Month: November 2024

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Are you scared to put your personality into your content?

Images of me encouraging you to put your personality into your content

When you’re a one-person business, you might not think of yourself as having a brand identity, but you probably know that your personality matters. Your character and values affect how you work, sell, and treat people. If you’re scared to put your personality into your content, you risk blending into the background and losing out on the right customers.

Why does putting personality into your content matter? I’m glad you asked.

It builds trust

People need to trust you before they’ll hand over their money. Putting your face and voice into your marketing shows your audience you exist beyond a Facebook page or website, so they’re more likely to click a link to buy a product or send you a message to book an appointment.

It can also quell nerves about contacting someone they’ve never seen. Remember, you’re a real person (did anyone else hear that in Hagrid’s voice?), so let your audience know.

It helps people get to know you

Your content shows your audience who you are and what you stand for. You might offer a similar product or service to lots of other businesses, but when you put your personality into your content, you show people the difference. In the face of many options, people often choose your business because you seem like their kind of person. You might share the same values or have a similar sense of humour, so don’t be afraid to share it.

It helps you stand out

Writing with personality can help you stand out, but images do too. I hate having my photo taken, so using images with my face on them in my marketing is challenging, but it is worth it. If your followers are scrolling their social media feeds, they’re much more likely to stop if they see a photo of someone they know and like than another stock image.

You can filter people out

You don’t have time to spare on calls with people who’ll never work with you, so putting your personality in your content helps you pre-qualify people. If you’re not for them, they can scroll on by. If they like what they see, that could lead to a call, a message or a new subscriber to your emails. The filtering process works in two ways.

Images

Looking at my photos, you won’t see a young, trendy fashionista, a beach babe or a sharp-suited city dweller. I look like someone’s mum, mainly because I am someone’s mum. You’ll see me with a cup of tea, walking in the woods or working at my laptop. If you visited the website for a corporate company or surfing brand, the images would be very different. Working with a good photographer can help you decide how you want to appear and give you photos that reflect that.

Words

The language you use in your marketing works alongside your images. Your words tell your readers what it would be like to have a conversation with you and whether they’d get what they need. Put simply, if you like how I write, you might like me. If you think I sound weird, maybe not. I can still adapt my style to suit your business, but how I write can help you understand whether I’m your kind of person and care about the same things as you.

If you’re scared to put your personality into your content, I can help. When you work with me, I’ll get to know you and your business and write content that sounds like the best version of you and that your audience will love. Email me to arrange a chat or book a Zoom call to find out more.

Alternatively, sign up for my mailing list here, and you could win a free copy makeover.

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Why the F* would I write a cookbook?

Why the F* would I write a cookbook?

I had this food photography idea pre-pandemic and had just ordered ‘the’ dining table (to photograph on) when lockdown hit; so, I don’t even have that as an excuse! Looking back, it seems quite a strange thing to do. I wasn’t a food photographer, food writer or a chef; I just loved food. I do recall I was very open to finding something creative that was for myself. Being a wedding, event and commercial photographer, I found very enjoyable, however where did I really fit into it? I was always aware my creative soul needed more, and I needed to find myself somewhere in my creative practice.

A significant part of my photography workflow was sharing my client images on social media. I love my own work and quite simply wanted to show it off. I would share funny stories about working with clients and took the writing of this very seriously. Over years and years, I was writing more and more as it was also a valuable part of my marketing. I approached a lot of work with good humour to make my posts a little more personal, engaging and fun to read. I always felt social media needed livening up a little.

The cookbook

When I started taking and sharing snaps of my food with my phone, I utilised my writing skills that I hadn’t really acknowledged I had. I saw it as a fun thing that I did, but the idea that I could be considered a ‘writer’ was a totally alien concept. I literally just grabbed by book and sat it next to me now to remind myself that I did actually write a book. My name is Matt, I wrote a cookbook, and I am a food writer. I spent a good while in the 4.5 years it took me to publish the book to own ‘food writer’, and annoyingly; I am still a little detached from it. Please don’t shoot the messenger, I am just conveying the tedious facts!

Over the course of this project, my approach became:

  1. Obsess over the recipe. This could be hours, days, months or years.
  2. Make a mental plan of action to ensure that the outcome was pleasing (I’d say I had a 90-95% success rate. The 5-10% miss days were not very pleasing).
  3. Cook the food.
  4. Set the scene to photograph usually on my dining table but could be anywhere. This mainly involved ceramics, boards, and vintage cutlery.
  5. Style the food.
  6. Obsessively photograph the food.
  7. Eat the food (which was always secondary, so often it blew my mind how incredible a cook I had become).
  8. Sit down comfortably and reflect on the whole mad and sweaty but joyous experience and tell the story with delicious words.
Matt with his gorgeous cookbook!

Getting the cookbook out there

The bringing together of the project to publish came with challenge after challenge. The design element I found utterly excruciating, but now is not the time to delve any further into that subject. If I am totally honest, I didn’t think I could pull it off. I genuinely wanted to see how deep in myself I was willing to dig. I sold the idea to myself (and subsequently the Kickstarter campaign) in the form of ‘is it worth following your dreams?’. Being a romantic at heart, I knew that I would NEVER say no to that question. If the answer is no, what is the point in being? I basically tricked myself into pulling the impossible out of a hat.

In the months before I launched my Kickstarter campaign, I was at the doctors with severe anxiety and as if by magic, ADHD landed hard on my lap. It totally blew my mind and explained a lot, but certainly didn’t put me off. I needed to get this book over the finish line no matter the cost. In my new neurodiverse world, this project had become a wild, yet nourishing hyperfocus. 

In hindsight, would I do this project again? One hundred percent I would! Would I recommend others doing such a thing? I’m not sure I would like that on my conscience to be honest.

Finally, I dare you to ask yourself: ‘Is it worth following your dreams?’

‘Where the F* is my Dining Table?’ – available at https://mattgloverphotography.co.uk/cookbook/

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Can you talk about sensitive subjects in your blog?

Can you talk about sensitive subjects in your blog? It looks as if I'm hiding from the idea!

How do you deal with sensitive subjects in your content? Do you ignore them, skirt around the edges or share everything? You might wonder whether your definition of a touchy subject is the same as other people’s and worry about upsetting someone if you get it wrong.

The thing is, talking about sensitive subjects can help you connect with your audience. There’s no easy answer, but here are a few reasons why you might be avoiding some subjects and how you can approach them.

Maintaining client confidentiality

Maintaining client confidentiality is vital to every business, especially if you have a legal duty or signed an NDA. Alternatively, you might just not have permission from the client.

Anonymised case studies and posts can be a great way to talk about your work unless there are giveaway details. I’ve even heard about confidentiality agreements so tight you can’t even mention what you had for lunch. In some cases, you could tell the story and leave the confidential bits out.

Embarrassment

You might be reluctant to share a story if you messed up and don’t want to tell anyone. That’s natural, but we’re all human and make mistakes. The important thing is to reflect on what you learned from the experience and share that with your audience.

Sharing something a bit embarrassing humanises you. You’re not an invincible robot; you’re just like them. Depending on your audience, it could also help them avoid making the same mistake.

You’re worried about upsetting people

Some businesses have upsetting subjects at their core because of the services and support they provide. For example, mentioning bereavement can be upsetting, but if you’re a grief counsellor, you’re trained to help.  People often put off writing a will because they don’t want to think about death, but your posts can educate people about why they need to act instead of ignoring something.

You can’t always predict what people will find upsetting, but knowing your audience and choosing the right words all help.

There are experiences you don’t want to share

That’s completely understandable. If an experience is still raw, you may not be ready to talk about it, which may never change. If you have a connection with your audience that helps you understand each other, it can help to share. You don’t have to share all the painful details if you don’t want to, but thinking about what you can talk about will establish that connection and can be incredibly helpful to everyone.

Don’t make jokes about sensitive subjects

This comes with a caveat. I have a friend in the medical profession who has told me about the dark sense of humour she and her colleagues share. It’s a way of releasing the pressure when you have people’s lives in your hands. They all get it, but a casual observer would be horrified. They make the kind of jokes you can only make when you’re sure of your audience. If you’re sharing something on a public platform and don’t know who will read it, tread carefully.

I can help you find the right balance in your marketing. When you work with me, I’ll get to know you and your business. I’ll suggest topic ideas if you need them, and we’ll spend half an hour a month (or longer if you prefer) chatting about your business and our latest topic. Then, I’ll write content that sounds like the best version of you and that your audience will love. Email me to arrange a chat, or use this link to book a Zoom call and find out more.

Alternatively, sign up for my mailing list here, and you could win a free copy makeover.