Instead of drawing you in, these websites make you want to slam your laptop shut and run in the opposite direction. Why? Because they don’t feel like they’re about you—they feel like they’re all about the sale.

But let’s get one thing straight: wanting to sell is not the problem.

Your business needs to sell. Because, last I checked, passion alone doesn’t pay the bills. Sales aren’t the enemy—salesy, pushy, and inauthentic messaging is.

In my mind, Black Friday had always been boxed into the “revenue-boosting” category. You know, where you knock Q4 goals out of the park, grab those last-minute wins, and bask in the glow of high-conversion chaos. But this idea of it being a marketing opportunity? That made me pause and rethink everything.

Cookie-cutter marketing advice works great—for cookie-cutter businesses. But if you’re reading this, you’re probably not running a one-size-fits-all operation.

Your business is unique.

Your clients are unique.

And yet, the advice we’re often given treats every business like a carbon copy of the next.

Sometimes, it feels like we’re walking into sales calls or posting on social media only to get the side-eye from people who’ve been burned by slimy sales tactics before. Even if you’re committed to ethical selling, you might still feel like the target of someone else’s bad experience.