connecting with readers by sharing your story
purple abstract figure approaching a table where four abstract figures, one teal, two black, and one grey, sit. a cloud with “hi! my name is” is above the purple figure. a cloud with “welcome” is above one of the black figures.
Ever struggled with what to say when asked: “Tell me about your business”? Or "What makes your business unique?"
You can rattle off a chronological history of what your business has accomplished, who your customers are, and so on.
Snooze.
No one gets excited about laundry lists. Even if they are, you’ll still lose them as you talk too fast or worse in a monotone. The end result is your audience's eyes glazing over and their heads nodding politely. Your opportunity to make a lasting positive impression is lost.
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT YOUR AUDIENCE TO TAKE AWAY.
do you want to connect?
Think about revealing, entertaining, or inspiring your ideal customer. You want a conversational tone. One that has your ideal customer imagining they’re sitting across from you at the kitchen table sharing a mug of coffee or cup of tea.
do you want to educate, motivate, or convince your ideal customer?
Consider where they are on their decision journey: just learning about you (awareness), comparing your product or services to your competitors (consideration), or purchasing. You want to come across as credible. You want to reassure your ideal customer that choosing you is the best investment for their business.
are you looking for collaborators?
Here you’re looking for people to take action. Your story should inspire, motivate, convince, involve, or engage. Your story should show you get them, that you have a unique skill set they need. Convince them by pairing with you they’ll be able to take their business to the next level.
INCLUDE ONE CALL TO ACTION (CTA).
Whether stated or not, there's always a reason you're writing a blog post. And, that reason isn't always to sell something or get someone to sign up for your email list.
Your call to action can be as simple as inspiring your audience to share a photo of how they've set up their workspace or a photo of how they annotate/decorate their planner.
Whatever you want your audience to do, make sure you focus directly or indirectly on just one desired action. (You should be posting with enough frequency that you can cover other target audiences and call to actions in other posts. Resist the urge to pack everything in to one post!)
LET YOUR PERSONALITY SHOW.
Once you know what you want people to do after they read your story, simply be you.
stumped for ideas?
To get your creative juices flowing, here are ten prompts that you can use to introduce yourself to your ideal customer.
The greatest challenge I've ever faced is ...
The accomplishment I'm most proud of is ...
I started my business because ...
The most significant mentor in my life is ...
I struggled with {common challenge faced in your industry} until I did ...
I can't believe I've never done ...
Three things I've learned after {insert number of years} in the {insert your industry} industry
What I've learned from {insert name of prominent person} while working in the {insert your industry} industry
What I've seen over {insert number of years} in the {insert your industry} industry
Then and now: {10 years ago | 5 years ago and so on versus today} in the {insert your industry} industry
share your email address to download 79 about me post ideas.
Need more ideas? What about 69 more? Sign up for Letters for Entrepreneurs and download 79 creative #FridayIntroduction post ideas. Prompts are organized on a 3x3 grid so that you can choose where you want to meet your customers--the awareness stage of their journey, the consideration stage, or the purchase stage.
Are you a subscriber to our Letters to Entrepreneurs newsletter? Every month you’d receive worksheets for producing content that moves your customers along their decision journey and for measuring your results. Subscribe today and don’t miss out on insights like these!