Have you ever had people take offence at your marketing before? Or do you write vanilla copy trying to please everyone?
I thought I would share a recent experience with you because I feel it is a good reminder for us all. Over the last couple of weeks we have been sharing a free guide we wrote to help people understand Clubhouse more and potentially develop a strategy that works for them (See here).
There were a number of posts, articles etc. that we used, and most of the time our tone of voice is quite conversational & straight talking. We don’t talk down to people, and we don’t do sycophancy either.
One of the articles playfully opened with the line “Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you will have heard about the new social media kid on the block… Clubhouse”. A fairly harmless opening line, and one reflective of our provocative tone of voice, intended to grab attention. The article was designed to add value and raise awareness of a potential opportunity for the reader, and on top of that we gave away a well-designed, comprehensive, 37 page guide which gives them everything they need to get started and build a following on the platform.
Two days after we published the guide, someone took time out of their day to comment on one of our posts… “Well I have obviously been hiding under a rock then. It seems strange to me that you would try to offend your target market place!”. Let me be clear on this… This person is NOT our target market, and that’s OK. Our target market is simply not so easily triggered. They understand and respect straight talk and trust our intentions.
It is totally ok to polarise when you communicate, people pleasing rarely gets you noticed. Now I am not saying to go out of your way to be offensive, that would be moronic. But authenticity for me means when the voice inside your head basically says the same things as the words that depart your mouth.
If you are someone that is overly sensitive, we may not be a good match. We work best with clients that want results and are happy to have a few honest conversations to achieve them. They trust that we are genuinely invested in their success, so if we share tough love, it is because we feel they need to hear it. Of course we may not always be right, but at least we are discussing the issue.
For most of my career I cared to much what other people thought of me. I was overly diplomatic and always trying to ensure absolutely everyone was included at all times. It was exhausting, and more importantly I wasn’t as successful as others I saw, who were brave enough to split opinion. You know, Marmite types. Realising it is absolutely none of my business what people think of me, and just choosing to live ferociously to my values, was one of the most liberating decisions I ever made, and I was happier and more successful as a result, mainly because the people I attracted were like-minded.
The reality is, when you build a personal brand around your values, and consistently live to them, you are infinitely more attractive and trusted. Full stop. Free yourself from a fear of judgement, you will be happier for it.
We help people transform their businesses and this starts with getting clear on their identity. We help with clarity, strategy and confidence. Drop me a line if you would like to jump on a call if this resonates with you.
All the best
Warren C
