130: 10 simple ways to share your values in your business and marketing (and why it’s important you do)
How can your business reflect the world you want to create? In this week’s episode, I set aside my original plan to share a message that’s been too loud to ignore. Let’s talk about aligning your business with your values—boldly, intentionally, and authentically. We’re covering practical ways to show up for what matters to you, build a meaningful connection with your audience, and attract clients who care about the same things you do.
From small, quiet steps to bigger, more visible moves, I’m sharing 10 creative ways to bring your values to life in your business. These tips will help you communicate clearly, stand out in your market, and show up as a force for good in a time when your voice is needed more than ever. Let’s get brave, my friend!
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
Why values-based businesses aren’t just ethical—they’re unforgettable
One overlooked place to share your values that builds instant trust
A 2-second way to show you’re a safe space for marginalized communities.
How to leverage your marketing to amplify diverse voices (without overthinking it)
Real examples of brands using their values to drive loyalty and sales
A fresh way to make your website more inclusive and aligned with your mission
The surprising ripple effect of sharing what you believe in—even in small ways
To dive deeper into the strategies and examples I shared in this episode, be sure to explore the resources section for additional inspiration. These resources offer real examples to help you align your business with your beliefs.
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Welcome to ill communication, copywriting tips and sales strategies for small business. I'm your host, Kim Keel. I'm a copy coach, sales strategist, and direct response copywriter. It's my mission to help women leaders and changemakers amplify their voices through copy. It's why I'm dishing out all the juicy tips, writing prompts, and sales formulas to help you generate more leads, book more calls, and get more high value clients on repeat. Sounds pretty good. It's time to ditch the overwhelm you might be feeling and find confidence in your copywriting so you can get your message out there and attract more soul mate clients. Let's get started. Hey, and welcome to this episode of the Ill Communication podcast. Uh, so I totally had a different episode planned for today, But after recent geopolitical events, I feel called to speak about something else. It came to me yesterday. It plagued me all night. I've tried to ignore it or push it off till next week, but I can't. And I have learned to trust the ideas that come to me, especially when they're too loud to ignore. So I'm switching gears and the plans for today and following the inspiration to speak about something important this week. At the time of recording, the 47th president of the United States was sworn in. Now, as a reminder, I'm Canadian. But our economy, our news feed, our social values, our entertainment in Canada is so deeply entwined and influenced by the US.
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When something big happens in America, it's hard to ignore in Canada. Not only that, but I work with American clients. I hire American service providers. I listen to American bands. I have close friends and family who live in the US, And I'm a global citizen and humanitarian, so I care about what happens not just in my country but around the world. So when I
heard some of the executive orders Mr. Trump made on his first day, like leaving the Paris Agreement on climate change and removing restrictions on drilling for fossil fuels, literally days after the most devastating climate related fires in US history, or walking back diversity initiatives that ensure women and people of color have a level playing field and access to fair employment. Or proclaiming that there are only two genders, thereby likely increasing homophobia and transphobia. Or when I saw the Sieg Heil salute Elon Musk made at the inauguration, I was sickened. And I was reminded of how important it is to speak out against racism, transphobia, homophobia and fascism. As a business owner and as a white woman and as a Canadian, I have a level of Level of privilege and relative safety. Not everyone has, but I'm going to use my platform and my business to showcase my values, especially in a time when those values feel like they are under attack.
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And if you feel the same, I want to encourage you to showcase your values loud and proud, not only to be a voice speaking for those values, but also to attract aligned clients to you. Showcasing your values can be a strategic way to grow your business and your position in the market. Because some people choose to do business with those who align with our values, we let our dollars speak for our values. For example, Patagonia is a brand with strong values. They believe in climate change. They work to reduce climate change, and they regularly weigh in on political rhetoric. Rei is another brand that values outdoor experiences over consumerism, which is pretty bold for a consumer goods company, but they close their stores on Black Friday and pay their employees to enjoy a day off in the great outdoors and encourage their customers to do the same. Ben and Jerry's has activism baked into its brand. They believe ice cream can change the world, and they're very clear about working towards social and environmental justice and protecting the rights of refugees and the LGBTQ community. And on the other end of the political spectrum, brands like Cabela's or Bass Pro and Chick fil A are very clear about their values and use them to market their business. Chick fil A is one of the few consumer brands that closes faithfully every Sunday.
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These marketing and business decisions are strategic. They call in their ideal buyers and they build community and identity. So if you're feeling called to be bolder with your values so that you can offset some of the hateful rhetoric that you're hearing right now, I wanted to share a few ways you can signal those values and views to your audience, and they can be very simple, easy to do steps, or they can be a little more involved. Number one, update your social bios to share that you believe black and trans lives matter, or that you're pro-choice. It can be as simple as adding trans and rainbow flag emojis to show you're a safe space for these communities. Two if you feel safe to do so, add your preferred pronouns to your bios, your website, heck, your zoom account, especially if you look like your gender. For example, I look like and identify as a woman, but I'm going to add my pronouns even if it's quote unquote obvious, because it signals that you believe there are different gender identities and that you accept others may have different pronouns and gender identities as well. When you add your pronouns, you make it safer for others to do so, to take even further and introduce yourself in your webinars or presentations or in your in your communities with your pronouns. Hey, I'm Kim and my pronouns are she, her, hers.
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Ask your guests to share their pronouns if they're comfortable doing so. It's a simple form of activism, especially if you have more privilege and safety than others. It normalizes that we live in a world that is not binary. And I want to shout out to Claire Pelletreau, the host of the Get Paid podcast, who is one of the first podcast hosts I recall to ask guests to
share their pronouns, and she's been doing that since 2019. Number three, you can add a value statement to the footer of your website. One of my web copy clients is a body positive boudoir photographer. So in her footer we wrote this. We love all bodies. We believe black lives matter. We provide a safe space for women and LGBTQIA+ to express themselves fully and loudly. We work with ambitious humans who want to celebrate themselves with world class portraiture. I'll drop the link to Carrie Roseman's website into the show notes so you can check it out. Here's a statement I found in the footer of simplify. Simplify, a virtual support agency. It reads this business believes Black Lives Matter, women's rights, and trans rights are human rights. No human is illegal on stolen land. Science is real. Love is love. White patriarchy harms us all. Mental health stigmas should be broken and that we must be actively anti-racist in our lives and businesses, as well as use the privileges we hold to create a more just and equitable future for everyone.
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We're proud to partner with like minded clients and colleagues who are equally committed to social justice. Powerful. Again, I'll leave a link to their site in case you want to borrow any of that language. You can also add your values to your about page. My client Cord crew, which makes the cutest coordinated bamboo outfits for families, has these two values listed on their about page. Now they have a bunch of values listed, but these are two in particular. One is inclusivity. Around here, all families are welcome. The family you're born into and the family you create are daywear. Designs and styles appeal to all families, all bodies, all shapes, all sizes and all genders. Everyone is welcome in the cord crew family and they have a value around sustainability. We care about the planet and the people on it. Our clothes are crafted from eco friendly bamboo fabric. We prioritize investing in quality, sustainable clothes for the long term over wasteful and harmful fast fashion. I'll drop the links to their site in the show notes. Number five, you can amplify and share diverse voices in your content, in your communities, and in your programs. It can be as simple as follow, like comment or share of an Instagram post or a reel that shares content you believe in or showcases your values.
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For lots of good reasons. Many people are afraid to share political or social commentary content. So if you have a platform and you feel safe to do so, share content by creators you trust both to spread the information but also to signal your values to others who are watching what you're doing. Now, back in May 2020, the world saw the unspeakable murder of George Floyd, which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. Back then, I had basically zero web presence and very little community reach, but I didn't want to feel powerless. I wanted to do something. So I hired a consulting team, the Kambio Group, to deliver a virtual workshop on equity and anti-racism. I posted it to my Facebook page, sent personal emails, and reached out to others who in turn shared it. I ended up registering over 100 people from my personal networks who were curious to learn about equity, inclusion and anti-racism. The point is, you don't have to have to have a big following to create an impact or a ripple of change. Number six, when you're asked to speak on summits or panels or stages, ask about the diversity of speakers. Offer to give up your seat to a person of color, or make a connection to someone with a marginalized identity. The caveat here is please do not expect anybody to speak for free.
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Number seven offer scholarships or discounts for people from marginalized communities and identities. Remove or lessen the barriers to helping people who may be disenfranchized or experiencing financial hardship, simply because they have less privilege and less access to resources. Number eight add a statement on your intake or contact form to make your values crystal clear. I love how launch copywriter Brittany McBean does this on her intake questionnaire. At the bottom of her contact form, she has this statement A heads up before you hit send. We feel pretty strongly about leading with our values over here. If you're not down with ethical anti-sleaze. Strategies and black lives mattering now and always were, probably not for you. And then she has two radio buttons where you have to choose and one says yes, I believe. Black lives matter. Marketing needs to help, not harm. And I actively use my platform to. Build up, magnify, and support historically and systemically marginalized people. And then the second one is nah, I'm the human version of period cramps. I love how she infuses her values with a little humor, too, and makes it very clear she doesn't do business with douchebags. Number nine give donations to causes that support and advocate for the kind of world you want to live in. Take a portion of your profit and donate it to Planned Parenthood, to an environmental charity that's working to offset climate change, to social justice organizations that protect human rights or work with refugees.
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If you wish, you can share this on your website and add it to your marketing as a signal to people who value those things as well. You could write something like when you work with me, a portion of my profits go to the following causes and charities. Or you can just simply donate on the down low. And number ten, invest in your own journey. Read books. Take courses. Attend workshops about the causes you care about or the things you're curious about. Learn about climate science and climate change. Find out how to create safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ communities and black, indigenous, and people of color. I'll drop a link to the replay page of my anti-racism workshop I hosted back in 2020. It is a little outdated, but there are links to books, blog posts, and videos to help you get started on your journey. Of course, there are so many wonderful courses, content creators, and workshops out there to help you build a more equitable world. But if you want to check out my resources, head to Kinchela Equity Workshop. Now, my friend, these are just a few suggestions of the simple steps you can take to share your values as a form of activism, and as a way to call in clients who are aligned with your worldview.
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People who are wanting to do business with people who share their values. But I also want to share this. You may not feel safe to share your pronouns, or to speak up about injustice, or to publish your values on your website, and that's okay. But if you do feel a level of privilege, safety and confidence, please speak up for those who cannot. Every time I
simply share a story or post on Instagram with a political or social viewpoint, I always get people DMing me thanking me for sharing it. You certainly don't have to host a workshop or record an entire podcast episode about it, but hopefully with the list I just shared, you'll be inspired to be a little braver and share your values. As the Beastie Boys say, you gotta fight for your right. And now more than ever, you got to fight for the right of others who are being silenced. Sharing your values is good for your business and it's good for the world. So thank you so much for tuning in today. If this episode resonated with you, please hit follow and subscribe and leave a five star rating or review. I will be back next week. Bye for now. Hey my sweet friend, I want to thank you for joining me today. I just love creating and sharing content to make your business, and especially writing for your business, a little bit easier.
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So I'd love to know what your biggest copywriting or marketing questions are. What have you been struggling with, or do you want to pick my brain about a copywriting strategy or a tactic? I'm starting a new Ask Me Anything segment here on the pod. If you have a burning question about business, copywriting or marketing, or if you want to make an episode suggestion, I'm all ears. You can You can participate in two ways. Number one visit speakpipe.com/kim Keel. There you'll be able to record a voice note with your question or suggestion. Make sure you include your name and your email and maybe a little background info or context. Number two, you can send me a text. In the show notes of this episode. You'll see a link to text me a question or comment. When you click that link, it'll open up your text messenger where you can text me your question directly. Make sure you leave all the weird numbers that pop up, and please add your name and email address or mobile number so I can keep in touch. I can't wait to create these. Ask me anything or pick my brain episodes, so please play along. I can't wait to help you solve whatever's blocking you from getting your message out there. Find the links to ask me your questions in the show notes.
Resources Mentioned:
Listen to Claire Pelletreau’s podcast and her use of pronouns
Check out the values statements in the footers of Carrie Roseman’s and Simplify, Simplify’s websites
View CoordCrew’s Value Statements on their About page
See Brittney McBean’s values statement on her contact form
Explore equity and anti-racist resources on my workshop page
Additional Resources
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