Stand out or sit down: selling yourself, not just your service

Nine out of ten small business owners blend into the wallpaper with their “why you need [insert service] in your life” spiel in their marketing, and this is why they're not making as much money as they want to make.

Selling your industry is akin to preaching veganism at a steakhouse. You’re not going to get anywhere. And it gets very boring after 0.2 seconds.

Your job is not attempting to convert the unconverted or to convince the unconvincable.

🔥 Time to sell the sizzle - not the steak. 🔥

People already know they have a problem. They’re not scrolling through Instagram and Facebook looking for a sermon on the mount about the virtues of [insert your industry here].

Your ideal clients should already be sold on the 'what’.

They just need to know why YOU are the person to deliver that ‘what’.

And this begins with that old marketing chestnut: the know, like and trust factor.

My clients already know that they need a copywriter. My job is to show them that they need ME and not someone else. And that's because I sell ME. Not copywriting.

So, how do you sell yourself, rather than your industry?

🌶 Infuse your copy with your personality. If you're super deadpan and a little irreverent, lean into it. Make your content so uniquely you that anyone copying it would feel ickier than stepping into a puddle with socks on.

🌶 Do a deep dive into your brand voice. If it was a cocktail, would it be one part charm and two parts cheekiness with a dash of “oh no she didn’t!”, or would it be a meticulous blend of empathy and motivation with a drop of straight-to-the-point real talk?

🌶 If you've got quirks, own them. Borderline obsessed with cat memes? Enjoy a little too much tequila at the weekend? 🍸 Your audience should feel like they know you. Let them into some private jokes. Get them to really feel like you’re their mate.

Your industry is just the backdrop. YOU are the show. And it's high time you played to a full house.

Your first step is downloading my newest eBook, Find Your Brand Voice i.e. your blueprint to becoming utterly unignorable.

Most business owners won't bother doing this work because it's not 'sexy' enough - they just wanna swerve it and move onto the 'fun' stuff - but then they come to me months later asking why people scroll past their posts, ignore their offers, and don't open their emails.

You can probably guess my answer. 😉

• But tell me, what's sexier than knowing that every time you post, people slide into your DMs asking to pay you?
• What's sexier than your emails being opened by ~60%+ of your list, and converting into sales too?
• And what's sexier than being THE ONE AND ONLY CHOICE in your industry, rather than just another option?

Not much, in my opinion.