Stories and conversations are deeply intertwined.
Walk into a bar or coffee shop, find a group of people deep in conversation, and chances are they’ll be sharing stories.
“Do you remember the time when…?”
“Did you hear about what happened to Jack at the weekend…?
“You’ll never guess who I saw on the bus this morning…”
When we gather together in groups, we’re always telling stories.
It takes courage to stand out on your own.
Particularly if you’re a solo professional of some kind… Like a freelancer, coach, consultant, therapist, or anyone else who works one-on-one with clients.
The safe way to sell yourself is to adopt the persona of others in your industry.
Look and sound like your fellow solo professionals.
If you’re a freelancer, you might model your website on those of other successful freelancers in your niche.
My wife and I recently got back from a short vacation in the Dominican Republic.
On the first day we traveled to a beautiful beach, way off the regular tourist trail.
It had a small bar. Nothing fancy. A small wooden structure nestled among the trees.
And on one of the outside walls I found the sign you see above.
We do not have Wi-Fi. We offer a better connection.
Perfect message, in the perfect location.
It’s not hard to write in a conversational way.
Or to make people smile.
You just need to relax a little. Access your inner human.
But a lot of people in business struggle with that simple idea. Being human.
They’ve convinced themselves they need to sound like a “real business” or a “real marketer”.
The trouble is, as soon as you do that you create distance between yourself and your readers.
If you’re selling steak knives or lawn mowers, you can take a hard-charging approach to
Wheel out the big guns. Use every sales and copywriting tip, trick and technique in the book.
You can probably get away with being a little sneaky too. Maybe exaggerate a tad.
Like how your knives will keep their edge for 25 years! Guaranteed!
Or how your lawnmower will make cutting the grass in your yard “practically effortless!”
You can even go full bore with your best copywriting secrets if you’re selling something a little less tangible, like a subscription to an investment newsletter…
“Act now and you could make $51,373 in just 30 days!”
Imagine you receive an email is from the boss of a local lawn care company.
He’s a local guy. A lawn care guy. He has dirt under his fingernails.
To my mind the email should sound like it came from him… not from a fancy-pants marketer.
I’m not saying the email should be unsophisticated in how it’s put together.
But just suggesting the tone of voice should match our perception of the person whose name appears at the end.
And it’s not just about tone of voice. It’s also about what he says.