Adding to the noise

You have to scroll through a bunch of static to find a station worth listening to. (Image by Michael Gaida)

It’s a weird time to run an online business.

On the one hand, I feel as though I have a lot to contribute that could be helpful right now. My experience with online education and remote work is suddenly relevant to many, and my broader experience as an educator could be helpful to families and teachers looking for stuff to do to keep their kids learning and engaged in meaningful ways.

However, it’s noisy out there. So many well-meaning people are using the current global pandemic as an opportunity to be generous — and some are using it to get attention by merely appearing to be generous. One guy sent me an email letting me know that I could livestream his in-person training for $995 instead of the usual $2,995 — “a once in a lifetime opportunity,” apparently. This guy is teaching people how to write marketing copy, by the way.

I get it that this guy, like everyone, still wants and needs to make a living. It just seems exploitative and dishonest to use this virus as a way to frame his offer — and pretend like he’s doing me a favor. What if he had said, “Hey, we get it that no one is going to sign up for this in-person workshop and we’re bummed because we’re really proud of it — how about a virtual one?” That would have been the truth. And I wonder if the truth might actually sell more seats. At the very least, it builds trust. Go ahead and be generous — but be honest, too.

Of course, being honest in marketing is as worn-out as being generous. It’s nearly impossible to be genuine without just seeming like you’re being that way. We’ve been living for so long in a culture of “manufactured authenticity,” where an Instagram model might post a photo of herself looking flawless in a bikini along with a 500-word caption about how much she struggles with her self-image, or an influencer mom gives us a professionally shot image of her kids tagged with ten carefully curated sponsors, and then makes sure we know about her tough days and challenges. Riiiiiight. The cognitive dissonance is unbearable.

Thus, a social media post of “how can I help you?” or “here are my free resources” is likely to be met with apathy and exhaustion — or even outright suspicion.

And even when it works, that doesn’t mean it’s right. There’s a great old Leona Naess song that goes, “Don’t use my broken heart to pick up other girls.” You get it — her ex is out there being magnetically sensitive and raw. But just because it’s effective doesn’t mean it’s ethical. He should just stay home for awhile, like we’re all doing. I want to tell some of these marketers the same thing.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out a way to be generous without adding to the noise. So at this time, my approach to being generous is to listen. I’m still figuring out what my team needs from me right now, along with my clients and students. I can come up with a bunch of “content” I think they are going to want, or I could slow down and take the time to find out how to best support them. I think the latter approach is best.

To be clear, I’m not saying that people should stop selling things or feel bad about what they can offer. I’m just worn out by the people seeing dollar signs when people are dying. We don’t have to use the virus to go after vulnerable people. We can take this opportunity to come together and serve each other better, and one thing will never change even as society changes dramatically: Serving others is about what they want. Everything else is just noise.