In business, we wear many hats. A business owner’s life is a juggling act and what we are juggling is many different kinds of hats! Which brings to mind Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat classic which my Dad read me many times (when I was young) all about a cat who left madness and mayhem in its wake!
I’ve run my own business for almost 3 years and whilst I love doing my raison d’être, which is brand storytelling and content marketing for clients, especially technology companies, in reality, I am a hat juggler extraordinaire!
- On Mondays, I am an administrator, book-keeper and content marketing planner and business developer-cum-erstwhile-saleswoman.
- On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I devote my days to crafting colourful, content marketing for often technical, fact-based clients. They know their onions but need some spicy content which cuts the mustard with the clients they need to reach.
- On Thursdays, I’m a networker by day and a content detective by night, sleuthing out fresh content ideas to fill my content marketing and social media sandwich, for my hungry audience, in bite-sized chunks.
- On Fridays I am writing my own content as well as doing admin, juggling a bit more client work and planning again for the week ahead.
Oh yes. Well, that’s the plan. But in reality, I can be seen wearing every single hat at once! Which is not good for a clear brand identity or clarity about where I am heading (pardon the pun!). So here are some tips for focusing on wearing only one hat – a consistent, cohesive, unique, hard-hitting and hardworking as well as emotionally engaging business story!
1. Write yourself a core business story.
Like Dr. Seuss’s mad Cat in the Hat, the business world is a frantic, frenzied place! It’s difficult to keep pace. But by writing your story and keeping it in the back pocket, you have yourself collateral you can adapt for practically anything! It’s far less stressful, too as you don’t have to keep rewriting it. Once you know your ‘why I get up in the morning to do what I love to do’ story, you can place it at the heart of everything. Every single piece of content you write, say or act out you can re-purpose to your heart’s content to make your audience’s hearts sing.
How do you do that? Well, you can map out your business’s journey taking into account the highs and lows. Where it’s been and where you plan to go.
Then you will see in the dips and chasms, there were wow moments and learning. On the peaks and summits, there will be vision and purpose. Marry the two together, with a huge helping of heart and soul, then you have a story which makes a difference to your super-engaged audience! For a little bit of help on finding your ‘why’, then watch Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle video and read his fascinating book ‘Start With Why’. How great leaders take action
2. Give your business story a personality
Let’s get straight to the point. There is absolutely no-one in this world like you and your people. As Dr. Seuss famously said “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” Who can argue with that?
In your business, you have people wearing many hats. They’ll likely have diverse skills which make up your brilliant organisation. Hidden treasure which needs to be put on view to the world.
You and your people will have a common purpose and values. Not just to make money but to make a difference to the world, perhaps with honesty, integrity, kindness and courage.
Tease out those differences and commonalities which will help you answer the important question ‘Why am I here and what do I love best about what my business brings to the world and why should my customers feel the same way?’
If you can answer that question, then you will give a human face to your company name and make your audience feel the same. You will build trust with people who genuinely love what you do and want you to help them solve the kind of problems only you know how to solve too.
3. Whatever hat you are wearing, make sure today’s hat is regular content marketing!
Yes, we are all busy juggling many, many hats. But life will invariably be a lot more complex if you don’t have a consistent core story running through all of your blogs, social media posts, webinars, whitepapers, web content, case studies and any other content you use to speak to your audiences. You will have to write it again and again.
So, take it out of the back pocket, work on it and weave it through everything you write, say and do. Wear it like a hat! Create a calendar and content marketing plan to keep you on track. Define your goal, conduct persona research, run a content audit, use a content management system, even if, in its simplest form, it is an excel spreadsheet. Here you can find Free editorial calendar templates to get you started.
Brainstorm the types of content which will resonate with your favourite audiences, so you know what they will find useful and when and where they are likely to interact with it.
If you are stuck on themes for content, then this handy Blog ideas generator will get you started on some useful topics to help you create blogs, which you can also apply to other forms of content too.
So, whether it’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or the week-end, capture all of that into a regular content marketing plan which you schedule to edit on an allotted day. Then it’s more likely to happen and your content marketing is likely to be consistent!
One final word about hats!
This is also a note to myself. Be lenient on yourself. Wearing too many hats can be hot, hard work as well as a juggling act!
Keep your business life simple, with a single story, personality and strategy, completely dedicated to your business, which works for you. Whatever anyone else tells you, if the cap fits, then wear it, because it’s yours.
So don’t deviate from your core business story.
Remember to be consistent, be true, be you!
If you feel your business story and marketing content have become more than a juggling act and you could do with a helping hand, then let’s have a chat on +44 (0) 7703545117 or katherine@copythatsells.co.uk. I’d love to talk to you!
Copyright © 2019 Copy That Sells
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