It's not you...it's me (but really...it's you)
It’s not you, it’s me.
For years we were told to focus on the customer.
And that meant You.
You in our subject lines.
You in our headlines.
You in between the lines in our content.
This worked for a while. Well, maybe not worked, but it was accepted. It was fine.
But have you felt it? People’s expectations changing?
I feel like it happened slowly at first, but now it seems like everyone is scrambling to keep up.
I think it was the rise of podcasting and video that did it.
These mediums allowed us to get even closer to the people and businesses we follow.
We got (and get) to know more about them. Directly from them. (Not some company page or press release or even a text-based tweet acting as some intermediary.)
The focus for this type of content wasn’t You. It was Me.
- What makes my/our thinking different
- What makes my/our approach different
- What I/us are working on, etc.
What if focusing on the customer actually means making it easier for them to make a decision?
And what if, as part of that, getting to know us would actually make their decision-making process that much easier?
Your blog. Emails. Social posts. What if you’ve been getting it all wrong? What if a simple, but foundational, switch from You to Me would change everything?
I recently recorded an episode of Louder Than Words with Jimmy Daly (coming soon), he said this:
"It has never been easier to stand out in content marketing. I truly believe that. It is more saturated than it's ever been. Write a first person article and I guarantee people will pay attention. Even though on the day you publish it, B2B SaaS companies will publish thousands and thousands of articles yours could stand out because you are saying something."
In a recent edition of her newsletter, Bold Face, Erin Balsa said, "If you’ve wondered why I often use 'we' in my emails, it’s because 'you' is overused. Reading 'we' feels a little weird (in a good way). It’s a pattern interrupt."
Try it. Even just once.
Start focusing on you for a while. And by you, I actually mean me. (You know what I mean.)
Content Brands has a new office…
When you have 5 kids, there’s no such thing as a spare bedroom. And yet, that’s what I’ve been working out of as my office for the last 9 years.
Not anymore.
This summer, we finished our basement. (More space for said children to destroy.)
Part of that project included a new office for me.
As of last week, I’m officially moved in. (Moving that desk from the second floor to the basement was quite the undertaking. But, I’m happy to report that neither myself or my 2 brothers sustained any injuries. Physical ones, at least.)
This is now the official office space of Content Brands. All future podcasts, client calls, newsletters, blog posts, etc., will be made here.
I’m still “moving in”, so excuse the appearance (and childhood trophies on the floor thanks to a recent visit from my mom), but we’re getting there!