If you’ve ever listened to advice on losing weight, you’re probably familiar with the term “empty calories”.
It simply means the food you’re eating – like a candy bar – is full of calories, but has negligible nutritional value.
The same can happen in writing.
Lots of words, negligible meaning.
And perhaps surprisingly, some of the biggest offenders are digital ad agencies.
You’d think marketing professionals would know better. But apparently not.
Here’s an example of what I mean…
I’ve been following Yanik Silver’s career for close to 20 years now, watching from afar as he journeyed from online copywriter and trainer to becoming a powerful advocate for a more evolved approach to business.
But… we never met until a few weeks ago, when we were both speaking at the same event.
I’d imagined his presentation might focus on sharing tried and tested techniques for online copywriters.
But I was dead wrong.
Instead, Yanik treated us to a vision of a world where business moves from being merely transactional to becoming transformational… where marketing is as much about making a positive impact on the world as it is about growing the bottom line.
Those of you who are familiar with my own vision for Conversational Copywriting will immediately grasp why I was so taken with Yanik’s presentation.
And you’ll understand why I asked him to take part in this interview.
So… let’s get started…
Whether you’re a freelancer, a consultant, coach or some other kind of solo professional, you have a personal brand.
Your personal brand determines how your clients, prospects and peers see you. What they think of you.
Your brand is a jigsaw of different influences – how you appear online, what you say, what it’s like to work with you, and what you do.
Most solo professionals take a pretty casual approach to personal branding. Their brand, such as it is, is largely accidental.
But smart individuals take a more deliberate approach.
Let’s take a look at what that might involve…
When the web arrived in our lives, way back in the mid 1990s, it heralded a wave of disruptions, one after another.
The web changed how we look for and find information, how we connect with others, how we shop… and a great deal more.
Over time, the web has also profoundly changed the way companies do business.
It was and continues to be massively disruptive to multiple industries. When did you last go to a physical store and buy a music CD? Or rent a movie on a VHS cassette?
Industries have been changed almost beyond recognition – like the taxi business.
And now we have a new wave of disruptions coming our way.
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.