“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” -Oscar Wilde
This is one of my favorite quotes that apply to sharing about yourself and your business. It is often attributed to Oscar Wilde, but it sounds like it could have been said by Mark Twain. No matter who first said it, it is absolutely true that you can only be yourself in how you share who you are, what you do, and who you work with for clients.
When I help clients design their messaging, I often think of this quote. Many entrepreneurs feel they need an exciting, adventure-type story or to be like someone they idolize in order to be interesting. This may seem to be what you’d need to keep someone reading down the page but in fact, it tends to turn off many readers when another, simpler tactic would work even better. The simpler tactic? Showing up as who you authentically are and letting your stellar skills pull in your next clients.
In this post, I’ll share some of the ways I’ve helped clients find how they can adjust their messaging so it better fits them and their ideal clients.
Take note of your style
Imagine that you’re having coffee with a new business contact and she asks you what brought you to do what you’re doing today. What do you tell her? How do you tell her this story? Consider what tone you’d use in a busy coffee shop while telling this story.
Consider especially how you share this information. Whether you are a boisterous talker, someone who “talks with your hands”, or succinct and specific in which words you use, employ that same presentation style to how you describe your journey to the business you run (and love!) today.
Include details related to what you do
In this scenario would you tell your whole career story, or just what relates to what you do now? Even if every step of your career directly relates to what you do now, you’d probably abbreviate or skip over a few dead ends. The same idea applies to how you’ll describe your journey to your business as it is today.
If you’re doing work that is very close to what you did at your last employer, consider whether it helps you to name that business. If it is a well-known, global company and what you did there is close to what you’re doing in your own business, then listing that may lend credibility to your introduction. More often, this detail is better left out of the published version of your story since it can muddy the messaging of your story.
Include details that are important to your ideal clients
Although every listener won’t be your ideal client, many may know someone who would be a good fit for you. The best way to inspire your listener to think of them (and share your information with that connection) is by employing the details that are important to your ideal clients. Specifically, include the language they use to say what they’re currently experiencing for a problem and the solution they’d like to that problem. If your ideal clients have a particular way they’d like to solve their problem, share that you provide that way of solving it.
Be sure to invite your listener to contact you
If someone makes it to the end of your About page, blog post, or long post on social media, give them a way to contact you! If your listener has kept with you to the very end of sharing what you do, then they may be interested in what you do. Always offer them your information so they can follow up with you or share it with someone who sounds like they want your help.
What tricks do you use to share your biz journey in a succinct way that keeps your readers engaged? I’d love to hear your tricks! Connect with me on Instagram.
