Hello. Erm…
Self promotion struggles and the nudge you need to write ‘about me’
- Tamsin Windsor
Selling is what I do. I coax out the consumer benefit, turn life experience into a tangible product and shout from the rooftops about the joy of soft cheese. But when it comes to writing about myself, a subject I know more about than anyone else, I find myself hesitating.
I know I’m not the only one to find self-promotion difficult. The majority of my small business clients get in touch because they want to tell the world how great they are, but they just can’t find the words to explain why you should believe them.
So I approached my self-promotion problem with strategy, experience, and a well-structured list, and wrote some advice for us all to follow.
Everyone has something to say
Every service or product has a niche. And more often than not, that niche is you. Your backstory, your idea, or even a personal trait that you’ve completely taken for granted. The way your business began and the reason you chose to do what you do, might be the very thing that sets you apart from your competition.
The ‘About Me’ page, is likely to be the most visited page on your website, and the page people go to first before they explore your products or services. People want to know who they are buying from and meeting the person behind the brand goes a long way to building trust.
Write like nobody’s watching
The biggest barrier to self-promotion is fear. Mine is a self-imposed writer’s block built out of ‘don’t look at me’ awkwardness carefully honed during years of northern comprehensive school. I spent such a long time trying not to stand out, it’s still difficult to put myself on a pedestal.
The truth is, we have far more champions and far fewer doubters than we think. And the more we put ourselves out there, the more we realise this.
Be kind to yourself
The self-doubt spiral. You write a draft, you read it through, you pick apart the words, you question the grammar and before long, you’ve unravelled every painstakingly typed line.
As strange as it sounds, try taking this very important part of your business, a little less seriously. Consider the people you follow on Instagram; the brands you love, the accounts you throw your likes at. The more genuine, passionate and raw they are, the more they capture your attention and gain your respect. Speak from the heart and f*ck the grammar police.
Being you, is more than enough.
This year, I wrote the website copy for Chocolate Raspberry, an incredibly talented baker. Founder, Sophie, told me wryly that she didn’t have a sweet background story to share, in her words, ‘I never baked with my nan as a child!’. She was simply a lover of baking that had gotten very, very good at it.
And that was absolutely fine. In fact, we used this initial concern to inject Sophie’s funny, self-deprecating and straightforward personality into her ‘About Me’ write -up. There’s no need for cliches. Just being you, is more than enough.
Just the right amount.
The trick to writing an ‘About Me’ page is to include just enough information to answer the questions of your visitors and just enough personality to give a sense of who you are. But not too much information or personality that you bore or overwhelm your readers.
If you choose to write your own ‘About Me’ page, focus on the who, the what and the why. And inject these with little touches of your personality - as though you are speaking to a good friend but with a little less swearing.
If you choose to work with a copywriter, then ignore the above. Include every tiny detail, no matter how self-indulgent! And give your writer the pleasure of helping you to carve out your story.