Most marketing is so fast. It’s ‘buy now’ and ‘closing people’ and ‘converting prospects’ and creating ‘irresistible offers’. It’s ‘double your income in 30 days’ and ‘lose 50 pounds overnight!’

It’s ’6-figure blueprints’ and ‘marketing cash machines’ and ’10,000 fans.’

It’s the ego-driven need to build your audience ever larger.

We’re constantly bombarded with messages that send us into various levels of panic if we don’t ‘act now!’ or haven’t succeeded in ‘crushing it.’

Panic is not a business strategy.

What would happen if we all. slowed. down. our marketing?

Do You Believe in an Abundant Universe?

At the heart of the world’s short-term focus is a fundamental belief that there’s Not Enough.

Not enough jobs. Not enough money. Not enough time.

Not enough connections to the right people.

Not enough knowledge or experience or options.

There’s a pervasive feeling that there’s an answer somewhere OUT THERE (instead of IN HERE), and that’s really why we keep downloading all those free PDFs.

When you feel like you’re missing The Secret to Success, you’ll keep searching and searching and searching (sometimes in a panic).

And since we’re not taught to listen to ourselves (whether you call it your intuition or your gut), we’ll continue to rely on experts and authorities to show us the “right” way.

(That’s also, coincidentally, what keeps us taking classes or searching for a blueprint or road map to 6-figure Business Nirvana.)

It’s what stops us from owning our power, slowing down and thinking about what we’d like to build long-term.

It’s what keeps us focused on getting new customers, rather than getting to know our existing ones on a deeper level.

And it keeps us from enjoying the journey.

The Slow Marketing Movement supports you in your authentic business path

It’s about being the tortoise, not the hare.

It’s about knowing when quick action is absolutely necessary, but not staying there permanently.

Slow Marketing Means…

Taking the time to figure out your core platform or branding message and understanding that finding your voice takes time. It’s like making soup — sometimes we just need to let things simmer for a while in order to figure out what we’re really all about.

It means knowing that blueprints, roadmaps and recipes can only get you so far. That to find true success, you’ll have to experiment and play with the ingredients in your business kitchen.

It means accepting that it takes a while to build trust with people we’ve just met. And to find the joy in discovering who those people really are.

It means that instead of pressuring people to buy right now, we encourage them to sleep on it and sit with it to make sure it’s really a fit (so that any clients we get are solid and long term). And that we eschew false claims of scarcity at every turn.

It means that we really take time to figure out what kinds of clients are actually a perfect fit for us.

It means we remember that, in terms of relationships with clients, forever matters more than today.

It means that we’re okay being an apprentice for a time. We’re okay learning the ropes and not needing to be ‘discovered’ and famous tomorrow.

It means that we don’t rush to write our book or create our products. We slow down a bit so we can focus on crafting what we do to make it even better (so that it really helps people).

It means we build up our business systems so we can relax and know that we’ll be prepared for things as they come.

It means we don’t just accept that we sometimes need to slow down, but that we enjoy it. We relish the present moment.

It means it might be okay (even wonderful!) for us to have a day job while we build up our business.

It means that we acknowledge and honor each potential client’s unique right timing to work with us (or not).

It means we slow ourselves down, get still inside and let go of the panic that comes from wanting instant results. That we create space in our lives where we can and listen to our intuition.

It means we let our writing sit overnight instead of pushing send or publish immediately.

It means we slow down our conversations with potential clients and really listen. Instead of pushing, we lean back. Instead of starting to give advice, we get more curious about their situation. Instead of skipping over a challenge, we go deeply into exploring it.

Here’s to your authentic and prosperous business path!

Note: This Manifesto is a work-in-progress. We encourage you to add your voice to this document and help us build a strong and prosperous movement.