Thanks to all those lovely folk who took the time to enter into the spirit of the contest and provide such great incites. Particular thanks to Cher Pearce, Joseph Bushnell and of course the winner, Carly Taylor.

This was Carly’s (awesome) response to the video:

Hey Matt!

I just want to say first that I love what you are doing with your blog, it’s very clear and also the video you made above was great. It really shows your personality through well and this (competition) in itself is a great idea to share yourself!

So here are my ideas (sorry I tend to get carried away and write essays so apologies in advance ha ha!)

All communication in general:

I agree with the above comments about being authentic and being yourself, but I also believe there are many different sides to us. (maybe I’m just a schizophrenic! lol).Sometimes I feel in a silly, crazy mood, so I reflect that in my communication. This tends to get good responses because people like to have fun and see that you are a real person! Sometimes I feel a little deeper and more spiritual so I quote or share philosophies and centre my blog posts around personal development etc. This doesn’t tend to get commented on as much, but I love to share it anyway because it’s part of me. Other times I have my business head on and so I get really serious and focused and share advice, whether it be technical or based around marketing/social media. This is received really well because people want to learn how to brand themselves and build their businesses. Whichever ‘hat’ I have on, it’s all still part of me and my personality. I do believe that there is a certain etiquette with social media specifically, so in a way this can be hard to be real if swearing all over the place and abusing people is the real you (hopefully not lol). Maybe ask your friends/family how they best see you and reflect that side of you in your videos or general communication?

Blogging:

I always blog when I have been inspired by something because I want people to feel my energy and be inspired too. My personal blog is my hub and is where people can find out about me and get to know me better by my story and style of writing. I don’t think there is any specific way to blog or to write. It should come from the heart and not be analysed. People often tell me that my writing is not polished, but that they know it is me writing, because I write from the heart and this shows in each post. I never edit or read back what I have written in case I get too critical of myself. If I was to read it back, I’d probably cringe and delete it which would mean nothing would get out!! Lol.(Same goes for videos).

Business blogs:

I am a technical geek and I love technology and being creative. I have recently started a new business venture with two lovely ladies (who I met through social media) and I really wanted to create something that reflected us as a trio and our personalities. The two websites I made were created by me and although (again) they might not be polished, or of graphic designer level with the design, they reflect who we are and what we are doing and it feels really personal to us. We have had great feedback from what we are doing and so that is cool. We all take it in turns to write blog posts and share our views separately. We never say who has written what post, but it seems people can tell which is a good sign our personalities are coming through.

Email communication:

With email communication I always send something useful, funny or something I know will genuinely help move people forward. I am also studying Life Coaching so helping people is a massive passion of mine. When doing a broadcast I keep it as real as possible and invite feedback. Feedback is important to build relationships and to get to know what your subscribers want, just like you have done here.

Story-telling:

One of the reasons Yaro is so popular (apart from being an incredible, down to earth entrepreneur!)Is because people followed his story, his journey. As obviously, his blog is called the Entrepreneur Journey. I watched an Eben Pagen seminar recently and he said that people love to learn from those who are only 25% ahead of them in terms of success. Why? Because not only can they relate to them on a REAL level, they can also see that what they have achieved is possible. They are not out of reach. By following someone’s journey from having nothing to creating massive success, it really is truly inspiring and shows that it IS possible. We have started the ‘Diva journeys’ in the same way so people can watch us grow the different levels and learn from our mistakes and our successes along the way.

Video:

I haven’t done much video yet (maybe 10 videos ever), but have lots of plans to do some in the next few weeks. I would agree with Cher that it is one of the best ways to reveal and share your personality so that people can connect to you. The more the better really.

Video tip: Stick a picture of someone, like a really funny face over the lens when you are talking and it will really help you to relax and smile throughout the video. It worked for me! I used Katy Brand pulling a stupid face as it was the only one I could find in my mag lol.

What makes me follow someone?

I follow people who genuinely help me either feel good (make me laugh, uplift me) or teach me something. Anyone who provides real value without trying to sell something ticks all my boxes! I will always buy from someone I like after I know they have helped me before, through their videos or blog posts.

If I could choose one suggestion?

To talk and write things you are passionate about so that your energy shines through..

Anyway, sorry I went on a bit!! (shit I really did write an essay! Ha ha) Great idea Matt. Keep doing what you are doing

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