People are not going to work with you because you are the best. I can't claim I am THE BEST copywriter in the world. That would be silly and foolish from a marketing perspective.
Yet, people do this all the time in marketing. They try to position themselves as THE choice. You've heard the advice: become the "Number 1 authority in your space."
I'm calling bullshit on this one.
My spicy opinion
People will not hire you because you are the best. They will hire you because they want to work with YOU.
If you are in 1:1 consulting, these are facts. (especially for coaches).
The decision to go with your coaching program or hire you for a consulting project is steeped in subjective, emotional bias.
We need to talk about emotional conversion.
Emotional conversion is enrolling a person into your subjective story and what that story stands for.
It is based on values, aspirational identity, and storytelling.
The mistake we make as solo service pros- we don't share our stories enough, and so people have nothing to latch onto emotionally.
Back to you and your you-ness.
People have no way of differentiating us from the next guy who claims he is the best because we have left out the very thing which cements our competitive advantage- our unique, uncopyable stories.
As a founder, you gotta tell the stories that drive your business.
Here are 3 for homework.
Your founder story
How did you come to be here? What stories do you tell about where you come from?
The founder story is a powerful one. Where you came from as a founder, and your backstory is essential for your marketing. It will help people decide whether to follow you and eventually become your clients. It helps people find commonalities with you, find inspiration in your path, and connect with you on a human-to-human level through shared values, experiences, and worldviews.
When sitting down to write: follow the hero's journey.
hero/ you--> quest/the mountain--->obstacle/ hardship--->turning point/ climax--->resolution/present state.
Here's an example:
Your business story
Why does your business exist, and how do you tell a story about it? The story we tell about the origin of our business is where you insert your personal mission. It answers: Why do this? Why not landscaping design services? People want to know and feel your passion for the work you do and WHY(sorry for yelling) you are uniquely qualified to sail this ship.
When sitting down to write: root yourself in service. The story you tell here has to circle back to how you help others. This brings me to the next story...and my favourite.
Your customer story
Do you know their story? Your customers' stories will co-create your business. You are not the hero. You have to insert yourself in the journey of your customers in order to win their attention (and maybe money).
Back to the hero's journey:
hero/ client--> quest/the mountain--->obstacle/ hardship--->turning point/ climax--->future state.
Except this time, your client is the hero, and you come in around the obstacle/ hardship part.
Why care
If you spend the time and write out these stories a few things will happen:
you will gain clarity in your messaging
you will gain clarity in who you work with
your personal brand will emerge and help you stand out in a crowded marketplace.
you will be able to sprinkle these story elements throughout your content so that you become known as the coach/consultant who...(insert uniqueness factor here)
If you don't take charge of what stories you tell, you will blend right in.
I definitely spent too much time on the tactical/value-driven stuff until I started asking people on discovery calls why they chose to work with me since there are 1000000 copywriters out there.
Answers:
I saw your posts about female artists and ...
I too, am a (mother/ artist/ creative)
I share the same WHY as you
No shit, 9/10 this is what leads me to closed business.
No one ever says to me: oh, it's because you are clearly the best copywriter, and those tips were fire.
Not once.
And I predict with my crystal ball that no one will ever say that to me. In a saturated marketplace, your expertise in the subject is almost irrelevant because it is assumed.
Storytelling and audience building
Moving from transactional to transformational.
I want to talk about building followings vs. building audiences.
(Ok this may need a newsletter of its own, but it's connected, so you are getting it.)
I see a lot of large social accounts that are built on transactional value. You get the best LinkedIn tips for more sales-click here. So everyone flocks and cluck, cluck, cluck we click the follow button. The expectation that these accounts set up is 100% transactional. Do X and I will give you Y.
Problem.
This is short-sighted. These guys have painted themselves in a corner. The only reason people are following is because they want to get something. As soon as you stop giving them that something (usually a tip of some kind- a rant for another time) people stop showing up. Never mind, changing services. Never mind, talking about other topics. They don't have these options.
on the other hand..
If you lead with transformation, you are opening a story loop. You are inviting people on a journey, an adventure. Your are not buying your relationship with people. You are calling them on a journey. You as the guide, they as the heroes. When you position this way, people will follow you no matter what. They will trust you to take them through as the path unfolds before them.
This is where audience building happens, and this is all about storytelling.
What story are you inviting people into with your marketing?
Hope this was helpful.
D
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