Well Said Wednesday: Business Writing Behind the Scenes. Pun Intended.
Metaphorically, we want the content we write for our business to be as beautiful as this from the first tap of the keyboard. (Photo credit me at the summit of a hike the other day near Marlborough, NZ.)
Here’s the thing that trips up more entrepreneurs than anything else when they talk to me about writing for their business. They want their content to be exquisite (a nice goal, if a little lofty).
And they think that it can be exquisite instantly.
So here’s what I have to tell them:
Pick one. You can have instant content or exquisite content. Not both.
It’s like vacation photos. I was able to (somewhat) capture the beautiful view above, but it took more than whipping out my cell phone for a moment.
First, I had to climb up a steep track to this lookout point — about 1950 km (about a mile) while gaining 386 meters (about 1200 feet) in elevation.
It was a well-maintained trail with some steep bits and some slick bits due to recent rains. And, still, it didn’t look like this Insta-worthy shot of my muddy hiking clothes hanging outside my cabin door.
And we think this is the work. It is not.
That’s the glamour shot of doing the work to create great influential, attention-grabbing content. The reality is somewhat grittier.
Once I climbed up and got my shot (after multiple takes), I had to climb down again. By now a steady mist was falling, making the steep, rocky parts slippery.
Solid footing was harder to come by and there were parts of the trail that I did not know how to navigate. The possibility of slipping, sliding, falling, breaking my leg or my skull (because my thoughts tend to spiral like that) seemed very,very real.
Those thoughts stopped me cold. As in, I froze right there on the trail.
Have you ever froze when writing? Thought “I can’t go there?” or “this is too much work?”
Have you ever walked away from the keyboard?
Because I could not live the rest of my life just standing there in the middle of the trail, I needed another plan.
The only way to done is through.
If I wanted to get back to my cushy room and a glass of pinot noir, I had to find a way. So I dropped to my a*s and crab crawled my way down the steepest parts of the trail.
It wasn’t pretty, but it go the job done.
Here’s what the real work looks like.
Not to worry. That’s just mud. Writing takes effort and it can be daunting to put yourself out there, but not to the level of soiling your pants that way.
The same approach applies to creating authentic content.
The only way to exquisite copy is through.
You keep yourself at the keyboard a little longer.
You give yourself permission to do sh*tty first drafts, second drafts, third drafts.
You sweat over the message and give yourself permission to express your authentic voice.
Sometimes it’s messy. But you don’t have to do it alone. If you’d like to know more about how I teach entrepreneurs to own their voice and craft their message, let’s chat.
I coach people both 1-1 and through group workshops, like the upcoming Build Your Content Plan Workshops where you learn to bring a strategic approach to mapping out your outreach.
And I promise not to make you hike.