| If you cornered me on a dark street, pulled out a knife, and demanded that I reveal to you the most powerful secret to marketing that I know, I’d go with…
GULP…
“Tell your story and be authentic. Now get that thing out of my face.”
Huh?
“Tell your story and be authentic” is hardly a secret. I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s a line that influencers, gurus, and magazines like Forbes trot out all the time. I suspect it’s just something they say to seem wise and up-to-speed with current marketing trends. It’s an easy thing to say, too.
So why am I still picking it as my answer to your (very dramatically) posed question?
Because done right…
It is the most powerful thing you’ll do for your business.
Influencers, gurus, and Forbes are right. Kind of.
Regardless of what you do - information products, services, Amazon, local consulting, or whatnot - a story well told will make you unforgettable, let you build a tribe of loyal customers, and profit hand over fist… while remaining a relatable human being to your audience.
But…
There’s a reason we’re not drowning in amazing storytelling by brands, businesses, and individuals.
It’s insanely hard to tell your story, to be completely out in the open about your life, be vulnerable and authentic while still being able to ignore the haters.
For one, there’s impostor syndrome.
It’s the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, not because of your talent, qualifications, or hard work.
It’s the incessant feeling that you don’t belong. For example, for some reason, your boss just hasn’t figured out that you’re a fraud and it’s just due to a lucky set of circumstances you were able to get your job and keep it.
So when it comes to telling your story, it feels like… why bother?
Meaning, who cares about your story if you’re a fraud?
Well, the good news is almost everyone feels that way. According to the International Journal of Behavioral Science, about 70% of people are suffering from impostor syndrome.
What’s even worse is that impostor syndrome has many faces, and because of that, it can be hard to recognize it most of the time.
Perfectionism, for example, is where you set extremely high expectations for yourself. Even if you meet 99% of your goals, impostor syndrome will tell you that you’re still a failure.
Or it may leave you feeling that you need to be an expert - meaning, before you start a project, you need to collect every piece of information and obtain every possible certification, and so on.
Another thing that plagues even the most talented people is when they suddenly have to struggle or work hard on something. What happens you might think that because it is easy for you to play the piano, for example, it should be just as easy to pick up Java programming.
There are many more examples. But the main thing, however, is that these thoughts stop you from sharing your story, or even if you somehow force yourself to do it, your story comes out stifled… unnatural… and completely inauthentic.
Next, there’s the close cousin of impostor syndrome…
The thought that you’re just not enough.
That little voice inside your head says: “There are people who have it way worse than I do, so why should they care?” Or the complete opposite: “Who am I to tell my story, when there are people who are so much more successful than I am?”
There could be a bunch of reasons for that. Perhaps it’s some of your hidden core beliefs running the show. Perhaps, your inner voice is judgmental, or people around you are overly critical.
Listen… I’m not a therapist. It could be a number of those things or none of them.
However, as far as you can share your story and do it the right way (and to be able to reap the benefits), here are the things that work.
First of all, understand that it’s perfectly fine to be mediocre.
Meaning, a lot of people think that something huge - bad or good - needs to happen to have a reason to share their story.
Nothing could be further from the truth. If you’re not miles ahead of your audience, and are perhaps only one step ahead on a certain journey (for example, if they haven’t figured out how to pick a product to sell on Amazon, but you have 3 successful products selling), that makes you much more relatable and your story will have a much bigger impact than if you were this God-like figure.
Give up your impostor syndrome.
The best way to beat it is to acknowledge the thoughts and put them in perspective. For example, if you’re worried that you can’t give people advice on writing copy because you haven’t written a single persuasive line… well, what about that time you persuaded your parents to buy you a bike? Tell that and it’ll be better than 90% of what the so-called copywriting experts are doing.
And remember that people who are lucky enough not to feel like impostors are no better, no more capable, and no more talented than you.
Second, find your voice, and don’t be ashamed of it.
People will appreciate you for who you are, and those that don’t, do you want to work with them anyway?
If you like to make corny puns, have a field day with it! (Too forced? I’m not great at puns, as you can see. But you might be). It's your playground, your rules.
The side benefit of that is that the more you do it, the more you’ll connect with your true inner voice and help you organize your own inner story about what happened to you throughout your life.
Third, realize that you’re building your tribe around your story.
This goes beyond “having an email list” or a “following” or whatnot. Once you connect with people over your story - that you tell unapologetically and sincerely - that bond goes deep.
I still follow some people from years back whose stories just resonated with me. You simply can’t buy this with money.
Once you have that…
It’s the most impenetrable edge you’ll ever have in any marketplace.
Oh, and the last thing…
Start small.
Share one thing with your existing following. A thing that you didn’t think you were going to share, ever. But share it anyway.
If I’m not on your list, make sure to ping me, too. I’d love to hear it!
To Your Success, Paul Hanson
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