When I first started my journey into entrepreneurship I knew two things; I wanted to have a career that I could be creative in and I wanted to work with women. Unfortunately, at the time most of my followers on social media were men.
What was I supposed to do with that?
So I did what any 30 year old woman would do in 2023 – I went to TikTok and typed “how to appeal to women” in the search bar.
My search results yielded things like “dress pretty instead of sexy” and “wear bright colors,” two things that I didn’t really vibe with at the time.
I continued my research & landed on sayings like ‘girl boss’ along with an aesthetic I can only describe as “wealthy pants-suit woman, exuding feminine energy on her laptop 24/7 with her over-caffeinated coffee that’s VERY necessary because, like I mentioned, she works 24/7.” Every motivational quote was hot pink, and all of these women looked fabulous in their 6-inch heels.
Now, if this is you, power to you! I love you. You inspire me. You are SO badass.
The problem was, though, that would probably never be me. It made me question my femininity and my ability to appeal to feminine people.
I have always felt very naturally feminine- much more than masculine, it didn’t make sense to me that I had to morph into this specific type of person just so I could attract other women to what I had to offer them.
It was because of this ‘girl boss’ aesthetic that, although I had an easy enough time making friends with my female peers, appealing to them from a business perspective felt weird.
Was I girl boss enough? Was I pretty enough? Did I come off as peppy enough- and if I didn’t, did I come off as rude?
As I discovered more female CEO’s I realized that this whole ‘girl boss’ narrative wasn’t the reality of the business world. It was just trendy.
This language wasn’t weird, it was just a new way of communicating with other women. It wasn’t that I wasn’t “girly” enough, it was just that, my style was mine. It was my way of showing up in my own unique way. And really, the most important part to running a business is the showing up part.
The same goes for the language we use in our email copy.
When writing an email sequence, there’s no reason to pep it up or change your natural way of speaking because most people see right through that. Your audience is looking for… ugh I guess I’m gonna say it… *authenticity*. Yeah, I hate that extremely overused buzzword, too, but there’s a reason it’s overused.
Majority of people got really sick of the salesy, cheesy, same old marketing tactics from ‘professional businesses.’ They started seeing through the bullshit copywriting that everyyy writer used in the same way.
‘GiRl BoSs’ went out of style verryyyy quickly.
Which is why your natural way of speaking is what’s going to work for your business. You are the creator, you know who you are, and you know that your business is an extension of you.
Let your audience see YOU. And I don’t mean with a picture.
The way you speak in real life is good enough for your newsletter. Your natural tone is perfect for your welcome sequence. Allow that excitement you feel about your launch to shine brightly through in your writing.
There’s no reason to be shy when crafting your copy because your audience isn’t looking for anything that isn’t already you. When the right people find your brand, it’s because they align with it. They can see themselves in it. They want to know there isn’t some AI robot running this business, they want someone like them selling them stuff. Why? Because they can trust someone like themselves.
Your unique brand voice is everything to your audience.
This is why I have an extensive getting-to-know-my-client questionnaire. You know how when you’ve been friends with someone for long enough, y’all begin to telepathically think the same? This is what I aim for with my clients. I want to get into your mind so I can know how to write in your brand voice.
When I receive your filled-out questionnaire I get a sense of who you are, how you naturally speak, and the vibe you’re intending to put out to the world through your brand.
We all have different vibes and I see no reason to all have to conform to ‘girl boss.’ The things that you may feel are “too you for the brand” and “not professional enough” are most likely the things that will take your business from pennies to profits and will end up being the main reason your clients come to you.
Spread your magic and let it shine bright!
