Take a step out of the shadows + into your light.
When I was starting out in business 4 years ago, I had this thing I didn’t want anyone to know.
All my life, people told me I had a gift with words.
And I used that gift to write letters, short plays, and fundraising letters for my job.
But when I started my own business, doubt crept in.
I knew I was a good writer. That wasn’t the issue.
The issue was that I’d never worked on Madison Avenue.
I’d never taken a copywriting course.
I hadn’t taken the traditional route to studying and developing skills as a marketer.
So I tried to cover up the truth – that I am former public school teacher and non-profit worker who taught herself to write sales copy.
But here’s the thing about the truth: you can bury it. But you can’t outrun it.
It’s always there.
I’m all about experimenting with my message and my business — so one day I got curious.
A client who I’d done a VIP day with shared with me that one of the reasons she decided to work with me was because in our sales conversation, she asked me if I would show her how to write copy that was optimized for search engine bots.
And I told her, “I write for humans, not robots.”
(I believe that SEO can be really helpful for certain businesses or once your business reaches 7 figures and you need to develop more of a mainstream market.
But for many of us, it doesn’t matter if people can find you on google or not.
What matters is that you have a strong, compelling presence on your homepage – that connects with HUMAN readers — so that when people talk about you, and their friends go to your website to check you out, they are delighted + intrigued and sign up to get your Awesome Free Gift so you can build a relationship with them over time in your newsletter.)
She said she knew in that moment that I was the one she wanted to work with.
So I started thinking…
What if my cantankerous views about what’s important – people, not search engines – are actually a selling point for working with me?
What if clients actually see my background in social service, teaching, and community development work as a strength?
What if my lack of formal experience in advertising and marketing is actually an asset?
Huh.
I just had this conversation with a group of business owners at my Writing Intensive last weekend in Montana. And here’s the thing –
Shout it from the rooftops!
"The thing you try to hide is often the thing that makes people want to work with you."
It’s one of your “distinctions” – an idea that sets you apart from the other guy.
And distinctions are talking points that you can pepper throughout your marketing.
So, gentle reader, I ask you….
What about your experience or training have you been feeling isn’t “good enough”?
And is there a possibility that this is actually something you need to share, talk, and write about MORE… because it’s actually what your clients LOVE about you?
Mighty thanks to In Digo Photography flickr photostream for the light.
Posted October 22, 2013 at 1:23 pm | Permalink
Amen, Stella! About what we see as liabilities often being strengths and writing for humans not bots. Messages I frequently share with clients, too. Why is it so many newbies (and even experienced entrepreneurs) hide behind the “writing for bots” fad? And I use the word “hide” deliberately because that’s what most are doing.
Posted October 22, 2013 at 1:37 pm | Permalink
I haven’t tried to hide the fact that I’m not a certified coach. I’m qualified by having lived through it myself. But it would have been nice to have more of a clue of what questions to ask.
Posted October 27, 2013 at 4:57 am | Permalink
Ha ha…I so related to this, Stella. I speak about this “Certificate giving you permission to do something” all the time. Recently when I decided to get out of my office (sigh) and go check out the rest of the world of English learning in Spain, I had a conversation with a lady running a typical Academy. I had sent her an email, outlining my background and accomplishments, before and since, arriving in Spain, (the most recent being the release of a book which had gone into its second edition after 6 weeks) and ‘offering my services’ if she had any need for them. She responded very quickly, asking me to come and see her. It was obvious that she automatically thought I was there hoping to get a “job” as an English teacher with her academy and promptly asked for my certificates, proof of degrees, etc.,in other words, proof (permission) to do what I was already doing, and certainly not in the way that this academy was doing it. When I said I didn’t have any, but showed press clippings of awards from my Business Consultancy, prior to coming to Spain plus those here following my book, she said “But, what degrees do you have?. How could you do all this without certificates? It was sooo funny and yet at the same time, sad for me to see someone in her position, so steeped in this mentality which unfortunately permeates Spanish society and puts a huge financial burden on parents who are brainwashed into thinking that their children have to have several certificates to prove they can speak English and thus be successful. (Could write a book on this one.) Anyway, my calm reply to her was “….., I have a degree in life experience.”:-)