Don't sell your product

One of the biggest lessons in advertising is not to sell your product but to sell the emotional connection or significance your product (or story) that brings to the end user.

Using "the ladder" to determine your customers motivation

In advertising there is something called "the ladder" which you can use to try to find out what really motivates your customer.

Example: A nail salon is running a promotion on their mani/pedi combo.

The typical ad might say: "Monday Only - 20% OFF All Mani/Pedis at Kelly’s nail salon with our #MondayMotivation Promotion"

But, what is the REAL motivation for the nail salon customer (hint: it’s outside of getting their nails done)?

Maybe the real motivation for the customer is to look good — that’s the first step up the ladder! The next step is probably that the customer wants to feel good about themselves — that’s the second step! Now we’re getting closer to their true motivation and our message.

The third step might be that feeling good is really about feeling confident, so the nail salon is selling confidence, ah ha!

Fourth Step: You can tie it all together with the Monday caveat with an pitch like;

“Confidence is always in style — Get your mani/pedi with 20% off at Kelly’s nail salon with our #MondayMotivation Promotion”

Selling a nail salon is easier than trying to determine what motivates someone to collecting your art, but it's not impossible if you use "the ladder". It's also critically important to develop your own story.

The most important less from the ladder: The nail salon should market the feeling they create not just the service they render

Easier said than done

For Artists it's not exactly that easy to define how their art might make someone else feel but if you can give your collectors any insights into your motivations, your inspirations, your perspective on your creative practice it will go miles to bringing them into your tribe.

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