Kathy Sierra's latest post on Creating Passionate Users, You ARE a marketer. Deal with it., really struck a nerve with me. She seems to have that same "yuck, marketing!" feeling in her soul that I do, but she knows that you gotta do what you gotta do...and that means marketing your business.

But while the end goal is the same, connecting buyers and sellers, the approach is very different. Kathy's take:

Part of the chore is finding a better (and more appropriate) name than neo-marketing, because:

[The term Marketing is] too heavily associated (framed) with old-fashioned, negative, sleazy and inauthentic practices (even if much of that was a misconception... doesn't matter)

Remember -- when people are passionate about something, and in a state of flow--and you have contributed to that by helping users/members learn and grow and kick ass--these are some of the happiest moments in their lives. Trying to promote more of that is something we should feel wonderful about, not guilty.

So whether you want to call it Neo-Marketing, Modern Attraction, Selling the Dream, or Jim Bob, it's a very different beast. It comes from within...it's sharing your authentic enthusiasm, not shoving something people don't want down their throats. It's about expressing your values, and getting (current and potential) customers genuinely excited about doing business AND building a relationship with you, and in turn, they spread the word about their excitement!

And lest I forget, my awesome client Laura Howard totally falls into this new wave of authentic, purpose-driven marketing with her ventures Joyful Marketing and Joyful Entrepreneur. Her ideas of drawing on your strengths and passions to inform your business are right on target with the kind of authenticity and relationship-building people are so hungry for these days.

Currently playing in iTunes: Son Of A Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield