How To Be Taken Seriously, Especially If You Are A Woman

Excuse me if I begin to RANT but something has been getting under my skin lately.

In fact it’s become quite a pet peeve of mine.

Once you see it, it will begin to irk you too. I’m sure of it.

It’s has to do with how we women present ourselves in business.

Particularly small business owners.

Here’s the thing, we don’t know how to talk about ourselves.

We see posts that say:

  • embrace your divine feminine
  • merge the feminine and masculine
  • play the game like the boys do

IT’S SO CONFUSING!

Recently I was asked to review some food bloggers’ websites.

I was initially asked to give pointers on copywriting as it pertained to their actual blog posts.

But I couldn’t do it.

It didn’t matter what their blog posts said.

Why? Because the 5 Second Rule wouldn’t have kept people on their pages long enough to read them.

What was the common problem?

WHERE WERE THE OWNERS?

There were no photos of the blog owners on the banner or above the fold.

If they had a bio blurb it was at the bottom of the page or not on the Home Page at all.

But here was the WORST part…

The part that REALLY got my goat…

THEY WERE HIDING BEHIND THEIR ROLES!

What do I mean by that?

As women, we are natural givers and nurtures.

We are socialized and programmed to be nice.

We’re told not to talk about ourselves.

We must be excellent mothers.

We should always appear as adoring and supportive wives.

WARNING: You are entering a RANT zone.

WTF!!!

What about US?!

When do WE get to take first place?!

When do WE get centre stage?!

When is it okay to toot OUR horns?!

If you can’t do that in your OWN BUSINESS, then when the hairy heck are you going to????

Here’s what I saw (and I see this on websites too, not just blogs):

EVERY bio blurb started with something like:

Hi! I’m Mary. I’m the mother of three active boys. I live in Des Moins with my husband, kids and our dog, Scruffy. I like to hike, am active on the PTA and I love to entertain. I hope you like the recipes on this blog.

This might be fine if you’re blogging for fun.

But if you mean business, act like it! This is not a dating site profile.

Would a man say that on a business page? NO!

Now I’m not saying to play by the man’s rules.

I DO believe we need to bring our feminine nurturing side into our businesses, so let’s start with US.

I can’t say this enough: DON’T HIDE BEHIND YOUR ROLES!

Own Your Value!

Put yourself at the helm of your ship!

Rant over. You’re safe now.

3 Steps to Owning Your Value

1. Know Your WHY

Go deep and really think about WHY you’re doing this business.

What brought you to it? Why do you love it? What is it that keeps you going?

What’s your ultimate vision? Why?

2. What value do you bring to others?

How does your work help someone else?

What problem do they have that you solve?

How does your solution make their life better?

3. What expertise do you bring to the table?

Don’t get bogged down here and short-change yourself by saying that you aren’t formally educated so no-one will buy from you.

That’s hogwash. You’re hiding!

If you know your Why, you no doubt have the life experience to support your work.

Example:

Let’s go back to Mary and her food blog.

After deep reflection and uncovering the core of her past stories, Mary discovers that she loves cooking – in particular baking – because it brings back warm memories of spending time with her grandmother.

She remembers a particular time when she stayed with her grandmother for a week while her parents went on holidays.

When they returned, Mary, then aged 7, presented her parents with a Welcome Home cake that she baked and decorated all by herself (with Grandma’s loving guidance).

Her parents were so surprised! They praised Mary. They went on and on about how beautiful it was.

A photo was taken of Mary with her parents and the cake which was displayed proudly on the fridge doors at both her home and her grandma’s.

Her parents would show the photo to visiting friends and neighbours.

Mary was so proud of herself.

She loved the way it made her feel to bring such joy to her parents.

Over the years, Mary continued to bake.

She created traditions of baking Mary’s Christmas Cookies. She’d bring cakes to friend’s birthday parties. She made cupcakes for school bake sales. Later, Mary made elaborate birthday cakes for her boys’ birthdays to the delight of all their friends.

Mary’s baking blog show people how to decorate cookies and cakes so they can also experience the accolades of their adoring fans.

She makes it easy for others by showing them short-cuts so they save time, money and don’t get frustrated and give up.

How To Put It Into Words

First, I’ll remind you of Mary’s old bio blurb…

Old Blurb:
Hi! I’m Mary. I’m the mother of three active boys. I live in Des Moins with my husband, kids and our dog, Scruffy. I like to hike, am active on the PTA and I love to entertain. I hope you like the recipes on this blog.

Would you follow this food blog?

Now that Mary is feeling confident about WHY she’s doing this work, the value she brings and her experience, let’s look at how Mary’s bio blurb could read.

New Owning Her Value Blurb:
Hi, I’m Mary. For me, nothing beats seeing my children’s faces light up as I present their special birthday cake to their party of friends, or my themed holiday cookies to our annual family gathering. I’ve been baking joy since I was 7 years old, thanks to Grandma Millie’s loving guidance. Life has so many moments to celebrate. Join me as I show you how to make your special moments sweetly memorable too.

Would you follow her blog now?

Which blurb gives her more credibility, authenticity and builds more trust?

Exactly.

(Pssst…Did you notice that her kids, hubby, puppy and hobbies never showed up once in the second version?)

Stop Hiding Behind Your ROLES!!

OWN YOUR VALUE, WOMEN!

Stand behind what you do and people will line up to follow. PERIOD. Mic drop.

 

If you’d like me to help you discover your WHY so you can own your value, let’s chat. 

Let’s Chat

Click the button to schedule a 30-minute no-obligation call.

 

photo credit: Tom Simpson

 

 

 

2 thoughts on “How To Be Taken Seriously, Especially If You Are A Woman

  1. Loved the article. Great advice for women entrepreneurs and those who have an online presence. Kudos.

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