I’m waiting in the car as I write this. My wife is celebrating Mother’s Day by running round and round on a middle school track as part of her marathon training plan and I agreed to tag along in case she gets arrested for trespassing. She just hopped the chained up, pad locked, gate to get on the track. I’m less worried about an arrest than she is. Of course, she’s the one who’s trespassing.
Why do I mention these semi-personal details? Because I think it’s important for you to have a bit of a feel for my life. It gives a three-dimensional quality to my writing and helps us build our relationship. Over time we get to know one another and that increases the likelihood that we’ll refer business to one another. That’s important.
Today, I’m writing to suggest that you tell your audience more about yourself in your writing. Help us get a feel for you as a person. Let us behind the curtain. Put more you in your marketing material.
Where can you put more you? Lets start with your biography page on your website. You can go well beyond telling us where you went to law school and college. Tell us about your family. Tell us about your hobbies. Tell us what you’re passionate about. Throw in some photos. Don’t just show us you standing in front of a backdrop or sitting at your desk. Show us pictures of you with your family, doing your hobby, and visiting places you find interesting.
When you’re writing an article for your website, start with a story about yourself. Tell us about the time you went fishing and didn’t catch anything. Explain how the lesson you learned ties in to the trial of a child custody case. You’re creative, you’ll find a connection.
Give us a sense of yourself on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Tell us what you’re up to and how you’re feeling about things. Don’t be afraid to let us know who you are. Some folks will tell you to keep your private life private. They’ll tell you that no one cares where you had lunch or what you ate. Generally, I agree with them, but we need some context to understand where you’re coming from. We want to understand you better so we’ll better appreciate your point of view. You don’t need to tell us about every food item you consume, but don’t be afraid to give us a big dose of you.
