5 Ways the Tone of Business Marketing for Women is Insulting
Have you noticed the writing style — the words that get slipped into business related marketing for women, by women? The voice used for that type of content is very specific.*
And…I’ll admit. The first few times I came across it, I found it cute. Charming. Relatable even. Not because I actually sound like that — or plan to — EVER, but because it felt fresh. I read the pitch.
Now? It makes my skin crawl. At worst, it’s vapid. It’s insulting. At best, it comes across as gross; over-the-top cheesy. It’s cheap and inauthentic.
To be clear, the content I’m pointing the finger at is geared toward helping women start their own business, or ‘live their best life.’ Nothing wrong with any of that, truly. It’s just the way it’s written: nails on a chalkboard.
Besides obvious cheese, here’s a list of the other aggravating ingredients this type of content typically contains:
1. Abbreviation
Let’s start with the word business: take a second to chew on it. Each Syllable.
Business.
It sounds stiff, stodgy. Makes my back itch in an unreachable spot. Until you shorten it to ‘biz’ that is! As in, “my six-figure online biz.”
Light! Achievable! yay!
And why stop there?
Fabulous is another word that’s commonly shortened. “Fab” sits, an effortless fedora perched atop a sentence. A leap, a “yay!” to the endless possibilities of signing onto their course or whatever it is.
And you? You’re “ya” now.
Got it?
I hear ya!
2. Overly familiar
We’ve just established, there’s no “you” anymore. And sometimes, there’s not even “ya.” It’s “girlfriend,” or “sista,” — can we shorten that please? “Sis,” — thank you very much.
The approach seems to prey upon the widening lack of connection between people, aiming to cultivate warm fuzzy feelings of friendship and familiarity (which ultimately makes it easier to part with your money, and consequently sign up for their fab biz one-on-one coaching package…).
3. Calling money names
Sometimes it’s annoying words like moolah, or cheddah.
Other times, money is translated into other languages, mucho dinero.
In fact, money is mentioned often. I guess that makes sense, it is ‘biz’ related content after all…
4. Involving the universe… and other vague promises
Words like “source” and “abundance” are commonly woven in, perhaps for extra credit. The universe is abundant. In fact, it wants ya to be rich!
Is the aforementioned universe — including stars, planets and galaxies — merely a hands-off parent? Just willing you to make good choices, make Uranus Proud! Open yourself to the abundance that’s where, exactly?
There?
Where’s there? That part isn’t really clear. In fact, often the content is devoid of any nitty-gritty actionable concrete details — I mean ‘deets.’
Additionally, abundance is always referenced in relation to material flashy things. Wealth… sippin’ champs on yachts with your ‘squad,’ or ‘tribe.’
It’s always tied to the elaborate fancy life we’re told we should admire and aspire towards…an air of exclusivity, totally lacking oxygen.
Yawn.
5. Beating a dead phrase
Are you sick of trading your time for money and being beholden to the golden handcuffs and doing all the things?
Well, I’m sick of people uttering those sentences. Regurgitating them, over and over and over...
I guess the answer is obvious.
It annoys me, I should just stop reading these pitches.
Yet, seeing how widespread this style is — how much of it seems to dominate the internet — has become a sick fascination. And one the algorithm (the algorithm! A distant cousin of the universe maybe?) all too happily feeds me.
I mean, to a degree I get it. It’s just… I don’t know. Patronizing and stale. It’s time for something new.
Have you noticed?
Does it annoy you — or is it just me?
*I’m sure the same type of content exists for men; “bro” being the hairy chested gold standard abbreviation of that world. Perhaps it even exists as a domain: www.example.bro, businessformanlymen.bro
