37: Gentle Marketing: Growing Without the Grind
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Somewhere along the way, marketing became something we brace ourselves for. We show up because we are supposed to, on the platform we are supposed to be on, at a pace someone else set for us. Then we wonder why the whole thing feels like a treadmill we cannot step off of.
In this episode, I sat down with Kelsey Buelow, owner of Wonderfully Made Gifting Company, to talk about what she calls gentle marketing. Kelsey was on the show last fall in Episode 19, where we talked about thoughtful gifting, and I invited her back because her approach to marketing has stayed with me since the first time I heard her explain it.
Gentle marketing sits underneath a larger idea Kelsey calls slow business, which is simply running your company in a way that matches how you actually function instead of how everyone says you should. For her, that meant stepping back from Instagram and pouring that energy into blog posts, Pinterest, and a physical newsletter with a scripture print tucked inside. Her sales went up, and the people finding her were the right ones.
We also talked about the fear that comes with making these shifts, got into her Etsy shop, where her engraved Bibles took off, and best practices for selling there. What she found on the other side of that fear was that people could tell she was happier talking about her work, and that is what sells them.
If you have been quietly wondering whether the thing everyone says you have to do is actually the thing working for you, consider this your permission to find out. Kelsey's advice is to keep doing what you are already doing, then pour a little more into the one marketing avenue you genuinely enjoy and leave it alone for thirty days without second guessing it.
1:18 Three Deeply Rooted Questions For Kelsey
08:30 What is Gentle Marketing and Slow Business?
14:00 Gentle Marketing Strategies
21:00 Success on Etsy and Niche Marketing
30:05 Tips for New Etsy Sellers
Links:
Connect with Kelsey:
Use code GROWN40 for 40% off your first purchase at her Etsy shop!
Connect with me:
Branding: Learn more about my branding and design services.
Instagram: Follow along between episodes @branchcreativeco
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