Why Nerd Creators and Brands Aren’t Taken Seriously
Using Value-Based Communication to Get Your “Yes”
It’s the new year and this moonie is already triggered, ya’ll.
And what triggered me this time, was how decision makers and individuals in leadership positions love to infantilize social media marketing due to the lack of knowledge about the profession or a complete disregard for it.
Sound familiar, nerds?
A majority of our shared journey consists of outsiders infantilizing nerd culture simply because they don’t understand it.
And with the fandom market expanding, creators, artists, small businesses and podcasts in nerd culture growing, and the demand for nerdy media increasing, you’d think that we’d be taken more seriously.
This parallel haunts me.
So I’ll explain what infantilization is, how it effects marketers and nerd culture creatives and what we can do to communicate our value beyond just the cool stuff that we do to get more yes’s to sponsorships, brand deals, budget increases and collaborations.
The Line Is Always Crossed
Infantilization is exactly what it sounds like: “treating (someone) as a child or in a way which denies their maturity in age or experience.”
And in our case, it’s treating our professions, hobbies or interests as childish in a way that diminishes years of experiences in those spaces.
Every marketer has heard something along the lines of “Let’s just do a baby campaign”, “Just put together a quick metrics deck and send it to the client. Can you do it by end of day tomorrow?”…
Corporations infantilize social media marketing (intentionally or not) as a means to:
Invalidate marketing budgets
Exclude marketers from high level strategy discussions
Justify low compensation for more work
My experience as a marketer isn’t very far off from that of creatives in the nerd space. You’ve heard, ”Anime is for kids. Why are you watching cartoons as an adult? Go get a job.” or “So you draw. Can you draw me?”, “All you do is play video games all day”, and “So you just play dress up for fun? Sounds childish to me”.
Outsiders infantilize nerd culture as a means to:
Invalidate skills like cosplay, crafting and pro gaming as viable careers
Pigeon-hole nerd culture creatives into specific categories
Justify little or no compensation for art, appearances and content
Language like this is hurtful to our community. So much so, that we don’t even take ourselves seriously as a result.
But the solution isn’t to go with the flow. It’s to focus on value-based communication.
Use Value-Based Communication
When I’m pitching to potential clients in the nerd space I think to myself:
“What are these decision makers most concerned about? What does success look like for them?”
Then I tie my offering into the value that they’re looking for.
Doing this has gotten me the “yes’s” I was looking for and I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point you in the right direction.
So take these translations with you. 🤗
⭐️ For the nerdy content creator pitching for brand deals:
What brands typically want - sales and reaching new audiences
❌ Go beyond just telling brands the audience demographic that you serve.
✅ Tell them what problems you solve for your audiences and how your solutions can connect with the brand’s mission.
⭐️ For the blerd podcaster pitching for sponsorship:
What sponsors typically want - brand positioning in front of a niche audience
❌ Go beyond just podcast numbers.
✅ Talk about how your show connects to your fanbase digitally and in person to show not only how relevant their brand is to your show’s themes, but show how much access their brand will have to new audiences that they typically can’t reach on their own.
⭐️ For the graphic novelist pitching for shelf space in a comic book shop:
What store locations typically want - product popularity and foot traffic leading to sales
❌ Go beyond just pitching the synopsis of your story.
✅ Talk about how the world you are building already impacts the community through testimonials, social proof and sales.
Don’t EVER Sell Yourself Short
Let’s keep it a stack.
Translating your value across the conference room is a hidden skill and difficult to do without practice and confidence.
So I want to encourage you to never sell yourself short this year because it’s easier to do.
For the nerd creators that are pitching for brand deals or nerdy small businesses that are applying for grants or partnerships, use this value-focused communication style for your case studies, portfolios and pitches either written or verbal.
Again, this is something that I’m still practicing as Marketing Moonie.
But when I do it, IT WORKS.
Happy New Year, nerds! 🎆
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