Go From Polite Nods to “Everybody Needs You”

Put Your Core Message To The Test. Tweak It. Repeat.

Discover how your message is actually being received in real-world situations, such as at networking events and dinner parties. Pay attention to questions asked by listeners and to how others talk about you. Are you getting across what you think you are? Are there gaps you could fill or tweaks to make that would get a better understanding and enthusiasm up front?

I did this myself at a weekend networking event and went from polite nods to “Everybody needs you.”

First, What Is Core Messaging?

How you explain what you do and how you stand out among the competition. It might manifest as a tagline and expand into the opening line of your website or LinkedIn bio or a 30-second infomercial for networking. To be successful, it has to communicate simply and clearly, at minimum, intrigue your audience, but ideally make them say “I” or “So-and-so needs your services.” Then, it is used consistently.

Are You Conveying What You Intend To?

The way you decide how to word it may not communicate what hope it does as clearly as you think because you take for granted what you know. Why the listener should consider you: the cat’s meow may not be as exciting as you think. Find out with field research. Listen and consider the questions that are commonly asked when saying what you do, and even more so, how people react to the part you hope makes you stand out. It has to be brief, unless you are writing it as a blog post where you can write about services ad infinitum.

I Thought I Had It Covered…

I had a fantastic opportunity to do this research at the first networking event with a new group, and one of my first chances since I switched my focus to writing. Here, I thought I was all clear on what I was saying because I knew what I wanted to sell, which was writing articles and blog posts for content marketing, websites, case studies, etc. The questions attendees asked showed me where I needed to elaborate or clarify. I tweaked for the next person I met, then tweaked some more. In the end, I got positive reactions like “Everybody needs you.” I came back and wrote a new blurb about myself and saw how I could apply it to the website and LinkedIn.

How It Unfolded For Me

Clarifying What I do

I went in saying I write blog posts, articles and websites, thinking I was being very specific about what work I want. One of the first women I said this to asked, ‘Isn't that a copywriter?’ I explained that ‘copywriting is a broad discipline, and this is my focus.’ From that question, I realized that copywriting is a known job, and I should say, “I write copy for content marketing, including…” to use familiar words while stating my focus.

Specifying Who I Write For and Where Inspiration Comes From

Other questions included what topics I write about and whether it’s for a particular publication. I quickly realized they didn't understand that I ghostwrite content for professionals and entrepreneurs to use in their marketing tactics, such as websites, social media feeds, and other opportunities for publication as self-promotion. This gave me a chance to explain that the topics and information in the articles are generated from my client’s experience, insights or special way of doing things. I'm not making it up or starting from scratch; I’m not an expert in the client’s field, but I'm an expert in writing.

What Makes Them Lean In

I also shared that since I started my entrepreneurial journey over 20 years ago, I’ve been fascinated by other people’s businesses and love hearing about their experiences and stories. My enthusiasm has always been well-received. I can naturally use it to say the advantage to me and my clients is it inspires me to find things to write about when they can’t even think of a topic. Chances are their audience will also enjoy or benefit from what excites me. I am closer to the client’s target audience than they are, so I can see better what the audience may need to know or would be interested in. Plus, it’s much easier for someone else to sing their praises for them. I saw the lean-in and realized I needed to talk about that more.

A Chance To Talk Strengths

One woman asked if I had expertise in any particular field, which allowed me to reiterate that the information comes from the client. What my lack of expertise in any client’s field brings to the table is that I’m able to craft their information or ideas into something understandable and resonant with the audience. It matters if I get it, not them or their colleagues. For example, a professional may begin too far into the topic because they take for granted what they know without realizing what the reader is missing. I often add the context and background that I’d need to understand to introduce the post.

Why Don’t People Do It Themselves?

This came up. Writing is not like accounting. Without commenting on anyone’s ability to write well, I added that most of my clients don't have the time to write or even feed it into ChatGBT. They usually don’t have any idea where to begin or what people may want to hear from them in order to create prompts for ChatGBT. More than once, I got the reaction: everybody needs you. One of them bodily dragged me over to someone to introduce me right away.