Hello Reader,

Several years ago when I took the CliftonStrengths Assessment, I had one of those proverbial lightbulb moments.

The assessment (it's a pretty common one) identified my top "domain" as strategic, which means:

I remember clearly thinking, "That's me!" More than anything it was a relief. It felt like I had permission to focus on the things that were in my strengths and get support for those that were outside of those strengths. Mind. Blown.

It also identified me having "influencing" strengths which I find amusing, but also not wholly off-base, despite being the furthest thing from an influencer.

(Note: I have no affiliation with Gallup, nor am I certified in CliftonStrengths, it's just an easily accessible tool.)

Since then, I've added a question to my client workbook about whether that client has taken a strengths-based assessment like CliftonStrengths. This isn't because I'm nosy (okay, maybe I'm a bit nosy), but because I believe that while these assessments are designed with leadership and team building in mind, when it comes to marketing, we can also leverage our strengths.

This is why folks I work with hear me talk about "strengths-based marketing" pretty often.

I've touched on it in my "entertainers & experts" newsletter but haven't used the language with you all about this in a direct way. Let's break down this concept.

Here's what I mean when I talk about strengths-based marketing:

• The reality: every business or business owner has natural strengths, working styles in which they shine; even large marketing teams experience this
• Understanding where you and/or your team naturally excels (think relationship building, writing, performance, education, etc) if step zero in building a marketing strategy
• Without an understanding of those strengths, you can then plan how best to leverage them in your marketing, which may include platforms, tactics, and messaging
• The flipside of this is that understanding those strengths can help you build systems to support where you're more challenged—or decide to let those pieces go entirely

Here's an example using yours truly.

Because of my strategic skills, I can better paint a picture of what someone could look like and the why behind it. Those strategic strengths also lend themselves to more intensive and intimate communications platforms like newsletters, blogs, and podcasts. YouTube (because it's friendlier to longer form content) could potentially also be good for me.

Shorter form, more ephemeral techniques are much more challenging for me because they often don't have the context they need to have (for me), and the rules of engagement change frequently.

This realization also meant that I needed to adjust my audience as well as my offers—this is not uncommon (it literally happened to a client of mine this week) and it's actually a great thing.

However, focusing on your strengths is NOT an excuse to do no marketing.

It is not at excuse to passively wait for people to stumble upon your brilliance.

It is not an excuse to say "I suck at marketing."

You don't suck at marketing.

You just haven't figured out where your strengths lie.

This is a your nudge to do just that.

Talk soon,

Sarah

👉 P.S. We have one more spot in our three month retainer solution, the Aligned Authority™ Accelerator, before summer when we adjust our pricing and review scope of work. This includes an SEO overhaul on your website, search-first content strategy, and a choose your own adventure element (ie framework development, productized service development, lead magnet creation—lots of possibilities tailored for you). If this sound intriguing to you, the first step is filling out this form.​