5 things not to do to get quality attention

1 – Don’t show up just to show up.

It’s important to be consistent. People will get a sense that you’re reliable and know what you’re talking about.

Consistency = regular frequency + coherence.

If you show up every day and post whatever’s on your mind, you may attract attention but it won’t be the quality attention that you want for your business.

Up until December, I didn’t have the coherence piece of this equation. That’s when I stopped consuming so much information. I had space to get focused on exactly what mattered most about how I wanted to help people.

This doesn’t mean that I only ever talk about a super narrow set of topics. But it does help me create content that’s aligned with building an audience for my business, and not just for myself.

After all, we are not content creators hoping to monetize, we are entrepreneurs creating content to grow our businesses.

2 – Don’t try to tell stories.

We love stories. That’s true.

But when we think that we need to become great storytellers to attract our people, it can feel like a bigger deal than it needs to be.

Sitting down to craft a story, you can end up frustrated and feeling like you suck. You’ll never be as good as that friend who’s always a hit at a campfire party.

Instead, mix things up.

Sometimes you’re telling a story.
Sometimes you’re having a conversation.
Sometimes you’re teaching.
Sometimes you’re thinking out loud.

In the end, everything you share tells a story. But starting with different intentions will help you create more multifaceted content.

It’s more like real life.
And people will feel that.

3 – Don’t listen to your audience.

Listening to what people are saying ‘as an audience’ isn’t going to give you much valuable insight.

What’s shared in public – in comments, reviews, testimonials, etc. – is surface stuff.
What we express is only a small part of what’s actually going on in our hearts and minds.

And when those parts are reflected back to us, we may or may not pay attention. Because it’s the same generic and overarching stuff you see everywhere. Only proxies for how we feel.

What really gets our attention is when someone says something in a way that we couldn’t quite articulate but when we see it, we feel seen.

It’s like the bug guts-smeared windshield in our mind has suddenly been wiped clean and we can see clearly what was right in front of us all along.

So how can you do this?

Pay special attention to the real-life situations your clients talk about in your calls.
Collect these concrete examples and you’ll start to see patterns. Use these as the foundation for your content and see what resonates.

It’ll take some experimenting but it will be more fruitful than audience research ever could be.

4 – Don’t adapt.

Adaptability is a great trait when it comes to ever-changing environments but when it comes to getting quality attention, being flexible and making adjustments won’t work in your favour.

While you may be someone who can mesh with different groups of people, when it comes to your business, your priority is to mesh with a very particular group of people – those you can most help and who share your values.

Be clear about what you stand for and what you stand against.
And boldly share your thoughts on those things without wavering.

This doesn’t mean that you’re not open to new ideas and to changing your mind. But you don’t want to water down your message in anticipation of that happening.

We don’t give our attention to someone who isn’t willing to stand up for what matters to them (and us).

5 – Don’t start with why.

If you know me, you know that I’m not a Simon Sinek fan. When I watched his 2010 TED talk about leaders inspiring through their why, I was irritated. I couldn’t quite explain why other than it rubbed me the wrong way.

It’s a great-sounding message: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
But I didn’t believe it.

Then the other day I heard Tara McMullin express it so well on this podcast episode:

“Sinek’s “start with why” ideology is a commercial appropriation of political struggle, social progress, and workers genuine desire to be part of something that matters for the benefit of the already powerful. An alternative approach must start with the what. The opposite of Sinek’s formulation.

A business that professes to do good today must begin with a product that solves a demonstrated need or meets a demonstrated desire. That product must have a clear and compelling value proposition and its design must be fully aligned with what it promises.”

Yes!

She cleared up the bugs on my windshield.

Why you do something is nowhere near as important for your clients as what you do for them.

If you’re not clear and specific about what your service is and what it can do, your message might sound hollow.

Even with a meaningful mission, getting quality attention for your business requires you to have a reliable and effective service that solves a real problem.

Own your expertise and talk about that more than might feel comfortable.

You’re growing a business not starting a movement.

(If you do want to start a movement, get your business to a place where you can give that movement your full attention.)

Getting quality attention isn’t easy. And you may question if you should be so ‘picky’ when it seems like very few people are paying attention.

But this kind of purposeful and selective approach is the best way to build a high-quality audience of your right-for-you people.

That means you can have a smaller audience and still make great money because they’ll be much more likely to work with you.