Posts Tagged ‘writing’

You wouldn’t know it by the way I run my mouth off sometimes, but I spend lots of time mulling over ideas of image, presentation, and messaging.  Today I’m thinking about authenticity…that hard to define, je ne sais quois that every company wants but not everyone can achieve.  All too often, I’m struck by the almost-right-but-oh-so-wrongness of a company’s message…the communications equivalent of a creepy pageant contestant who looks great but just doesn’t act like a normal human.  And an inability to communicate with genuine credibility is often to blame.

What’s authenticity? To me, the word “authenticity” defies a dictionary definition.  It’s the perfect balance and blend of truth, transparency, and individuality.  It evokes trustworthiness and comfort.  And it doesn’t shy away from warts, wrinkles, and hard-to-discuss subjects.

What do businesses and brands gain from authenticity? An authentic voice establishes credibility and familiarity, lending a “known quantity” feeling to a brand that creates trust.  Authenticity has a holy grail kind of feel…you want your message to come off clearly, simply, and truthfully, and you probably want even complex or crafty messages to sound unforced and truthful.

What’s the catch? The catch is that, by default, marketing and PR communications involve a level of thought, planning, and skill that at its core can come off as inauthentic.  Simply telling someone you’re great isn’t enough…in fact, it could be the worst possible thing to do.  Instead, there’s a complex balancing act that comes into play when creating authentic communications.  You have to imply your greatness (or funness, or usefulness, or whatever value your brand brings to customers) through demonstrable actions (results, benefits).  The problem?  It’s not enough to appear to be genuine. Yes, it’s okay to think through your communications strategy (um, a bit more than okay)…but if it comes off as forced, it won’t work.  Consumers smell inauthenticity.  They see it coming.  It’s the marketing equivalent of a blind date sensing desperation or a dog picking up on your emotional state.

So how do you foster authenticity?  Here are a few recommendations:

• Keep it simple.  It’s way easier to drive home one point at a time.
• Get your values in line.  Speak from a place of true conviction and passion.  If the underpinnings are right, you can’t help but nail it.
• Remember the humans.  Customers and clients aren’t just dollars…they’re people.  Fix a picture of your client or customer firmly in your mind…then talk to them!  No bull allowed.  It is shocking how many companies — big, well-funded, supposedly brand-savvy companies — seem unwilling or unable to acknowledge the needs, wants, desires, and realities of their customers as they are, not as they want them to be.
• Don’t hide. Develop a habit of facing objections, challenges, and pitfalls head-on.  Does that mean you need to broadcast all of your problems at all times?  No, but you need to be willing to address them in a straightforward and transparent manner.  Let the truth be your guide, even when it’s challenging.
• Practice.  Try out your message and see if it rings true.  Not hitting the right note?  Solicit feedback, tweak, and try again.

What’s your take on authenticity?  I’d genuinely (har) love to know.  – Erin

Many of my clients and friends know that I sold a book in 2009…and that I then had to write the book per my Byzantine contract with HarperCollins.  What you may not know is that writing a book and learning the business of publishing has given me a huge amount of insight into the other businesses I work with and, by extension, my own.  Here are some highlights from the journey:

If you’re gonna do it, do it right.  Lyrics from a Wham! song?  Yes.  Good advice?  Yes.  When I decided to take the plunge and follow my dream of getting published, I did it the long, hard way.  I researched agents, wrote a killer query letter, and suffered through a failed attempt to sell a similar book before landing this deal.  It took three years, but it was more than worth it.  My book is going to get the audience…and the chance…it deserves.

Know your audience.  One of the first questions I ask my clients is “who’s your audience?”  When they don’t know (or don’t want to bother finding out), I know we’re in trouble.  The same thing applies to writing a book.  Luckily, having a crystal-clear picture of my audience and my ideal reader has been a great organizing principle as I write.  When I get lost, I think of my ideal reader and what she wants to read.  This works equally well in marketing and business.  If you lose sight of your audience, you can’t be surprised when they don’t respond to your message.

Know your limits.  I admit it:  I’m a workaholic.  Adding this project (a massive undertaking that my business partner has started referring to as “Erin’s pregnancy and childbirth”) to the already-huge workload of running a start-up was slightly ridiculous.  I’ve managed to do it, but there have been bumps, primarily three bouts of bronchitis that finally necessitated a solid week of rest without any work whatsoever.  If I could do it again, I’d set stretch deadlines and more realistic ones to keep myself better-paced and better-rested.  I see this tendency in the owners and employees of the companies I work with…people who tend to favor work rather than work-life balance.  Everyone has limits, and that’s okay.  Better to set an attainable goal and reach it than one you can never meet.

The best work is collaborative.  Can I tell you how scary it was to receive my first reads and edits on The Heroine’s Bookshelf? I’m talking white-knuckled, terrified reading as I searched for the worst possible rejection of the work I’d labored over with such love and care.  Though I’ve been a professional writer for years, I really dreaded the editorial process before it began.  But going through the process has reminded me that this book is a team effort.  It wouldn’t have sold without my agent’s hard work or my editor’s championship.  Once it’s complete, I’ll rely on legions of copy editors, designers, typesetters, publicists, sales staff, and others to help make it a success.  The pleasure of the process…of opening yourself up to criticism and change…is profound.  And I find it’s the same for my clients.  It can be scary to bring in a consultant, to stare change in the face and back it up with that checkbook.  But once the process becomes collaborative, you usually have the support and insight you need to keep on going.

What have you learned from the projects you pursue outside of work?

Wanna learn more about my book?  Do it here!

Image courtesy of Library Mistress

Last week, I had the honor of presenting a talk at a meeting of the Boulder Writers Alliance, a welcoming and wonderful group of local writers.

It was entitled Not Your Average Ghost:  Ghostwriting for Every Writer and went quite well if I do say so myself!

Couldn’t make the trip to NCAR?  Relive the magic (ha) with a slideshow of my presentation.  Thanks, BWA!  I look forward to my upcoming expert sessions on search engine optimization at the BWA Expo this September.

One of my favorite-ever quotes is “progress, not perfection.”  As in, we can only measure ourselves by our steps today, not by some global what-if.  A progress-minded mentality helps a lot when your schedule is overwhelmed by the many conflicting demands of work and play.

To that end, VOCO Creative has been loving wrike, a Web-based productivity tool that helps us get and stay organized.  It does what we do for our clients:  lovingly nag and help us get our priorities in order.  Well worth the (surprisingly small!) investment.

To those of you worried about getting in some progress, not perfection, this oldie but goodie is a great place to start (not just for writers!).

Event alert: Writers and those interested in writing…why not check me out this Tuesday at the Boulder Writers Alliance meeting, where I’ll be speaking about ghostwriting?