Today I am getting real with you.
I have been too complacent about getting my message out into the world.
I mean like a “zero fucks given” level of complacency.
(To be fair, maybe half a fuck.)
I haven’t really pushed Anti-Marketing as far as it could go.
I’m not proud of this fact, but it’s time I come clean.
In fact, I’ve been hiding. Hiding behind my comfortable lifestyle. Hiding behind the mantra “I’ll do it tomorrow.”
You know what? There is no tomorrow!
There’s only now.
For too long, I’ve sat back and let the Seth Godins of the world pollute everyone with bad marketing advice…
(Ever notice how people all tend to worship the “gurus” without really questioning what the hell they’re actually saying?)
Seth Godin said: “Beware – if your stories are inauthentic, you cross the line from fib to fraud. That’s a lesson learned the hard way by telemarketers, cigarette companies, and sleazy politicians.”
OK stop. Seth Godin is supposed to be this big expert on “authenticity”… but when the fuck is a “fib” not a fraud? Hello? They’re the same thing.
He also said: “Marketers succeed when they tell us a story that fits our worldview, a story we intuitively embrace and then share with our friends.”
I disagree.
How does it serve us to hear stories that fit our world view? It doesn’t.
No matter what the time or era… most people’s current world view is limited. Sadly, this seems to be human nature.
The world doesn’t need another marketer catering to the current world view….
What we need is truth that CHALLENGES our world view…the way Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged our world view on race. The way Abraham Lincoln challenged our world view on slavery.
(And for a modern day example, see how Shane Ellison – AKA “The People’s Chemist” is challenging America’s stance on prescription drugs.)
“Marketers succeed when they tell us a story that fits our worldview, a story we intuitively embrace and then share with our friends.”
Seriously? That’d be like a marketer in the 1850s sending a slave owner a pamphlet, “Isn’t it irritating how your slaves are so slow? Here’s how to get them to do more in less the time.”
That’s catering to the status quo. That doesn’t help ANYBODY.
Sorry Seth Godin. I never liked your writing.
Most people today are crippled by their own views. That’s why they’re stuck. That’s why they’re broke. That’s why they’re perpetually waiting until tomorrow to do the things they want to do. That’s why they’re wreaking havoc on others around them, rather than contributing something good.
I can speak to this, because I’ve had many limited world views in the past. I’ve broken through many of them…not because some marketer catered to my “story,” but because something challenged my thinking.
Not a single marketer has ever helped me, or anyone, become better.
Not a single marketer who offered me a “story” that fit my current world view challenged me to think bigger. (If anything, they just made me go deeper into my story, and therefore deeper into my complacency.)
Marketers are the biggest problem humanity faces in this world.
They’re a bigger problem than terrorism, disease, and poverty combined. (Why? Because they’re the ones driving those ideas in the first place!)
Fuck marketing.
I’d be very happy if marketing simply disappeared off the face of the planet…like a pimple disappearing off the skin.
Nobody needs marketing. Not businesses. Not consumers. Not kids. (How is that air-headed, fake happy commercial on sugary cereal helping your child? It’s not.)
I’m pissed. I spent all week doing an investigative piece on the makers of Oxycontin and how they spent years marketing the drug as “safe.” Not a single one of them went to prison. It’s business as usual and marketing as usual.
How, then, does a legitimate business promote its products?
GREAT QUESTION… THE ANSWER IS ANTI-MARKETING.
What’s the difference between the two?
That’s exactly what I’ll be covering in my upcoming course, Anti-Marketing 101.
I’m done being complacent. This material needs to get out there.
I’m the only who can birth it… like a pregnant woman in month #9! (I’ve never had kids, so I can only speculate what that’s like).
Anti-Marketing 101 will show you how to push your brand as far as it can possibly go, without running yourself into the ground…and without bullshitting a single soul (including yourself).
The goal isn’t to work harder or more hours… the goal is to simply strip your brand down to its basic essence, then push it as far as it will go.
Every brand is different. There is no cookie-cutter formula (like all the marketers promise).
You’ll unleash the “hard hitter” within you who says and does whatever the fuck you want, while pushing your message far and wide, with little to no wasted effort. No shame, no apologies. No catering to anyone.
The course will teach you to say what needs to be said, while leaving your ego at the door.
(The ego is that part of you that wants to over-complicate shit, be a people-pleaser, waste time on distractions, worry about perfectionism, study dark shit, etc.)
The course will make some people REALLY uncomfortable, and that’s a good thing. In fact, that’s my goal.
If I can inspire you to get the hell OUT of your complacency, then I’ve done my job.
Anti-Marketing touches on high-level principles that will change everything for you, if you act on them.
It’s not for everyone. Some prefer to stay in the “safety” and comfort zone of marketing… (if that’s you, you’re reading the wrong fucking blog, dude).
I’m sitting here imagining how awesome the world would be if it wasn’t polluted by stupid marketing at every turn…
If companies actually sold good products (where they stopped to THINK before they talked), where they didn’t feel the compulsive need to lie to consumers, or add “additives” to extend shelf life… or whatever the fuck else.
Can you imagine!?
“Marketing gurus” have enabled and encouraged you to stay small.
I’m the Anti-Marketer who will challenge you to go as big as you want… without getting fat, stressed out, over-worked, under-paid, sold out, bought out, or affiliated out.
The world is starved for clean, clear truth.
People are fed up with the BS. 99% of marketing is dysfunctional… based on lies, scarcity, and other bullshit… EVERYBODY is bullshitting everybody.
It’s got to stop.
The world needs great, pure products that aren’t made with artificial crap… and aren’t marketed with BS.
That’s why Anti-Marketers are positioned to go far and thrive. You’ll need guts to do this… if you can’t follow through, don’t bother registering.
I can’t wait to unleash the course content! It will change everything! Stay tuned!
Talk soon,
Michelle
Anti-Marketing Manifesto
P.S. Registration for Anti-Marketing 101 is not open yet. If you want first dibs, email me and request to be added to the priority list.
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 