Today’s transmission is about a powerful brand-building strategy that only a few creators, teachers, coaches, and consultants are doing. I’ve also got some exercises to help you map this strategy out for yourself.
Before we get into that: have you noticed how most solopreneurs do social media content?
Lots of quotes and snappy one-liners.
Lots of quick, bite-sized tips.
Lots of inspirational/motivational stuff.
All of it forgotten within seconds of scrolling.
Now, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this. It can get your people into you, and build a perception over time. The question is: how into you, and is the perception moving the needle for you?
Whatever your content looks like, it’s worth asking yourself:
Are you meeting your people at their pain, need, desire, curiosity?
Are you lighting them up inside, or just evoking a nod?
Are you drawing them into your world, or just waving at them from the gate?
A great metric for this is to look at the results you’re getting:
If you’re just getting likes and no comments, or if you’re mainly getting what I call “head nod” comments—various flavors of So true! or Agreed! or emoji combos—but struggling to grow a targeted audience, build your mailing list, or generate leads…
…Then it’s likely because you’re trying to TELL them you have something valuable for them, but you’re not SHOWING the value of it—or the value of You and Your Way. There’s little or nothing in it for them, and they’re simply reflecting that back to you.
When you are showing your value, something different happens:
Folks get more enthusiastic about your content. They tell you it shifted something for them, gave them a useful insight, or inspired them to take action. They share your posts and mention you to their followers. Your content draws them into your newsletter, website, and DMs.
There are 3 awesome ways to show your value and become irresistible to your people:
1: Be a living example of the process + outcome you’re selling.
2: Show your process in action, giving people the experience of it.
3: Give useful, game-changing value freely (and abundantly).
Now for that exercise I promised you earlier, to help you map out some specific ways of doing these.
Ready to dive in?
Becoming The One
Let’s start with a mindshift:
Stop looking at your content as a way to get engagement, and start looking at it as a way to bring your people into your world. Instead of posting for likes, post to build a reputation as someone who has solutions to your peoples’ problems.
Now, grab a pen and paper, and give this a go:
Part 1: Take inventory of the goods.
What do you have to offer your people by way of knowledge, ideas, insights, ways of thinking, and ways of being? What do you know—and what can you do—that could be valuable to them? What can you teach them that reveals a way forward, simplifies something complex, or makes something hard easier?
Part 2: Take note of your peoples’ most common challenges and struggles.
What do you see come up frequently in the work you do? What’s keeping your people in a state of frustration, confusion, and pain? What’s a common trap they fall into, that you can help them avoid? What’s keeping them from doing what they already know they need to do—and what strategies, techniques, and processes do you employ to help them navigate this?
Part 3: Model the process, the way, and the results.
That thing you help others with: Build it in public. Show the work in progress. Show your process in action. Document your own journey, in real time, into the outcome you help your people achieve. Share your challenges, struggles, and victories. If you’ve already made significant progress, be a relatable model of it to get your people inspired, wanting it for themselves, and seeing you as The One to help them get it.
Part 4: Give meaningful value freely.
Spill the T. Share the sauce. Show your people how to win.
“How much is TOO much to give away?” you might be asking.
I say: don’t worry about that. Give so much away that folks can’t believe you’re not charging them money for it. Give some of it away in your social content, and some in your newsletter, and some in your website’s free resources. Sell the 1:1, or the Done-For-You, or the in-depth course, or the premium resource collection.
Let your people figure out whether the free knowledge is enough, or if they wanna work with you (or buy from you) to get the best possible results. If you prove your value through lots of useful free content, it will sell your paid services/products for you.
Part 5: Reflect on everyting you’ve written out, and brainstorm ways to actualize it via your content strategy.
Become obsessed with showing and being, not just telling.
Become so good at giving your people what they want and need that they can’t NOT want more from you.
A fantastic example of this is a copywriter I follow named Colin Theriot (Cult of Copy).
Colin doesn’t just give copy tips and talk about the benefits of writing great copy… he makes you want to become a God Tier copywriter like him.
His daily newsletter puts his goods on display. He writes skillfully, creatively, and persuasively. While he’s teaching you techniques and ideas to master copywriting, he’s also showing you what exceptional copywriting looks like.
And for those who dream of making a good living writing copy, he serves as an example. He doesn’t just tell you it’s possible, he shows you what it looks like. And he sells mentorships and digital products to teach you how to make it happen for you.
He doesn’t try to appeal to all copywriters, btw. He’s unapologetically himself in how he writes, markets, sells, and presents himself—which has earned him a loyal following. He’s built his business his way, with a healthy (if not openly rebellious) disregard for convention.
Building a business like this is topic for another day, though.
Back to you:
Think about how you can be a living example of your message, your work, and the results you help folks get. Think about how you can make your content not just nice to read, but truly valuable and trustworthy to your people.
Give them the experience of you.
Bring them into your world.
Show them—through you and with you—that what they want is possible.
And show them the way into it, every day.
Stay gold. I love you.
See ya next Wednesday.
