It's Not About Me

When my brother got married back in 2022 I stressed over how I would look. I spent way too much time obsessing over what to wear, whether to cut my hair, and how much weight I could lose before the big day.

When the photos finally came, there were a few that were less than flattering. My least favorite was a photo of the dance floor. One strap of my dress had fallen to my shoulder, but I was dancing with an octogenarian who had each of my hands firmly grasped in her own. There was nothing I could do to rectify the situation.

Of course, my brother pointed it out when we were flipping through the photos. I told him he could delete that one, and he said, “Oh, no, it’s staying.”

I was able to easily shrug it off by telling myself one simple fact: It’s not about me.

I found that thought to be so freeing.

It was not my big day.

I had invested nothing – other than the cost of my dress, which I still have, and have worn since – into that day.

Who cared if I looked silly?

I wasn’t the one who mattered.

That meant no one cared how I looked, and realizing that took all the pressure off.

Your Business Is Not About You

That reminder has helped me get through so many situations with ease and aplomb.

It has also helped me in my business, and especially in my marketing.

As an introvert, I retreat at the mere thought of reaching out to leads and prospects, but guess what? You can’t stay in business by sitting around waiting for people to give you money.

So, I remind myself that it’s not about me.

If they need a service I can provide, why wouldn’t I reach out to let them know I’m here to help?

Someone deciding to hire me is not about me: it’s about them and what their business needs right now.

Someone deciding not to hire me is not about me: it’s about them and what their business needs right now.

Reminding myself of this simple fact makes it so much easier for me to do the things I’m supposed to do when it comes to sales and outreach.

Your Marketing Is Not About You

Recognizing that my business is almost never about me also makes marketing my business easier, and not just because I’m an introvert who would rather sit at home writing a blog post than pick up my phone and actually call someone.

I hear a lot of people talk about all the reasons they’re not writing blog posts to promote their business, improve their SEO, and position themselves as an expert in their industry.

A lot of those excuses boil down to one common, underlying cause: they’re making it about them, instead of about their audience.

We tend to freeze up when asked to talk about ourselves. It’s the reason so many people hate writing their own bios. Our default tends to be to assume our life is boring and/or no one cares what we have to say.

But if someone asks you how you would solve a problem that’s right in your wheelhouse, you know you would light up and talk for hours about all the options and the different approaches you might take.

That’s because you’re an expert in your industry and the knowledge and experience you have is valuable.

Don’t “We” All Over Your Website

There’s a common saying in marketing: “Don’t ‘we’ all over your website.”

It refers to the fact that people tend to default to talking about themselves on their website.

“We do this.”

“We do that.”

“We have this record.”

No one cares.

How do your services help your clients survive and/or thrive?

That’s the question everything on your website needs to answer.

A lot of people call it the “What’s in it for me?” question.

I refer to it as the “So what?” question.

You’ve worked with high-level brands.

So what?

You graduated from a prestigious university.

So what?

You’ve been in business for X years.

So what?

None of those statements answer the question every website visitor is asking: What’s in it for me? How can you make my life better?

So, the next time you go to create content for your website, remember the golden rule of marketing: Keep your ideal client front and center in everything you do.

From deciding the platforms you’re going to be active on, to the types of content you create, to the topics you cover, everything needs to revolve around your ideal client and what you can do for them.

It’s not about you.