Would you find this advert endearing and effective or a bit cringeworthy and too personal?

[bakingbaker]

What would you think if you saw a baker advertise his products on FB or Instagram by talking about their struggles, how they stay out in the cold until they've sold everything, dropped out their high paying career, how they pull constant all nighters or how they still managed to deliver your box out of A and E after a car crash.

Would you think it is a good strategy or would you think it's a bit too much?

More specifically what would you think of a post like this? Would you post it or leave it?

"I deliver my cakes by hand. 10 on my arms, 10 on my shoulders, 10 on my back. My philosophy is that if we avoid getting tired, we cannot appreciate a night's rest. If we keep taking it easy, we cannot truly appreciate a glass of water or a hot meal. These are the little joys which make life worth living for me. I do not want it easy!"

or, a bit more personal:

"This business was meant to be co-run by two people - my ex-partner and I. I spent 2 years building up our bakery to the point that I was ready to share the journey with someone. So I rebranded for a fresh start for us this year. But they and I had different visions. I wanted to continue improving my baking, keep prices the same and pay myself the minimum salary while reinvesting most of the revenue back into my business. My partner prioritised delegating the workload to staff, increasing profits and cashing out. This isn't wrong in and of itself but my heart disagreed. It didn't make sense to harvest the first fruits when I could wait and harvest the whole rainforest. There is so much growth still left.

I've faced some tough choices on my journey. With the time commitments, I had to choose between my friends or my small business. Next it was my job or my small business. After that my academics or my small business. But this one really stopped me in my tracks: my partner or my small business. Do I love my business enough that I'd give up a future with someone? The double workload combined with the breakup left me empty. I needed to channel the negative energy into something positive.

This journey has taught me that nothing will happen unless you make it happen."

Thank you for your opinion

Yep. I would actively avoid buying from this Baker I'm afraid. Not everything has to be about the "journey".

I just want to know whether the baker's products are any good. I wouldn't understand the first version, and I definitely wouldn't read past the first couple of lines of the second.

Amen.

It should be about how great the cakes are, not why the baker needs therapy.

I would assume that the product is not as good as it should be for the price and the tale of woe is an attempt at softening the customer up to accept that, so I would steer clear. I quite like to read about people talking about fulfilling their passion or choosing to make things because they couldn't buy the quality of product that they wanted for themselves.

Dislike both options. I had to go back and force myself to read them because I lost interest almost immediately. They're very smug. Aside from the pity and the journey, they're not creating a sympathetic character that anyone would warm to and I'm guessing that's what you were trying to achieve? Being negative about the partner is totally unnecessary and doesn't give a good impression and the talk of working hard reads as though you're working harder than everyone else - who do you think is buying your products? Ultimately after reading both of those I'm not even sure what products you're selling! What kind of cakes, who are they for, why are they different? Why should I buy them?

Avoid the bakery, irl wouldn’t read. Might just be interested in a new business but I’d ask friends if they had tried the cake.

Now - think idiot, most people run small business alongside a career, especially a high paying one to build up asset to allow them to leave work. Could have afforded proper transport then.

I don’t want my cake on the bottom getting squished by the nine above it.
Harvest the rainforest - thought we wanted to preserve them

Lots of people study part time.
Not businesslike not to discuss from outset what your business partner views are on growing the business.

Don’t need any of it. What flavour and style of cake? How much? Opening hours?

Jesus wept it's cake not brain surgery!
I'd actively avoid, I'm not interested in your self absorbed drivel.

You would be the last person I would buy from. All that angst over a cake, I would assume you weren't going to be reliable. I would go to the people who show pictures of what they can make, and their prices.

Oh gosh no, none of these.

No one likes a sad story, especially when you are buying cake. Cake is a happy food, people don't want to be sitting at their table eating cake thinking of the little matchstick girl.

Advertising should be about the products, big them up, show off your talents via pictures, have people wanting to buy your cakes because they look good not a story about breakup of relationship and doom and gloom.

Nobody will want to plough through all that lot to get to the baked goods.

I'd be really put off too, it goes well past the 'look how much care we put in' type advertising line into whining. I don't want to feel I'm being dragged into a 'who has it worst' fight. I get what you're aiming at but it doesn't come across well. I'd just focus on how good the products and positive stuff like feedback from customers - ie, picture of a chocolate doughnut for example, "look what I was up at 5am baking, are you a chocoholic like me or should I get some salted caramel on the go?".

Much more inviting if it sounds positive, customers are responsible for whatever issues are behind the scenes.

All terrible. I just want to know about the cake, that it's cooked somewhere clean, looks pretty and how much it costs. I'm really put off by overly personal stories when people have small businesses. It's totally cringe worthy..

I wasn’t interested in this stuff about my brain surgeon either - did find out he was a qualified pilot, even that was work related used to fly to different countries to do surgery.

Are these actual things that someone has posted on their face book ?

100% agree with this. Anything too personal and 'I get up before I go to bed and work harder than anyone else's would just put me off.

I bake celebrations cakes and my page is colourful and factual. Nothing more. The way I look at it, people want to see what I make and how much it costs. That's it.

I think people have become too accustomed to over sharing on social media.

I’d actively avoid and also assume seller was a scammer who needed to play on the sympathy card as products were no good , if indeed they existed .

Both would put me off & I wouldn't bother with them.

doing a gluten free option would impress me. What’s written above would be off putting as it all sounds so dramatic!

I have a distant relative who is a baker and uses a fb page for her business. She posts other stuff but it's interesting, she emigrated and lives somewhere really interesting so her posts are always worth a read, and she has developed a big following. The main thing though is that her cakes are absolutely stunning and remain the main focus of her page. The stuff you have posted would immediately put me off ever buying from you. Self indulgent waffle. Perhaps you could name a product that.

'Um, I think you might have mistaken your online storefront for LinkedIn, though. Anyhow, do you do gluten free?'

I think I would also fear the cake had turned into soup because of all the sobbing 😂

I wouldn’t even watch.
I’d scroll on so fast I’d never even find out the business name.

I’d think TL;DR and shop elsewhere.