Hello Reader,

My email last month about falling off my standup paddleboard was my second most opened ever (slightly behind the one I accidentally omitted a subject line from and so I sent a broadcast with the oh so mysterious subject line of "A"—oops). Fun fact: that was also my most unsubscribed in awhile as well—but I won't get into my theory about that just now.

I share bits of my life and thinking and perspective for a specific reason: I believe that making a human connection is the super power of small or solo businesses, thought leaders, CEOs, and experts. Large, impersonal, faceless corporations rarely achieve that "human-ness." This is why "Pinpoint Your Perspective" is one of the nine core components of our strategic marketing planning process.

At the big picture level, this can mean demonstrating what you believe in, showing (not just telling) your audience what you want to change, and it can also be represented in your mission and values.

However, I also argue that it's also part of demonstrating what makes us real people.

That's not to say that you should spill all your secrets to your email list or your blog or your LinkedIn audience, but being real is powerful (I would say "authentic," but that word's popularity has resulted in manufactured authenticity that people are getting wise to.)

This is also why I share things we've tried that didn't work (because we all have this stumbles, and folks who say they don't are not being truthful either to you or themselves—the former being way worse) and why I encourage you to do the same.

If this isn't motivation enough for you, I will also tell you that being a real freaking person... That will up your engagement with your audience.

Real talk? It's very, very challenging to create organic engagement with your "content," which is often why people get discouraged and give up. No one likes feeling like they're screaming into the void.

However, when you share a little bit, make a human connection, and prove that you're a real, live human who actually cares and doesn't just see their audience as a revenue opportunity, they will actually hit reply, leave a comment, or ask you a question.

That's exactly why pinpointing your perspective is such important work.

Warmly,

Sarah

P.S. Are you ready to co-create a human-centric, yet Google friendly, marketing strategy? We're here when you're ready to take this big step forward.