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How To Become the Center of Attention
When it comes to marketing, publishing, websites, public speaking, writing and all forms of content creation and distribution, there’s one principle that supersedes anything else you’ve ever heard on the subject.
Learning and applying this principle will make a bigger difference in your style and impact than anything else.
I’ll give you a hint: Why are you still reading this article? Is it because I’m such a great writer? Is it because you think I’m a cool guy? Does it have anything to do with me at all?
Of course not. You’re still reading this because you have your own needs, struggles, and issues that you’re dealing with and you’re looking for answers.
You haven’t made it this far because of me; you’re here because of you. You might care about my credibility, but only as it relates to your purposes.
Have you figured out the secret yet? It’s not about you.
It’s really that simple. It’s not about you — it’s about your audience/customer/prospect. It’s about their needs, desires, passions, fears, perceptions, sense of belonging, personality, sense of humor, tastes, preferences, and aversions.
It’s about giving them what they want, not what you want. The Golden Rule says to treat people how you want to be treated. The Platinum Rule says to treat people how they want to be treated.
No one cares that your product is the best and that it was the result of your years of toil and passion. They only care if it happens to coincide with what they want.
To give a tangible example of this secret, I’ve extracted and analyzed two writing samples from websites of freelance writers.
Consider the differences between the two:
Example 1: “I enjoy working with people and I love to write. The combination gives me an edge in the freelance writing industry. I’m outgoing enough to ask all the right questions and lucky enough that I never get bored doing my job. I believe any piece of writing is worthy of perfection…I have always gone the extra mile for my clients. You will find that I am meticulous, that my work is original, and that I will consistently produce above and beyond expectations.”
Example 2: “I am here to make your life easier. Partner with me for your writing needs and give yourself the freedom to focus on other aspects of your business. If you are looking for an experienced freelance writer who is committed to your satisfaction, you have found her! I look forward to helping you achieve more with words.”
Notice that “I” is used eight times in the first one with only two references to the writer’s potential clients. In an effort to sell you on her services, she has told you all about herself.
In the second example, the writer references herself just four times while referencing you, the potential client, six times. The first person tells you how great she is; the second shows you that she’s all about meeting your needs.
We think that to sell people we need to tell them how great we are. The reality is just the opposite — for your small business marketing to be effective, you must show them how in tune to their needs you are.
They only reason they care about how great you are is if your perceived greatness coincides with what they’re looking for and the particular pain that they’re feeling that your product, service, or message will alleviate.
Learning that it’s not about you and writing to the perspective of your audience will impact the effectiveness of your message more than any other factor.
Stop being self-centered in presenting your message — make your message customer/audience-centric and you will quickly become the center of attention.
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Stephen Palmer is a marketing consultant and persuasive writer with KGaps Consulting, a co-founder of The Center for Social Leadership, and the New York Times best-selling co-author of Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths that are Destroying Your Prosperity.
He is a liberal-arts graduate of George Wythe University and a graduate of the “non-traditional business school” Wizard Academy.
Stephen resides in Round Rock, Texas with his gorgeous wife Karina, awesome son Alex, and princess daughters Libby, Avery, and Laela. Stephen and Karina blog about their magical life on Palmer Journeys.
Connect With Stephen:
Email: spalmer [at] kgaps [dot] com
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