Hypocrite. I’ll say it right now. For me to even pretend to be a Stoic is a joke. Show me “Fox and the Hound” and I’ll still tear up at the end. I relish good moments; I savor them and store their memories for darker and grayer times. I could not have stabbed Ceasar (Brutus was a Stoic).

It's cauliflower...

But my personal (and business) philosophy draws heavily from Stoicism’s basic principle that we should observe and live in accord with nature. I think about this…alot. I have sat in the back yard under the trees and just watched. I’ve looked at the patterns of land use in my area and researched its history [we picked our home partly because there is a working farm in the neighborhood that predates the cities of Mint Hill or Charlotte].

Little one does it already, too. She will tell us she’s going to “sit under a tree and watch the birds for awhile”.

So what in the H does this have to do with internet marketing?

Not much if you don’t like looking at patterns and identifying trends. For most internet marketers this means site data metrics like visits, page views, bounce rate, CTR, conversions, et. al. Don’t get me wrong…I watch those numbers for my sites like a GT/UGA football game.

But lately I’ve been searching for a more macro view. I’m looking at the pattern in as wide field  of a perspective as possible and strangely enough, it started while sitting under a tree and watching the birds for awhile in the backyard.

The wife is doing recycled fashion and was also in the backyard photographing her latest pieces. She hits the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores weekly looking for donated clothing and sheets that she uses for fabric on brand new creations. She combs through the compost of discarded Ameri-waste. She finds colors, patterns, and logos on clothing bins all over the city and then combines them in a way nobody would.

And they sell. Across the country. She can’t make enough to have any stock.

But it didn’t start this way. She’s been working for years on her craft. Learning techniques, gathering equipment and fabric. She made small batches, sent them out, and measured the response.

How’s this for CRO: Her first commercial launch featured 25 items for sale. In the first week, she sold just over 50% (14) of those items. Her next launch featured 20 new items and she sold 90% of them in one week. Why the increase? She observed the pattern. She based her second batch on customer feedback and made them what they wanted.

It’s Fractal Stoic marketing. It’s looking for tiny patterns inside the large ones. Tiny = What do you like about this particular dress? [A - The color, the cut, the logo] Large = Why does buying this make you feel good? [A - Helping the planet, supporting an artist, being unique].

We learn those insights from her customers and then use them as calls to action. Save the planet, support local art, and stand out in a crowd. Buy Vintage Fresh’s recycled fashions!

Caveat: A real stoic wouldn’t have used that last exclamation point.