Everyone Sounds Exactly the Same

I read ten business blogs yesterday. Could’ve been the same person writing all of them. Same boring tone, same obvious advice, same “professional” voice that sounds like a committee wrote it.

“Leverage synergies to optimize your customer journey.” Give me a break.

Nobody talks like that. Your customers sure don’t. They say things like “this is a nightmare” and “I have no clue what I’m doing” and “can someone just tell me what works?”

So why not write like that?

Tell Me What Actually Happened

Skip the case studies where everything went perfectly. Those are boring and nobody believes them anyway.

Tell me about the client who hated your first three ideas. The product launch that completely flopped. The time you had to refund someone’s money because you screwed up.

That’s the stuff I remember. That’s the stuff I share with people.

Last month I read this article about a guy whose website crashed on Black Friday and he lost $50K in sales. Then he walked through exactly how he fixed it and made sure it never happened again.

Guess whose number I saved when my site started acting up?

Stop Pretending You’re Perfect

Perfect companies are suspicious. I don’t trust anyone who never makes mistakes.

You know what I trust? The plumber who tells me about the time he flooded someone’s basement and had to pay for new floors. The accountant who admits she once filed someone’s taxes wrong and spent her weekend fixing it for free.

Those are the people I want to hire.

Same with your content. Stop acting like you have all the answers. Share the questions you’re still figuring out.

Pick a Side Already

You can’t make everyone happy, so stop trying.

Half the marketing advice out there says one thing, half says the opposite. Cold calling is dead. Cold calling works great. Content marketing is everything. Content marketing is overrated.

Pick what you believe and say it. Some people will disagree. Good. The people who agree will pay attention.

I hate companies that try to be neutral on everything. Stand for something or I’ll forget you exist.

Actually Help People

Most business blogs are just ads pretending to be helpful. “Here’s this problem you might have… and wow, look at that, we happen to sell the solution!”

That’s not content marketing. That’s just advertising.

Try helping people without asking for anything. Give away your best stuff. Show them how to do things themselves, even if it means they won’t hire you.

Sounds crazy, right? But here’s what happens – when someone needs help and remembers you actually helped them before, who do you think they’re gonna call?

Write Like a Human Being

Business writing is so formal and stuffy that it puts me to sleep. Everyone’s trying to sound important.

Forget important. Be useful. Be interesting. Be yourself.

Use short sentences. Ask questions. Say “you” instead of “one.” End sentences with prepositions if you want to.

Your 8th grade English teacher might hate it, but real people will actually read it.

Your Expertise Should Be Obvious

Don’t tell me you’re an expert. Show me.

Anyone can say they’ve been doing something for 20 years. So what? I’ve been driving for 20 years and I still suck at parallel parking.

Instead of listing your credentials, solve a problem in your article. Share the exact process you use. Give me something I can actually do.

Let your knowledge speak for itself.

It Takes Forever (Which is Why It Works)

Content marketing is slow. Really slow. You’ll write for months before anyone cares. You might write for a year before you see real results.

Most businesses give up way too early. They post for three months, don’t become famous, and decide it doesn’t work.

That’s exactly why it works for the people who stick with it. While everyone else is chasing the next shiny thing, you’re building something real.

What This Looks Like

Instead of “How to Improve Your Sales Process,” write about the deal you thought you had locked up that fell through at the last minute, and what you learned from it.

Instead of “5 Customer Service Best Practices,” write about the customer who was so angry they made you question whether you should even be in business, and how you turned them into your biggest fan.

Instead of “Why You Should Choose Our Company,” write about the moment you realized your whole industry was doing something wrong.

See the difference? Same information, but one version is forgettable and one sticks with you.

How You Know It’s Working

Your analytics won’t tell you if your content marketing is working. Page views don’t matter if nobody remembers what they read.

You know it’s working when:

• People quote your stuff in conversations
• Customers mention your blog when they call you
• Other businesses in your industry start copying your ideas
• Someone says “I’ve been reading your stuff for months”

That’s when you know you’re not just creating content. You’re building a brand people actually care about.

Most content is noise. Make signal.