by Jade Brown | Oct 23, 2018 | Inside the Business
I believe we are far greater beings than the current paradigm marketing and advertising assumes us to be. Every day, we are bombarded with ads appealing to our fears and by design, entice us into the vacant spiral of zombie consumerism.
Very scary yes? I agree. As a creator of a skincare line that I want to sell, it gets even more frightening. How do my products stand out unless I perpetuate the same soul-depriving tactics? How can I sell in a way that is good for your soul and mine? How do I proceed into success with my indie-biz and not continue to tell this lie?
The Truth
I believe that we are enough. I believe we are capable, smart beings who intend to use our money wisely and responsibly. I believe when we choose to buy a product with informed consent, we are empowered to truly decide its value for ourselves.
For an individual to give valid informed consent, three components must be present:
- Disclosure requires the professional to supply each prospective subject with the information necessary to make an autonomous decision and also to ensure that the subject adequately understands the information provided.
- Capacity pertains to the ability of the subject to both understand the information provided and form a reasonable judgment based on the potential consequences of his/her decision.
- Voluntariness refers to the subject’s right to freely exercise his/her decision making without being subjected to external pressure such as coercion, manipulation, or undue influence.
This is why as your skinPT, my MO is “edu-tising”, which is a word I made up that means educating as my way of advertising. I do this because I LOVE your free-will and want you to make informed choices that empower you. And, I don’t want us to be soul-sucking zombies!! I’ve been “edu-tising” skinPT for 3 years now, and I’ve noticed that learning about the structure and function of skin is less captivating than tempting you with perfect cleavage. Sex sells for sure. I believe that over emphasizing sex in advertising manipulates us into unnatural expectations of ourselves and of the products and services we buy.
“Girlfriend Skincare Tips”
Where am I going with this? I will continue to “edu-tise” because it’s fun for me and hopefully informative for you. I also have another idea, it’s an ad campaign I call “Girlfriend Skincare Tips”. Why? W-O-M-E-N, Word Of Mouth Empowers Naturally! The bond women share is a sacred trust. Much more meaningful than empty promises from big skincare companies who just want your money.
Imagine you’re sitting with a girlfriend in a spirit of relaxed trust. What do we talk about? Personal care, beauty tips, insights on life…the real good stuff! I want to share the love and trust that you and I share in our friendship with the world…while advertising. Nothing complicated or hyped-up, just real, sincere, silly, honest stuff. I hope to grow a community of word-of-mouth trust and build skinPT into the brand where people land and stay.
Together, We Can Change The Paradigm
If you want to help me and my indie-biz be profitable, and maybe, just maybe change the entire paradigm of advertising and marketing, you can do it in 3 easy steps.
- Answer these questions
- What is your favorite product & why?
- Why do you choose skinPT over other brands?
- How has the concept of putting your skin into rehab changed your relationship with your skin?
- What insight into life or personal-care or community do you want your dearest girlfriends to know?
- Snap a pic or short video of you with product
- Text the above if you have my phone number, or respond to this newsletter. I will design the ad and share on social media
Thank you my friends for the opportunity to serve you! I love my job as your skinPT. It’s W-O-M-E-N vs Zombie Consumerism. Together we can say “NO” to those soul-sucking tactics and “YES” to what is real, natural and empowering…one “Girlfriend Skincare Tip” at a time.
xxJade L Brown, PT
by Jade Brown | Apr 9, 2018 | Inside the Business
It was a journey years long to make the best anti aging cream and face serum! Then it came time to sell it. The current model is find out what your points of pain are. Then, develop a slogan and/or ad that shows you how my product will solve that pain. I just could not do it and here’s the story.
“Skinderella” is a fictional character I made up to help me go through my entrepreneurial angst about perpetuating shame in advertising & marketing skincare products. She is a model or actress or maybe a completely photoshopped fantasy person who wakes up and realizes she is in the matrix.
Skinderella: [TICK-TOCK SAYS THE CLOCK] “I’m another second older and I am trapped in a skincare commercial! How did I end up in here and why am I trying to sell “mature” women skincare…I’m only 20. Is this what I have to look forward to when I’m 40? This whole aging thing really sucks! OMG, another second older! What do I do? Do you think the prince will notice this wrinkle? How long is my shelf-life? Ok, I gotta do something quick!” Run Run Run away. Time is up. Friends who are older, friends who are younger… don’t hate me because I am beautiful …I mean you no harm. I am being used to sell stuff and a concept. The concept is “anti-aging”. But there is no such thing as anti-aging. It is impossible to anti age…so, the chase after it is endless and lots of stuff gets sold. Faerie God Auntie, this is not the world I want to live in. Please help me find my way to reality!”
Faerie God Auntie: [WHILE SPRINKLING FAERIE DUST] “Skinderella honey, you had the power all along. Don’t you see, you’ve already changed the story. Now is your moment! Take it easy and speak out. Tell your story and you will be free! People are listening. Go for it. Hustle with your heart and in your own unique way. You are an indie-beauty-brand making badass skincare. Own it!”
Skinderella: [STANDING A BIT TALLER] “If it is true that people are listening and I have the floor, then I will tell my REAL story. I left that shoe behind on purpose!! OK, that feels so good to admit. It was no accidental loss. I’ve had to leave many things behind throughout my life…so that something else can arrive. I LEAVE BEHIND:
- triggering competition among women to be the most beautiful and powerful in the land
- advertising that is based upon motivating you to purchase by triggering your fears and insecurities
- perpetuating a concept that is untrue, unhealthy for me and unworthy of humanity
- tempting you to make choices that are uninformed…especially about your personal care
- the current advertising formula because, I cannot fit the-vast-mystery-of-you into an algorithm, and then endure trying to sell it back to you in a bottle. It just feels icky
I have escaped living in a skincare commercial! But so many people are still in there. They don’t know aging is only half of the story. I will put my big girl shoes on and advertise my best anti aging cream through education. I will call it “Edutisement”. This method allows YOU, the-mystery-that-you-are, to decide for yourself if my products are right for you. Because informed consent is so sexy!”
by Jade Brown | Aug 30, 2016 | Inside the Business
Dancing with the Independent Beauty Brands
Back in the ol’ days, in societies where women were oppressed, they would come together and dance. This tradition appeared on the outside to be a way the women could learn the art of delighting the men in their lives. While dancing did accomplish this, the deeper magic of the coming together as women was storytelling. Women would have uninterrupted time to commune, share, laugh, struggle, cry, sing and celebrate being in their skin together.
Women have always sought the community of other women. Over the aeons, history shows this is how we endow each other, through our storytelling, with generational healing and support. There’s a whole lot of love and trust in a circle of women. When we gather, we are made more. We can rest easy in our skin. We share a journey that is deep and mysterious. There is no language to express the beauty and momentum of being “made more”. It is felt and known like living poetry. We speak the music of transformation that is difficult to negotiate with when we are alone. Together, such honor and recognition deeply opens the eyes and heart and something magic emerges.
This is us…made more. We can vibrate something powerful into being that cannot be erased and will gain momentum. How does this time ol’ tradition of gathering as women relate to independent beauty brands? Today, many of us are telling our stories through our entrepreneurial dance. We laugh, struggle, cry, sing and celebrate being women in our skin.
The indie beauty biz is a community of women, and some men, who feel so passionate about their mission that they dance their brand into being during a time of immense competition. The big brands have the monopoly, for sure, but the tradition of true community is having a renaissance through the medium of skincare. When you support an indie beauty brand you become part of a long tradition of women helping women to thrive.
These brands are telling a story that resonates with real people living real lives. Congrats to all the “indie beauties” who dare to create their brand and tell their story! Will you dance the independent beauty brand boogie with us? Welcome to the dance floor friends! Let’s celebrate being in our skin together. 🙂
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