like them. I need to write like them. I need to look like them because whatever they're doing is working for them. So it should work for me too. Well, in some ways, yes, if you act like them, you might trigger some impulse buying purchases. You might trigger some people that want to buy from you, but how long can you keep it up trying to be like somebody else? It's exhausting, frankly, and it's a recipe for burnout. And what's happening also is you are going farther away from your unique genius, how you can really express what nobody else can express in the world because you have had a different combination of life experiences than everybody else. And when you are willing and able to, then this takes practice to express yourself as you are, tell the stories that are true for you, be the way that you like to be with a friend who loves you. Okay, think about this. Think of a friend or think of an ideal client. What is that? Who is an ideal client? An ideal client is somebody who loves you as you are, who just gets so much from you without you having to pretend. That's an ideal client. You could be yourself with them and they find you brilliant, they find you amazing. Just you're like, wow, I'm just being myself and you, yeah, that's the definition of an ideal client. And you have, there's lots of them out there for you. Not everybody is gonna be an ideal client, obviously, because not everybody will like you as you are. But when you try to please everybody, that's what happens. You start to have to become a chameleon. Oh, for this person, I have to act like this. For that person, I have to act like that. But if you can be yourself, the minority of people who are meant for you will love you as you are, will get so much from you as you are. And those are the people to make your content for. Those are the people to talk to when trying to sell your services or products because you don't really have to sell to them. You just, you are matching what the reality of the service is going to be, what you can honestly promise. And when you, as yourself, then they say, well, of course I wanna buy for me, I wanna sign up with you because I just like how you are. It takes practice. What kind of practice does it take? It takes the practice of noticing, am I trying to pretend to be like somebody else right now? What would be more me? What would, how would I be with a friend who loves me as I am? It's a good question, isn't it? And asking that question in every single situation that you do your marketing is a really, well, in marketing would be how would I be with an ideal client who loves me as I am who just can't get enough of me just being me? And that's what they wanna buy. How would I be with them? Oh, right. I would be this way, not trying to pretend to be somebody else. So the last thing I'll say is, what does it mean to be our authentic self? Because you have many authentic selves right now. One part of your authentic self can get easily frustrated, can get easily judgmental, can get easily angry, right? That's you too, you know, you get annoyed by somebody, you lash back, that's you too, right? But then you also have this part of yourself that is caring, that is thoughtful, that is kind, that is joyful, that is brilliant, that is passionate about certain things. That part is the self that I want you to be authentic to. So really, so being authentic, you have this respect for them, you can be authentic, you can be authentically depressed and authentically angry and authentically frustrated, authentically annoying, or you could be authentically caring, authentically kind, authentically feeling the blank, joyful, passionate, you know, humble, whatever it is that you are authentically being when you are your best authentic self. And that's what I mean also by authentic marketing is that kind of authenticity, right? Choosing the self that you are best at, not pretending to be anybody else, but when you are your best self, when you are loved, when you are rested, when you are well-fed, and when you are talking about something you love, that's the authentic self that I hope you can be in your marketing. So I hope this is helpful, I know a bit of a longer definition of authentic marketing, but hopefully it gives you some of that nuance that helps you to be more of yourself, your best self in your marketing and in your potential client conversations. Thanks to those who are able to join me live, Captain, thank you, Russell, Jen, that's who I'm seeing live at the moment here. And those who are watching, I hope this is beneficial to you, I'm always well open to your comments and your questions. I'm making more and more videos just based on your questions. So if you would love for me to make a video about answering something, I'd be happy to receive that from you. So have a great rest of the day, be well.