I had a realization today that completely changed the way I think about FOMO in marketing.
When we hear the term FOMO — Fear of Missing Out, we usually think about urgency.
“Buy before midnight.”
“Only three spots left.”
“Don't miss this opportunity.”
“Get in before it's too late.”
And yes, urgency can have a legitimate place in marketing when it's real. If an offer actually expires, inventory really is limited, or a bonus really is going away, there's nothing wrong with telling people.
But what if there's another kind of FOMO we don't talk about enough?
What if someone misses out simply because they never heard about what you had to offer?
That hit me differently.
You Can't Make a Decision About Something You Don't Know Exists
Think about how many products, services, businesses, books, tools, and opportunities you've discovered because somebody mentioned them.
Maybe you saw a Facebook post.
Maybe somebody shared a video.
Maybe you heard about it during a Live.
Maybe a friend told you about it.
Maybe you saw the same thing several times before you finally became curious enough to look into it.
Now imagine nobody had ever mentioned it.
You wouldn't have rejected the opportunity.
You wouldn't have decided it wasn't right for you.
You simply wouldn't have known it existed.
That's a completely different kind of missed opportunity.
Marketing Doesn't Have to Mean Convincing People
I think this is where a lot of us get uncomfortable with marketing.
We think our job is to convince someone to buy.
So when people don't immediately respond, we start trying harder.
We change the pitch.
We add more urgency.
We explain it again.
We start feeling like we're bothering people.
But maybe our first job isn't convincing anyone.
Maybe our first job is simply creating awareness.
The process can be much simpler:
Awareness → Understanding → Interest → Action
Before somebody can become interested, they have to understand what you're talking about.
Before they can understand it, they have to know it exists.
That means awareness isn't some insignificant first step.
It's the foundation of everything that comes after it.
Twenty People Isn't the Whole Market
This also changes how we look at disappointing results.
Suppose you tell 20 people about something and nobody buys.
It's easy to think:
“Nobody wants this.”
But do we actually know that?
Maybe the message wasn't clear.
Maybe those weren't the right 20 people.
Maybe they weren't ready yet.
Or maybe we simply haven't introduced the opportunity to enough people to learn anything meaningful.
There's a big difference between:
“People know about this and don't want it.”
and
“Not enough people know this exists yet.”
Those are two completely different problems, and they require two completely different solutions.
Our Responsibility Is the Introduction
This is the part that changed my thinking the most.
I don't need everybody I talk to about Resell Circle to join Resell Circle.
It isn't going to be right for everybody.
That's okay.
I'd actually rather somebody understand what Resell Circle is, look at it, and decide:
“Nope. Not for me.”
At least they were able to make an informed decision.
What I don't want is for somebody who could genuinely benefit from something available here to discover it months from now and say:
“Why didn't anybody tell me about this?”
That's the FOMO I've been thinking about.
Not manufactured scarcity.
Not pressure.
Not trying to scare somebody into pulling out their credit card.
The possibility that someone who could benefit simply never hears about it.
Show and Tell, Don't Sell
Maybe that means our marketing can become a little more relaxed.
Show people what you're doing.
Tell them what you've learned.
Explain the platform.
Talk about the products you actually use.
Answer questions.
Share useful information.
Go Live and demonstrate something.
Tell your own experience without turning it into an income promise.
And then give people somewhere to go if they want to learn more.
Some will.
Some won't.
Some may watch quietly for months before doing anything.
That's okay.
Because your responsibility isn't to make the decision for them.
Your responsibility is to make sure they have enough information to make the decision for themselves.
A Different Way to Think About FOMO
So maybe FOMO doesn't always have to mean:
“You better buy this before you miss your chance.”
Maybe sometimes it can simply mean:
“I'd rather somebody hear about this and decide it's not for them than never hear about it and wish they had.”
That feels like a much healthier way to market.
And it gives us a different question to ask when something isn't selling:
Instead of immediately asking,
“Why aren't people buying?”
maybe we should first ask:
“How many of the right people actually know it exists?”
Because sometimes the problem isn't the product.
Sometimes the problem isn't the price.
Sometimes the problem isn't even the sales pitch.
Sometimes we simply haven't told enough people yet.
You are so right Rodney, I always say for my cleaning companies that I advertise for I say we got 2 spots left. Everyone is afraid to miss out and they wind up getting a handful. Ty for sharing
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3 Jump to latestI had a realization today that completely changed the way I think about FOMO in marketing.
When we hear the term FOMO — Fear of Missing Out, we usually think about urgency.
“Buy before midnight.”
“Only three spots left.”
“Don't miss this opportunity.”
“Get in before it's too late.”
And yes, urgency can have a legitimate place in marketing when it's real. If an offer actually expires, inventory really is limited, or a bonus really is going away, there's nothing wrong with telling people.
But what if there's another kind of FOMO we don't talk about enough?
What if someone misses out simply because they never heard about what you had to offer?
That hit me differently.
You Can't Make a Decision About Something You Don't Know Exists
Think about how many products, services, businesses, books, tools, and opportunities you've discovered because somebody mentioned them.
Maybe you saw a Facebook post.
Maybe somebody shared a video.
Maybe you heard about it during a Live.
Maybe a friend told you about it.
Maybe you saw the same thing several times before you finally became curious enough to look into it.
Now imagine nobody had ever mentioned it.
You wouldn't have rejected the opportunity.
You wouldn't have decided it wasn't right for you.
You simply wouldn't have known it existed.
That's a completely different kind of missed opportunity.
Marketing Doesn't Have to Mean Convincing People
I think this is where a lot of us get uncomfortable with marketing.
We think our job is to convince someone to buy.
So when people don't immediately respond, we start trying harder.
We change the pitch.
We add more urgency.
We explain it again.
We start feeling like we're bothering people.
But maybe our first job isn't convincing anyone.
Maybe our first job is simply creating awareness.
The process can be much simpler:
Awareness → Understanding → Interest → Action
Before somebody can become interested, they have to understand what you're talking about.
Before they can understand it, they have to know it exists.
That means awareness isn't some insignificant first step.
It's the foundation of everything that comes after it.
Twenty People Isn't the Whole Market
This also changes how we look at disappointing results.
Suppose you tell 20 people about something and nobody buys.
It's easy to think:
“Nobody wants this.”
But do we actually know that?
Maybe the message wasn't clear.
Maybe those weren't the right 20 people.
Maybe they weren't ready yet.
Or maybe we simply haven't introduced the opportunity to enough people to learn anything meaningful.
There's a big difference between:
“People know about this and don't want it.”
and
“Not enough people know this exists yet.”
Those are two completely different problems, and they require two completely different solutions.
Our Responsibility Is the Introduction
This is the part that changed my thinking the most.
I don't need everybody I talk to about Resell Circle to join Resell Circle.
It isn't going to be right for everybody.
That's okay.
I'd actually rather somebody understand what Resell Circle is, look at it, and decide:
“Nope. Not for me.”
At least they were able to make an informed decision.
What I don't want is for somebody who could genuinely benefit from something available here to discover it months from now and say:
“Why didn't anybody tell me about this?”
That's the FOMO I've been thinking about.
Not manufactured scarcity.
Not pressure.
Not trying to scare somebody into pulling out their credit card.
The possibility that someone who could benefit simply never hears about it.
Show and Tell, Don't Sell
Maybe that means our marketing can become a little more relaxed.
Show people what you're doing.
Tell them what you've learned.
Explain the platform.
Talk about the products you actually use.
Answer questions.
Share useful information.
Go Live and demonstrate something.
Tell your own experience without turning it into an income promise.
And then give people somewhere to go if they want to learn more.
Some will.
Some won't.
Some may watch quietly for months before doing anything.
That's okay.
Because your responsibility isn't to make the decision for them.
Your responsibility is to make sure they have enough information to make the decision for themselves.
A Different Way to Think About FOMO
So maybe FOMO doesn't always have to mean:
“You better buy this before you miss your chance.”
Maybe sometimes it can simply mean:
“I'd rather somebody hear about this and decide it's not for them than never hear about it and wish they had.”
That feels like a much healthier way to market.
And it gives us a different question to ask when something isn't selling:
Instead of immediately asking,
“Why aren't people buying?”
maybe we should first ask:
“How many of the right people actually know it exists?”
Because sometimes the problem isn't the product.
Sometimes the problem isn't the price.
Sometimes the problem isn't even the sales pitch.
Sometimes we simply haven't told enough people yet.
You are so right Rodney, I always say for my cleaning companies that I advertise for I say we got 2 spots left. Everyone is afraid to miss out and they wind up getting a handful. Ty for sharing