What is Bro Marketing? (and why should you care?)
Bro Marketing is a term you don’t hear every day. I first heard of it around 6 or 7 years ago, and I’ve seen its evolution online. Bro marketing is sneaking into many online business owners' marketing practices. People are putting out Bro Marketing tactics in their businesses totally unwittingly, unknowingly duping people into buying from them with no idea of the potential damage they’re doing to their reputation.
I’m guessing you’re here because you want to know more about Bro Marketing and how you can avoid it in your business. Or maybe you’re a Bro Marketer and want to know what the fuss is about. Why do we hate it so much? Why can’t we just let the Bro Marketers get on with it?
Many business owners won't know or understand the term, but they will almost definitely have been under the influence of Bro Marketing at some point. It’s extremely hard not to see it when you scroll online. And I can tell you, once you SEE Bro Marketing, you can’t UNSEE it!
This article isn’t here to tell you off, judge you, or make you feel bad. I’m here to help educate so you can make an informed decision about how you want to show up online and how to avoid getting into trouble with advertising regulations.
Let’s dive in.
What is Bro Marketing?
Bro Marketing is a term that was coined when people started selling online using scarcity and FOMO tactics. Not unusual and essentially all marketing uses scarcity and FOMO. But these specific tactics are exaggeration, emotional manipulation, and pressurising - often aimed at vulnerable people and often in a space where people find it difficult to walk away. The tactics don’t always meet the Advertising Standards Authority Regulations, although businesses repeatedly get away with it. It can also include unfounded and exaggerated health and income claims.
These are just some of the Bro Marketing tactics that I’ve seen online:
1. Saying there is a time limit to get an offer when there clearly isn’t
This kind of Bro Marketing tactic is where you’re putting extra pressure on someone to buy now, or the offer will disappear. The narrative around this is pressing and manipulative. And not true. The offer isn’t going anywhere. But the Bro Marketer is trying to give you less time to think about it. They want to whip you up into an emotional state so you’re outside of the critical thinking part of your brain.
In their messaging, they may be explicitly talking to your emotionally driven side of the brain, the one that makes impulse buys (which, for someone like me who has ADHD is not that hard to do!).
Either the countdown timer will reset when you rejoin the landing page, or the supposed ‘discount’ is available all year round.
Fake discounts are against advertising laws, certainly in the UK.
If you were to screen shot and send your complaint to the ASA (the advertising standards agency) they would investigate and urge them to take it down or face further penalties.
In the UK, to advertise a product on sale, it must have been at full price for a reasonable amount of time and have an end date for the offer. Specifically, as stated by Law Donut, the law says:
to claim that products are on sale, you should show the previous price and should have been selling at that price for a meaningful period of time
you should not claim that you are selling at an introductory price if you plan to continue selling at that price indefinitely or to stop selling the product after the introductory period
Some unfair sales practices are specifically banned: for example, pretending to have a closing down sale. You may want to take advice to ensure that any special offers or sales you plan meet the legal requirements.
2. Saying there are only a certain number of spots left - when there aren’t
Oh, another favourite Bro Marketing tactic here! Pressure selling that’s dishonest to make you believe something is scarcer than it is.
Another type of dishonest FOMO (fear of missing out). It’s a hard one, as you’ll never REALLY know. But one bad (and obvious) example was where a marketer claimed to have sold out of tickets for an event. They’d told people to sign up to a waiting list in case further tickets became available.
A month later I received an email telling me that a ‘limited number of tickets were now available due to people dropping out and a ‘re-check’ of the system’, but I had to act quick as they may sell out again!
I looked online, and I could have bought hundreds. On the face of it, it was a scammy way to introduce additional FOMO where the initial FOMO didn’t work. I checked in again another week later, and there were still lots of tickets left. In fact, there was an abundance of tickets left right up to the event.
I saw the exact same scenario play out the following year.
The trouble is, when one FOMO tactic has stopped working, they have to employ another. Trying some new fake FOMO every time.
3. Pain point messaging that aims to make people feel fear
Something a lot of Bro Marketers like to do is double down on their pain point marketing. They go further than just meeting you where you are at. There are no hard and fast rules on this although the ASA do not appreciate messaging that intends to cause fear.
My version of messaging. Realistic. Truthful. Connecting with pain points but not digging at them.
Are you a new business owner who’s struggling to get leads in? You’re doing ‘all the things’ you’ve been told to do, but for some reason, it’s not cutting it and you just don’t know why. I’ve been there and so have many of my clients. It’s hard to see the wood for the trees when it’s just you. That’s why you need a mentor and guide to close those gaps. With me you’ve got two options. Join my membership where you can learn in your own time how to speed your lead generating process up. Or book me for a one-to-one call and I do the work for you. Together we’ll bring some consistency in your leads and ultimately sales, back to your business!
A Bro Marketer’s version of messaging. Unrealistic promises. Plays on emotions making the person think that without them, they’ll fail.
Are you a new business owner who’s struggling to get leads in? I hate to break it to you, but unless you do something about it now, you’re going to be in the 80% of businesses that don’t make it to their first birthday. This isn’t a time to mess around - you need to act fast! I imagine you’ve got people relying on you at home. You’ve got bills to pay. What will you do if the baliffs come knocking on the door? My 90 days to 10K programme is going to give you everything need to get you there. You’ll easily make the 2K course fees back in just a few months. Look at Bob who’s now making multi 6 figures after doing my programme just 6 months ago. This will be you! Are you really willing to risk this opportunity pass you by? Sign up now! This offer isn’t going to be around for long!
Now essentially, (apart from the promises of money which IS against advertising regulations), the messaging is about morals. I wouldn’t write this. It’s awful. You may disagree. And that’s okay. This blog probably isn’t for you.
Is this kind of messaging you see every day rubbing on you? Can you see this in your own messaging? What do you think?
4. Over-Inflated Claims
This is one of the things on Bro Marketers' checklist of must-haves in marketing. You can price your products any way you see fit. You can price your course as worth £5 or £5000. There are no hard and fast rules. But Bro Marketers will over-inflate the value of courses and products to tens of thousands of pounds and then ‘slash’ the cost to a mere 2-4 figures.
They’ll add in bonuses they’ve NEVER sold before (or plan on selling) and pluck a figure from the air. That mini-course they’re adding in that lasts 60 minutes with a workbook probably isn’t worth 2K, but they’ll tell you it is.
That 60-minute group coaching call might sound like it’s worth 5K but actually, they’ve never charged that in their life! Who’s doing an online zoom group coaching call for 5K? Keep your wits about you. Are those bonuses TRULY worth it? If they’re overinflating the value then who knows what else they’re going to overinflate in the course itself. This screams red flags to me and I would be worried.
5.The Environment
This is the kind of Bro Marketing that gets under my skin. When you have no way of escaping, so forced into a corner to buy.
I’ve heard of this happening on Retreats. People are taken into rooms for private one-to-ones only to leave having signed up to another programme or expensive mastermind. No time to think it through. You’re in the moment and backed into a corner. Of COURSE you’re going to say yes.
If I went on a Retreat then I’d expect the organisor to have some sort of offer ready for the next Retreat, or perhaps a soft sell of how else I can work with them. But when you’re in a vulnerable (often emotional) position somewhere you can’t walk away from- it makes me feel a little sick. This resembles a salesman refusing to leave your house until you sign. It’s unethical to most people’s standards.
But it happens, and it’s too embarrassing for people to talk about. So they talk about it behind closed doors, too scared to ask for their money back because they might be cancelled online.
Why should we avoid Bro Marketing?
Okay so this is the real question. Now you’ve got an idea of what it is, you might be thinking, what’s wrong with a ‘little’ bit of this? Surely we want to push people into buying? There’s a lot of noise out there so we want to stand out. Right?
I hear you! I really do.
BUT you can market yourself WITHOUT taking it over the line and still sleep at night. I know a LOT of successful online entrepreneurs who stand out by being authentic and honest.
Believe me, if you market in a Bro Marketing style for a prolonged period of time you won’t be able to keep up with all the little white lies. You will no longer align with your purpose and values. It will show.
People will notice and talk. One minute you’ll be making money. The next you’re fighting fires to clear your name.
Ethical Marketing Pre-Qualifies People
If your messaging and sales come from an authentic and honest place, then you’ve basically pre-qualified people instead of pressuring them. Bro Marketing does no pre-qualifying. It’s essentially fishing for all it can get.
If you’re ethical, your clients are more likely to stay the course, buy from you again, and become your biggest advocates.
But if you pressure people into buying that aren’t for you, then it’s going to damage your business. People are not as likely to complete your courses (as it wasn’t really for them) so not only do you NOT get the results and social proof you need, you may end up with a complaint instead. The last thing you want is someone complaining that your course was no good, when actually it was just a bad fit.
How can we avoid Bro Marketing tactics?
Create urgency with legitimacy
Time-limited offers are fine. Make sure it’s fair for everyone and have the same time limited offer for all. Don’t lie about it and don’t pre-plan an extension to your launch as part of your marketing. Extensions should only be used for authentic reasons. If you do extend explain clearly why - don’t try to ‘hide’ it.
Be honest about the spaces you have left
Be honest about the amount of spaces left. Don’t make it part of your MAIN messaging. By all means mention it but don’t scare people into buying. The main message should ALWAYS be how you can help with your service or product. If you’re using spaces as the only way to sell then you might find people signing up for something out of fear, not actually NEEDING it, and then failing to complete or get any value from it.
Ethical Pain Point Messaging
Marketing messaging is quite straightforward.
Your audience has a need.
Identify it.
Emotionally connect and explain why you understand how they feel.
How can you fix that?
What makes you amazingly different?
How will they feel?
How long will it take?
How much will it cost?
That’s really all there is.
Read through your messaging and make sure none of the following has been implied so you can avoid sounding like a Bro Marketer:
That their life will be awful without your service or product
That they are clueless and have no idea how to help themselves, promoting feelings of shame
Don’t over inflate value
You might value your course at £500 and sell it for £150. But don’t offer valuations of £25,000 and sell for £27. That’s not realistic. It doesn’t feel right. And if it doesn’t feel right then it probably isn’t.
Always put people first
Marketing should be people-centered. Sell with kindness not fear. This is the opposite of what the Bro Marketers do.
Be honest
You can’t go wrong if your intentions are good and you lead with integrity. You can have an offer end date, you can have a discount, you can have timers, you can have testimonials, but it needs to be real and transparent – not made up.
Market how YOU want to market
Put away those preconceived ideas of how to market yourself. You can market your business in any way you like. So show up as you, in a way that feels comfortable, and the rest will naturally follow.
What next?
If you’re at the start of your marketing journey and want to learn how to show up online and create content that feels good while making sales, join my membership:
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FREE - Three ways to create a reel (that got me 10 million views on Instagram)
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