How My Sisters Trained Me to Be a Strong Marketer (Creative Marketing Lessons from Family)
In this essay, I share how siblings shaped my marketing skills and taught me creative strategies that still influence my writing today.
I didn’t learn how to write a good hook in the classroom or from a textbook. In fact, I never even studied marketing in school. I learned from growing up with sisters.
Before I dig in, I need to make it clear that I love my sisters (there are two of them). They’re brilliant, strong women whom I’d do anything for. But just because I’m a little obsessed with them now doesn’t mean we had the idyllic family life growing up. I feel like when people hear of “three sisters” or “three daughters,” they think, “how sweet!” But, IYKYK. For us, it was much less Full House and more Succession.
What Growing Up With My Sisters Taught Me About Marketing
Our skills were in psychological warfare. Yes, there were screaming matches and slamming doors, but those rolled off the back. They were basic moves and ineffective. Plus, they got you in trouble. To really cause a wound, you had to play it smart: silent treatments, side-eyes, passive-aggressive digs disguised as compliments. A house of girls was a masterclass in sly delivery, one-liners that slice like a papercut, and timing that stings.
I am a copywriter at a corporate healthcare company. After reviewing the results of our Q3 marketing campaigns and identifying the top-performing social media posts, the top two performing campaigns were written by me. Both hooks sparked curiosity and got the audience thinking, which in turn engaged them and resulted in high performance. I connected the dots during the meeting: Did my childhood practice in psychological warfare make me a better copywriter? I think so.
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The Marketing Lessons Hidden in Family Dynamics
Every piece of copy needs an angle, a hook. Otherwise, you’re just telling a story when the real point is selling the story. If it walks the line of “too salesy,” then I’ll probably like it. Writing hooks is oddly the same, or similar, muscle I flexed 25 years ago. Essentially, it’s coming up with creative ways to say, “I’m better.” There needs to be some cleverness involved, but since these particular campaigns I’m talking about today are B2B, it has to be primarily diplomatic. It also has to have a flair of wit to stand out. Like battling sisters, if the jabs weren’t pithy, they’d roll their eyes, sarcastically comment, “good one,” and walk away. Brutal feedback loop, but highly effective training.
How Creative Storytelling Makes Better Marketing
Throwing money behind a campaign is like yelling louder at your sister: it doesn’t mean you’ll win. Good marketing isn’t about volume, it’s about perspective. It’s about saying something sharp enough to cut through and keep your audience thinking (and clicking).
Sometimes we think our professional strengths come only from formal training or years of job experience. Both can be true. The things that make me a strong marketer today were formed long before I ever opened a brand style guide. They were forged at the dinner table… in long car rides… in the basement hang-out room…skills perfected when words had to count.
Thank you to my sisters, I owe you one.
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