Why Rebel Entrepreneurs Struggle With Copy
Aaaah it's nice not to be in Launch Mode anymore! My Mastermind has 9 incredible students and we're going into week 3 - which means we've tackled the About page and the Services page so far.
It's fascinating to watch 9 very different people navigate how to articulate their value. Some of them take my "What do you do, who do you do it for, what does it help them do" formula and run with it. They're using the workbooks and finishing their pages in record time.
And... some are finding that they need to blaze their own trail, take the scenic route, try a few things out. At first, I thought "oh no! they're struggling! must save them!" and then I realized...
This is an entrepreneurial personality type. In fact, it's MY entrepreneurial personality type.
THE REBEL
"You can't tell me what to do" -- we direct this at anyone (like coaches, like books, like podcast hosts, like people we pay to tell us what to do), and we direct this at instruction manuals, workbooks, even ourselves!
And the thing is -- we're right. It's absolutely impossible for Rebels to follow in the footsteps of others. I can't follow a recipe exactly as it's written to save my life (I am NOT a baker folks! This distresses my baker/direction-following husband greatly). And if I try to take someone's advice, it usually ends in disaster.
So I completely understand when I attract fellow Rebels as clients. I can tell them exactly what to do based on my 13++ years experience in writing copy that works to attract clients.
And they will not do it.
They cannot do it. It goes against the grain of every fiber of who they are. (Me too. ME TOO!).
I'll let you in on a secret: When I rewrote my Home page last year, I tried to use my own best advice. The advice I've seen work for countless clients. And it did not work. I wrote the page and sent it to one of my favorite clients for a Gut Check - and she was like "Nope, that's terrible. It's not you at all."
My own page, my own best advice, and it did not work for me.
Because, Rebel that I am, I have to re-create the wheel every damn time! And make it a better wheel. A wheel that is TRUER for me. It's crazy - but it's the only way which works *for me.*
This is how I find a million and one ways to do things, because I can't do the same thing twice. It's a superpower, but it also means the Easy Way is rarely a viable option.
So here is my best advice for my fellow Rebels out there who struggle to follow what your business coaches tell you, who take courses and have to do things your own way (even when you're paying someone to teach you their way)...
1. Synthesizing is your superpower -- know that. Most Rebels also identify as multipassionates. We take in so much information, and then reconstitute it into something entirely new. Which just may be what people need.
2. You still can't sacrifice clarity. I know, you have to do things your own way. But you still have to clearly say What you do, Who you do it for, and What it helps them do. There is no way around that -- because if you can't articulate that, your people won't have the info they need to know you're the one for them.
3. Try things other people's way. And then throw that way out. I consider this part of my "method" - it's necessary prework to finding My Way. As synthesizers, we need input. As Rebels, we need a standard to rebel against. Do the work the way that does not work to find the way that does.
And finally, be patient with yourself. Be even more patient with the people trying to help you (because they're likely frustrated as Hell). And realize -- this is your process. This is how you make your magic happen.