You’ve got your passions? Check. Purpose? Check. Plenty of YOU and your personal story coming through? Check.
Your copy is all ready to go then, right? Not quite…
One of the reasons I love what I do is that I get to work with inspiring business owners. I find business owners tend to really own their WHY – their bigger picture purpose and passions.
For example, you might be clear that you want to work with small businesses and help them to change the world. You want to inspire young leaders, lead communities and connect like-minded people. You put a phenomenal amount of time, energy and love into your communications. You write beautiful words. You have fantastic ideas.
BUT when it comes to the detail – something is missing.
And often it’s the same thing that’s missing.
I call it the WHAT + HOW.
WHAT + HOW means the actual service you’re providing and how it works.
Let’s say your WHY is empowering women. Even if you write very eloquently on this topic and you draw your clients in, if this is all you talk about you’re not saying very much.
For example, say you introduce yourself at a networking event and announce that you ‘empower women entrepreneurs’. With this information alone, you could be anyone. You could be a designer, a hairstylist, a writer or a coach. And how do you actually do the empowering? Are you offering online programs, workshops, 1:1 sessions?
The problem with writing all about the WHY and skipping over the WHAT + HOW is that clients will be unclear about what you actually do.
WHAT + HOW = clarity. If people are clear what services you’re offering, how you work and who you serve, they can BUY what you’re selling.
Some examples of what + how might be:
Offering 1:1 skype coaching packages for senior female executives who work in large corporates
Selling comprehensive online programs to mums on health and wellbeing, or
Running half-day, face-to-face social media workshops for small business owners.
You might be offering one or all of the services above – it actually doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is that you don’t skip the details and confuse clients because you’re all caught up in your purpose and passions.
Now, I’m not saying the WHY isn’t important – it is. Simon Sinek’s work on Starting with why is popular and for good reason. Your clients, your readers, your tribe – they need to understand what motivates you and what your bigger purpose is. And for many online entrepreneurs and small business owners this is where you start – with your purpose.
But to make your website, your eBook or your blog really sing, you need the WHAT+HOW in your content.
Are you painting a picture of what working with you is actually like? What is it like to sit down with you for a coaching session, to talk website development or for advice around your finances? What will happen and how will it work? Are you teasing at this experience, or is it a vague and lofty concept?
The good news is, there’s a simple formula you can follow to make sure your content hits the right notes.
If you infuse your communications with your purpose and your passions (your WHY) as well as your personality, your life stories and experiences (YOU) and you step out the WHAT + HOW – you’re onto a winning formula.
WHY + YOU + WHAT + HOW = GREAT CONTENT AND COMMUNICATIONS.
You’ve got a lot to offer. And your purpose is worth sharing with the world.
So make sure your content tells the right story about what you do.
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