What if No One Likes It? Make Your Content More than Likable
What If No One Likes It?
I see many coaches, healers or creative entrepreneurs struggle with this question while creating content for marketing their businesses.
On a good day, you might be able to put that question into perspective. You can logically work your way out of it. Hey, someone is going to like it, you tell yourself. Don’t be crazy! My husband always likes my posts! And my mom too! So, someone will like it. Of course, SOMEone will.
Or you might be able to mindset motivate yourself to post: Just do it already! you say. You are a BAD-*ss entrepreneur. You’ve GOT this.
On other days, though, this question, can stop you before you even get anything written. It can cause you stare at the blank page or stumble over your words, backspacing and rewriting until you grind to a halt.
Or if you do manage to get something written, the question might stop you from telling anyone about it, making you hesitate to promote your work. Or more insidiously, it could keep you playing small. Maybe you only send it to a well-known audience or post it a safe space.
I’ll post it on my business Facebook page, who knows who really sees that stuff anyway. But no way am I posting it on my personal page!
Focusing on the Wrong Thing
The truth is you can’t control whether someone (or anyone, for that matter) likes your piece or not. There’s no way to know for certain, of course there isn’t, and deep down, I know you know that. Depending on the day, sharing your article in the face of that uncomfortable uncertainty might feel like a small risk - something you can easily step beyond - or it might feel large, amorphous, looming.
To complicate things, the minute you start writing with that intention – the idea that people should like your article – you almost automatically lose your way. Your voice and your message get hidden and become secondary to pleasing your audience.
A Better Question to Ask
Coaches, healers or creative entrepreneurs focused on whether their content is likable places the emphasis on the wrong thing. It’s a little bit like seeing someone in the water drowning and wondering if that person will like the style of the life preserver they have.
Instead of asking “Will anyone like my article?” a better question to ask is “Will anyone be helped by this?”
How can you know if anyone will be helped by your article? Here are three key questions to ask.
Do my clients need to hear this message?
Take a look at what you’ve written and determine the central message. Listening deeply to your heart, ask if this is something your ideal clients need to hear. Is the message related to something they’re struggling with or having to deal with? Does it point to something they think they need? If it is, wonderful.
If you’re not sure, take a step back. If the message isn’t a concern for your ideal clients, maybe it’s a piece you wanted to write, one focused on something you’ve been up to or are interested in. For example your 2020 vision boarding process, or your latest personal learning.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t share about what you’re doing or what you’re learning about for example, but those stories, unless they’re in service to a larger message, are less likely to resonate with your audience.
Am I talking to them or at them?
When looking at your article, read it through to make sure you’ve captured what your ideal clients are struggling with with compassion. In your copy, do you show empathy for what they might be going through? Do you demonstrate that you understand their situation? Are you addressing the copy to them directly?
If your article offers solutions without creating enough empathy, you miss an opportunity to forge a deeper connection with your audience.
Do I have something to say in this article that will help them?
Finally, review what you’ve written and assess: Is there some small, practical tip, reframing or guidance that you offer? If you want to help your ideal clients move forward in their own growth and come to trust you as someone who can help them do it, then it’s important your content offers some sort of help.
Of course, your content isn’t a substitution for working with you, but if it’s too esoteric, or too theoretical, it might be harder for your ideal clients to see value in the piece. And you miss an opportunity to be seen as a valuable resource, someone that can help solve the kinds of problems they routinely deal with.
If you find yourself worrying about if people will like your article (or your podcast, your post, etc.) it’s worth taking a step back and reframing your question. Looking at whether your article helps your ideal clients lets you focus on something you can control. Making sure your message is something that they need to hear, saying it with empathy and offering specifics to help ensures your content will be much more than likable. It’ll be valued by the people who need it most.
And that’s an idea I hope you’ll like.
Photo by Sidney Pearce on Unsplash
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash