Today I want to talk to you about the skill that helped me grow my biz so fast online… and keep growing it in the decade since.
Now, the fact is… this skill takes work. Even though it’s actually an incredibly simple concept.
And you can totally steal it for yourself.
This skill takes work because there are just some days where you just won’t feel up to it…
Some days when you’re feeling a little vulnerable… and you’re not exactly sure what to share.
So what’s the one skill?
Finding your voice online.
What’s funny is… I recently talked about this in another podcast with my friend Laura Belgray.
We both had some tough spots over the last couple of years… and we both struggled with how much to share… what to say… and how to say it.
Maybe you can relate to that.
I know that so many entrepreneurs – even seasoned ones – struggle with this.
Many of us would rather hide behind our product, service, or offer than put ourselves out there.
Or fake our way through with a glossy instagram veneer.
But the truth is… the secret to success is connecting authentically.
Letting people see you… get to know you… feel your unique energy and vibe.
THAT is how you enroll people into not just your biz… but your life.
And the way to connect with people is to use your voice. Your personality. Your unique point of view.
Now, there ARE some marketing tricks to using your voice strategically… especially on social media.
And that’s what I’m gonna help you with today.
Oh and BTW, be sure to stick around until the end of today’s episode because I’ve got my super special Social Media Playbook to give ya. For free.
Ok so let’s get into the first hack of how to find your voice online.
And that’s to think about your ideal customer or client.
You have a picture of them in your head already right?
If you’re scratching your head on this… or still think that EVERYONE is your ideal customer… then stop here and head over to my podcast from last week and start there. LOL
That one’s all about how to find your ICA – or ideal client avatar.
Ok, so let’s assume you have your person in mind.
You wanna think about HOW you’d talk to her.
Like if she’s sitting right there in front of ya.
HOW do you hold a conversation? What words do you use… what energy do you convey?
Remember, this isn’t about being fake AF.
It’s about how you tailor your personality and communication style to different people.
Because we all naturally do that, right? How you talk to your bestie is different from how you talk to your parents.
Or how you talk to your kid.
Get it? You’re still you… but the words you choose… how you communicate… your energy… it’s different depending upon your audience.
That’s what I’m talking about here.
So let’s say you have your ICA in mind… but you’re not super sure how you’d tailor your convo to her.
One great way to learn how to talk to her… is to listen.
And you can do that by looking into where your audience spends their time…
Like, follow blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, and social accounts that cater to your ICA as well.
Then, pop into the comments section and see what they’re talking about.
What’s the tone? How are they responding? What do they resonate with?
Then begin to filter that info through your own voice and views.
So now that you’ve got that hack in your back pocket, here are three questions to think about.
And not only will these three questions help you with HOW to talk to your ICA… they’ll also inform you on WHAT to say.
AKA: what content to create.
Ok so here are the 3 questions:
- What’s your ICA struggling with? When you picture your ICA as an individual person… where is she right now in her life, her health, her headspace… or whatever area your product, service, or offer can help her in.
- What are her pain points? As in, what problem is she facing right now? What is holding her back from getting what she truly wants? And…
- What DOES she want? As in, what would be the best and highest outcome for her? If she had that, what would life be like?
You wanna get to the emotion of these questions.
It’s not good enough to be like: “She wants a Beanie Baby”.
I’m assuming you sell Beanie Babies in this example…
ARE there still Beanie Babies?
I mean everything else from 1995 is popular right now… even the jeans I saved are back in… AND they fit (woop woop!).. so, why not Beanie Babies? LOL
Anyway, the point is: no one wanted a Beanie Baby for its intrinsic value.
I mean, it’s a friggin piece of fabric stuffed with plastic pellets inside it. Not like it’s stuffed full of gold nuggets or cures for cancer. LOL
People wanted Beanie Babies for emotional reasons.
Whether that was social status… fitting in… having something super exclusive… or popularity.
THAT is what people wanted.
Emotion.
And once you understand your ICA’s desires – and her struggles -- you can relate to her on an emotional level.
Then use your voice to connect with her .
Ok, so let’s talk about one other aspect of finding – and then using – your voice online that I get asked about ALLLLL the time.
How MUCH of yourself do you have to put on the interwebs?
Does having a personal brand… or putting yourself out there… mean you’ve got to lose ALL your privacy online?
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
The key here is to get personal. But, by no means do you have to overshare.
It’s actually probably better if you don’t get carried away and tell everyone that really embarrassing story about yourself from high school. Lol
Unless you really want to. It’s your platform and your space.
And sometimes, being super polarizing actually helps you find your peeps.
Just focus on sharing your experiences but in context of how your experiences relate to their feelings and struggles.
This is how you nurture the beginning of your relationship with your audience.
You want them to feel like they know you AND like you're listening to them.
Not just a blank wall that talks AT them.
This actually leads me to my next point…
And that’s to allow yourself to feel.
People can literally pick up inauthenticity online.
When you’re pandering… faking it… or when you don’t really mean what you’re saying.
To get to that level, you have to FEEL.
The well-known neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio stated, “We are not thinking machines that feel…
…rather, we are feeling machines that think.”
I mean… how good is that.
Here’s my interpretation of that quote…
Every human decision is based on emotion -- every single one.
We make each choice somatically.
In other words, we FEEL our way to pretty much every decision.
It's all about EMOTIONS.
Some not so much.
Like getting gas for your car.
Maybe you have an emotional reason for that, but that’s why some things are commodities.
But for 99% of things, in my opinion, decisions have an emotional component.
So in order for you to know what that is for your audience… you’ve got to be willing to be a bit vulnerable.
Your own vulnerable stories are what will get you closer to your audience.
Believe it or not, even more than your superhero stories.
In general, people relate more with struggles than with wins. #facts
You gotta be willing to not be perfect.
Sometimes things are messy and guess what?
Your messes become your miracles.
And people love that SHIZ.
That’s EXACTLY what they want.
Your audience wants to know you’re real and that they can relate to you.
So embrace the parts of you that are human and openly express your feelings.
I promise people will love it.
Vulnerability… relatability… using your unique voice to make a connection…
That’s what your audience needs to build trust…
Once you can put yourself in your audience’s shoes and understand their needs, you’ll be that much closer to being better able to relate to them.
And once they relate with you… They can start to trust you.
Trust is what makes a successful online biz.
And trust is what makes it easy for your audience to be vulnerable with you too.
Because handing over their credit card info is a form of trust.
They’re literally trusting you to help them… and that’s why they’re giving you money for it.
Building a relationship on the basis of trust and vulnerability is the ONLY way for your biz to thrive.
And this is the exact foundation you should… No, NEED… to find your voice online.
Now, let’s talk about what you do once you feel ready to get out there and share that beautiful voice.
And that’s to choose your platform.
Because HOW you convey your voice is super important…
Especially if you’re just starting to put yourself out there.
So let me bust this social media myth real quick.
You do NOT need to be on all the platforms… all the time.
It’s perfectly ok to choose one or two… where your ideal clients or customers hang out… and talk with them there.
If you’re not entirely sure, Facebook, IG, and Tiktok are great places to start.
But there are actually a whole bunch of fantastic platforms your ICA may be hanging out that you just don’t know about.
Let’s say for example, you’re not into being on camera just yet. So you don’t wanna put out a bunch of videos – even though everyone tells ya that video is where it’s at.
This is a totally common sentiment – especially when you’re just starting out.
So if you’re not into being on video yet… well, then which parts of your personality do you want to highlight?
Are you super passionate when you TALK about your product, service, or offer?
Are you into deeper conversations but hate the idea of filming yourself?
Then Clubhouse might be a great platform for you… or any of the other audio based ones, like Wisdom, or Linkedin’s platform, or Spotify’s Greenroom.
These platforms are amazeballs for people who just want to sit on the couch… or be cleaning their kitchen with no makeup on… and share their literal voice with the world.
Podcasting is another great option for this sort of person.
If you prefer writing, you can always blog. Or focus on building your email list.
Because again, people can tell when you’re faking it. And it’s awkward AF.
I actually have a very good friend who is great with long form video. She’s a great writer… great teacher.
But short-form video?OMG she gets totally in her head about it.
And you can actually SEE her being super uncomfortable on Reels… and TikToks.
When I asked her about it – in a kind, nurturing way obbbbbviously LOL – she admitted that she hates doing TikTok.
But that her team of Gen Zs and millennials told her she needed to for her brand.
This woman has an EIGHT figure business… and she still gets uncomfortable with putting herself out there on new platforms.
I’m certain that over time, as she does it more, she’ll be able to vibe with it the way she does with her courses.
Or she won’t… I mean, she’s already been super successful without TikTok – maybe that’s not where her people hang out.
And that’s perfectly OK.
Now… I mentioned at the top of the show I had a free download for ya.
It’s my Social Media Playbook…
Which will help ya take what we talked about today… and map out how YOU are gonna use your voice online.
This guidebook gives ya the rundown of the major platforms, plus ideas on how to strategically use them for biz growth.
So you can find your peeps online… use your voice to connect authentically… and grow + scale your biz through the power of the internet.
That’s what I did in my essential oil biz – which is now a multi-million dollar revenue generator. Shoot me a DM on IG (@hayleyhobson) if you’d like to know more about EOs or how to get in on this kind of biz for yourself.
I’ll throw the link for the Playbook and my IG into the show notes… and this week’s newsletter for ya too.
Ok friends… sound off here in the comments… use your voice to let me know what you thought of today’s episode…
And how you’re gonna use your voice to grow and scale your biz…
I’ll see ya online…