How To Use Your Personality To Get Clients

There probably was time when being “a professional” at anything meant keeping your work life and personal life completely separate.

But nowadays we’re all CRAVING intimacy and connection.

We want to spend time with people who are authentic and open.

We also want to work with and learn from coaches and mentors who we can relate to …. and who we feel are similar to us or who “get” us.

We actually learn more from people we relate to because we trust them and what they’re teaching.

That’s why injecting more of YOU into your brand is so important.

Allowing your audience to truly get to know you will help you not only attract clients, but attract the RIGHT clients. (You know, the ones you instantly click with.)

I have to be honest. One of the reasons I wanted to delve into this topic is because it’s an area I want to put more focus on in my business.

You see, I tend to be a “short and to the point” type of person.

I love sharing detailed tips, how-tos, and strategies with you every week.

While I know you value content that’s action-oriented, I realize that I sometimes miss out on the opportunity to allow you to get to know me better and connect on a more personal level.

As I’ve been thinking about adding more of myself into my business, I’ve become aware that part of my reluctance is about how I view myself.

While I’m not a complete introvert, I’m also not a “life of the party” kind of gal. (I’m actually on the line between introvert and extrovert.)

When I think of examples of business owners injecting their personalities into their businesses, my mind goes to people like Marie Forleo, Oprah Winfrey, and Tony Robbins.

These are all people with big personalities, so it was difficult to relate.

Then I came to this important realization…

Adding more personality into your business, doesn’t mean that you need to have a BIG personality.

It means being yourself and sharing that with your audience.

You don’t have to start a YouTube channel or put your whole life on display. You can add more of you into your business in subtle ways that your audience will relate to and love.

Today, I have specific tips on how to add more personality into your business, including 4 places to start.

How To Add More Personality To Your Business

What if you don’t know what makes you unique?

Most people don’t think of themselves as particularly interesting. I can definitely relate to this, so I know it can be pretty tricky to pick out the pieces of yourself you want to portray in your business.

But here’s the thing – you most definitely ARE interesting! I bet if I asked 5 people who know you what they love about you and what makes you unique, they would all have interesting things to say.

To help you get clear on what makes you unique, go grab a piece of paper and answer these questions:

• Why did you become a health coach?
• What is your journey or story? How did you get here?
• What are your friends, family and clients always commenting on – what do you do best?
• Who do you best serve/who is your niche? How do you serve them?
• What do you love to do in your spare time? Where can we find you on a Saturday afternoon?
• What’s your favorite food/song/color?
• What special skills or talents do you have? (this can relate to past careers you’ve had)
• What are your most important values or guiding principles in life? (examples: honesty, authenticity, freedom, fun, balance, abundance, beauty, style, tranquility)

To give you an example from my own life, one of the things people often comment on is how organized I am.

I plan ahead, am great at breaking down projects into small tasks, and I’m constantly making lists.

While being organized isn’t exactly sexy, it’s something that’s become part of my brand and the value that I provide.

I’m known for taking complex things and making them easy to understand – and for providing step-by-step instructions and formulas.

Now it’s your turn! As you go through these questions, you should start to see what makes you YOU. Now you can take this story and your favorite traits and start injecting it into your business.

Here are 4 ways you can use your personality in your business

1. Your Website

If you aren’t a web designer it can be hard to imagine how to make a website ‘look like you’. If you’re not quite ready to pay a premium to work with a branding expert, there are still options!

Start by choosing a color palette that represents your personality. If your brand is outgoing and fun, try choosing bright colors. If your brand is about finding balance and tranquility, go with more subdued hues. Check out Design Seeds for some major color inspiration. Below is a sample “palate” I found on Design Seeds by selecting a single color I was drawn to.

Next it’s time to choose fonts. Your primary font choice, which is used on most of your site, should be a standard font. But you can choose a secondary font to be used for headings that reflects your personality. Just make sure the fonts you use are readable.

In this site we created for our client Dr. Liz Wallace, we choose a script font that adds a feminine touch to her brand.

You might pick a bold marker sketch font, or maybe something that looks vintage and handwritten. You can explore Creative Market for some inspiration.

2. Your Writing

Have you ever read someone’s email, blog post, or website and immediately thought you wanted to be friends with that person? OR – Have you ever read someone’s website and immediately thought you needed to work with them?!

That’s the power of good copy. Good copy can convey your message and your personality in a powerful way.

There are formulas for writing good marketing copy, but in order to connect with your audience, it needs to sound like you.

That’s why we give our clients a framework for proven marketing copy with fill-in-the-blanks. This way, they know the structure will work and can inject their personality and story into the copy.

To start adding your personality to your copy, simply write like you talk. This will allow it to feel more like a conversation with a friend and create a deeper connection with your audience.

One thing that helps me with this is to take some time away from something I’ve written, and then come back to it and read it to myself (or outloud) to make sure it really sounds like me.

Try writing in your own voice by pretending you are saying the words to a friend and writing it as is. You can even try dictating. Just record yourself with your phone and transcribe it.

Another powerful way to introduce more of you into writing is by sharing your stories.

In some cases you might share a longer story and in other instances you might give an example from your personal experience.

Share lessons you’ve learned along your own journey. But don’t just share your successes. Open up about mistakes you’ve made and what you’ve learned from them. This will make you more relatable and allow people to really get to know you.

Don’t be afraid to share stories or examples that you don’t think sound “sexy.” I think most of us are actually tired of “sexy” and just want realness.

3. Social Media, Blogging & Email

Social media is a great way to start putting yourself out there and testing your own boundaries. If you’re not ready to fully express yourself in every area of your business, start with social.

Share sneak peeks into your life, whether it’s sharing your new favorite breakfast or a shot of what’s in your refrigerator.

You can get deeper, too, sharing pieces of your journey or stories from your life that relate back to your audience and what they care about.

The same goes for your blog and email newsletter.

Try opening your blog posts or email newsletter with a personal anecdote. You don’t have to treat your blog like a journal, but use personal stories to illustrate your point.

As an example, I shared this story about my own daughter’s health issues and the journey we were on to find a solution. Even though my blog is about marketing, I was able to use my personal story to make a point that I knew my audience would be able to relate to.

I also sometimes include a personal story in my weekly email blog posts. Even though my posts share tips related to health coaching, I still like to share a glimpse into my life with my audience when it feels relevant.

If you’re regularly sharing personal anecdotes in your writing, your audience will feel like they know you.

4. Photos

As a health coach, you are your business, so using real photos of yourself is a great way to establish a connection with potential clients online. It helps people feel like they recognize you and know you, even if you’ve never met.

Get professional photos done for your website (or head out with a friend who has a nice camera) and ditch the corporate office attire (unless that’s your thing). Wear your real clothes, wear what’s comfortable!

If your brand is edgy, throw on a leather jacket and a statement necklace. In my professional photos, I wore a cute top that matches my brand colors so I can use these photos over and over again in my marketing.

Your photos can go farther than just your website too!

You can use these photos on landing pages, as your profile picture, in your social media cover photos, in Facebook ads and countless other promotional material.

And as I share in this blog post, getting professional photos taken doesn’t have to be expensive.

Here are a few photos that clients have used on websites we’ve built for them that showcase their personality:

If you’re nervous about sharing your story or your personality in your business, start small. See how it feels.

I think you’ll find that you start attracting people that you instantly connect with and your business will start to flow.

 
Now I’d love to hear from you!
How have you injected your personality into your business? What has felt fun and “right” for you? If this is an area you’d like to work on, which of the tips I shared feel like a good place to start?