"I hate marketing!"

Just about every Catholic small business owner or ministry leader I've ever met has said that.

And you know what?

I think hating marketing is a fantastic foundation for being a great marketer.

Because yes, marketing can be uncomfortable, especially as a Catholic.

We don't want to annoy people. And we associate marketing with the sleazy tactics we see in the secular world.

You'd much rather just serve people (which is a much better foundation for marketing anyway).

So hating marketing makes you a lot less likely to do all of the salesy, manipulative things, which is great...

...but hating marketing also means you haven't been doing it at all, which is bad. Because the mission God gave you is too important not to share.

There are two things that will help you to finally stop hating marketing:

1) Being convicted in the depths of your soul that it's actually an act of service, and

2) Actually understanding it.

This past month has been about convicting you of #1.

A lot of business coaches will say, "If what you do helps people, then not talking about is a disservice" as an argument for why you need to market well.

And I don't disagree with that.

But I think as Catholics, we're called to take it a step further.

I think that even our marketing alone should be an act of service.

That just from engaging with our marketing, without even taking the next step, they feel Jesus coming through.

Because at the end of the day, a good conversion rate is 2-5%.

That means 95-98% of your people will only ever engage with you through your marketing — and they need to hear your mission too.

Which means marketing = part of your ministry.

What does that look like practically?

It means taking the time to actually develop a marketing strategy rooted in first knowing your people really well.

Then, it means starting each piece of marketing with prayer and really thinking about the people you've been called to serve.

From there, you then make sure each piece of marketing content — from your sales pages to your emails to your social media posts to your ads — all help people:

• Feel seen, known, loved, and understood
• Learn something (from an actual solution to even as simple as just knowing that there is a solution)
• Gives them the basics of the mission God's put on your heart (I typically describe this as the thing you'd tell anyone and everyone no matter whether they paid you or not)
• And draws them closer to Jesus in some way

When you start from THAT place, not only is marketing more effective (and authentic and fun) — it also becomes just as much a part of your ministry as the work God actually called you to in the first place.

The other thing that helps you not hate marketing?

Actually understanding it.

​I want to help you with that too.​

I've seen a lot of marketing courses out there that are either way too generalized (basically just tips you can find for free on YouTube) or dive deep, but only on one specific platform.

(Not to mention they sometimes just make marketing more confusing and stressful, plus teach strategies that could be against our faith.)

That's why I created Market Like Jesus, a full marketing strategy course rooted in Catholic values.​

It's not platform-specific (though I do help you figure out which ones you should be on!), which means you can customize it completely to your business or ministry's needs.

And I don't hold anything back: You learn 35+ marketing strategies to grow your business or ministry (and I teach them in a way that makes sense, so that you finally "get" marketing).

Most important?

I root each of them in how Jesus did it first.

For each module, we

At the end, you have a complete marketing plan you'll actually use, because you've taken the time to discern each part.

And a plan you'll actually follow and even find fun? That's the kind of marketing that helps you grow AND market as ministry.

​Market Like Jesus returns May 26!​

I picked May 26 to reopen Market Like Jesus because it is right after Pentecost (when we're renewed with the Holy Spirit and sent out on mission) and the feast of St. Philip Neri.

He was known for his joy an humor, and I want you to have that same joy in marketing.

Because joyful marketing doesn't just serve others better — it also works better.

And the more effective your marketing is, the more people will be impacted by the mission God's given you.

I'd love to be a small part of that.

So pray on it this weekend.

And if this feels like what you need to grow, I'll see you on Tuesday when Market Like Jesus opens!

For His greater glory,

Emily

P.S. There's still time to get your 10% off coupon! Take some time to complete your challenge questions from this month (find them all here) this weekend, and send them to me by Monday, May 25 at 11 pm for your coupon code!

P.P.S. Doors for Market Like Jesus will open on Tuesday! They will only be open for six days before I close this round, and the first 10 people who sign up will get four "email check-in" opportunities for feedback from me, so if you're definitely interested, mark your calendar to be one of the first to sign up!

(Unlike when I ran this last year, this round is NOT being presented a live cohort, so there is no community feature and no daily opportunity for regular feedback from me. This asynchronous format will offer more flexibility to do the course as you have time this summer and fall without falling behind, but if you are looking for some feedback from me to help you along, you'll want to be one of the first 10 to sign up!)