Non-Coercive Marketing: A Manifesto

Surrender control, and embrace emergence

When you cede authority, and you trust people, it creates emotional ripples in the world around you. You begin to be seen as the most trustworthy option in said market. Even people who choose not to transact with you will feel warmly towards you, and generate word of mouth. And for the people who do choose to transact with you, they will do so from

Play long games

Non-coercive marketing strives to empower people to be the utmost authority in their own lives, instead of constantly searching for an external authority to validate them. It's about trusting people to make the best decision for themselves, even if they choose a competitor, or they don't buy anything at all. In traditional marketing, any outcome be

Non-coercive marketing is about radical honesty. It's about being courageous enough to say what's true, even if it's unpopular, unflattering, or dredges up insecurities. It's about leaning into full authenticity and openness, because that's how you stand out, find the others, and build deep relationships in a world where most marketing is inauthent

“ Here’s a thing I made, and here’s the truth about what it is. If you vibe with me, you can come join this party at any time. If you don’t, that’s cool too. I still respect you! ”

Here are the principles.

1. Optimize for aligned, empowered customers




2. Surrender control, and embrace emergence




3. Cede authority




4. Treat people as ends, not means




5. Enough is enough




6. Play long games




7. Tell the truth, even when it's scary




8. Create invitations, not ultimatums




9. Trust fully and unconditionally

Non-coercive marketing, by contrast, doesn't create emotional pressure, but actively seeks to relieve it. If what you're selling has some kind of time-bound component—live events, cohorts, etc—some pressure is inevitable. But otherwise, non-coercive marketing never puts you in a place where you have to make an emotional snap decision. Instead of of

As non-coercive marketers, we don't agitate insecurities or spin up new ones to make the sale. We strive to see the inherent enoughness of everyone, and speak directly to that part. That's at the core of how we enable empowered decisions—by speaking to people as if they are already enough , and giving them the time and space to start trusting that