It's time to get handsy
One of my very first articles on LinkedIn was about getting your audience to swipe right on your content. For those who've been blessed by never having to use an app to date, swiping right is how you let someone know you're interested in them. In this piece — where I share actual screenshots of messages I'd received from well-intended but certainly not swipe-right potential matches — I talk about how we can relate this concept to our messaging. (I highly recommend you read the very short and very funny article and at least get a laugh at my expense.)
But, upon reflection, I missed a huge component of this theory. Yes, of course we want to create messaging that attracts our audience. We want them to like us and want to learn more. But then what?
Anyone can swipe right
As any online dater will tell you, swiping is the bare minimum. Getting someone to simply like your photo means basically nothing. Just like getting someone to like a post or visit your website or even land you an interview. This is simply step 1 in a very long process of building a relationship. And it's also why so many people never get off the apps (or land the client or the job or make a sale) in the first place. Because these next pieces take WORK. Effort. Time. And knowledge of what this person wants and needs.
Can you smell what The Rock is cooking? (I'd like to just smell The Rock!)
Time to DTR
This is sadly where most daters and most people, businesses, job seekers, etc. give up. They've gotten the page views or eyeballs. They've landed the interview. They've gotten the first date. But most people aren't putting in the work to get to second base. Most people don't even stick around long enough to Define the Relationship. This is where good branders (and daters) win!
Because if you spend the time to let your audience know who you are, if you listen to them, if you nurture them methodically, and you keep telling them the same things over and over (and over) that they NEED and WANT to hear, you will get engaged. I mean engagement. (That LinkedIn article I wrote was in 2019. I'm still echoing much of the same sentiment almost four years later. Consistency is key.)
That's how you build trust. That's how you get to second base, and third and then all the way baby! The bare minimum isn't going to cut it. In business or in dating. Effort is everything. In business and in dating.
Let's get comfortable
The reason most people give up too early and too easily is because they can't get comfortable. It doesn't feel right to keep posting all the time.
I'm always saying the same thing.
I'm sick of myself.
I don't know what to post.
Who cares what I have to say?
It takes too much time.
If this sounds like you, that means you haven't figured out what your audience needs or why they need you. You haven't honed your brand or your message. Or worse, you don't believe in yourself (see previous sentence). Confidence begets comfort. All of this takes time! Time to figure out what to say and time to build the habit of putting it out there on a regular basis.
I've been writing this newsletter, consistently, every two weeks without fail, for almost four years now. The early ones are not great. Not super clear. Not super engaging. But I wrote them. I stuck with it.
Eventually, I found my voice, my audience and my confidence (yes, even I wasn't confident when I started my business). It took time! And then more time. And then more time. But now, this newsletter and posting on social three days a week is a habit. It's part of my business. Part of my process. Part of who I am. And the growth of my audience across all these platforms speaks to that.
So, things are getting kinda serious
I've helped to define the relationship with you, my audience. You know I'm reliable. Trustworthy. Consistent. You've come to know me and watch me and my business evolve. That's not by accident. That's by design. That's by practice. But it's also by listening. I read every newsletter or social post comment. I respond to what you like or don't. Or what you simply ignore. I'm paying attention (like the best kind of partner). Because I value you! I value our relationship. It means more to me than you know. And I want you to have that in your business. With your audience. With your teammates. With your clients and customers. And you can.
Email me and I'll give you all the details on my new program which promises to help you connect and create consistent content that kicks ass. I'm keeping this to a very small group (with first dibs pricing), so if you're remotely intrigued (and I know you are) let me tell you more about it!
Nail the interview (or the pitch, or the introduction)
"I was very reluctant to put my personality into my professional bio." Listen to how I became my first client, and get some pretty awesome advice from myself and Alan Stein (a master at helping people land the job and make WAY more moolah!) on his Steer Your Career with Kadima (SYCK) podcast. This might be one of the best podcast interviews I've ever done (kudos to great questions and conversation from Alan) and truly an episode you can't afford (see what I did there?) to miss.
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