Respectful Reminders on How to Market Mother's Day with Brenda Meller Ep92

Every May, Mother's Day marketing seems inevitable. But for some, like me, these messages are less about celebration and more about navigating a sea of reminders of personal loss or the complexities of parenthood.

Throughout this heartfelt episode, I explore the realm of empathetic marketing, sharing not only my own journey but also how solopreneurs and businesses can honor their customers' diverse experiences with sensitivity and grace.

We've all seen our inboxes inundated with reminders not to forget Mom on her special day, but what goes unaddressed is the twinge of pain these messages can cause.

I offer simple, practical suggestions to allow your subscribers to opt-out from holiday-specific communications, a practice that isn't just about avoiding discomfort but also about showing understanding and respect for individual circumstances.

I extend practical advice to solopreneurs and businesses on how to craft marketing that is both compassionate and inclusive. By listening to this conversation, you'll grasp the profound impact a human touch can have in business communications, and how responding with kindness to expressions of loss can make all the difference.

BLOG:
https://www.mellermarketing.com/blog/mothers-day-fathers-day-email-opt-out

LinkedIn Post:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brendameller_some-of-us-dont-have-a-mom-stop-sending-activity-7191779747197079553-klcW

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My name is Brenda Meller. I'm a LinkedIn coach, consultant, speaker, and author. My company is Meller Marketing and I help business professionals get a bigger slice of the LinkedIn pie.

Visit mellermarketing.com

Let's connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brendameller
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Transcript

Brenda Meller: 1:01

As I'm recording today's episode, it's the beginning of May and I've been receiving emails for the past couple weeks and I know I'll get several more in the next two weeks reminding me to not forget mom on Mother's Day. Hey, my friends, my name's Brenda Muller, and there may be some of you who are listening to today's show who are similar to me in that your mom is no longer with you, and I'm sharing this episode with you because there's many organizations out there. They're getting smarter about this. They're providing some type of a topic opt-out that says hey, if you don't wish to receive Mother Day communications, please click the link to opt-out here, and some are also doing so for Father's Day as well. But yet many other organizations are jumping on this bandwagon of promoting products, services, gift certificates, et cetera, et cetera. Everything from chocolates to flowers to restaurants. Even my local pet store emailed me an offer, and I don't know about you, but it's a little painful reminder every time you receive these, and especially when I go and look for the opt-out and it's not there. So I actually published a blog in the past week and I decided to do a podcast episode on the same topic because I figured that there might be some of you who are solopreneurs who could benefit from this message from a marketing perspective Meaning, if you are planning on doing any offers that are tailored towards Mother's Day or Father's Day, I want to encourage you to please add in a topic opt-out, because what will happen is some of your recipients of this message those who have lost a parent may just decide to unsubscribe.

Brenda Meller: 2:42

If there's no way for them to opt out from Mother's Day or Father's Day communications, they're going to take the easy path, which is simply unsubscribing, because it's just too painful. And I've done this to a few organizations and I've replied back and I said I've given them. I said are you open to a suggestion? Waited for a response. Some did respond back and others didn't. And the next message I got because you know how this happens, right, they'll send you one reminder about buying chainlets or flowers or gift card. They'll send you another reminder and then another reminder. So you know the reminders will continue.

Brenda Meller: 3:15

So what I decided to do is, for those organizations that aren't giving me a response or an opt-out, I'm just unsubscribing from their list, even if it's one of my favorite products or brands. I don't want to continue to see these messages in my email inbox, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. So my message to all of you is on behalf of all of us who have lost a parent, or maybe we're not a parent. There might be some of your individuals in your audiences who cannot be a mother or a father, due to a variety of circumstances, that we're not a parent. There might be some of your individuals in your audiences who cannot be a mother or a father due to a variety of circumstances that we're not aware of. Maybe they've suffered a loss, maybe they are unable to conceive, we don't know. But when you receive these messages, it can be very painful. So, on behalf of all of us, I would encourage you if you do plan on doing any communications for Mother's Day or Father's Day, please provide a topic opt-out for each. And just because I'm unsubscribing for Mother's Day, it doesn't mean I don't want to receive your Father's Day communications, and vice versa. So make sure that it's a topic opt-out just for that particular holiday. And, by the way, when you have people from your community that email you and say hey, I don't want to receive Mother's Day communications because I lost my mom or because I'm not a mom, or whatever the reason is.

Brenda Meller: 4:34

If people are telling you that they've lost a parent, the right thing to do is to reply with sympathy, saying something as simple as I'm sorry for your loss and thank you for your email. We'll forward this on to our marketing department. Or I'm sorry for your loss and we're looking into how to add in an opt-out process for future Mother's Day. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. It's kind of funny because I've been emailing organizations over the past few weeks and just saying, hey, I lost my mom, I don't want your messages about Mother's Day over the past few weeks and just saying, hey, I lost my mom, I don't want your messages about Mother's Day, and many of them are just going like business as usual and they're not even saying thank you for their email. They're just acknowledging we don't currently have a process in place or we appreciate you bringing this to our attention and I just told you I lost my mom.

Brenda Meller: 5:19

It's a really good opportunity to be a human being to another human being and just reply with sympathy I'm sorry for your loss, right? Very easy to say that. So that's one thing I would suggest. And again, if you don't have that capability yet in your email database. Get one set up, because you will be losing people as subscribers, and this could be hundreds or even thousands of people. You don't know right, and some people won't be vocal like I will. I will reach out and I'll tell people, but some people won't be vocal. They'll just unsubscribe or they might block it or mark it as spam, right, so it's just easier for them to do.

Brenda Meller: 5:57

So.

Brenda Meller: 5:57

I'm going to put the blog link below for the blog that I published on my website, and you'll notice at the top it's got a picture of flowers with Mother's Day, but I have some sad emojis over top of it and a big stop sign.

Brenda Meller: 6:09

So you'll be able to read more about that if you'd like, and I also did a LinkedIn post today, and today is May 2nd as I'm posting this and I published the blog and I let people know on behalf of all who have lost a parent, please create a topic, opt out for your Mother's Day and Father's Day emails and for those of you who have lost a parent, whether in the past year or whether it was 20 years ago, I am sorry for your loss and I'm thinking of you and saying a prayer for your parent, and I've encouraged people on that post to bookmark the blog and send it to any company who reminds you.

Brenda Meller: 6:42

Don't forget Mother's Day in the next two weeks and again, we'll be coming up on this in June. Right, don't forget Father's Day as well. All right, my friends, for those of you who are working through the holidays without a parent, I am sending a virtual hug your way. I know it can be a very painful time of year and I hope that you find peace in the weeks to come, and I also do find that surrounding yourself with others can be very helpful as well. I hope you enjoyed the episode today and I hope this inspires you to get that opt out in place if you are doing any Mother's Day or Father's Day communications. Until next time.