I've shared my introvert tendencies (is there a stronger word to say that, cause whatever that is, is me) here before. I've talked about not wanting to show my face or be on camera. I've even talked about deleting social media from my business plan. I like for my work to stand alone. But this year through trial and error, I learned the importance of bringing me to my content.
(Some wild grasses I drew and turned into vector files. Note: if you look at paper that's been anywhere near me, you will likely see sketches of nature scribbled on them.)
I've read a lot of marketing books, watched webinars of social media content strategies, & listened to countless experts talk about how to grow your audience. While I learned a lot, most of it doesn't matter. I'm not saying I didn't learn anything, because I really value everything I soaked in.
It's just that there are so many ways to be successful in your business. You don't have to use social media. It is one possible tool for showing up online. Especially for us introverts though that don't want in-person selling even more than we don't want to show up online, we have to let people see us in some way. Otherwise, we are just one more voice in the crowd. So we just have to find that thing that feels like us. For me, it's blogging.
I tested out a bunch of strategies over the last few years, even more so in the process of creating the membership lessons. But when I reviewed the analytics, it always came down to me...when I showed up, in my vulnerable, authentic self, sharing something personal, those were the times that people paid attention the most.
This makes things easier and harder at the same time.
I can rattle off a bunch of instructions for guiding you through various tasks easily. But it takes effort to show you my heart. I have to slow down & lean in to myself more to decide which stories about my journey could help you. My husband likes to read my blog because he says he always learns new things about me. I can type out my history and how things made me feel much easier than sharing it to someone in person. (Interesting note about me- I've written blogs long before I ever had a business and I never told my friends or family about them.) It's easier sometimes to talk to strangers than people that know & see me in real life. That doesn't mean I want to talk about it on camera or share it on a reel that could have bigger reach. I like having distance and the impression that I could be putting my thoughts out into a void, versus knowing it's going directly to someone's inbox. While I want my words & experience to be helpful, I also want to keep everything locked safely up inside. So it's easier and harder.
The practical application of this is annoying. The posts about how to accomplish things are super easy; I can batch produce them to save me tons of time. But to capture the sweet slow moments that make me really enjoy my work, those you have to capture in real time. You can't always plan ahead for them.
“The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else.” -E.E. Cummings
I've been working on my annual review the last few weeks. It can be done quickly, if accomplishing a task was my goal. But I like to let thoughts simmer over days and weeks. I let new ideas kind of soak in to see if there are holes in the plan or maybe something will shift as I think on it.
For instance, I planned out the title of all of my blog posts for all of next year, got them scheduled into Trello, etc....I was so excited that my batch work was going to be so much simpler this year. Then this post. I knew I was resisting putting more of me into my value-based content. Even as I scheduled it out, I didn't deep down believe it was the right content. I created an "alternate" topic column in case what I was supposed to write about didn't feel right at the time. Shouldn't that have been telling enough? And yet, as I sat to write this post, it wasn't on either column. It was the one I didn't want to write. Because that means that I have to go back to the list and redo the whole thing. Along with taking a deeper look at my whole social media plan for the year. If I want to reach my goals, and I know what kind of content gets better results, then I have to stop playing it safe and create the content that people want or need even if it makes me grow past my current comfort zone. ouch, it hurts a bit realizing this in this moment.
One of my intentions for 2025 is consistency. I know I need to show more of what I'm doing and why. I have to admit though, this isn't my favorite growth phase. When you're new to your business, a lot of what you do is hidden from the majority of the world. You get to make mistakes without many people knowing about it. I love that hidden aspect of growing in obscurity. But once you round the corner and momentum is taking over, people start paying attention...to what you do, to what you don't do, to how you do it & why. You have to choose to show up anyway, even when it's hard. Or you have to slow down and stay small.
This is a picture of me from a couple years ago, no make-up, in pajamas, slightly out of frame, because I really only wanted a picture of the dog. And it was the only picture I could find. Not the only one I would post, the only one I could find.
I always photograph other people~ who am I kidding, the majority of the photos I take are of the dog. :)
I know for some people, not wanting to be on camera can be about insecurities with their looks, or their voice, or even just imposter syndrome not wanting people to see them while they're still figuring things out. Staying out of the spotlight feels safer. But people want to see more of you.
So this year, I'm embracing the hard things. I know what I have to do. Some days I'm sure I'll still stay quiet & hidden cause there's comfort in the familiar. But I'm choosing to go for my dream business & life. And I can't do that in my comfort zone.
If you come across my content this year, please say a kind word, like a post, offer encouragement, or share it with a friend.
Warmest regards,
P.S. If you are interested in the FOCUS workbook to help you with your annual planning, you can get that here. It also is included inside the Designed Simply Membership where I walk new entrepreneurs through creating & scaling a passive product business.
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