Making Peace with Writing About Yourself & Creating a Personal Brand
Writing about yourself and your business can be a daunting task whether it’s for your website or an email, an About page or a social post.
Is this considered marketing? Is it educational thought leadership? Why do I feel like I just exposed myself somehow and want to erase everything that’s published?
I feel like something is off but have no clue where to start.
And don’t I need to be “professional,” but concise? But also approachable… And funny?
All of these thoughts can run through your mind—at the same time.
Not knowing how to put yourself “out there” is enough to make anyone want to throw in the towel on what you’ve built so far.
It feels vulnerable! And it’s easy to make the mistake of believing you’re an imposter or a fraud. (Whether you call that your monkey-mind or the devil, let’s all agree that it’s a lie and not true)
If you’ve dealt with this, you’re not alone. But you don’t have to stay there. It is possible for a headache-free writing experience.
Let me show you how I do it.
A few do’s and don’ts to crafting a compelling and authentic personal brand
1) Don’t overcomplicate things. Do keep it simple.
I’ve learned over time – working with clients and writing for myself – that good thought leadership looks like genius to an outsider. But it will feel to you like you’re just giving a different take on advice you’ve heard before or an idea you think is really obvious and simple.
Believe it or not, there is something about the way you explain something or how you provide a reference point that will resonate with some people in a deeper and new way – and that’s valuable. If you feel like you’re writing about baby-step topics or simple concepts, that’s OK. Don’t overcomplicate it and take the easy win.
2) Don’t get pretentious. Do write like you talk.
I don’t know who to blame (maybe 8th grade English class?) but many coaches and thought leaders who struggle with writing are stuck in an overly formal writing style. Stop it! 😜
Potential customers want to do business with and learn from people they know, like, and trust. Writing like you’re auditioning for a Shakespeare revival won’t help you do that and kills the potential for connecting with real humans.
The trick to making writing about yourself or your business feel authentic is to write exactly like you talk to clients and customers naturally. This includes using contractions, telling a joke, or even using partial sentences. Don’t feel like you need to be overly formal to catch someone’s attention or to show up like the expert you already are.
Learn more about how pretentious-ness sneaks into your writing and 4 other no-no’s I see often (PLUS how to fix it!) in my mini-course below.
3) Don’t get stuck with writer’s block. Do try audio recording yourself.
Use your speaking strengths to your advantage. Spend a few moments jotting down questions you get most often from potential customers… even the dreaded, “What do you do?” Then answer each question by speaking into the mic on your phone or recording yourself on zoom. Transcribe your audio word-for-word or use a transcriber like Rev.com to get the meat of it down. Then, edit and condense.
A note on using AI: ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools have their advantages and I do use them in specific instances from time to time, but remember that right now AI can really only write about what has already been created. It’s a computer tool that summarizes and condenses existing thought or what you feed into it, not your new take on things. PLUS, research shows that AI-generated content doesn’t age as well as human-generated content, which means that it won’t provide the exponential search engine boost that original content will. (Source)
4) Don’t go it alone. Do partner up.
A fantastic listener can help you speak more clearly than you ever have before. Here are a few of my favorite ways to do this:
Ask a friend who’s a good listener to ask you questions your clients usually struggle with to draw out your natural take on things.
Join a business or networking group & look for a writing partner.
Try virtual co-working with Flown*
Or schedule a quick call with a copywriter & storyteller (This is my specialty! I offer one here)
You can do this—and you’re not alone.
It might take a bit of practice, but hopefully this removes the headache from writing about yourself, your business, and creating your personal brand. By using the tips here I know you’ll come off as the real you, and that means you’ll feel better about being out there and sharing your gifts with the people who need to hear them.
