I’d been running a word of mouth business for years. It’s not that I didn’t want to have an online presence, I really did, but every time I sat down to write I sounded clinical and boring. Let me be straight, what I do is not clinical and boring, at all. It’s insanely creative, ridiculously rewarding, and all around awesome. It was marketing skills, not technical chops that I was lacking. I didn’t know how to write about what I was doing in a way that let people in on the spirit and energy of my work. In trying to present myself professionally, I just sounded rigid and distant. Two qualities that are so not me. As a solopreneur, my spirit is the foundation of my business. If I’m limited, my business is limited.
Tip #1 Take off the white gloves + let your spirit shine through.
One day, without thinking, planning, or otherwise interfering, I pretended I was writing to a friend of mine who I have notoriously radical email exchanges with. What came out sounded like me, felt like me, and made me feel tingly all over. Bam. Website copy handled. I’m a spunky chick who likes me some supersonic slang and I don’t like being boxed in. When I’m talking I don’t use words conventionally. I make stuff up. I’m going for a feeling with a person, not for some literal and linear dictionary definition. And you know what? It works. It creates connection. It’s better than good enough, its brilliant. So why not do that when I write about my business?
Tip #2 Write like you talk, songbird.
All proud and thrilled to the gills, I gave my fresh from the oven copy to my hubby to read. He looked like I fed him a plateful of rancid sardines. No joke, he says, “I would never read anything like this and I can’t even begin to imagine why anyone would.” Ummm… ouch. I could feel my freshly fluffed feathers all ruffled and out of sorts. I mean, how could something that made my cells sing so sweetly be that bad, like fetid bad?
Then something dawned on me. He’s a 40-year old, pretty stubborn (love you, babe) married man who would never overtly seek out the kinds of things I teach on his own. He’s pretty much the absolute polar opposite of my target audience. So, I sent it to my two fabulous interns who are women in their 20s and 30s, are super open-minded hearted, and are both in the baby stages of relationships with the men in their lives. Guess what happened? They loved it. It totally excited and inspired them, and got them riled up and ready for action. So…
Tip # 3 Get feedback from the right peeps.
There is a saying that goes… 33.333% of the population are gonna hate you, 33.333% are gonna absolutely love you, and 33.333% won’t even notice. So be yourself and don’t get de-railed by the folks in the other camp.
I know you want to go from so-so to supersonic, so tell me two things…
1. Are you giving yourself permission to sound like yourself?
2. Are you asking the right peeps for feedback?
{Featured image via Veritas Craft}
Yay Kimberly! I’m happy you’re giving yourself permission to be yourself!!! It is so tempting to get sucked into the idea that professional means impersonal. People like to buy things from people they like. You’re way more likeable then your idea of how you should be. I guarantee it!
You’re so right — professional doesn’t have to mean impersonal — good thing for small biz owners to remind themselves of on a regular basis. : )
Loved this! As someone who’s been blogging for the last 3 years, I’ve only recently started to struggle with my online “voice.” When writing on my food & wine blog, which I consider my “passion project,” I don’t and never have had a problem just being me, and readers have responded well to that. However, on the new blog I started to support my freelance writing and marketing services business, it’s a bit more of a challenge. I want to be myself there too, but I also want to be taken seriously as a business person. But I totally agree that if you write like you talk and let your real, true self shine through, you will find your perfect audience by default. So I’m going to give myself permission to do that, yes I am. ; )
What you are speaking about makes so much sense Syndee. I absolutely love that your copy is fresh, full of passion and most importantly, it carries your true voice.
So many times I am utterly and completely turned off by either self-serving or formal and non-genuine copy. It’s not usually evident that normal and fun is better than what most people use, and yet it’s the only way to really stand out (by showing your true colors).
Great Post!!
-Bernardo
Thanks Bernardo! I totally agree. When someone’s words, message and energy line up it is so inviting! When there is a mismatch and the words say one thing, but the vibe I get is different, people get confused and don’t know which one to go with. It’s complicated. So YAY for true colors!
Thanks so much! What we all need, to be ourselves!