Ethical, Inclusive, and Accessible Marketing Terms
Marketing comes with a lot of lingo, and the ethical, inclusive, and accessible side has its own vocabulary too. This glossary is your quick-reference guide, with a link to an in-depth post for nearly every term.
The gist: This glossary defines the key terms behind Just Marketing®, Meg Brunson's justice-centered approach to marketing for impact-driven businesses. Each entry gives a quick definition and links to an in-depth guide.
Jump to: # · A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z
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4As of Objection Handling
The 4As of Objection Handling is Meg Brunson’s four-step framework for responding to a potential client’s concerns with empathy: Acknowledge, Ask, Affirm, Align. You validate the concern and ask what would help, then affirm their right to decide, sharing how your offer fits only when it’s a true match. It replaces pressure-based “objection-busting” scripts with conversations rooted in consent and trust.
Learn how to use the 4As to handle objections without shame or manipulation.
4Ps Copywriting Framework
The 4Ps copywriting framework, short for Promise, Picture, Proof, Push, is a sales formula that makes a bold claim, paints a vivid outcome, backs it up with evidence, and nudges readers to act. The Just Marketing® reframe, Possibility, Picture, Proof, Permission, keeps that flow while inviting readers to decide when they're ready.
Learn how to turn pressure into permission with the 4Ps framework
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A/B Testing
A/B testing compares two versions of one marketing element, like two email subject lines or two headlines, to see which performs better. Changing just one thing at a time makes results clear. Small tests usually need two to four weeks of data before you decide.
Learn how to track and adjust your marketing without overwhelm.
Abandoned Cart Emails
Abandoned cart emails are automated messages sent when someone starts a purchase or checkout but doesn't finish, like a half-completed course enrollment or call booking. Ethical abandoned cart emails check in with warmth and make it easy for people to ask questions or return to their cart whenever they feel ready.
Learn how to write abandoned cart emails that support your buyers.
Ableist Language
Ableist language includes words and phrases that treat disability as negative or reinforce discrimination, such as “lame,” “crazy,” or “turn a blind eye.” Replacing them with precise alternatives makes writing kinder and clearer.
Learn common ableist phrases to retire from your marketing.
ACCA Framework
The ACCA framework, short for Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, Action, is a copywriting formula that educates readers about a problem before inviting them to take action. The Just Marketing® remix swaps Conviction for Consideration, giving people room to reflect and choose what's right for them.
Learn how to use the ACCA framework to build trust through honest education.
Accessible Marketing
Accessible Marketing is the third pillar of Just Marketing®, centering visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive access needs – whether they come from permanent or temporary disabilities, situational challenges, sensitivities, or personal preferences – so you can reach and serve as many people as possible.
Learn 4 ways to remove access barriers from your offers.
AIDA
AIDA, short for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action, is one of the oldest copywriting formulas, guiding readers from a first glance to a clear next step. The Just Marketing® alternative, IIDA (Invite, Inspire, Decide, Act), keeps that journey while inviting curiosity and giving readers space to choose.
Learn how to write AIDA-style copy that attracts without exploiting
Alt Text
Alt text (alternative text) is a short written description of an image that screen readers read aloud and search engines use to understand your content. Good alt text describes what matters in the image and why it's there in one or two plain-language sentences. Decorative images get an empty alt attribute so screen readers skip them.
Learn how to write meaningful alt text.
Anchoring
Anchoring (or price anchoring) is a cognitive bias where the first number you see shapes how you judge every price after it. A $499 VIP tier, for example, makes a $199 course feel like a deal. Used ethically, anchoring relies on real prices and clear explanations so buyers can compare options with confidence.
Learn how to use anchoring in your pricing without being manipulative.
Artificial Urgency
Artificial urgency is a marketing tactic that creates false or exaggerated time pressure, like countdown timers that reset or “cart closing” deadlines that get extended, to rush people into buying. Ethical urgency is grounded in real limits, such as a program start date, and explains the reason behind every deadline.
Learn more about artificial urgency.
Assistive Technology
Assistive technology is any tool that helps people with disabilities access information and complete tasks, such as screen readers, captions, or voice controls. Accessible content works smoothly with these tools.
See how to make your content work with assistive technology.
AT Protocol
The AT Protocol is the open technology that powers Bluesky and lets different social apps connect with one another. It allows people to choose their own feeds and algorithms and to move their account and followers to other apps built on the same protocol.
Learn how the AT Protocol shapes your Bluesky experience.
Auditory Accessibility
Auditory Accessibility focuses on making sound optional, so people get your full message with or without audio.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Authority Bias
Authority bias is the tendency to trust or follow someone simply because they seem like an expert. In marketing, ethical authority comes from honest context about your experience and a collaborative tone, so your audience feels free to ask questions and make their own decisions.
Learn how to build authority with trust and transparency.
Average Ideal Client Avatar (Average ICA)
An Average Ideal Client Avatar is a customer profile based on market research about a business’s current or intended audience, including demographics, pain points, and buying habits. In the Just Marketing® approach, it serves as the foundation for building an Inclusive ICA.
See how the Average and Inclusive ICAs work together.
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Batching Content
Content batching is setting aside dedicated time to create several pieces of content in one session, like writing a week of captions at once. It works even when focus is a challenge. Short 20-30 minute sessions during your energy peaks are plenty, especially when you group similar tasks so your brain stays in one mode.
Learn how to batch content, even when focus is a challenge.
Before-After-Bridge
Before–After–Bridge (BAB) is a copywriting framework that shows readers where they are now and what's possible next, with your offer as the path between. The Just Marketing® approach describes the Before with compassion and presents your offer as a supportive partner on the way to realistic progress.
Learn how to tell transformational stories with dignity using Before–After–Bridge.
Bias in Marketing
Bias in marketing is an unconscious assumption about who your content is for, which shapes your language, visuals, and offers. Checking Biases is the Inclusive Marketing consideration of examining who is centered and who is left out, so stereotypes and blind spots get caught before they cause harm.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Bluesky Starter Pack
A Bluesky Starter Pack is a curated list of accounts, and sometimes feeds, built around a shared interest or community. New and existing users can follow everyone in a pack with one tap, making it easier to find relevant voices quickly.
Learn how to find, create, and get added to Bluesky Starter Packs.
Body Doubling
Body doubling means working alongside another person, in person or on a video call, while you each focus on your own tasks. Many people with ADHD find it easier to start and finish work, like writing emails or planning content, when someone else is working nearby.
Learn more ADHD-friendly marketing strategies.
Bonus Bundles / Bonus Stacking
Bonus bundling is adding extras, like workbooks or templates, to a main offer to raise its perceived value. It turns manipulative when bonuses carry made-up dollar values or vanish on a fake deadline. Ethical bundles offer one to three genuinely helpful extras, each with an honest explanation of why it's included.
Learn how to create ethical bonus bundles that support your audience.
Bro Marketing
Bro marketing is a hustle-centered style of marketing known for high-pressure sales tactics, hype, and promises of fast results. It often leans on urgency, scarcity, and intensity to drive conversions, which can exclude people who need more time or a calmer approach. Just Marketing® offers an alternative built on clarity and consent.
See a Just Marketing® breakdown of a high-hype launch.
Buyer’s Remorse
Buyer’s remorse is the second-guessing many people feel right after a purchase, like “Did I spend too much?” or “Can I actually follow through?” Warm, reassuring onboarding emails help buyers settle into their decision, especially when they include a small early win and an easy way to ask for support.
Learn how ethical onboarding eases buyer’s remorse.
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Call to Action (CTA)
A call to action (CTA) is a short prompt that tells your audience what to do next, such as “Book a call” or “Download the free guide.” Clear, inviting CTAs guide people toward the next step while leaving the decision in their hands.
Learn how to write calls to action that feel honest and inviting.
Calling In
Calling in means addressing harmful behavior or messaging privately or with care, inviting someone to learn and grow. It’s often contrasted with calling out, which addresses harm publicly. For brands, responding to either one with listening and accountability builds lasting trust.
Learn how brands can respond with integrity when called in.
CamelCase
CamelCase (sometimes called PascalCase) means capitalizing the first letter of each word in a hashtag, like #JustMarketing in place of #justmarketing. It helps screen readers pronounce each word correctly and makes hashtags easier for everyone to read, including people with dyslexia or low vision. The habit takes zero extra effort and prevents embarrassing misreadings.
Captions and Transcripts
Captions are synchronized text of a video's dialogue and important sounds, and transcripts are full text versions of audio or video content. Together they make your content accessible to Deaf and hard of hearing people and anyone watching without sound. Always review auto-generated captions for accuracy before publishing.
Learn how to add captions and transcripts.
Categories
Blog categories are the broad topics your content covers, usually matching your three to five content pillars. Each post typically gets one primary category, and since category pages can appear in search results, a short, keyword-friendly description for each one helps readers and search engines alike. For more specific subtopics, use tags.
Learn how to choose blog categories using your content pillars.
Charm Pricing
Charm pricing is the practice of ending prices in .99 or 7, like $97 in place of $100, so they feel smaller than they are. It works through the left-digit effect, where buyers focus on the first number they see. Ethical alternatives include round pricing and transparent payment plans that keep costs clear.
Learn how charm pricing works and how to price your offers ethically.
Clickbait
Clickbait is a headline or opening line that overpromises or misleads to get clicks, such as a shocking claim the content doesn’t support. It may bring a quick spike in attention while wearing down trust over time.
See how to write honest hooks that keep readers coming back.
Cognitive Accessibility
Cognitive Accessibility focuses on brain-friendly design, so your content feels easy to understand and act on.
Learn how to make your offers cognitively accessible.
Cognitive Overload
Cognitive overload happens when someone receives more information than they can comfortably process at once, often leading them to disengage. Short paragraphs, consistent design, and clear calls to action help prevent it.
See how to design sales content that’s easier to process.
Cold Traffic
Cold traffic refers to people who are encountering your business for the first time, often through ads or search, and don’t know you yet. Rushing them toward a sale tends to attract misaligned clients and wasted ad spend. Ethical marketing warms cold audiences with helpful content and low-stakes invitations, so trust has time to grow.
Learn how to pace your marketing relationships with intention.
Color Contrast
Color contrast is the difference in brightness between text and its background, which determines how easy your content is to read. WCAG guidelines recommend a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for regular text and 3:1 for large text. Free tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker make it quick to test your brand colors.
Learn how to check and improve your color contrast.
Consent-Based Funnel
A consent-based funnel is a marketing path that guides people from first contact to purchase through informed choice and transparency. It starts with a genuinely useful opt-in and builds trust through clear, honest emails before any invitation to buy. Along the way, people can say “not now” or unsubscribe without guilt or consequence.
Learn how to build a consent-based funnel.
Content Calendar
A content calendar is a plan that maps out what you’ll post, where, and when, often organized around the Five Content Types. An ADHD-friendly calendar starts with date-specific content, then fills in flexible posts as energy allows. The best format is the one you’ll actually use, from a paper planner to a Trello board.
Learn how to create a content calendar that works with your ADHD brain.
Content CEO Hour
A Content CEO Hour is Meg Brunson’s name for a recurring block of time, often 30 to 60 minutes once a week, set aside to review recent content and plan what’s next. Pairing it with sensory cues, like a favorite drink or playlist, turns content planning into a grounding ritual that’s easier to keep.
Learn how to build marketing routines that support your brain.
Content Pillars
Content pillars are the three to five core themes your brand consistently creates content about, tied to your offers, values, and audience’s needs. They guide what you blog and post, and they make natural blog categories. Meg Brunson’s pillars are Content Marketing, Just Marketing®, and Marketing with ADHD.
Learn how content pillars shape your blog categories
Content Repurposing
Content repurposing is the practice of turning one piece of content into several formats for different platforms, such as transforming a blog post into a carousel, a video, and an email. It extends the reach of each piece while saving time and creative energy.
See how to repurpose one blog post into content for every platform.
Conversion Copywriting Frameworks
Conversion copywriting frameworks are repeatable structures, like PAS or AIDA, that guide readers from a first impression to a decision. A Just Marketing® approach keeps their helpful structure while swapping pressure-based steps, such as agitating pain or pushing urgency, for empathy and consent-based invitations.
Learn how to use 9 popular copywriting frameworks ethically.
Core Values
Core values are the non-negotiable beliefs already guiding your business decisions, from the offers you create to how you handle hard calls. To find yours, look for patterns in your lived experience, then define 3–5 values in your own words. Aspirations you're still growing into belong in your mission or vision statement.
Learn how to identify your core values and put them to work in your business.
Cornerstone Content
Cornerstone content is high-value, evergreen content that anchors your content strategy, like an in-depth guide to one of your core topics. Start with one cornerstone blog post per content pillar, then link related posts back to it and repurpose it across email and social media. Over time, it supports SEO while lightening your content workload.
Learn how to create one cornerstone post for each content pillar.
Countdown Timers
A countdown timer is a visual clock on a sales page or email that ticks down to a deadline, like a cart closing. Timers are ethical when the deadline is real and explained, with clear info about what happens after. They become manipulative when they reset on reload or pair with shame-based copy.
Learn more about countdown timers.
Credibility Content
Credibility content is content that shares proof of a business’s expertise, such as client testimonials, case studies, press features, and certifications. It’s one of the Five Content Types and builds trust by centering real client outcomes.
Learn how to share credibility content that builds trust without bragging.
Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the use of language, symbols, or traditions from a culture a person or brand isn’t part of, often without understanding or credit. In marketing, amplifying and compensating creators from that culture is a respectful alternative.
See how to make marketing inclusive without appropriation.
Culturally Responsive Marketing
Culturally Responsive Marketing is the Inclusive Marketing consideration of understanding and crediting cultural context, so your content builds trust with the communities it draws from.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Customer Advocacy
Customer advocacy is when satisfied clients recommend a business to others through word of mouth, reviews, or testimonials. It grows from an exceptional client experience and is the final stage of the customer journey.
See how an exceptional client experience turns customers into advocates.
Customer Journey
The customer journey is the full path of interactions someone has with a business, from first discovering it to becoming a loyal client and advocate. It includes five stages: awareness, consideration, purchase, retention, and advocacy.
Learn how to map a customer journey that creates raving fans.
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Day Blocking
Day blocking is a scheduling method that dedicates an entire day to one type of work, such as planning on Mondays and drafting on Tuesdays. It reduces the mental energy spent switching between tasks and works well for people whose focus builds over longer stretches.
Learn how day blocking supports a sustainable content strategy.
Decision Fatigue
Decision fatigue is the mental exhaustion that builds up after making many choices, which can make it harder to start or finish tasks. In marketing, routines, templates, and content pillars reduce daily decisions, so your energy goes toward creating instead of deciding.
Learn how marketing routines reduce decision fatigue.
Decision Paralysis
Decision paralysis is the feeling of being so overwhelmed by choices that you freeze or walk away without deciding. In pricing, it often shows up when an offer has too many tiers or add-ons to compare. Two or three clearly different options in plain language, with guidance on which fits whom, help buyers choose confidently and make your offers more accessible.
Learn how to simplify your pricing options so buyers can choose with confidence.
Decision Template
A decision template is a saved list of questions used to evaluate ideas or opportunities, such as whether something aligns with long-term goals and how much time it requires. Using the same questions each time makes choices faster, calmer, and more consistent.
See an example decision template for marketing choices.
Decoy Effect
The decoy effect (also called the asymmetric dominance effect) is a pricing tactic that adds a deliberately unappealing option, like an $8 medium popcorn next to a $9 large, to nudge buyers toward a pricier choice. Ethical pricing offers two or three clear options that each stand on their own value.
See real-world examples of the decoy effect and how to price ethically instead.
Descriptive Link Text
Descriptive link text is clickable wording that clearly explains where a link leads, such as “download the free checklist” in place of “click here.” It helps screen reader users and gives every reader clearer expectations.
See how descriptive link text improves accessibility.
Design for the Edges
Design for the edges means building your marketing around the people most often overlooked, like disabled and neurodivergent folks, so your content works better for everyone. Captions and plain language both started as access needs, and today they make marketing clearer for every audience.
Learn how to design your marketing for the edges.
Diverse Imagery
Diverse imagery is the use of photos and illustrations that reflect the full range of people in a community, including different races, ages, abilities, body sizes, gender identities, and family structures. It helps more people feel seen in a brand’s marketing.
Learn why diverse imagery matters and where to find it.
Diversity in Marketing
Diversity in marketing means reflecting the full spectrum of identity and experience in your content. Embracing Diversity is the Inclusive Marketing consideration of making that representation intentional, so your audience sees themselves represented with care.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Diversity Statement
A diversity statement is a public, living document that shares who a business hopes to welcome, how it’s working to include them, and the causes it supports. It helps values-aligned clients find the business and keeps inclusion goals visible and accountable.
Learn how to write a diversity statement for your business.
Drip Pricing
Drip pricing is a tactic where a business advertises a low base price, then reveals extra fees and add-ons step by step during checkout. It leans on commitment bias and sunk cost to keep buyers moving. Ethical pricing shares the full cost upfront and labels every add-on as clearly optional.
Learn how to replace drip pricing with transparent, ethical pricing.
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Educational Content
Educational content is content that teaches an audience how to solve a problem or understand a topic, such as how-to guides, tutorials, and social media carousels. It’s one of the Five Content Types and builds trust by giving people real value they can use right away.
Learn how to create educational content that empowers your audience.
EIEIO Framework
The EIEIO Framework is Meg Brunson's five-part model for how to show up on social media: Engage, Interact, Edu-tain, Influence, and Optimize.
Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix is a prioritization tool that sorts tasks into four groups based on how urgent and how important they are. It helps business owners decide what to do now, schedule for later, delegate, or drop.
See how the Eisenhower Matrix helps you prioritize marketing tasks.
Email Staircase
The Email Staircase is a framework created by email strategist Liz Wilcox for turning email subscribers into friends and then customers. It relies on a welcome sequence, a consistent newsletter, and regular, friendly reminders of your offers.
Listen to Liz Wilcox explain the Email Staircase on the Just Marketing® podcast.
Emojis and Assistive Technology
Screen readers read every emoji aloud using its official description, so heavy emoji use can make posts confusing or tiring to listen to. Accessible emoji use means letting emojis complement your words and placing them after key information.
Read the guide to emojis and assistive technology.
Engagement Rate
Engagement rate measures how many people interact with your content, through comments, shares, saves, or replies, compared to how many people see it. It’s often a more meaningful sign of connection than follower count, since it shows your content is actually resonating.
Learn which marketing metrics matter most.
Engaging Content
Engaging content is content designed to spark two-way conversation with an audience, such as polls, quizzes, and open-ended questions. It’s one of the Five Content Types and helps build trust, community, and lasting relationships.
Learn how to create engaging content that sparks real conversations.
Ethical Marketing
Ethical Marketing is the first pillar of Just Marketing®, centering honesty and consent in how businesses promote their work. It’s transparent, responsible, equitable, and respectful, so you can sell with integrity and build lasting trust.
Read the full guide to Just Marketing®.
Equity
Equity is the Ethical Marketing cornerstone of removing barriers, so your work reaches people with varying needs and resources.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Exclusive Discounts
Exclusive discounts are limited-time deals that unintentionally exclude people, like 24-hour flash sales or one-time offers that reward only the fastest deciders. They can leave out neurodivergent buyers, caregivers, and anyone who needs more time to decide. Inclusive alternatives share timelines in advance and reward early action with bonuses, so the core offer stays open to everyone.
Learn how to create limited-time offers that don't leave people behind.
Exclusivity Pressure
Exclusivity pressure is a marketing tactic that makes an offer feel valuable by suggesting only certain people deserve access, using lines like “This isn't for everyone.” An inclusive approach describes who your offer is designed for with warmth and clarity, so the right people feel welcome to say yes.
Learn how to replace exclusivity pressure with inclusive, empowering messaging.
Executive Dysfunction
Executive dysfunction is difficulty with planning, starting, or completing tasks, common among people with ADHD and other neurodivergent experiences. Clear steps and easy-to-find links help people follow through on actions they want to take.
Learn how to support executive function in your sales process.
Exploitation in Marketing
Exploitative marketing is any tactic that uses pressure or deception to push people into buying, often by pairing an emotional trigger like fear or shame with a made-up consequence. Common examples include fake scarcity and guilt-trip opt-out buttons. Ethical alternatives use real deadlines and transparent pricing, and they treat “no” as a valid answer.
Learn more about exploitation in marketing.
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FAB Copywriting Framework
The FAB framework, short for Features, Advantages, Benefits, is a copywriting formula that translates what your offer includes into why it matters to your audience. The Just Marketing® approach expands the “benefit” to include community and collective impact, so your copy reflects your values alongside personal results.
Learn how to use the FAB framework to center people in your copy.
Feedback Loop
A feedback loop is a built-in way to see the results of your work quickly, such as checking off completed steps or reviewing weekly wins. In content marketing, feedback loops help maintain motivation while longer-term results like traffic and sales take time to grow.
See how to build feedback loops into your content routine.
First, Next, Later List
A “First, Next, Later” list breaks work into three simple steps, like drafting a post first, adding alt text next, and scheduling it later. It’s an ADHD-friendly alternative to long to-do lists that keeps your attention on what’s right in front of you.
Learn more ADHD-friendly marketing routines.
Five Content Types
The Five Content Types are Educational, Engaging, Promotional, Credibility, and Holiday content, and together they answer the question of what to post on social media. Rotate through the first four with every post, then weave in Holiday content for timely moments. The result is a balanced mix that builds trust and keeps promotions feeling natural.
Learn what to post on social media.
Flattened Copy
Flattened copy is text that’s part of an image, like a quote graphic or screenshot. Since screen readers may not read it, important text should also appear in the alt text or caption.
See how to make text-based graphics accessible.
Flexible and Inflexible Content
Inflexible content needs to go out on a specific date, like a holiday post or launch promo. Flexible content, like tips, testimonials, or engaging questions, can be shared whenever you have space or energy. Planning inflexible content first makes the rest of a content calendar much easier to fill.
Learn how to plan flexible content around your energy.
Forced Freebies
Forced freebies are free resources, like checklists or video trainings, that require an email address before anyone can access them. A more ethical approach shares helpful content openly and then invites people to join your list, so subscribers choose to stay connected because they genuinely want more.
Learn ethical alternatives to forced freebies and gated content.
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GRAB
The GRAB framework is a copywriting formula, short for Grab, Relate, Agitate, Bridge, that hooks attention, reflects a reader's struggles, amplifies their pain, and then presents an offer. The Just Marketing® remix, Ground, Relate, Affirm, Bridge, keeps that structure while leading with honest messaging and affirming readers before inviting them to a next step.
Learn how to use the GRAB framework without manipulation.
Grace Period
A grace period is a little extra time you offer after a deadline for anyone who needs it, often shared with a simple note like “Need a bit more time? Message me.” It makes limited-time offers more accessible for people navigating time blindness or busy caregiving schedules, and it builds trust by showing your deadlines have room for real life.
Learn how to make limited-time offers more inclusive.
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Heading Tags / Heading Hierarchy
Heading tags (H1 through H6) are HTML elements that define the structure of your content, from the page title (H1) to main sections (H2) and subsections (H3 and below). They let screen reader users jump between sections and help search engines understand what your page covers. Use them in order, without skipping levels.
Learn how to use heading tags.
Holiday Content
Holiday content is marketing content tied to holidays, awareness days, and observances that matter to a business’s audience. It’s one of the Five Content Types and helps build connection by honoring shared values and experiences.
Learn how to plan inclusive holiday content for your audience.
Hook
A hook is the opening line of a piece of content, written to spark curiosity so people keep reading, watching, or listening. Effective hooks often use a surprising statistic, a question, or a relatable story, and they honestly preview what the content delivers.
Learn how to write a hook that grabs attention honestly.
Hyperfocus
Hyperfocus is a state of intense, absorbed concentration on a task that feels interesting or rewarding, often experienced by people with ADHD. It can make time seem to disappear, which makes it powerful for creative work and important to balance with planned breaks.
Learn how hyperfocus can make you a better marketer.
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Ideal Client Avatar (ICA)
An Ideal Client Avatar (ICA) is a detailed profile of the person your business is best suited to serve, covering details like their goals, challenges, values, and where they spend time online. It guides your messaging and offers so your marketing speaks directly to the people you most want to reach. The Just Marketing® approach pairs an Average ICA based on market research with an Inclusive ICA that centers the most marginalized members of your audience.
Learn more about building an average and inclusive ICA.
Identity-First Language
Identity-first language places an identity before the person, such as “Autistic person” or “Deaf person.” Many disabled people prefer it because they see their identity as an important part of who they are.
Hear an Autistic advocate explain why identity-first language matters.
Image Description
An image description is a visible written description of an image included in a caption, often formatted like “[Image description: …].” It’s useful when a platform doesn’t offer an alt text field and helps everyone understand the image.
See when to use image descriptions alongside alt text.
Implicit Bias
Implicit bias is an attitude or assumption a person holds without realizing it, often shaped by upbringing and culture. In marketing, it can influence who brands picture as customers and how they represent people.
Learn how understanding bias is the first step toward Just Marketing®.
Inclusive Ideal Client Avatar (Inclusive ICA)
An Inclusive Ideal Client Avatar is a customer profile built around the most marginalized members of a business’s ideal audience. Centering their needs in your messaging helps the widest range of people feel seen and welcomed.
Learn how to create an Inclusive Ideal Client Avatar.
Inclusive Language
Inclusive language means choosing words that respect everyone's identities and lived experiences, like “everyone” in place of “ladies and gentlemen” or “wheelchair user” in place of “wheelchair-bound.” It swaps outdated or harmful terms for accurate, affirming alternatives. Language keeps evolving, so the goal is ongoing learning and care.
Read the inclusive language guide.
Inclusive Marketing
Inclusive Marketing is the second pillar of Just Marketing®, centering representation and belonging in how businesses show up for their audience. It embraces diversity, checks biases, and stays culturally responsive and trauma-informed, so you welcome and honor people of every background.
Read the full guide to Just Marketing®.
Inclusive Messaging
Inclusive messaging is marketing language and imagery that welcomes people beyond a business’s typical customer, such as using “caregiver” in place of “mom” or featuring diverse families. It helps more people see themselves in a brand and feel safe engaging with it.
Learn how to write inclusive marketing messages and recover from missteps.
Influence Audit
An influence audit is a check-in on the marketing experts and voices you learn from, asking whether their advice aligns with your values. Questions like “Does this respect consent and accessibility?” and “Would I feel good using this with my audience?” help you choose mentors who support ethical, sustainable growth.
Learn why who you learn from matters.
Intent vs. Impact
Intent is what a brand meant to communicate, and impact is how its message actually landed with real people. Ethical marketing prioritizes impact, so when a campaign causes harm, the accountable response is to listen and apologize, then make concrete changes, even if the harm wasn’t intentional.
See how intent vs. impact played out in a real brand backlash.
Internal Linking
Internal linking means connecting one page of your website to another, like linking a blog post to your services page. It helps visitors explore more of your content and shows search engines how your site is structured. Descriptive link text, like “learn more about my services,” works best for both accessibility and SEO.
Learn simple SEO steps to strengthen your website.
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Just Marketing®
Just Marketing® is a justice-centered approach to marketing for impact-driven businesses, created by Meg Brunson. It's ethical, inclusive, and accessible, so your audience feels supported and your business grows sustainably.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
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Keywords
SEO keywords are the words and phrases people type into search engines to find what you offer. Choose one specific, long-tail keyword for each page or post, then place it naturally in your title, URL, meta description, first 100 words, and a subheading. Results tend to build steadily over 6–24 months.
Learn how to choose and use SEO keywords for your website and blog.
Know-Like-Trust Factor
The know-like-trust factor describes the three stages people move through before buying: getting to know you, liking what you stand for, and trusting you to help. Consistent, values-aligned content helps people move through each stage at their own pace, which leads to more aligned clients.
Learn how to build trust before asking for the sale.
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Land Acknowledgment
A land acknowledgment is a statement that recognizes the Indigenous peoples whose traditional territory a business or event operates on. It’s most meaningful when paired with action, such as supporting Indigenous-led organizations.
Learn how to include a land acknowledgment in your diversity statement.
Left-Digit Bias
Left-digit bias is the tendency to judge a price mostly by its first digit, which makes $19.99 feel much cheaper than $20. It’s the reason charm pricing is so common.
See how left-digit bias shapes the prices you see every day.
Lifetime Access
Lifetime access is a promise that buyers can use a course or digital product indefinitely after a single purchase. Because “lifetime” is rarely defined, it can end unexpectedly when a platform closes or a program is retired. Ethical alternatives name a concrete minimum access window and offer downloadable materials, with advance notice before any changes.
Learn when lifetime access is ethical and what to say instead.
Limited-Time Offer
A limited-time offer is a promotion, like a discount or bonus, that's only available for a short window to encourage quick decisions. Tight, surprise deadlines can exclude people who need more time, including many neurodivergent buyers and caregivers. Inclusive limited-time offers share timelines in advance with the reason behind them, plus a grace period for anyone who needs a little extra time.
Learn how to create limited-time offers that don't leave people behind.
Love Bombing
Love bombing in marketing is the use of over-the-top praise and flattery to create quick emotional attachment and push someone toward a purchase. An ethical alternative offers specific, genuine encouragement and leaves the decision in the reader's hands, so trust grows at a comfortable pace.
Learn how to replace love bombing with grounded, consent-based encouragement.
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Marketing Automation
Marketing automation uses tools to handle repetitive marketing tasks, like scheduling social posts, delivering freebies, or sending welcome emails. It helps you stay consistent while freeing up energy for client work and real-time connection. A “set it and check it” routine keeps automations accurate and aligned with your voice.
Learn how to automate your marketing while keeping the human touch.
Marketing Busy Work
Marketing busy work is any marketing task that fills time and feels productive while doing little to move a business toward its goals. Common examples include repeatedly tweaking visuals, obsessing over hashtags, and checking metrics many times a day.
Learn how to break free from marketing busy work in five ADHD-friendly steps.
Meta Description
A meta description is the short summary that appears under your page title in search results, usually around 150 to 160 characters. It doesn’t directly affect rankings, and a clear, keyword-friendly description encourages more people to click. Each page on your site should have its own.
Learn quick SEO wins for building a strong online presence.
Minimum Viable Marketing
Minimum viable marketing is the smallest amount of marketing you commit to each week, such as one post, one email, and one story. It keeps you visible during busy or low-energy weeks, and anything beyond your minimum becomes a bonus. It’s an ADHD-friendly way to build consistency without burnout.
Learn ADHD-friendly ways to balance marketing and business operations.
Motor Accessibility
Motor Accessibility focuses on supporting different ways of navigating, so people can engage with your content however they move.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
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Objection Handling
Objection handling is how you respond when a potential client shares a concern before buying, like cost, timing, or fit. Traditional scripts aim to “bust” objections quickly, often with urgency or guilt. An ethical approach uses the 4As of Objection Handling, so buyers feel heard and free to decide.
Learn how to handle objections without shame or manipulation.
Odd-Even Pricing
Odd-even pricing is a form of psychological pricing where prices ending in odd numbers signal a deal and even, round prices signal premium quality. It shapes perception through a price’s final digit.
Learn how odd-even pricing works and what to do instead.
Onboarding Sequence
An email onboarding sequence is a short series of emails new clients receive after buying, usually a welcome email plus three to five nurture emails over the first week or two. Ethical onboarding reassures buyers and sets clear expectations, saving any new offers until clients feel settled. It’s the first chance to show clients what working with you will feel like.
Learn how to write onboarding emails that nurture without pressure.
One-Time-Offer (OTO)
A one-time offer (OTO) is an upsell that appears right after a purchase, often with a discount that supposedly disappears if you leave the page. OTOs become manipulative when they rely on fake urgency or shame. Ethical alternatives include sharing upgrades before checkout and following up later with offers that stay available.
Learn ethical alternatives to one-time offers and post-purchase pop-ups.
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PAS Copywriting Framework
PAS, short for Problem, Agitate, Solution, is a copywriting formula that names a reader's problem and intensifies the discomfort before presenting your offer as the fix. The Just Marketing® reframe, Understand, Empathize, Empower, keeps that clarity while inviting action through compassion and hope.
Learn how to rethink pain point marketing with the PAS framework.
PASTOR Copywriting Framework
The PASTOR framework is a copywriting formula created by Ray Edwards, short for Problem, Amplify, Story, Transformation, Offer, Response, often used for long-form sales pages and emails. The Just Marketing® remix swaps Amplify for Acknowledge and Response for Reflection, so readers feel understood and can decide in their own time.
Learn how to use the PASTOR framework with empathy and consent.
Paywalling Community
Paywalling community means making connection, like group chats or community calls, available only to paying clients. It can unintentionally exclude people facing financial barriers or those who need more time to build trust. An inclusive approach offers at least one free, welcoming touchpoint and explains clearly what's paid and why.
Learn how to build community without barriers.
People-Centered Marketing
People-centered marketing is an approach that prioritizes the needs, experiences, and long-term relationships of an audience, using honest, inclusive, and accessible practices. It measures success by trust and loyalty alongside revenue.
Shifting away from profit-driven tactics means swapping pressure for honest invitations and giving yourself time to adjust while your audience gets to know the new you.
Learn how to shift from profit-driven to people-centered marketing.
Performative Marketing
Performative marketing is when a business publicly supports a cause mainly to look good or boost reach, without meaningful action behind it. It often appears during awareness months or trending news moments.
Learn how to move beyond performative marketing.
Permanent Disabilities
Permanent disabilities are lasting conditions that shape how someone sees, hears, moves, or processes information, such as blindness or dyslexia.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Permission-Based Marketing
Permission-based marketing is an approach that centers consent, inviting people to engage with a business on their own terms with clear information and real choices. It prioritizes trust and long-term relationships over high-pressure conversions.
Learn why permission-based marketing builds better funnels.
Person-First Language
Person-first language places the person before a condition or identity, such as “person with a disability.” Some people prefer it, while others prefer identity-first language, so honoring individual preferences is key.
See how to choose between person-first and identity-first language.
Personal Preferences
Personal preferences are the ways people choose to engage with content, such as reading a transcript in place of listening or keeping captions on by default.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Persuasion Tactics
Persuasion tactics are techniques marketers use to influence buying decisions, such as FOMO-driven social proof or appeals to authority. Inclusive messaging strategies reshape these tactics around consent and trust, so people can make confident decisions in their own time and feel good about saying yes.
Learn how to transform traditional persuasion tactics into inclusive messaging
Plain Language
Plain language is communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it. In marketing, that means everyday words and short, active sentences, formatted so they're easy to skim. It makes your content more accessible, especially for neurodivergent readers and people reading in a second language, with your personality fully intact.
Learn how to write in plain language.
Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that alternates short, focused work sessions with brief breaks, traditionally 25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute rest. The intervals can be adjusted to fit different attention spans and energy levels.
See how intentional breaks support energy-friendly marketing.
Predatory Marketing
Predatory marketing uses manipulation to pressure people into buying, often by targeting insecurities and rushing decisions. Common tactics include free samples that create obligation, inflated “original” prices, fake urgency, and guilt about how you spend money. The best defense is slowing down, so you can check reviews and compare prices before deciding.
Learn how to spot the red flags of predatory marketing.
Profit-Driven Marketing
Profit-driven marketing puts revenue above everything else, often leaning on high-pressure tactics meant to bring quick sales, though it tends to wear down trust over time. Shifting away from profit-driven tactics means swapping pressure for honest invitations and giving yourself time to adjust while your audience gets to know the new you.
Learn how to shift from profit-driven to people-centered marketing.
Promotional Content
Promotional content is content that highlights a business’s offers and invites the audience to take a next step, such as booking a call, making a purchase, or downloading a free resource. It’s one of the Five Content Types and works best when it centers the audience’s needs and uses honest, pressure-free language.
Learn how to create promotional content that feels good to share.
Psychological Pricing
Psychological pricing is a set of sales tactics that use cognitive biases to shape how buyers perceive price and value. Common examples include charm pricing, anchoring, the decoy effect, false scarcity, artificial urgency, drip pricing, and inflated bonus bundles. Ethical alternatives center transparent pricing and real deadlines that respect buyers' autonomy.
See the most common psychological pricing tactics and ethical alternatives.
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Relationship ROI
Relationship ROI is a way of measuring marketing success through the connections it creates, like speaking invitations, collaborations, and client referrals. It captures the long-term ripple effects of trust that sales numbers alone can miss.
Learn how to measure what matters in your marketing.
Representation in Marketing
Marketing representation means reflecting the full diversity of your audience in your language and imagery, including race, body type, ability, gender, and family structure. When people see themselves in your marketing, they're more likely to trust your brand and stay loyal. Getting it right also means responding with humility and accountability when you make a mistake.
Learn more about representation in marketing.
Respect
Respect is the Ethical Marketing cornerstone of honoring your audience’s consent and autonomy, so every yes comes freely.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Responsibility
Responsibility is the Ethical Marketing cornerstone of owning your impact, so your brand stays accountable as it grows.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
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Sales Funnel
A sales funnel is the path someone takes from discovering your work to deciding whether to buy from you. An ethical, consent-based funnel guides people toward your offers with clear expectations and genuine invitations, so they can say yes when they feel ready.
Learn how to build a sales funnel rooted in care and consent.
Scarcity Tactics
Scarcity tactics are marketing strategies that make something feel limited or rare, like “only 3 spots left” or “offer ends tonight,” to speed up buying decisions. They're ethical when the limit is real and clearly explained, such as capped client capacity. Fake deadlines and artificial limits on digital products cross into manipulation.
Learn more about scarcity tactics.
Screen Reader
A screen reader is assistive technology that reads digital text aloud or converts it to braille, helping people who are blind or have low vision use websites, apps, and social media. It reads content in order, so clear formatting matters.
Learn how to format social media posts for screen readers.
Sensitivities
Sensitivities are strong reactions to sensory input, with or without a diagnosis, such as discomfort from flashing animations or autoplay sound.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Shame-Based Marketing
Shame-based marketing uses messaging that makes people feel bad about themselves to motivate a purchase, such as implying someone isn’t beautiful or worthy as they are. Ethical marketers focus on hopeful outcomes instead.
See how to rewrite shaming language into kind, effective copy.
Situational Challenges
Situational challenges are access needs created by someone’s environment or circumstances, such as watching a video in a noisy coffee shop or scrolling one-handed while holding a baby.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Sliding Scale Pricing
Sliding scale pricing lets clients choose a price within a set range based on what they can afford, often with guidance on which tier fits their situation. Pay-what-you-can models work similarly, with no fixed minimum. Both make offers more accessible for people with limited financial access while keeping your pricing transparent.
Learn more ways to make your offers accessible.
Social Proof
Social proof is the psychological tendency to look to others for cues when unsure what to do, which marketers use through testimonials, reviews, client logos, and stats like “Join 5,000 others.” It turns into social pressure when paired with FOMO, such as cherry-picked success stories or messages implying readers will be left behind. Ethical social proof shares real, diverse client stories with honest context, so people feel welcome to join in at their own pace.
Learn how to use social proof to build trust without pressure.
Social Response Plan
A social response plan outlines how a business handles feedback and missteps on social media, including who responds, who approves replies, and what tone to use. It helps teams respond quickly and consistently.
See how to create a response plan for marketing missteps.
Soft Sell
A soft sell is a low-pressure approach to promotion that invites people to take a next step when they’re ready, using phrases like “Learn more” or “Let’s connect.” It builds trust by respecting the audience’s time and decision-making.
See examples of soft-sell calls to action.
Star-Story-Solution
The Star–Story–Solution framework is a storytelling formula for testimonials and case studies that follows a client's journey to show how your work supported them. Used ethically, it keeps the client as the hero and shares their story with consent, including the messy middle of real growth.
Learn how to share client wins ethically with the Star–Story–Solution framework.
Super Signature
A super signature is a P.S. or footer at the end of an email that lists the ways readers can work with or learn from a business, such as booking a call or joining a program. It keeps offers visible in every message without a hard sell.
Learn how to use a super signature to share your offers gently.
Swipe File
A swipe file is a saved collection of reusable writing, like email intros, subject lines, and calls to action, that you can pull from whenever you create content. It’s a simple, low-tech way to reduce decision fatigue and make content creation faster, especially for ADHD brains.
Learn more low-tech automation ideas.
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Tags
Blog tags are labels for the specific subtopics within your content, like Email Marketing or Content Repurposing. One to five tags per post works well, and each tag is most useful when it appears on at least three posts. Used consistently, tags connect related posts into topic clusters that support SEO. For broad topics, use categories.
Learn how to create a tagging system without the chaos.
Temporary Disabilities
Temporary disabilities are short-term conditions that affect access for a period of time, such as a broken wrist or recovery from eye surgery.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Time-Blocking
Time-blocking is a scheduling method that reserves set chunks of time for specific types of work, such as writing or filming. Protecting those blocks from distractions makes deep, focused work easier to start and finish.
See how time-blocking helps you make the most of hyperfocus.
Tokenism
Tokenism is the practice of including someone from an underrepresented group mainly to appear inclusive, without meaningful support or involvement. Ongoing relationships, fair pay, and many voices year-round help businesses move toward genuine representation.
See how to support diverse voices in a genuine, lasting way.
Tone Tags
Tone tags are short labels added at the end of a message to clarify the writer’s intended tone, like /j for joking, /gen for genuine, or /srs for serious. They help readers interpret text that could land multiple ways, which many neurodivergent folks find especially helpful when tone is hard to read from words alone.
Learn how to use tone tags in your content.
Topic Cluster
A topic cluster is a group of related posts on the same subject, connected through shared tags and internal links. Clusters show search engines that your site has depth on a topic, which can strengthen SEO over time. They also make it easy to repurpose content into email series or resource hubs.
Learn how to build topic clusters with tags.
Tragedy Response
A tragedy response is how a business adjusts its marketing and communications after a painful event affects its community. It often includes pausing scheduled content, checking in on team members and clients, and sharing a sincere, sales-free message of support.
Learn how to respond to tragedy with care in your marketing.
Transparency
Transparency is the Ethical Marketing cornerstone of being honest and upfront, so people can make fully informed decisions.
Read the complete guide to Just Marketing®.
Trauma-Informed Marketing
Trauma-Informed Marketing is the Inclusive Marketing consideration of prioritizing emotional safety and agency, so people can engage with your content on their own terms. Adapted from trauma-informed care, any business can practice it, with no clinical training required.
Read more about trauma-informed marketing.
Trend-Jacking
Trend-jacking is when a brand hops on a viral moment, like a meme or news story, to boost visibility. It can build real connection when the trend fits your audience and values. Before posting, ask whether it could harm the people involved or use their story without consent, and give yourself permission to sit out the rest.
See the questions to ask before hopping on a trend.
Trigger Warnings
Trigger warnings (also called content warnings) are short notes at the start of a post or piece of content that flag sensitive topics ahead, such as violence, grief, or disordered eating. They let people decide whether and when to engage, which supports emotional safety and builds trust, especially with readers who have trauma histories.
Learn how to add trigger warnings to your content with care.
Tripwire
A tripwire is a low-cost offer designed to turn browsers or subscribers into first-time buyers, often followed by upsells. It becomes manipulative when it's mainly bait for pressure-filled upgrades. An ethical tripwire delivers complete value on its own, with any next step offered as a clear, optional invitation.
Learn how to create tripwires that serve your audience.
Troll
An internet troll is someone who posts provocative, rude, or hateful comments online to upset people and stir up drama. Common signs include ignoring evidence, name-calling, and steering conversations off topic.
Learn how to spot and respond to trolls with your values intact.
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Unicode Text
Unicode text can be copied from generator websites, to make social media copy look like it was written in fancy fonts. These stylized letters are actually special Unicode symbols. Screen readers often read their technical names or skip them, so typing in a platform’s default font is more accessible.
See why fancy fonts aren’t screen reader friendly.
Upsell Pressure
Upsell pressure is the push buyers feel when extra offers pop up between “buy now” and the payment screen, often wrapped in urgent or guilt-heavy wording. Ethical upselling shares one closely related upgrade right on the checkout page, so people can choose yes or “no thanks” with confidence.
Learn how to offer upsells that empower your buyers.
User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) is content created by a brand’s audience or customers, such as testimonials, tagged photos, or shared tips. Featuring it with permission and credit builds community and helps people see themselves in the brand.
See how to share user-generated content to strengthen your community.
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Vanishing Bonus
A vanishing bonus is an extra offered only to early buyers that disappears as time passes. It rewards fast decisions and can leave thoughtful, slower buyers out.
Learn kinder alternatives to vanishing bonuses.
Vanity Award (Scam)
A vanity award is a pay-to-play “honor” that congratulates you on winning something you never entered, then charges you to claim the trophy or feature. Common red flags include unverifiable stats and an award category you can choose yourself. Real recognition is earned through a transparent process and costs nothing to accept.
Learn how to spot vanity award scams and build ethical visibility.
Vanity Metrics
Vanity metrics are numbers that look impressive but say little about real impact, like follower counts, likes, or total views. Chasing them can push creators toward trends over values. Values-aligned alternatives, like email replies and referrals, show whether your marketing is building genuine trust.
Learn which marketing metrics to rethink and what to track instead.
Values-Based Marketing
Values-based marketing is creating and sharing content that reflects your real beliefs, with your core values guiding what you post and how you promote your offers. It builds trust with aligned clients and simplifies decisions, since your values act as a built-in filter. A simple starting point is sharing stories about decisions your values shaped.
Learn more about values-based marketing.
Visual Accessibility
Visual Accessibility focuses on designing for sight diversity, so your message comes through at every level of vision.
Learn how inaccessible visuals affect relationships and revenue.
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WCAG
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the international standard for making websites and digital content accessible to people with disabilities, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It covers areas like color contrast, text alternatives for images, and keyboard navigation. Automated tools can flag common WCAG issues, and manual testing catches what scans miss.
See how an accessible website redesign put WCAG into practice.
Website Accessibility Overlay
Website accessibility overlays are third-party plugins or widgets that add a toolbar on top of your site's code, promising quick accessibility fixes. They often interfere with the assistive technology disabled visitors already use, and sites with overlays still get sued. Accessible design, built into your site's code and content, serves people far better.
Learn why accessibility overlays fall short and what to do instead.
Welcome Sequence
An email welcome sequence is a short series of automated emails, usually four or five, that new subscribers receive after joining your list. Ethical sequences deliver what you promised and set clear expectations, saving any invitation to work together until trust is built. Each email has one job, which makes the sequence easy to write in focused sessions.
Learn how to write a welcome sequence.
Keep Exploring
Want to put these ideas into practice? Start with the complete guide to Just Marketing®, or grab the free Just Marketing® Checklist on the homepage to see where your marketing already aligns with your values.
