I’m hoping that I can find a way to weave things together in a way that makes sense, resonates with buyers, feels enjoyable, and generates income.” — a client said.
“That’s a lot of pressure on yourself,” I thought. (article continues below)
Who says you need to weave all your interests together in a way that makes sense to anyone else, except for yourself?
(You can have the most complicated vision of your work, as long as it makes sense to you.)
What if being financially successful — and happy in your work — doesn’t require the integration of your various interests?
For example, your introductory statement. Maybe you’re struggling to fit your entire catalog of passions into a short statement for your social media profile, or the bio at the bottom of your articles, or when someone introduces you on a podcast.
What if you let go of any sort of perfection in that statement?
There is a big difference between an intro statement, versus the descriptions of your various offerings.
Your intro statement can be broad, inspiring, and short. It makes you feel good, and it gives a quick taste to the reader of what kind of person you are. But if you try to make it communicate exactly what you do (and the variety of things you do!) then you are giving yourself unnecessary pressure.
How can you fit the brilliance of your infinite potential into a few words? Plus, the fact that you keep evolving!
Let your intro-statement be a long-term project. Re-visit it every now and then, making a change here and there. Over the years, let it morph until you are really happy with it. And even so, it will still keep evolving!
Please don’t give yourself the pressure of coming up with such a statement before you get started with creating your services or marketing your products. You don’t need a perfect statement for your website (you might not even need a website!) nor for your social media.
Instead, you can have many different offerings, such as coaching packages for various kinds of client issues, and eventual catalog of online courses, workshops, etc.
“If I’m feeling discombobulated in my content, they won’t those who read it feel that way too?”
Most of the time, people will read your content on social media — and on social media, readers are used to a huge diversity of content. What about people who read your content via email newsletter? In their email inbox, they are also accustomed to a large variety of topics. These days, people are used to — and prefer — variety. As long as your content is true to you, it will form in people’s minds a more whole picture of you, over time. As long as you share what thoughts are true to you, people sense your authenticity, and your ideal audience will like you more.
In the lifetime of your business, you will have many offerings — sometimes simultaneously.
For example, I offer a different online course almost every month and have a catalog of courses people can buy anytime.
Another coach might offer coaching for different challenges, each one being a different package a client could buy.
Again, there’s no need to try to make your entire business or brand described in one short thing — people aren’t buying your whole business. They buy one thing at a time. If you have a website, simply send different audiences to different pages on your site!
Potential clients or buyers are looking at the description of the specific offering in front of them, the specific thing you’re selling. They aren’t making a decision based on your overall description of yourself.
Each offering can have its own clarity: Who is that specific offering best for? What problem/goal does that specific offering help them with? What is the specific journey that the offering takes them on? What part of your life experience or training qualifies you to provide that offer? (If you want my help in making your offers authentically appealing to your audience, take my course: Create authentically appealing offers.)
Each offer can be for a different audience. Or the same audience, helping them with something different.
Having various offerings gives you the flexibility to be whatever you want in business! It lets you be your full creative self. You can create or remove offerings anytime, as your interests evolve.
Allow yourself that freedom!
When you’re working through a marketing course, or with a marketing coach, I don’t recommend working on your Broad Intro Statement. It’s not that important for your marketing.
It’s more productive to work on how you describe a specific offering you’re going to be launching, because that’s what the market (your potential clients) are looking at specifically, to decide whether to buy from you.
“How do I get people to remember me so they refer me, or buy when they’re ready?”
You can be different things to different people. In fact, you already are, whether you like it or not. People remember you for whatever aspect of you is most relevant to them.
For example, some people think of me as a Facebook Ads expert. I’m fine with that, because it’s what’s relevant to them, and that way, they’ll more likely tell their friends who need FB Ads help.
Other people may remember me as an Online Course expert, and that’s fine too because when they’re ready to create an online course, they come to me.
Some others even think of me as the “joyful productivity” guy, because I wrote a book on it. That’s great because they tell their fellow business friends to look me up when they are feeling disillusioned about anxiety-producing work.
The reality is that every audience will consider the offer in front of them — and yes your credibility to deliver it — but they don’t need you to have any perfect intro statement or integration of your interests into one brand or reputation.
People care more about your credibility indicators for the specific offer you place in front of them. Has that specific offer helped other people? How did your clients benefit? Are there testimonials from people who seem just like them?
Relax. You don’t need to integrate all your interests. Just share yourself authentically, and launch specific offers for specific types of people, and you’ll have a successful authentic business.