66: Mindful Marketing with Amie Finlayson
Lauren Tilden
Welcome back to Making Good, the podcast for small businesses who want to make a big impact. I'm your host, Lauren Tilden, and this is episode 66. Today's episode is about something super, super important. And I think a bit overdue for this podcast, mindful marketing. I am so thrilled to have business strategist Amie Finlayson join me for this chat.
But before we jump into the episode, I have a few things I wanted to share first, number one, a big topic you'll hear in this conversation is values, and specifically getting clear on your values so you can make sure your marketing and business practices are aligned with them. If you know you have values and your business and your life, but you're not exactly sure what they are, I have a free workbook to help you walk through the process of getting clear on them and writing them into a strong statement that you can share. If you're interested head to makinggoodpodcast.com/goodbusiness.
Second, I wanted to invite you to join other values driven small business owners for accountability and lots of business and marketing inspiration. This all takes place in the free Facebook community for the podcast, The Good Business community. The link will be in the show notes or you can head to makinggoodpodcast.com/community to be redirected.
Finally, if you love this podcast, there are a few ways you can help spread the love. First, I would love for you to leave a review on Apple podcasts or Stitcher to help others find the podcast and to let me know what you love. And second, take a screenshot while you're listening and tag me on Instagram at @LaurenTilden. I would so love to connect with you and cheer you on.
Okay, so let's talk about today's episode. Mindful marketing is all about creating a marketing approach that is in line with your values and the impact you want to make in the world. While my background is in more traditional corporate ish marketing over the last couple of years, I've definitely felt myself being pulled in the direction of mindful marketing, which is why I'm so excited to share this conversation with you. My guest on this episode is Amie Finlayson.
Amie is an online business strategist for service providers, marketers and course creators. She teaches small business owners how to structure their businesses and feel good way and to do ethical, effortless and effective marketing. She also hosts The Good Authority podcast, which she shares about more during the conversation and you should definitely go give it a listen. In this conversation, we talked about what is mindful marketing, the opposite of mindful marketing, which is sometimes called bro marketing, some examples of marketing and business tactics that we might consider unethical. The role of ethics and pricing specifically when it comes to payment plans and charm pricing, how to create your own mindful marketing plan, the role of transparency and mindful marketing and mindful business, the role of systems and moving you toward the life you want and the impact you want to make and much more. This topic is so so important. And I would love your help spreading the word. Take a screenshot from your podcast player and then post it on Instagram for your other small business friends to check out. Tag me at @LaurenTilden and Amie at @amiefinlayson for extra credit. Okay, let's get into the episode. Amie, welcome to the podcast.
Amie Finlayson
Thanks for having me. I'm so excited.
Lauren Tilden
I'm so excited to have you. And I'm so excited to talk about ethical marketing. This is something that it feels very close to my heart, although I'm not sure I've figured it out exactly how I feel about everything. So I'm excited to have you here like holding my hand as we go through this topic. I would love just for some context, if you could tell the listeners, who you are and what you do in your business and maybe just a brief intro to where ethical marketing is relevant to you.
Amie Finlayson
Yeah, of course. So for me, I call myself an online business strategist. And I work with entrepreneurs, but mainly people who are service providers, or course creators to kind of break the rules of marketing, and get you set up with strategy and workflows to make a lasting impact on your audience without the overwhelm and the burnout and the information overload. And it's really tied to my mission, which is to help impact driven marketers and online entrepreneurs to lead with integrity and prioritize their own vision, income and energy as they build, grow and scale a sustainable business.
So essentially, I am quite focused on the mindful marketing side of things. And I really do that or it kind of manifests as the way that I help marketers and online business owners feel really good about the way that they're marketing themselves online and the personal brand that they're creating in the community that they're cultivating. And I guess for me coming to kind of I haven't always been what I would call an ethical marketer, and I don't think anyone is when they start off in online business. But I'm in my fifth year of this. So I've, I've seen a lot of the bush than I have participated in. And I've just been marketing in some capacity for almost eight years now. I think it's over eight years now. And I have just come to a point in my business where, and I mean, it's been kind of a year or two years where I've felt more of a pull towards an ethical or a more mindful way of doing things, because that just isn't the status quo of online business.
Lauren Tilden
Hmm. Okay, so God, I'm so excited. I'm just getting about this conversation. So for anyone listening, who's hearing you say, like, you weren't always someone who tended toward, like really thinking through the ethics of your marketing? Could you define what ethical marketing is? And maybe give some examples of marketing tactics that you would consider? unethical?
Amie Finlayson
Yeah, for sure. I think what I mean by I haven't always been ethical is that when I started my online business, I started with the hope that I would be able to leave my nine to five job and I wanted to make more money on the side, I wanted to have the freedom to not start work at night, and I'm finished at five. And that was just the way that my life would be. So starting, the ethics behind things weren't top of mind. But ethical marketing or mindful marketing is what I like to call it, I think it just sounds less judgy, I guess. But it's, it's basically having a set of ethics or standards that you live by on your online business, to reduce harm, to cultivate community to make an income and build something that will be here for years to come. And I find that the alternative for a lot of people is that your business won't last. And it's using what a lot of people call and I did not coined this term, but a lot of people call it bro marketing, which is kind of the masculine and the patriarchal way of doing business and marketing yourself, because this is just the structures of online business, that it's just the way the industry has been built.
And it's really to advance what bro marketing is, it's to advance your business motivations in a way that uses fear and coercion and manipulation. And it's done in really subtle ways as well, like you've probably done it, or you're doing it in some kind of way or your business bestie is doing it. And a lot of the time, it's up to you as an individual to exercise your own set of values and guidelines. Because a lot of what I do is just or a lot of what we do rather, as online business owners is just the accepted status quo. Things were just okay with. And it's because it's the way it's always been, even when it hurts other people and in a lot of ways, it's because it makes a lot of money for the individuals and the businesses that are involved.
Lauren Tilden
Yeah, so good. I feel like something that you're calling attention to is like, a lot of us like so I come from corporate marketing, which is mostly in this in definitely like a bro marketing energy where the what you're considering is how do I use my marketing to make sales. And the only thing I care about is making sales. I don't care about any other impacts that my activities have. Right. So I'm, I'm feeling nerdy right now. But this is taking me back to my econ degree economics degree. And there's something called externalities, which are like the unintended consequences of anything you do in the economy. And what I'm hearing you say is mindful or ethical marketing is really about thinking through like the impact of your marketing tactics, and actually evaluating like, is this good for everyone else? And maybe everyone else on the planet and not just me?
Amie Finlayson
Yeah, exactly. I think, I mean, you're spot on with that. Because I think as business owners, we do want to make money and grow our income. And that's super important. That's not, It's not disregarding that, but it's thinking about the why behind the reasons that we do things and the way that we make people feel in our messaging, and how we bring people into our programs and our courses and our the way that we treat our clients and have a client experience and all of the content we create. I mean, it's in everything that we do. And thinking about the why. And the impact is just as important as making money, if not more important, right?
Lauren Tilden
Yeah. And I just, the reason I think I love this topic so much is, my whole angle with this podcast is really, yes, build a really strong business, market it effectively, but beyond that, like find a way to make a positive impact on the world using your business. So a really big, like, sort of through line of the conversations we have here are around incorporating your value, like getting really clear on what your values are, and incorporating them into your business practices. And I've, I guess, I've touched on like how that kind of touches marketing, but really thinking through kind of the the really specific details about your marketing and how those, how those come into play, when it comes to your values, I think is a conversation I definitely haven't had yet. And I'm really excited to be having. So yeah, definitely. You touched on this a little bit already. And that is like the idea of basically preying on people's emotions. One of the sort of classic strategies, I guess, when it comes to marketing that we're taught is to really get clear on your ideal customers pain points, and then agitate the pain points. Like to make them feel something. What do you say?
Amie Finlayson
I said that you're taught to just poke and prod at those pain points, like you're pushing on someone's hurt.
Lauren Tilden
Right? And we like, I feel like this is taught, like, pretty shamelessly. Like, I don't think I question that at all for a long time. No. So let's talk about some examples of that. What are some examples of using fear and prodding and maybe false urgency in marketing? And what might be some alternatives to that?
Amie Finlayson
Yeah. So I mean, emotional manipulation in online business is kind of one of those status quos that was talking about, it's really accepted. And as marketers, pain point seems to be a phrase that no one really questions, but it's the main word is pain, like, why would you want people to feel pain in order to help them make a decision, and I use the word help in inverted commas, because I find that just fear comes up as one of the main drivers for a lot of marketers, because they want people to take action.
And you'll find that a lot of the fear is tied to decision making, or the their intended ideal client or customers decision making. And it's made or used as an accepted to make you as the potential client or customer feel like a hot mess with a bad mindset. And you have no clue how to use your money. But if you buy this program, you'll be completely fine. But I find it's not always tied to money. But it's also the way that we use fear based messaging, and it's really prominent in this industry. And it's used, our the way that it has kind of manifested is it's used as a way to kind of beat the competition or position yourself in a way that makes you look like you're the best, or you're the only option. So it's kind of this false hierarchy that has been created. And a lot of marketers say that their program is better than another. And they make wild claims around what people need and what they don't need, which is just my personal pet peeve. I just really feel like it's extremely damaging to tell people what they don't need and what they do need just to sell something that you have put in the kind of the side of what people need. I think it's just also creating an illusion that there's only one person that you can trust, only one program that can get you that result. And it's really just tied to shame, shame around investments and decision making and telling you'll say this just so much on Instagram people telling their audience that I mean as a pain point saying that they have shiny object syndrome, and I don't know why people always seem to focus on this, but it obviously sells programs because it makes people feel like they're, they're not good enough.
Like they can't make decisions on their own. And it's not that it isn't a like your programs aren't amazing. It's just the way that you make people feel to kind of coerce them into a decision and it all so happens a lot behind closed doors like I don't think that's something we can just forget about as marketers that everything that we do front facing is something that we need to just be aware of. It's also the things like on Instagram, that we don't see, it's the sales calls that people will lead on to that intentionally make people feel bad. And it's to coerce them into an often uninformed decision.
Lauren Tilden
Yeah, I like the point about sales calls, like the person, the salesperson will often try to convince you that you need to make a decision before the end of a call, or else you miss out on whatever offer it is, or whatever. And it's like, you must have like, not that much faith in your product, if you don't believe that the person does sit and think about it and still decide they want it.
Amie Finlayson
it's really getting people in vulnerable positions that simply just benefit the market. I like it doesn't actually benefit the people you are trying or intending to help. And I think because a lot of these sales calls use human connection in a really twisted way. And they lace it with a lot of shame and urgency, which makes people make decisions that not not always right for them.
Lauren Tilden
Right. So I want to touch back to this idea, a little bit of pain points, because I think they're so I'm trying to figure out how I feel about this. I definitely know, I feel that we should not intentionally agitate pain points or create pain. But there are sometimes we do have offers that actually solve problems that people have. Right. And so we talk about that, without agitating it like, how do we acknowledge the problem? in like a more uplifting and hopeful and I guess full of possibility way.
Amie Finlayson
Yeah, I mean, I think you kind of answered it in the question like giving people possibility is different to intentionally harming them, or not intentionally, I don't think a lot of people in online business are out there to get other people. I don't think that at all. But I do think people are trying to force people into quicker decision making. And I think that there's kind of a fine line between that and slowing down the sales process. And really getting to the root of how your programs can really help people. And I think you can only really figure that out with experience, you're not always going to get it right. And I think driving people towards action, because obviously we have programs that we want to fill is really about making sure that you can deliver on the promises that you're making, and not shifting people into your programs that aren't going to give them the desired results.
So for me, my messaging, it's really hard to not just say you need this, because of this reason, because that's the way we've been taught to market. But I think it's more about digging into not just their fears, because pressing on pain points isn't really going to help you in the long run either all them, I think it's really figuring out what their needs are, and why they haven't achieved that the end result that they have desired. And really thinking about what that desire is as well, I think you're really able to motivate people when they can actually see the path to how you can get them there. And I know a lot of marketers are just like, just talk about the transformation, then they will be able to see but then they don't just talk about the transformation. They also talk about what will happen if they don't achieve this.
But I really think if you are able to show them actually, this is what this looks like in practice. This is how I have created this so that it fits into your life. It's not something that is going to just be a burden on you. And that's the way that I like to sell my programs in a way that feels good to me, maybe it doesn't feel good to other people. But I think it feels really good to me when I know I have created something that I am really proud of that I have given results to people before with and I'm able to in my messaging actually say how it fits into your life. And not just this pain point is hurting. So let me fix it for you.
Lauren Tilden
Let's talk about pricing, which is another place that I think we can make mindful or ethical decisions. So a couple things that came to mind for me and that I've heard you talk about are payment plans, I think payment plans but definitely charm pricing. Yeah. Could you talk about those topics and maybe anything else you have to say about the topic of pricing when it comes to, we're just really thinking through, like how to do it in a kind and I guess the right way?
Amie Finlayson
Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's necessarily a right way, because we're all different. And we all have kind of different things that are going to make the most sense in our business. But I do really think in online business, there are so many accepted standards that actually just don't make sense. Like fair enough, if you have reasons for the way you do things, even though they are the status quo, I think that is fine. But I think when it's, you're making options in your business available, that are actually just predatory, that's where the problem is. And payment plans is one of those things, because there's the option, obviously, to have flexible payment options is amazing. But then there's the other side of it, which just kind of discriminates against people who can't afford to pay in full. So this looks a lot like paying more for the same program.
So the industry standard at the moment, and you will see this go into the big names, sales pages go in, go to any one sales page, really that hasn't thought about this, because they don't know, they're not bad people for not thinking about this. But they're generally going to be following what the big names do. So the industry standard is to charge either 15, between 15 to 30%, more kind of attacks on payment plans. And a lot of people don't even realize this, because we see the smaller number and we think, Oh, I can afford that smaller number now. So it actually just doesn't matter down, I'll figure out that other payments down the line, which is another thing to coerce people into buying programs they don't want or need. But it is something that is so prevalent, like why should someone pay like a tax for not being able to afford the payments, and a lot of people use the excuse that they need to charge more because of lapse payments, like they're protecting themselves. But they don't even identify if this is actually an issue, just the first thing they do is charge people this massive tax before actually considering if that is something that is going to benefit their business in the long run. And I guess people talk about cash flow, because obviously, if people pay in full upfront, that can be a good thing for your cash flow. But are you hurting people that can't pay in full in the process? I think that's the real question here. And then, if we talk about charm pricing...
Lauren Tilden
Can I ask you a quick just a question on payment? So I, I totally agree that we should not be charging more for the same product to people who have less resources. That's how the whole world works. And that's not right. Like so I guess I'm just curious, what do you choose to do in your business? Like, do you offer the payment plan but just not at a markup? Or do you think it's better to just only have one flat fee that everyone pays? Like, how do you handle that?
Amie Finlayson
Yes, so I have payment plans with no markup. And that's what works for me. And I know that in a lot of cases, that won't work for everyone. But I think getting to the root of why that is like for me, I'm fine with paying, if people choose a payment plan, and I don't make it up and I pay a few extra dollars on a conversion fee or on a PayPal fee. That is fine to me, knowing that people aren't paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars more than someone else in a program in one of my programs, because they couldn't afford to pay the full price. And obviously, I mean, there is like benefit to people paying in full. And it is important to actually get cash flow in your business. But I think there are other ways that you can reward people for that or not even reward, but think about who you're impacting by charging a lot more like some of these massive programs that a lot of people are in, they will charge an whole extra payment to join their programs like that.
To me, that's just unfair. Because they're obviously going to make a lot of money in the process anyway. And I think when you're a smaller business, that's possibly when you've got to be thinking about these numbers a lot more.
Lauren Tilden
Right? Yeah, such an interesting topic. Let's talk about charm pricing, which I think will be even more I know that some of my listeners are service based businesses, but I would say probably like two thirds ish, at least are product based businesses. So I think charm pricing is probably going to be even more relevant to them. So I would love it. Could you explain what that is and provide some guidance there?
Amie Finlayson
Yes. So a bit about what it is, it's a psychological pricing tactic. That's, I guess, to put it more simply, it's when you see a seven or a nine, or even a five at the end of a price instead of a round number. So say, the price is actually $100, it would be 97, 98, 90, 95, whatever that may be, the seven is meant to be the one that is more like a psychological, I guess, tactic that actually influences people. But the left digit is the one below the real price. And it's discounted by a few dollars to really make the price appear cheaper than it is. And it's seen as something that manipulates because it makes the offer or the product appear less expensive. But I just think this conversation is so nuanced.
Like, my advice isn't to just change your or your pricing to round numbers. I think that is just crazy that would be like a blanket statement of an entire industry and even other industries. But it is something to think about the why of using it. And if it is something that aligns with your business, like for me, I do use it in my business. And it's not something that I think is the most unethical, but I also think people should really think about it as well, like, for a lot of people, there are reasons to use it, because it's common in your industry. And it does help influence decision in a way that is potentially not that harmful. But I think that it is something that if it makes sense to you go for it. And it's just a conversation that needs to be had like why why do people use it, I think is the question that we need to be asking.
Lauren Tilden
Yeah, I think that's such a good point. The important part is that you actually make a thoughtful decision about this and don't just say, Okay, I'm gonna price this macros at 197 instead of 200. So that I can trick people like, just actually going through the process of thinking through, why are you making these pricing decisions like is that what's kind and fair to everyone? Much just we're not really taught to do so. I think really just putting that intention into it is, is really all we're asking or suggesting.
Amie Finlayson
And I don't think it's like anyone's using it to get people like to trick people into something being cheaper. I just think it's something like knowing that it is a tactic that is used to convince people or not convince people, but kind of make a price appear less expensive, that's when you kind of got to consider how that actually works in your business.
Lauren Tilden
So then, okay, so I feel like we have had such a great conversation so far around some of the different tactics that might be that people just might want to think through a little more carefully than we have been taught to think through. So if someone is here listening and feeling like okay, like, I'm inspired, I really want to make sure that I'm doing marketing that is a gonna lead to sales, but be like respectful and kind to all parties. Yeah. So how do we make a plan that is ethical and mindful?
Amie Finlayson
I think the, I mean, the key word here is just like being mindful, like even thinking about it is kind of the first step to acknowledging things that you're possibly doing that could be harmful, or just don't align with your values. I think if you first approach it from your own set of values, having brand values, like a brand strategy is so important to actually everything in your business being, I guess, ethical and sustainable and profitable, like really understanding your brand, and who the people you're you are trying to serve ah, before you actually go and think about these tactics.
So I think you really need to get strategic about what matters to you and the long term vision of what you're creating, because that will influence your day to day, or your month to month or your quarters or, or the year and everything that you want to do in terms of a marketing plan. And whether you do that as a campaign, or launch based or it's the content that you're creating every single day and the way you're speaking to your clients and your customers, or your Instagram community.
And I think you just, there's four things that I always look at in terms of my own marketing and when I'm talking to other people about making them marketing more mindful. And it's really thinking about first your community and who If the people are that you're trying to serve, or you're trying to reach or you want to impact with your products or your services or your programs, and then it's the sales process, I think is one of the most important ways that I mean, it's how we make money. And if your sales process is something that doesn't feel good to you or to the customer, or you're continually getting people into your business, that are potentially causing you problems, or don't make you feel good, or they don't feel good, then it's something that is not aligned. And that's something that you need to really fix in your marketing plan and your sales process.
And then storytelling is really important, the stories that you're telling and the way that you're influencing people through the kind of the illusion or the guise of how you put information or stories out into the world, it's going to influence people to make decisions. And you want to do that in a way that is transparent and authentic. And isn't just a rags to riches story. It's something where you're actually able to make a connection, and one that is, I guess, really authentic. And then again, the last one, your pricing, which we've touched on in this like thinking about your payment plans, charm pricing, just thinking about the way that you position and package, your products and your services, that's going to be really important to your overall ethical marketing plan as well.
Lauren Tilden
Amazing, I love this, I will be taking great notes on this for the show notes. So definitely check out the show notes for that summary. We're gonna start to transition into some of the wrap up questions. But first, I would love to just know a little bit more about your business. I hear you talk a lot about Airtable and like systems. But yeah, what is kind of the bulk of the work that you do for your clients? And are there any kind of like, key themes there that you want, that would be helpful to share?
Amie Finlayson
Yeah, so as I mentioned earlier, I'm mainly and I think it's pretty obvious and all the things I talk about, but I mainly work with service providers, and course creators and other marketers. And everything is mainly around marketing automation, and setting up your offers. And it's all tied to my vision and my mission. Because even though I talk about ethical marketing a lot, the way that I'm actually able to do that is by helping people with their strategy and their workflows, and helping them to really create and build a sustainable online business. And I do that through coaching through consulting. And I obviously am very obsessed with marketing tools that help people and not just marketing tools, business operations, and project management tools that actually help people to avoid burnout and reduce overwhelm and not have that information overload that we all have as service providers and entrepreneurs in general, and get people to a point in their business where they've structured it in a way that feels really good. I'm really big on structure, from structuring your own knowledge and your own offers, and thinking about your pricing. And then really putting that into a marketing plan or a strategic plan that or a business plan where you're able to actually implement that and see real lasting change in your online business.
Lauren Tilden
Love, love, love. I'm always like just so inspired by all the really organized systems people, like I watch your Instagram, and I'm like, Oh my gosh, so organized systems.
Amie Finlayson
I swear it wasn't always like this. I just think it really allows you to work less and focus more and actually have a vision and a plan for your business that you can see. From years to come. I think that's so motivating rather than just like being stuck on the daily tasks.
Lauren Tilden
Yeah, well, I'd actually love to just ask you about that a little bit. I know you work, not like the normal 40 Hour Workweek. What is your work schedule? And how does how do systems make that possible?
Amie Finlayson
Yeah, so I always say it's unconventional, but I think with online business, everyone kind of works in different ways. Well, that's kind of my hope. Because I think, for me, especially like, with the way that I work and the way my motivation and my energy levels, like I can't work a nine to 5, 40 hour week because for me that just I know I won't be productive. I'll be wasting my time. And it just doesn't sound fun to me. But then when I tell people I kind of work seven days they're like, that sounds horrible. And I'm like fine, but I I don't normally work a seven or eight hour day. I'll work a few hours here and there, mainly, I will take the middle of the day off, like I love going on a walk or a hike or having a really long lunch. That stuff that brings me joy.
But I'm also able to do it because I don't have kids. And I'm pretty flexible in the way that I'm able to do things, I don't have a lot of commitments that require me not to work during set hours. So it's possible for me. And the way that I'm able to do it is via how I plan everything out and how it ties into my long term vision. Like everything that I do in my business, day to day that I do week to week that I do every month, every quarter is moving me closer towards my vision, like a vision is obviously something that you create that might never come to life, but your mission every day leads you closer towards that. And having that all mapped out in terms of the things that you do, I think is just really powerful. And I think it's what a lot of online business owners don't have, because they just get bogged down in kind of getting up and feeling guilty. Like, I've got to start work at 9am, I got to get all of these tests done in this specific timeframe. And I just think it's a really interesting conversation to see all the different ways that we can work and that the 40 hour workweek doesn't actually work for a lot of people.
Lauren Tilden
Yeah, I love that point. I know, for me, like coming from a corporate background. I just like feel like I should be working from nine to five. And I don't like I don't most of the time have any like, I don't know, sometimes I have meetings, I have Clubhouse rooms, I have things. But a lot of times I'm just sitting there maybe not being that productive, because I feel like I should be like sitting at my computer. I love the just the encouragement to kind of reevaluate that and like, Okay, this is the stuff that has to get done for me to achieve my goal. Like how can I fit this into my life as a whole, not like the hours between nine to five, five days a week. So such a great reminder for everyone. What is one business you admire and why?
Amie Finlayson
So, I mean, I admire so many people in marketing and online business. And I really admire women who are advancing a mission that guides them in everything that they do, because I want to do that as well. And I guess I, I really, really love Rachael Rogers, and her podcast Hello Seven is one I listen to, all the time, I go back to episodes I've listened to before, she's just so badass and inspiring. And it's yeah, I just really love her work. And then I guess, in terms of a whole, like, I'm really inspired by a lot of my own clients and people in my community, not even people that have purchased from me, but people who are inspired to do things differently, and to do things so that they can impact more people in really positive ways.
Lauren Tilden
I love that. I'm glad you brought up Rachael Rogers, she has not come up yet on this podcast. So I'm really excited that she has now and I can I can link to her in the notes. And everyone's gonna love her too. So my recommendation, what is a book that you would recommend?
Amie Finlayson
So I found this really hard, because I always either listen to podcasts, or I am someone who reads a lot of fiction books. I don't always sit down with a business book anymore. But I have been reading the Infinite Game by Simon Sinek, who he's behind, like, Start with Why and all of those type of books. But reading this book is just like, my philosophy on business really, like I use the word infinite in one of my programs, because I just see online business as there being so much possibility to do good in your own life. And to really like, respect your own energy and the way that you feel, and the way that you want to make money.
But then there's so much good you can do in the world with your business. And I feel like in this book, he really is talking about how having this infinite mindset and really thinking about your business is something that helps people and does so in even beyond you is really exciting to me, and it's kind of everything that I feel and I've haven't finished the whole book, but I dive into it a few pages every few days, and it's just so inspiring. I definitely recommend.
Lauren Tilden
Cool. I haven't even heard of that one. I know Simon Sinek. But I did not know this book.
Amie Finlayson
Yeah, it's a it's a new one.
Lauren Tilden
Cool. You mentioned you've talked a few times about sort of make doing good in the world and making a positive impact. How do you like what does that look like for you in your business? How do you approach making the world a better place? through your work.
Amie Finlayson
I think for me, like the impact that I make day to day is going to be in the online business industry. And it's going to be around the people that I serve and the people that consume my content. And I guess everything that I do, I want to advance my mission, like helping people with their vision, that obviously is a knock on effect and does good, helping people with their energy and sustaining that energy via strategy and processes and things that they may not have set up in their business things that they can automate. And then obviously, like growing their income, that's something that is important to me, especially like, I mainly serve women in my community. And having that kind of possibility to really do more and do more with your money is something that, I think and I definitely hope that it is something that I do in terms of impacting my own clients and community.
Lauren Tilden
For sure. Amazing. Thank you so much. Where can people find you and connect with you and learn more about your work?
Amie Finlayson
I am on Instagram. So at @AmieFinlayson, and my DMs are open, definitely anyone who's listening. I would love to hear from you. And then Amiefinlayson.com. Otherwise, the first season of my podcast, Good Authority is also there for you to listen, there's going to be a second season, but we're working on. But yeah, that's where you can find me. I'm definitely active on Instagram, if anyone wants to hit me up.
Lauren Tilden
Awesome. Well, you tell people a little bit about your podcast before we wrap up.
Amie Finlayson
Yeah, of course. So, Good Authority is a kind of something that I created so that I was able to express my own thoughts and start having conversations that are critical in terms of marketing, like, for a really long time being a marketer and being on Instagram for so long. Like I've been a business on Instagram for like, this is my fifth year, I felt like we weren't, especially like in communities where there's mainly women, we weren't having the conversations that were critical. Like they're not personal, they're critical. And were able to all be better as a result. So my podcast has an edge of like mindful marketing, and then helping you to actually make your online business something that is sustainable and profitable, and something that you feel really good about and impacts people in a positive way.
Lauren Tilden
Love, love, love. Thank you so much, Amie, for coming on here and for kind of being here while I process all of this all of these topics around mindful marketing and ethical marketing. And yeah, I think I my big takeaway is really just like, the important thing is to be thinking through the intention behind everything you do in your business in your marketing, and you know, questioning things if they kind of rubbed you the wrong way a little bit.
Yeah, just because someone is telling you this is how to do marketing does not mean that that's what's right for you. So, so good. Thank you so much.
Amie Finlayson
Thank you.
Lauren Tilden
Okay, such a great episode. I am so so grateful to Amie for joining me for this important conversation. One of my key takeaways from this chat is one of my key takeaways from this episode is a theme that has come up in so many episodes already. And that is the role of intentionality. For the most part, all we need to do to make sure that our marketing is mindful and aligned with us is to get intentional. Get intentional about our values get intentional about how our marketing messaging might impact others. Get intentional about how we want to make people feel and get intentional about how our marketing feels to us.
Amie emphasizes that there's no one size fits all answer to the question of what is ethical marketing. It's really a matter of getting clear on what matters most to you and making sure that your marketing practices are in alignment with that without harming others. If this topic is up your alley, I would definitely suggest you go check out Amie's podcast Good Authority, it will be linked in the show notes. I know Amie and I would both love to connect with you on Instagram. Take a screenshot of you listening to this episode and tag us both. Amy is at @AmieFinlayson, I'm at @LaurenTilden. Everything mentioned in this episode can be found on the show notes page at makinggoodpodcast.com/66
If this is your first time tuning in and you're interested in learning more about what I do, check out The Good Business free Facebook community for this podcast at makinggoodpodcast.com/community Check out how I can help you with your small business marketing at Laurentilden.co. My plant inspired greeting cards vinyl stickers and art prints at goodsheila.com and Seattle retail shop station seven at station7seattle.com. One final thing we talked a lot about values in this episode. If you need help getting clear on your business values, I have an awesome free workbook that can walk you through the process. Download it at makinggoodpodcast.com/goodbusiness. Thank you for being here and for focusing on making a difference of your small business. Talk to you next time.