This is Part 2 of a 3-Part series on the questions my past Vision Coaching clients {Note: this service is no longer part of my current mix, but you can check out how I currently work with people here} most popularly bring to our work together. This series is a gift to my readers during Valentine’s Day week. Special thanks to my previous clients and my Inklings e-newsletter subscribers for weighing in on this.
If you missed Part 1 in this series, you can find it here.
Part 2 of this series is about Your Personality & Your Platform. Specifically, whether and where the twain should meet. There are two sorts of questions I get along these lines and they go like this. . .
1. Is it okay for me to bring my personality into my online brand? If so, how much of me gets to be a part of the brand?
2. Why would people pay attention to me rather than to the 10,000 other things competing for their attention online?
Creative entrepreneurs often need permission to infuse their personality into their brand. If you hang out in pro blogging/internet marketing circles long enough, you’ll absorb the axiom to make it all about them. It’s not about you. No one cares about you.
Oh, but they do. A little bit. In the right places.
As with so many things in life, timing is everything. Especially when you’re talking about yourself.
Human beings are the reason your business exists. You are a human being. Human beings like to do business with other human beings. This is nothing new.
The real question then, is how much of yourself to reveal and for what reason.
Here are my guidelines for sharing personal information within my platform, which I strongly advise my Vision Coaching clients to consider adopting for themselves:
1. Personal information must be shared for a purpose that moves your audience forward in their own journey. This includes what you blog about, what you Tweet about, and what you share on Facebook and all other social media. Save the extraneous stuff for personal relationships with peers and very special clients. Keep your brand messaging clean.
2. Personal information should never cast you in a light that makes people feel sorry for you or see you as weakened. Caveat: Yes, we all go through stuff. Chances are, every one of us reading this post is going through something right now. But the way you shape the story of your Stuff radically impacts the way you’re regarded as a competent, delightful-to-work-with creative entrepreneur. Some stuff is sacred. Save the down-and-dirty for a personal blog unattached to your business. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, like catastrophic illnesses and things that are going to make a dramatic impact on the way business gets done. It’s okay to show people you’re a real person, just don’t use your audience’s attention gratuitously.
3. Personal information should be shared in a way that models something admirable, attractive, or useful to your right people. Many will disagree with me on this point — this is where we get into the bit about authenticity — but I hold that as a solopreneur, especially as a solopreneur, you are commissioned to shape a platform that gives you the best chance for business success. Unless you want an extended network of friends and confidantes who might someday think about buying something from you. If they have the money. {If that’s what you want, that’s cool. But just so know, you and I are not on the same page. I want a rich, creatively satisfying business life with a hot list and a clear vision and a well-honed message.}
Now let’s address the second question: why would people pay attention to me when there are so many others out there doing great work, not to mention so much scuz out there doing crappy work but shouting really loudly?
Let’s make a list. Your right people will pay attention to you . . .
Because you’ve got an unique gift and you’ve built your platform in a way that lets other see that.
Because your messaging is clear. There’s no doubt about the story you’re telling and the value you’re providing.
Because you’re where you need to be online, as often as you need be, doing what your people want to see you doing.
Because you infuse your personality exactly when and where it needs to be throughout all of your touches with your people.
Because you cultivate the level of accessibility that works for you and your brand.
Because your ethics are straight up and you don’t waver.
Because you’ve got a great thing that they can’t get anywhere else in quite the same way you provide it.
Because you hang in circles where ideas are rich, conversation is hoppin’, and people are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Notice that you are the one who’s in control of all of the above. And that is a great place to be.
What concerns do you have about infusing your personality into your platform, and connecting with your right people? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
See you in Part 3! By the way, if you haven’t yet signed up for my e-newsletter, now would be a good time. You can get on the list right here. You also get a 10-part e-course on Creating a Truly Irresistible Niche.
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