In my last post, I introduced the concept of the “Persuasive Persona.” This is the version of you that you’ll share with your Ideal Clients through your marketing copy to attract them into your business.
In my previous post, I talked about how educational consultants need to handle the tricky balancing act between…
- Sharing credibility factors that demonstrate your expertise and establish authority in your field and
- Demonstrating understanding of and empathy for the challenges your Ideal Clients face
For someone to be convinced that YOU are the answer to their prayers, you need to find that perfect balance of these two factors.
Today, we need to have another (somewhat related) “sweet spot” discussion.
But in this case, we’re talking about finding the perfect balance between professional vs personal.
A lot of educational consultants ask me about this. It’s usually some version of…
“Should I include any details about my personal life in my website copy and in my emails?”
And I can tell from the way they ask the question that they’re reeeeeally reluctant to do so.
And that’s a mistake.
Listen, of course you’re going to put forth a professional image for your business. There are plenty of content marketing benefits to be gained from doing so.
You’ll talk about your expertise, your offers, how you can help your Ideal Clients solve their problems–plus, all of those credibility factors we talked about in my previous post.
By all means, do that. Do ALL of that.
But also file this old marketing truism away in your mind…
“People buy from people.”
Sure, when someone hires you to speak in their school district or at their event or hires you to consult in their school district, it’s a business transaction. They’ll write a check to your business and you’ll deposit that check in your business account.
But really, they’re hiring YOU, the person.
I assure you, having been on both sides of these transactions (hiring speakers and being hired), it’s how well the two people hit it off in their first interactions and their discussions about the job that usually determines who gets hired.
And that’s why I (and pretty much every marketing guru I know) recommend that you include details about your personal life in your marketing copy and emails.
Now, you’re not going to share everything about your personal life. Oversharing just makes your prospect feel awkward and uncomfortable.
But sharing select details about your life shows that you’re a real human, not just some stuffed suit looking to make a buck.
It also makes you relatable, which is a key to getting people to hire you.
So, what kind of personal stuff should you share?
You could share about your family, if you feel comfortable with it and your family members don’t mind.
You could share about your pets (the people on my email list have met my golden doodle, Scully).
You could share about hobbies (like my perennial gardening hobby) or passions (like me being a rabid University of Missouri sports fan).
Really, anything that you’re interested in is fair game, as long as it’s legal, ethical, and non-icky (yes, that’s a technical term).
Why does it attract people when you share about these kinds of things?
Well, other people have families, too. And pets. And hobbies. And passions.
They may not be exactly like yours, but they’ll likely be similar enough to your Ideal Clients’ families/pets/hobbies/passions that they’ll be able to relate to the personal details you’re sharing.
And relatability sells.
And to repeat myself, people buy from people.
So, absolutely, be professional.
But also be a person, not a stuffed suit. Be relatable. I guarantee, you’ll attract more business that way.
So, if you’re up for auditing your business on this topic, go through your website, your recent emails, and all other marketing copy you have and identify every place where you’re presenting yourself as a professional and every place where you’re showing your personal side.
Is there a nice balance there? If not, think about what you can do to find that sweet spot between the two.
In my next post, I’ll talk about why it’s so important to share some of your character flaws with your audience. Believe it or not, admitting that you’re not perfect is one of the best ways to attract people to your business. We’ll look at how that works next week.
See you then.
To Your Success,
Willy
P.S.–If you have questions or concerns about sharing personal details with your audience, send those my way.
I’ll take a look at what you’re considering sharing and give you my take on whether it would be appropriate or if it would be a case of oversharing. Sometimes getting an outside opinion on these things can be valuable.
You can hit me up at willy@edconsultantmarketing.com or edconsultantmarketing@gmail.com, whichever you prefer.
I look forward to hearing from you.
