(A Guide to Doing It Your Way—and Actually Liking It)
You don’t hate marketing—you probably hate the version of marketing you’ve been sold. It's time to change that because the right marketing works for, not against, you.
This is marketing for people who hate marketing.
If marketing has felt like a chore, a performance, or a game you’re bad at—good. That probably means you’re not interested in the version you were taught.
Think about it. How can an activity that’s supposed to help your business grow—marketing—be the same activity that makes you want to crawl into a cave and fight the internet for a month?
Marketing doesn’t have to be manipulative, over-the-top, or rigid to work. We’re talking about social media posts, commercials, ads, stories—it’s supposed to be creative and fun. Right? Right??
You don’t need a funnel built on fear or a calendar packed with content you don’t want to create. You need clarity, empathy, and a strategy that respects your customers, your brand and, most importantly, your sanity.
Let’s rewire your relationship with marketing. You’re clearly someone who needs to be heard.
This article is for those who:
• want to market without using social media
• have difficulty creating content (blogs, social media posts, lead magnets)
• have experienced scammy or poor-quality marketing
• have trouble talking about your business
For so many small business owners, marketing doesn’t feel like support—it feels like pressure. SMBs are handed a mix of overhyped tactics, hardcore guru advice, and one-size-fits all solutions packaged as “strategy.”
Somewhere along the way, marketing stopped being about sharing stories and started sounding more like:
“Hustle harder. Post no matter what. Show up professionally. Push harder. Don’t stop.”
It’s no wonder you feel exhausted. We’ve been swimming in a sea of bro-marketing and manipulative hype—and calling it normal. In reality, the tactics we’ve been sold are often rooted in guilt, urgency, and conformity—not clarity, connection, creativity, or quality. And it’s draining.
You’ve probably seen it, it sounds a little something like this:
(hover over each card to expose the advice)
We’re left with a “should” marketing culture that demands you:
✓ Post like a robot
✓ Sound like a corporate FAQ page
✓ Apologize for not exploiting yourself
Meanwhile, bro-marketers profit off your anxiety, and authenticity gets buried under hype. It’s gross just thinking about it.
The Truth?
When your marketing feels out of alignment, when you dread talking about your business, your message gets muddy.
And that isn’t a place you want to be.
Lack of alignment → Lack of clarity → Burnout.
Marketing isn’t manipulation and isn’t a punishment. Marketing is support for your business and you’re in control of it.
Should Marketing
Post daily
Be everywhere
Sound professional
Follow the blueprint
Could Marketing
Post when you have something real to say
Be where your audience actually spend time
Sound like you
Build your own damn blueprint
There’s a better way to do this—and it doesn’t require selling your soul, your Sundays, or your sanity.
Meet empathy marketing: Where connection trumps conversion, and “authentic” isn’t just a buzzword—it’s your unfair advantage.
This isn’t the fluffy, nice-to-have empathy. We are talking about real empathy—the kind that makes you pause and ask these kind of questions:
Did this article answer the question I tried to answer for my audience?
How does my audience feel on Fridays vs Mondays?
Would I be annoyed if someone sent this email to my inbox?
Do my customers really want another flavor or is that something I’m pushing?
This is true empathy marketing—and it works because it’s human. Forget the pressure to be everywhere and everything all at once. Instead:
1. Start with your strengths.
3. Choose quality over quantity.
Authentic marketing doesn’t ask you to be louder, trendier, or more polished. It asks you to be honest—and consistent. That’s where the magic happens. When you lean into what’s real and relatable, your marketing becomes more than a task. It becomes a conversation worth having. And those conversations create business.
How empathy improves sales:
It builds trust → trust builds sales (people buy from people they like)
Your company attracts the right people and filter out those who have no desire to buy what you’re selling, saving you time
Reduces burnout, giving you energy for high-impact tactics
Marketing becomes enjoyable (at minimum less hateable, we hope!)
This is no BS marketing—and it’s sustainable. You’re allowed to embrace your weird, rewrite the rules, and get results.
You don’t have to “nail your niche,” post at optimal times, or turn yourself into a personal brand on TikTok.
You just have to show up as someone worth listening to.
That means showing up as you—not a performance of what you think marketing is supposed to look like.
At Embrace Your Brand, we believe:
When you build from a place of empathy and clarity, you stop chasing trends and start building confidently.
So go ahead—ditch the old marketing stuck in your head. Stop trying to market like someone else. Do it your way. Do it in a way that feels honest, aligned, and sustainable.
Because the real flex? Is being relatable, intentional, and still wildly effective.
Ready to give marketing another chance? Go here for the basics in our Beginner’s Empathy Marketing Guide or book a free 15 minute consultation.
Your homework:
Pick one piece of content this week and gut-check it with: ‘Would I find this useful, or just noisy?