Stop Saying Marketing is Gross
Just Because You Don’t Understand Marketing Doesn’t Mean You Get to Bash It
The irony should escape no one that people who bemoan marketing are publishing their missives on a marketing platform. Marketing is unseemly and gross. You’re responding to comments, nurturing relationships, and putting your work out there by using tools to publish, share, and distribute it, which is…marketing.
Spoiler alert: there’s nothing inherently unseemly about the discipline of marketing, only how it’s used (or often abused). We use social media to give voice to the voiceless and under-represented communities. We use marketing, advertising, and publicity tactics to raise money, advocacy, and awareness for the causes that we believe in. We use GoFundMe.com and other platforms to raise money for the things many of us can’t afford. We give readings in bookstores, bars, and people’s homes to promote our books. We attend conferences and networking events so we can get more freelance gigs. We create newsletters, websites, vlogs, and podcasts to entertain, educate, and forge relationships within our community. Meaningful brands use their money and clout to propel social, economic, and political change. Patagonia, anyone?
So…all of this is gross? You’re willing to paint a broad brush of an entire discipline because…
