Note: This post is an update to the latest Quick Tip I sent out on 8-6-20, followed by a few of the responses I got from subscribers and readers. Enjoy!

Maybe it's the heat but I feel a rant coming on....

It's about the marketing automation bandwagon so many have jumped on.

Well, not me.

I'm tired of all those automated messages that have nothing to do with me.

I'm tired of everyone thinking they MUST have a lead magnet or a funnel, just because everyone else has one. In fact, that's a good reason not to!

I'm moving in the opposite direction and I invite you to join me:

• Away from marketing automation and toward what's real, like newsletters that are more "letter" than news.
• Away from funnels and toward highly personalized email messages that show you've done your homework. 
• Away from gated content and toward generosity. 

I think we crave what's real. 

We want to hear people speaking the truth (or their truth and apologizing if necessary). There is strength in stating reality, no matter what anyone thinks. 

I try to march to my own drum. I come up with my own strategy, and I think you should too. That's what makes you you. It's what makes you real. And it's what will make you stand out amongst all those other people who offer the "same" services.

My job is to help you figure that out, then bake it into your marketing and infuse your content with it, so that your best prospects and ideal clients can marinate in it until they are ready to work with you.

That's the strategy I teach and it works if you use the tools in the Simplest Marketing Plan: strategic networking, targeted outreach and content marketing.

So do me a favor, forget funnels, forget lead magnets
and forget all about automation. 

Instead, be real. Be you. Use your voice. Speak from the heart. Create email newsletters showing what you care about. And don't force people to download an ebook to get it.

It will take longer than you want it to. You may have to delete almost everything in the first draft before you get to what's real. But it is so worth it.

If you do this, I guarantee that no matter how much competition there is or how many others offer exactly the same services as you, you will stand apart.

Here are a few of the responses....

Amen, Ilise. Allow me to add that knowing how to use a good marketing tool is not the same thing as being a good marketer. The more authentic we remain and the less we fall into the numbers game trap, the better we can sleep at night. Hmmm, "How well do you sleep at night?" would be an interesting interview question - for both sides.

Cheryl Smithem of Charleston PR wrote this: