Write with Meaning

The jig is up. I have to confess…

I’m not really a blog coach anymore.

While I’ve enjoyed the work I’ve done with Write with Meaning, it’s not exactly where my heart resides. It was close, but not quite right. And I finally found my calling, a bit to the left and straight on till morning. Therefore, rather than let my blog and business just fade away without recognition, I wanted to say farewell and let you know my new identity.

My current business is called Fog to Fire, wherein I help healthy people get unstuck. I’m a therapist and a healer now, and damn, I love it! If you’re interested in hearing more, I hope you sign up for my Fog to Fire newsletter and check out what I’ve been talking about there.

You’ve been a lovely audience and I am truly grateful that you found my posts entertaining enough to stop by. I hope I’ve helped a bit and offered a few laughs.

Thanks for reading.
Rachel Whalley

Which message are you more likely to remember: one about the bitterness of defeat, or one about a fox who, when he cannot reach the fruit he wants, comments that the grapes must be sour?

Two brothers, one a Stanford professor and the other an entrepreneur, got together and wrote a book about “why some ideas survive and others die.” In it, they talk about the six main principles of what they call “sticky” ideas. If you want to immediately get schooled in how to write content that will stick in your customers’ minds AND you want to read entertaining stories about Southwest Airlines, urban legends, and the NBA, grab a copy of Made to Stick.

Have you ever heard of the KISS principle? It’s an acronym for “Keep It Simple, Silly.” (Normally, the last word is “stupid,” but I prefer a term of endearment used by Christopher Robin.) The point of this principle is to emphasize that readers/customers/listeners are so much more likely to grasp your idea if it’s simple. Think about the recent Mac ads that feature a young, hip guy to represent a Mac computer and a middle-aged, pudgy guy to stand in for a PC. You only have to watch for two seconds to get their point. Why? Cause it’s simple. The best messages always are.

Take a look at your business communications, especially your marketing materials. Are they easy to understand, or do you inundate your customer with a lot of technical jargon? Have a ten-year-old kid read it. Does she get it? If not, it’s probably too complicated. Make the benefits to the customer be crystal clear and quick to “get.” When they “get” it, you’ll get them.

Want more on this idea? BusinessWeek has a short article touting the benefits of simplicity.

I’m doing a lot of networking these days, which involves having many conversations with people who don’t know me well. If you pay attention in this kind of situation, you learn a lot about how you’re perceived by others. Something I’ve heard from several people lately is, “wow, you’re really real.” This statement is usually delivered with some degree of surprise, because, I assume, I’m promoting my business while being my natural self.

Can a person successfully represent a business and still be “real”?

I would argue that not only can you do it, but that it’s essential to true success. You should see how people relax the longer they talk with me. Shoulders lower, speech gets more natural, and there’s a lot more genuine laughter when they realize that there’s no need for pretense. I’m ok with showing my true character, and my behavior gives them permission to do the same.

How does this apply to writing? When we’re talking about writing for your customers, especially writing that is intended to woo them, it had better be real. Are you going to trust the business that talks about “synergy,” and “optimizing solutions”? What does that even mean?! No, you’re probably going to trust the business that is talking to you, in the real way that people actually talk. A business that sounds like it contains real people, that has the courage to openly display their meaning, inspires trust in their potential customers.

In my experience, people are relieved to work with someone who isn’t pretending to be something other than human. Being human means being a little messy. It means not always saying the perfect, polite, appropriate thing. I know, that seems scary; we don’t want to lose customers by writing something that could be taken the wrong way. But by being yourself, you attract customers with whom you actually enjoy working. And enjoying your work, to me, is a huge sign of success.