Over at Jessica Knows things got a little heated when Scott Stratten of un-marketing fame decided to give WAHMs a little video pep talk about marketing. Specifically, Scott talks about how “trumpeting” your WAHM status is pretty much a benign and pointless way to draw attention to yourself and your business. Unless of course you’re marketing to other WAHMs. (Though even then you had better still have a good business case for weaving a WAHM tapestry into your marketing message but that’s another issue.)
What gets me is how so many women get their panties in a knot over this kind of discussion. It seems that a lot of work at home moms believe that pride in one’s lifestyle choices is somehow the makings of a strong marketing message.
Authentic marketing–marketing from the heart–is one thing and I’m a big believer in its power to propel a business into the stratosphere. But whether you choose to give something of yourself in your marketing or simply pull strings from the sidelines, the goal is the same: engage your audience so deeply that they feel compelled to act.
Yet how many WAHMs and aspiring WAHMs have asked themselves if their target markets give a rat’s patootie about the fact that their desk is in the kitchen or that they reply to emails while breastfeeding? If you want to show your pride as a work at home mom, then, as Scott eluded to, network and even align with other work at home moms who actually care about your personal story.
But being a WAHM is complicated!
Here’s the thing: mothers are pursuing the work at home option for complex reasons, not the least of which is the need to feel involved in something bigger than the sometimes cloistered reality of dirty diapers and block towers. I get that. Oh how I get that. By starting and running your own business you regain a sense of purpose and identity that is separate and distinct from motherhood.
Or is it? Being a WAHM often means working while mothering. And therein lies the rub. For we constantly run the risk of letting our personal lives leak into our professional lives … leak into our marketing message. Perceived value is ultimately diluted and the bottom line suffers.
So, how can the work at home mom who thirsts to express herself through her entrepreneurial quests do so without coming across as a charity case alienating her market?
The key is to connect with your audience intimately and purposefully at the same time. Some examples of authentic marketing that will engage your audience and even drive sales:
- Be personable, not pathetic, in your networking activities. It’s great to make a little small talk now and then about your WAHM adventures but you don’t want to come across as a chronic complainer. It saps people’s energy and in networking you want to spark energy, not take it away. People are busy and even while they’re cruising the social web they want their socializing to be positive and productive.
- Share your WAHMiness with other WAHMs, not clients. Other WAHMs are a great source of knowledge, support and inspiration. That is why you network with them. Unless WAHMs are your target market in which case you want to craft your marketing message around the work at home value set. However, this is still very different than tooting your own horn. Unless it imparts valuable information or insight, even a fellow WAHM isn’t going to care if she is deciding whether or not to spend on your products or services.
- You are more than a WAHM. I know, hard to believe some days but, if there wasn’t more to you than being a mother and possessing the ability to work hard, you wouldn’t have the desire to start a business in the first place. That is, you have talents and quirks and experience that make you different and interesting. Some of those things could be crafted into a marketing message that’s interesting to your target market. You just need to think outside the box a little.
This is just a primer on authentic marketing. The point is to know the difference between being yourself with your audience and looking for validation from your audience. They don’t want to give you validation. They want a solution to a problem. If you’re WAHM badge is getting in the way of providing that solution, maybe it’s time to rethink why you’re really doing this.
About this Alpha WAHM Blogger: Karri is the Alpha WAHM who owns this joint. She also happened to write the book. 
