Scentsy : Online Discourse Community

Scentsy : Online Discourse Community

Sara Lespron
University of Texas at El Paso

Scentsy : Online Discourse Community

It is common for people to be a part of a discourse community. A discourse community is

a group of people that work together to achieve a particular goal with the use of special
communication. James Porter, a respected scholar in rhetoric and composition, discusses
intertextuality and its relation to discourse communities. The expectations, conventions, and
attitudes of this discourse community - the readers, writers, and publishers of Journal of Applied
Psychology - will influence aspiring psychology researchers, shaping not only how they write but
also their character within that discourse community. (Porter, 2012, p.40) Porter is saying that
discourse communities have certain ideas that will influence the creation of newer ideas in the
future. John Swales, who specializes in linguistics, has a greater understanding of how a
discourse community operates. In his article, The Concept of Discourse Community, he
discusses and defines the 6 characteristics that we can use to understand and identify a discourse
community. By using Swales 6 characteristics I will discuss how Scentsy can be labeled as a
discourse community.
Scentsy is an online business that sells unique wickless candles(warmers) and accessories
with a wide variety of creative scents and many other fragranced products. A discourse
community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals (Swales, 2011, p471). Scentsys
main goal, also known as The Scentsy Family Mission, is to bring value to the world by
providing high-quality products that Warm the Heart, Enliven the Senses, and Inspire the Soul.
A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members (Swales,
2011, p471). Intercommunication can come in many different forms such as emails, text
messages, newsletters, etc. Since Scentsy is an online business and has employees all over the
world, they need to have stellar communication skills. They created a website called Scentsy
Workstation that only scentsy consultants are able to access by logging on with their consultant

Scentsy : Online Discourse Community

ID and password. Within the website you can find a variety of tabs such as news & info,
challenges, events, performance, and communication. The news & info tab is used to inform the
consultants about the newest products/collections and to post promotions that may be going on at
the time. For example, new consultants can join for $49 in September with essentials-only Starter
Kit. The challenges tab provides a calendar with daily tasks that help you grow your business.
The communication tab is used to send emails and newsletters to your fellow consultants, or
even your customers. There is also an idea share tab that allows consultants to submit ideas for
new products to the Scentsy home office that may help benefit the business. A discourse
community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback
(Swales, 2011, p472). In the Scentsy workstation, you are able to keep track of your performance
with the goals and volumes tab. This tab shows the consultant all the statistics that go into
reaching their goal so that you are able to figure out if maybe you need expand your business and
find more customers, or if you are successfully running your business by reaching goals within a
given range. A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the
communicative furtherance of its aims (Swales, 2011, p472). Genre is a word used to describe
and form of text that a discourse community uses. For example, Scentsy provides consultants
with a personal website that helps promote their products. Customers are able to visit this
website and shop for their products online. Consultants are given brochures, booklets, labels, and
even thank you cards to give out to their customers. In addition to owning genres, a discourse
community has acquired some specific lexis (Swales, 2011, p473). Lexis is another word used
for language. Scentsy has a very unique lexis that few people understand. Some examples
include the long list of scented wax that is used for the warmers such as Luna, Honeymoon
Hideaway, and Apple Crush. These scents come in different products such as scentsy bars,

Scentsy : Online Discourse Community

scentsy car bars, scent paks, travel tins, and room sprays. One of the popular products, the
Scentsy Buddy, is a stuffed animal in which you are able to place a scent pack inside so that it
smells good. There are also different warmers for your home such as the diffuser, tabletop
warmers, and also plug-in warmers. The scentsy workstation istelf is another example of the
specific lexis that is used within the scentsy family. The lexis that is used in scentsy is very
positive and inspirational. A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a
suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise (Swales, 2011, p473). Scentsy has a
quite a few levels of expertise. When a consultant first joins, they are known as an essential
consultant. An essential consultant only receives 20% commission from their personal retail
volume. Once they reach 1,000 PRV (personal retail volume), they get promoted to Certified
Consultant. Once they reach this level, they receive 25% commission from their PRV. After
certified consultant comes Lead Consultant, then Star Consultant, to Superstar Consultant,
Director, Star Director, and last Superstar Director. All of these levels receive the same
percentage of commission, but as the rank goes higher, they receive many different rewards and
bonuses.
Now that we have identified the 6 characteristics of a discourse community, we are able
to figure out what communities we belong to. Everyone is involved in some type of discourse
community wether its a professional organization, a sports team, or even an online video game.
Discourse communities play a major role in our society by influencing the way we act and how
we communicate with each other.

Scentsy : Online Discourse Community

References
Porter, J. (1986). Intertextuality and the discourse community. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds.),
Writing about writing: A college reader (p. 395-405). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.
Swales, J. (1990). The concept of discourse community. In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds.),
Writing about writing: A college reader (p. 212-227). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.