Marketing for Introverts

In this episode of Marketing Personalities, Brit Kolo gets real about marketing for Introverts! Can Introverts even do marketing? Aren’t all the marketing strategies really best done by Extraverts? And if Introverts can market their businesses well, what would that look like?

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Marketing for Introverts Episode Summary:

Welcome to another episode of the Marketing Personalities Podcast! I’m Brit Kolo and I’m here solocast style to get real about marketing for Introverts! Can Introverts even do marketing? Aren’t all the marketing strategies really best done by Extraverts? And if Introverts can market their businesses well, what would that look like?

These are the kinds of questions I see bopping around the internet constantly and I’m here to put an end to all this questioning and pondering.

What makes you an Introvert?

First, let’s get clear about what Introversion actually is.

Introverts tend to be more sensitive to external stimuli than extroverts.

That’s it. That’s as simple and clear as it gets.

What Introversion is NOT:

• Hating people.
• Not enjoying being around people.
• Being quiet.
• Being shy.
• Keeping feelings to yourself.

Okay, so we’ve got that cleared up. It’s about external stimuli and how sensitive you are to it that makes you an Introvert or an Extrovert.

Can Introverts do Marketing, though?

Now, the problem as it relates to this podcast and Marketing Personalities as a whole is this:

If introverts are sensitive to external stimuli, isn’t marketing kind of a minefield?

Isn’t marketing about “putting yourself out there?” And therefore, opening yourself up to a whole bunch of external stimuli?

I mean, isn’t that just too scary to actually feel good for any introvert?

Okay, slow down for a second.

It can be done. Some of the most successful, well-known entrepreneurs you can think of are Introverts.

Did they just rig their system to show up as an Extrovert all the time? NO! That would never work because when you feel good, your audience feels good. So if you’re an Introvert, trying to act like an Extrovert, your audience will pick up on that fake-ish vibe and not be able to trust you. So no, they didn’t rig the system

The answer here is NOT to figure out ways to show up as an Extrovert would.

The answer is to show up in the way YOU would, as an Introvert. Because that’s completely, totally, 100% enough.

Seriously, some of the hottest marketing tactics trending right now are actually best done by Introverts. Search engine optimization, Facebook ads, Google ads, content marketing, email marketing. The list goes on and on.

Now, each specific personality type has their one specific best marketing strategy. I’m not going to say ALL introverts need to be doing THIS in their strategies. Because out of all the personality types, 8 of them are Introverts and each of those 8 have vastly different marketing strategies that feel good to them.

If you want to tap into exactly what your best marketing strategy is, based on all your four letters, not just the I that stands for Introvert, go to marketingpersonalities.com. And to dive in even further, get your Marketing Personality Type Full Report, which you can get for $10 off by using the promo code MPP – that’s as code I only share with podcast listeners, so don’t forget to apply it at checkout. Saving you $10 here.

So back to the topic of Introversion.

It’s such a huge misconception that so many people accept as truth – that Extroverts are better at marketing than Introverts.

And that’s just a straight up lie.

So I’m bringing several Introverts onto the show over the next few weeks to show you how to use your own Introverted nature to your advantage when marketing your business.

We’ll discuss what it’s like to be an Introverted Coach, an Introverted Mompreneur, an Introverted Creative, how to develop an Introverted PR Strategy, and so many more nuggets found within these interviews.

So in this episode, I’m previewing some themes and trends you’re going to undoubtedly pick up on over the next few weeks of interviews and to get you thinking about your Introversion in a different way, perhaps, than you have done in the past.

And for those of you who are Extroverts, listen up – this is 100% for you too. Because you also need to realize what it’s like to be an Introvert and build up a bit of compassion for your opposite colleagues.

The Extroverted way is not the only way and in all cases, it’s not the right way.

Because there is no right or wrong way, universally. There’s only a right and wrong way for YOU. And you get to decide what feels good and what doesn’t feel good. Your personality type will give you clues into what your natural tendencies lean toward and then you get to choose how you want to respond and live and market and do business.

Okay, so there are THREE major themes that kept cropping up in these interviews with Introverts that you’ll hear and I’m previewing them now so when the interview is released, you’re open to receiving wisdom from them.

More Marketing for Introverts Coming Soon

1. You have permission to do this your way.
   
   Every single interview I had with an Introvert, at one point or another, made its way to the topic of permission – granting you permission to do things the way you see fit, regardless of what it seems like the “rest of the world” is doing. ESPECIALLY if the rest of the world cheers on the Extrovert – which it DOES.A great example of permission giving came from Cara Rice, who is a Coach for Introverted Coaches. She explains in her interview that she doesn’t take coaching calls until 11am, which allows her plenty of time in the mornings to charge her batteries and get to a place of calm power before holding space and serving her clients well.
   So that 9 to 5 schedule the entire world wants us to adhere to? Totally unnecessary. You have permission to work whenever you see fit.
2. You don’t actually have to be visible. The 2nd theme that you can’t miss is that some of the most powerful marketing strategies do not require you to be personally visible. So you can take that old, outdated phrase “put yourself out there” and the whole idea of “networking,” crumple them up, throw them in the trash, and then set it on fire. Seriously. There is zero reason to be confined to those old, outdated frameworks of marketing anymore! If your mind has been stuck in that putting yourself out there and needing to network at stuffy events put on by the chamber of commerce, friend, I’m waving my magical wand over your head right now and commanding you to snap out it!

   PLUS, you’ll hear in these interviews how, yes, some best marketing strategies do ask you to be visible, even for Introverts, but there’s still a way to be visible to your audience in an Introverted way. Don’t believe me? Listen to the next few weeks of interviews. We will absolutely make you a believer. I have no doubt.

3. Introverted or Afraid of Judgment?And the final theme that came up, both in the interviews I’ve hosted and in personal conversations I’ve had recently with Introverts is that we all have to be careful to distinguish between an Introvert’s nature and a fear of judgment.

   Because to be Introverted, you’re naturally more sensitive to external stimuli – things the body can sense. Hear, taste, smell, feel.
   But what a few Introverts have reflected to me recently is that sometimes they blame their behavior on being Introverted, when really what they are is scared of being judged. So they don’t “put themselves out there,” hit publish, reach out to someone who could make their business grow, not because they’re an Introvert – but because they’re scared of being judged, being told no, of failing.

   And this has been hugely eye-opening for me too, as an Extrovert. Because I realize that I have this tendency too. Sometimes I feel like an Introvert – wanting to stay in, be by myself. And sometimes, I genuinely feel exceptionally sensitive at that time and therefore, truly swinging toward Introversion. But at other times, I’m not actually more sensitive – I’m hiding, wanting to stay in, be by myself, because I’m scared of judgment. I’m scared of getting told NO, when I want to hear YES. I’m scared of failing.

   So I myself am definitely chewing on this right now and I want to bring this up to you to see how this might apply to your own life experience. Are you relishing in a low-stimulated environment because you’re introverted? Or are you hiding out there because you’re afraid of judgment?

   I think the answer to those questions might change by the day. I think they do for me. And I’m definitely not saying every Introvert is afraid of judgement. Do not mis-hear me here. I’m simply posing the question so you might ask yourself this as you go about your life, operate in your business, and implement your marketing strategy.

So that’s what’s coming at you in the next few weeks! If this episode has sparked something inside of you and you’d like to share some insight or an experience you’ve had as an Introverted Entrepreneur, please reach out to me on Instagram @marketingpersonalities. I’d love to hear from you and see what else I can share with the audience at large.

And we’ll be back next week with our first Introverted Interview, featuring Cat Rose of The Creative Introvert. Stay tuned!