I think every creator has this one weird feeling toward their work.
Let me describe it.
You try hard to show up all the time. Every day. Consistently. You create educational content. You tell your stories. You socialize with online friends.
Because you're trying to get more people to follow you.
You know that while the follower and subscriber count is inflated, a bigger number is always better.
The weird feeling
Most of the time you just feel like you're talking to yourself. On social media, you don't know who has read your content. But with emails, you know that subscribers open and maybe read your email.
They haven't unsubscribed. They are still here. It means something.
But you can't give up.
Because whenever you have something more than exciting, people start popping up. Then you sort of go back to talking to yourself again.
It is super weird.
I guess this is what digital leverage is all about! You have to learn to make peace with this feeling.
This feeling leads to something I think about all the time.
"Why do people follow me?"
Whenever someone tells me "Kevon, I love your emails." "I love how you show up on X!", I think about what makes them say that.
I'm not the smartest person in the room. I know some copywriting techniques but I'm not super good at it. I can talk on video but I'm also not the most charismatic speaker.
If you ask me to pick out what my audience likes about how I show up, I'd say it is ...
They resonate with my stories and messages.
Honestly, information is everywhere. The stuff I'm saying is also said by dozens of other people. It really isn't about the information in the content.
It has to be stories.
I interviewed Bob Gentle and I really love what he said here:
"We need to make people feel something. Enthusiasm, potential, etc. And every time we show up online, we are building neural pathways in the brain of the audience."
And my students often ask me how they can get their audiences to resonate with their content and stories better.
I know there are probably a gazillion storytelling frameworks out there you can learn, but to me, you can start with a dead simple way. There's no need to overcomplicate things.
Say bye to this first
But first, you don't need those famous copywriting techniques.
If you're writing a sales page, sure, I love those problem-agitate-solution frameworks.
But if you're doing social content to tell your stories, you don't need them.
Because people clicking to get to your sales page have an intention, whereas people scrolling on social media don't have an intention.
Start with "I"
I try to start with "MY" own stories.
Social media is filled with wisdom bombs, platitudes, and expert advice. Seriously, you and I, we don't care.
I use fact-based and action-based stories to write my social content. Since they are real, people can feel that it is worth their time reading them.
But that's not the only reason.
I care about the long game, so I am not there to solely lead them to my call to action, e.g. "Like this story? Sign up for my course"
Each of my stories makes the reader feel something. Each of them plants an extra tiny seed in their head about me as a person.
End with "You"
I still remember a student asked me this question about 2 years ago.
"Kevon, if I post about what is happening in my life, isn't that selfish?"
He was right! That's why I never stop with my stories.
I don't just want the reader to feel something.
I want the reader to feel amazing. About herself.
So I always make sure that it is about "YOU" (the reader). I can ask a question. I can add a prompt. I can share a reminder.
Whatever it is, it should make them pause for 3 seconds and reflect.
If they resonate with me regularly and feel that I'm making them a better person, they remember me.
I think this is the secret to building a personal brand, an audience, and whatever buzzwords we use these days.
If this feels a bit abstract, let me share 2 examples here. See if you can spot how I start with my own stories and wrap up with "YOU" in mind.
Also pay attention to how many replies I received.
If telling stories about yourself is not something you're good at, you need to train the muscles and practice.
You can join hundreds of creators to level up at Build in Public Mastery.
