Thinking it Through About Marketing---Trends or Tricks?
OK, I’ve just spent 30 minutes, or more, reading article after article on making money online. Know what I’ve discovered? I am NOT a business woman, at least not one that follows current trends. No matter how many times I read the words, I simply canNOT get my head around luring people into my site in order to make money off of them. Now the “offer a great product that will enrich their lives” I can handle but the other…not this girl.
Now for the clincher, it was a Christian family offering these marketing strategies. Am I simply naive or are many of the marketing strategies being used today contrary to the Word of God? I’m not judging - truly I’m not. I just can’t stomach the thought that some websites and blogs I regularly visit are writing “godly” articles with the express purpose of luring me in to make money off of me. Which is it, ministry or business? Can it be both?
Where does scripture say there is a line that can be drawn between our business practices and the rest of our lives? Nowhere I can find. As I said, there’s no judgment here; I’m just trying to decipher truth in this issue. My heart is leading me down a path vastly different from the one some other believers are advising, and confusion is stifling.
Being the black and white sort of girl that I am, business is straightforward and simple, not manipulative and complex. I offer either a service or product for a reasonable price, and the customer either pays the price or does business elsewhere. If my service and product are of good enough quality, word will spread and more customers will come. I have always felt that advertising is most effective when done in an attractive yet honest manner.
Call me old-fashioned; I adhere to the “if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it” policy. Hard work, integrity, and honesty still produce the most successful businesses. As with all good things, success is neither easy nor free. Since I have to invest time and work into any business, why not make certain that the work I am putting in lifts up Christ and His Word?
Please, please, please don’t misunderstand the purpose and intent of this post. Honestly, all I am doing is attempting to think this thing through. Are modern day marketing strategies completely honest or are they manipulative and conniving? As with many situations, maybe the answer isn’t found in “what” marketing techniques I utilize but in “why” I use them.
No matter how many times around my head I go with this topic, I keep coming back to “In all these things, is Jesus Christ glorified?”. Ahhhhh, there’s the peace that umpires my decisions.(Colossians 3:15) Yep, that’s the answer. No matter which marketing ideas I may or may not use in the future, I need to always make certain that I commit and trust them wholly to Him. Then my plans will be established and succeed. (Proverbs 16:3) Thanks for “thinking this through” with me. In the name of Jesus, I pray blessings and supernatural success on businesses striving to be honest and upright. May they be rewarded by God for their integrity, and may fresh, new, creative ideas and innovations be theirs. In the name that is above every name, Jesus, Amen.
Now for the clincher, it was a Christian family offering these marketing strategies. Am I simply naive or are many of the marketing strategies being used today contrary to the Word of God? I’m not judging - truly I’m not. I just can’t stomach the thought that some websites and blogs I regularly visit are writing “godly” articles with the express purpose of luring me in to make money off of me. Which is it, ministry or business? Can it be both?
Where does scripture say there is a line that can be drawn between our business practices and the rest of our lives? Nowhere I can find. As I said, there’s no judgment here; I’m just trying to decipher truth in this issue. My heart is leading me down a path vastly different from the one some other believers are advising, and confusion is stifling.
Being the black and white sort of girl that I am, business is straightforward and simple, not manipulative and complex. I offer either a service or product for a reasonable price, and the customer either pays the price or does business elsewhere. If my service and product are of good enough quality, word will spread and more customers will come. I have always felt that advertising is most effective when done in an attractive yet honest manner.
Call me old-fashioned; I adhere to the “if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it” policy. Hard work, integrity, and honesty still produce the most successful businesses. As with all good things, success is neither easy nor free. Since I have to invest time and work into any business, why not make certain that the work I am putting in lifts up Christ and His Word?
Please, please, please don’t misunderstand the purpose and intent of this post. Honestly, all I am doing is attempting to think this thing through. Are modern day marketing strategies completely honest or are they manipulative and conniving? As with many situations, maybe the answer isn’t found in “what” marketing techniques I utilize but in “why” I use them.
No matter how many times around my head I go with this topic, I keep coming back to “In all these things, is Jesus Christ glorified?”. Ahhhhh, there’s the peace that umpires my decisions.(Colossians 3:15) Yep, that’s the answer. No matter which marketing ideas I may or may not use in the future, I need to always make certain that I commit and trust them wholly to Him. Then my plans will be established and succeed. (Proverbs 16:3) Thanks for “thinking this through” with me. In the name of Jesus, I pray blessings and supernatural success on businesses striving to be honest and upright. May they be rewarded by God for their integrity, and may fresh, new, creative ideas and innovations be theirs. In the name that is above every name, Jesus, Amen.