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How to Be Authentic

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Previous Episode:How to Close With Style More Episodes Next Episode:Chase Customers, Not Clicks

All Episodes:

March 30, 2020

The Advantage of Email Marketing, Featuring Nathan Barry of ConvertKit

March 15, 2020

How to Write Content That Resonates

March 9, 2020

How to Conquer Your Fear of Selling, with Leah Neaderthal

March 2, 2020

How to Build Remarkable Products to Grow Your Business, with Ramit Sethi

February 17, 2020

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How to Turn Pro as a Freelance Writer

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October 23, 2019

The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur with John Jantsch

October 2, 2019

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September 25, 2019

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September 16, 2019

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August 26, 2019

How Smart, Nimble Companies Are Using Webinars Today

August 19, 2019

The Clarity Method: A Conversation with Tim Brownson

August 12, 2019

Digital Business Trends and the Latest on the Rainmaker Platform

August 5, 2019

4 ‘Naive’ Business Principles for Enduring Success

July 8, 2019

How to Write an Epic Blog Post, Part 3: Polishing and Promotion

July 1, 2019

How to Write an Epic Blog Post, Part 2: Getting It Written

June 24, 2019

How to Write an Epic Blog Post, Part 1: Thinking and Research

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3 Almost Magical Headline Ingredients for More Traffic, Engagement, and Shares

June 10, 2019

Lessons Any Business Can Learn from an Impressive Influencer Marketing Fail

June 3, 2019

13 Ways of Looking at a Headline

May 27, 2019

The 7 ‘Bad’ Habits of Incredibly Successful People

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Writers: How to Move from Making a Living to Driving Revenue

May 13, 2019

Choose the Right Frame to Boost the Power of Your Content

May 6, 2019

How Copywriting Teacher Belinda Weaver Reenergized Her Email List for Massive Engagement

April 29, 2019

3 Reasons Why Really Good Writers Sometimes Can’t Find Great Clients

April 22, 2019

3 Slightly Embarrassing Emotions that Drive Effective Copywriting

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April 8, 2019

Becoming the ‘Chief Empathy Officer’ of Your Copy and Content

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One of the Most Important Marketing Decisions You’ll Ever Make

March 18, 2019

What Nobody Wants to Hear about Content Marketing

March 11, 2019

Getting Your Big, Scary Projects Finished: A Conversation about Growing Gills

March 4, 2019

When Is It Time to Bring in a Professional Copywriter?

February 25, 2019

Using Content to Systematically Move Prospects Toward a Purchase

February 18, 2019

Understanding the Lifecycles of Your Website, with Pamela Wilson

February 11, 2019

5 Ways to Manage a Stress-Induced Creative Slump

February 4, 2019

3 Ways Strategic Content Can Drive Measurable Business Outcomes

January 28, 2019

The Social Media Platform Every Content Creator Should Be Using in 2019 (Nope, It’s Not Facebook)

January 21, 2019

Real Talk about Generating High-Quality Content

January 14, 2019

A Conversation with Paul Jarvis about Staying a ‘Company of One’

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The 3 Plus 1 Foundational Elements of Effective Persuasion

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5 Essential Copywriting Techniques from Copyblogger

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5 Ways to Recover Your Professional and Creative Confidence

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5 Stinky Sardine Secrets to Make Your Content More Fascinating

September 24, 2018

The Mindset ‘Hack’ that Frees Your Creativity and Makes You Happier

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How to Kill Your Sales and Mess up Your Business: Lessons from a Used Car Salesman

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The 7 Things Writers Need to Make a (Good) Living

August 27, 2018

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August 20, 2018

Fix These 7 About Page Mistakes for More Traffic and (Possibly) Better SEO

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7 Ways to Boost Your Creativity

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A 10-Step ‘Checklist’ for Your Content Marketing Site

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The 3 Keys to Publishing Strong Content … Even If You Aren’t a ‘Great’ Writer (Yet)

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Big Changes at ConvertKit: A Discussion with Founder Nathan Barry

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3 Skills to Master to Become a Marketing Badass this Year

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The Quiet Power of Conversational Copy

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5 Rules of Thumb to Relieve SEO-Induced Stress

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How to Use the GDPR to Make Your Business Stronger than Ever

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‘Good Karma’ Selling that Works: A Conversation with Tim Paige

April 30, 2018

How to Get More Comfortable (and Effective) at Selling

April 23, 2018

Privacy and Permission in the Wake of Cambridge Analytica

April 16, 2018

Seth Godin and How to Create Change

April 9, 2018

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The Double-Edged Sword that Can Make (or Break) Your Content

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March 12, 2018

Are You Doing Content Marketing Wrong?

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Storytelling for Modern Content Marketing (Part 2 of 2)

February 26, 2018

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10 Quality Factors Search Engines Need to See on Your Site

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A Simple Content Strategy to Make Your Site Massively More Useful

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How to Avoid a Heartbreaking Business Failure

January 29, 2018

Hey Writers: Let’s Get You Paid What You’re Worth

January 15, 2018

5 Keys to Making Your Content More Shareable

December 18, 2017

3 Observations on Trends (but not Predictions) for 2018

December 11, 2017

3 Tips Now to Build a Strong Foundation in 2018

December 4, 2017

The 3 Success Factors that Help Writers Earn a Great Living

November 27, 2017

How to Recognize a Great Content Idea

November 20, 2017

How to Cultivate a More Meaningful Gratitude Practice

November 13, 2017

Advice for Poets, Advice for Killers

October 30, 2017

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How to Make Smarter Decisions about Your Website

October 2, 2017

A Series of Unfortunate Content Events

September 18, 2017

The Evolution of a Successful Copywriter

August 28, 2017

7 Ways to Improve Your Marketing by Harnessing the Power of Evil

August 14, 2017

Smart Questions from our Brilliant Audience

August 7, 2017

Does the Web Have Enough Patience for Your In-Depth Content?

July 31, 2017

How to Write (Much Better) Blog Comments

July 17, 2017

Which Works Better: Positive or Negative Content?

July 10, 2017

How to Attract the Exact Customers You Want

July 3, 2017

How to Create Stability and Success as an Artist

June 19, 2017

Two Powerful Resources for Life-Changing Growth

June 12, 2017

How to Turn All that Marketing Advice into Action

June 5, 2017

How to Develop a Compelling Marketing Idea in 4 Steps

May 30, 2017

Getting Over the Fear of Selling

May 22, 2017

Talking Community and Digital Business with Tara Gentile

May 15, 2017

Plagiarism, Self-Deception, Bad Sandwiches, and Other Interesting Disasters

May 1, 2017

Professional Writers: Find Out How to Get Certified by Copyblogger

April 17, 2017

The Painful Core Lesson Taught by 3 Astonishing Big-Brand Fails

April 3, 2017

5 Mindset Habits that Actually Work

March 27, 2017

On Grammar, Usage, and Not Being a Great Big Jerk

March 20, 2017

Creative Strategies for Content Writers

March 13, 2017

A New Ultra-Easy Resource for Creating Excellent WordPress Sites

February 20, 2017

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February 13, 2017

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Copyblogger Book Club: Winning the Story Wars

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3 Content Marketing Strategy Fails (and How to Fix Them)

January 9, 2017

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Bad Writing Advice: The ‘Post Truth’ Episode

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The 4 Pillars Every Online Business Is Built On

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5 Quick Wins for Content Marketers

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Behind the Scenes: Adventures in Advertising

May 12, 2016

Trump, Apple, and Facebook Advertising: Content Marketing News for May, 2016

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Behind the Scenes: An Inside Look at the Rainmaker FM Redesign

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Content Marketing Shout-Out: Orbit Media and Andy Crestodina

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February 4, 2016

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The Secret Weapon Behind Great Websites: The Role of the Content Editor

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Behind the Scenes: The Relaunch and Re-Imagining of Copyblogger.com

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Trends and Predictions for Digital Commerce: A Conversation with Brian Clark

January 7, 2016

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The End of The Lede, The Beginning of Copyblogger FM

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September 29, 2015

Revisiting Authenticity: What It Is, What It’s Not, and Why It Matters

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September 15, 2015

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September 8, 2015

Finally — A Podcast about the Superiority of Written Content

September 1, 2015

Hot Seat: Grilling Jerod on Using Audio Content to Seed a Content Arsenal

August 25, 2015

How to Optimize Your Headlines for Content Discovery with Vinegar (Before You Die of Cholera)

August 18, 2015

5 Stories That Explain Jerod Morris (Plus One Massive Marketing Lesson)

August 11, 2015

Lede Potpourri: A Big Idea, Talking About Demian Behind His Back, and Lessons from #PM15

August 4, 2015

How to Attend an Industry Conference Like a Boss

July 28, 2015

Getting the Most Out of a Conference When You’re There to Promote, Part 1

July 21, 2015

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July 14, 2015

Are Podcasters Digitally Sharecropping Without Realizing It?

July 7, 2015

Celebrating Our 101st Episode (with a Special Guest Interviewer)

June 30, 2015

Why The Phrase ‘Leaders Are Readers’ Should Die

June 23, 2015

Why You Should Think Outside the Box About Online Courses

June 16, 2015

The Proper (and Safe) Way to Republish Old Articles

June 9, 2015

How to Grow an Audience on LinkedIn by Repurposing Content

June 2, 2015

Key Takeaways from Three-and-a-Half Hours with Henry Rollins

May 27, 2015

Rapid-Fire Takeaways from Authority Rainmaker

May 19, 2015

The Proper Way to Grow an Audience on Medium

May 12, 2015

The Introvert’s Guide to Launching a Successful Podcast

May 5, 2015

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April 28, 2015

Proof That Grit Is the Only Way to Reach Your Potential

April 21, 2015

Do We Celebrate Failure Too Much?

April 14, 2015

Choose Yourself Part 2: James Altucher Fights Back

April 7, 2015

Should We Fear Content Shock? (Or Could It Actually Be a Good Thing?)

March 31, 2015

Should You Really ‘Walk in the Direction of Your Fear’?

March 24, 2015

Is ‘Choose Yourself’ Good Advice … or New-Age Phooey?

March 17, 2015

Is Authority Earned or Bestowed?

March 3, 2015

Dan Pink on How to Succeed in the New Era of Selling

February 24, 2015

Here’s How to Answer the Most Important Question in Life (and Make a Living from It)

February 17, 2015

Sally Hogshead on How You Can Unlock Your Natural Ability to Fascinate

February 10, 2015

How to Learn from Your Successes

January 27, 2015

How to Learn From Your Mistakes

January 13, 2015

Lessons Learned from Conducting Two Monster Audience Surveys

December 16, 2014

Adaptive Content: A Trend to Pay Attention to in 2015

December 2, 2014

The Most Important Lessons You Should Have Learned in 2014

November 18, 2014

How We Built Our Careers Online (And What You Can Learn From It)

November 4, 2014

Interview with Brian Clark: How Customer Experience Maps Help You Develop a Smarter Content Strategy

October 21, 2014

How Empathy Maps Help You Speak Directly to the Hearts of Your Audience

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How to Ignite a Feeling in Your Audience

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June 26, 2014

How to Curate Knowledge, Turn it Into Wisdom, and Build Your Audience

June 19, 2014

How Successful Writers Curate Ideas

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The 5 W’s of Link Curation

June 6, 2014

Why You Should Curate Content (And How to Do It Right)

May 30, 2014

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May 23, 2014

The 2 Reasons People Don’t Click on Your Buttons … And How to Overcome Them

May 16, 2014

Chase Customers, Not Clicks

May 9, 2014

How to Be Authentic

May 2, 2014

How to Close With Style

April 25, 2014

The Best of Seth Godin on Copyblogger

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April 11, 2014

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April 4, 2014

How to Use Internal Cliffhangers

March 28, 2014

Hangout Hot Seat with Brian Clark

March 21, 2014

How to Tell a Seductive Story

March 14, 2014

How to Create Exquisite Subheads

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How to Write Killer Bullet Points

February 28, 2014

How to Write Damn Good Sentences

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How to Use Persuasive Words

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Michael Stelzner on Capturing Emails and Committing to Quality

February 7, 2014

How to Nail Your Opening

January 24, 2014

How to Write a Magnetic Headline (in Under 15 Minutes)

May 18, 2012

Seth Godin on When You Should Start Marketing Your Product, Service, or Idea

May 11, 2012

How to Attract an Audience by Integrating Content, Social, and Search

March 30, 2012

Why You Should Build an Audience Before You Build a Business

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Jay Baer on How to Turn Interested Prospects into Lifelong Customers

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The Path to a Legendary Copywriting Career

February 17, 2012

5 Tips for Affiliate Marketing Beginners

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February 3, 2012

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Answers to the 3 Biggest Email Marketing Questions We Get

January 20, 2012

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January 13, 2012

Steven Pressfield and the War of Work

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The Strategy Behind the Copyblogger Redesign

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Why Every Smart Business is in the Media Business

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December 15, 2010

Tim Ferriss on How to Reinvent Yourself with Blog Marketing

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The 6 Elements of an Influential Web Experience

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Your Staggeringly Unfair Marketing Advantage

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November 10, 2010

The Foundation of All Marketing that Works

November 3, 2010

Introducing Copyblogger Radio

May 9, 2014

How to Be Authentic

Do people really want the real you? All of it? The answer will, of course, depend on the audience and the forum.

If you are writing a blog about drug addiction, telling your most horrifying stories is a prerequisite. Your audience will expect it.

If, on the other hand, you are writing a blog to support your tax preparation business, you probably want to keep most of your tales of woe out of it — no matter how “real” they may be.

Being “authentic” means being genuine. It means having an honest conversation with your audience. Within reason.

So how do you know what is too much you, how much is not enough, and where the sweet spot is?

That’s the topic of the latest episode The Lede.

In this episode, the final in our 11-part series on the essential ingredients of a great blog post, Demian and I discuss the following:

  • Do people really want the real you?
  • The importance of understanding your USP
  • What techniques help you come across as authentic in your blog posts?
  • Is something like a scripted opening to a podcast discussion still “authentic”?
  • How can mentors help us develop authenticity (that works)
  • Who should we be focusing on when we’re trying to be authentic?
  • How authenticity develops through practice

Listen to Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing below ...

How to Be AuthenticJerod Morris
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React to The Lede …

As always, we appreciate your reaction to episodes of The Lede and feedback about how we’re doing.

Send me a tweet with your thoughts anytime: @JerodMorris.

And please tell us the most important point you took away from this latest episode. Do so by joining the discussion over at Google-Plus.

The Show Notes

  • 11 Essential Ingredients Every Blog Post Needs [Infographic] — by Demian Farnworth and Rafal Tomal
  • Why People Don’t Want the “Real” You — by Brian Clark
  • Do People Really Want Transparency and Authenticity? — Brian Clark
  • Talent is Overrated — by Geoffrey Colvin
  • Content Warfare Podcast — by Ryan Hanley

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The Transcript

Please note that this transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and grammar.

The Lede Podcast: How to Be Authentic

Jerod Morris: Welcome back to The Lede, a podcast about content marketing by Copyblogger Media. I’m your host, Jerod Morris.

Well, we’re here. It’s the final episode in our 11-part series on the essential ingredients of a blog post. If this is your first time listening, go to Copyblogger.com/ingredients to see the infographic this series is based on, and to find out what the other ten ingredients are. Then I suggest you start going through the podcast archive and learn more about each ingredient, one 15-minute episode at a time.

We definitely saved the most interesting, perhaps even confusing, or you might say misunderstood, ingredient for last. And that is: be authentic. It’s easy to say, but it’s not always so easy to do. Hopefully the conversation Demian and I had about authenticity, which you’re about to hear, will help you incorporate more of this essential element into your blog posts.

Do people really want the real you?

Do people really want the real you?

Well, that depends. When the real you is offering optimism, entertainment, or a solution to a problem, yes. People want that you. But if the real you is off-putting, or angry, or uninformative, well that you may be authentic, but it’s not likely to be desired.

The reality is there is no definitive answer, except that the extremes are unlikely to work for any sustained amount of time. As an online content creator, you cannot infuse your work with every emotional whim of your being, as authentic as that would be. But you also can’t be a robot, devoid of all the vestiges of the roller coaster that is life, a roller coaster that is universal.

What you have to do is be the real you insofar as the real you helps other people tell the story they want to tell about themselves. You’re creating content for other people, so “keeping it real” means keeping your audience #1 and figuring out what authentic parts of yourself will help them, compel them, perhaps even sell them.

Demian, I say that authenticity online, at least authenticity that works, stands at the intersection of who you are and what you stand for, and what problems that helps to solve for your audience. What say you?

Demian Farnworth: Yeah. So Jerod, this is by far the most nebulous of the 11 that we’ve covered so far, because the preceding ten really rested on an empirical effort, right? Things that we observe, can do, subheads, headlines. We can test them. We can see them.

So talking about being yourself is really quite a different experience. I find this is a subject that’s dear to my heart because, you know, I have a tendency to say things like “We want you to be authentic, right? We want you to be yourself. But you know, don’t do that unless you’re a loser,” and I get in trouble with that, and people call me out on that, about being judgmental. But as you pointed out, there are clearly people who are being themselves, and who are being losers.

And another movie that I’ve actually seen, Jerod…

Jerod: There aren’t many.

Demian: Right. Exactly. But Napoleon Dynamite, right? Here’s a guy who’s clearly a loser, and he’s positioned as a loser, but you know, you fall in love with him. And who doesn’t love Napoleon Dynamite? Or who doesn’t love Uncle Rico or Kip or Pedro? You know? So in that sense, those people have proved me wrong. But back to your point of this idea of being authentic. If you’re a jerk, then yeah. You clearly need to not be yourself anymore.

The importance of understanding your USP

Jerod: Okay. So I guess the question, then, is if we have this kind of definition of what it means to be authentic in a way that works, then how do you do that? How do you convey that, then, in a blog post?

Demian: Yeah, that’s a good question. So like I said, this is one of those things that takes time, it takes experience. It takes experimenting with just, you know, figuring out who you are.

From a business standpoint what we’re trying to do here is we’re basically trying to carve out your very own personal USP or unique selling proposition. Rosser Reeves, who was actually one of the “Mad Men,” wrote a book called “Reality in Advertising,” and that book is really just an extended commentary, a 153-page commentary on the USP. His point is that a good USP is unique. It’s meaningful, and does it sell. And so this idea is when it comes to you and what you’re trying to do, be authentic. And you need to come across in a way that’s unique, that’s meaningful, and that sells.

So for example, when I started working for myself I was trying to figure out what is this I want to do? How do I want to become this person who stands out, because copywriting, there’s a lot of competition. And so I had to kind of define myself, and I was looking at things, like “how can I do that?” And I saw a lot of people really wanted to be David Ogilvy, and a lot of people really wanted to be Jakob Neilsen, who’s a web usability SEO guy. And I thought, you know, and I kind of did this all along in my career, was just trying to balance both of those: trying to become that best at both of those worlds, because I knew I was going to pour a lot of my time into writing online. So I needed to learn as much as I possibly could about persuasive writing. But at the same time, learn as much as I could about things like usability, and SEO, and readability.

And so I merged those two together, and eventually kind of came up with this idea of being the bastard child of David Ogilvy and Jakob Nielsen. And that’s really kind of resonated. You know, when people ask me for a USP or a tagline, or a high-pitched concept, that’s what I usually tell them.

Jerod: Okay. So let me ask you a question, because I think that brings up an interesting point. Now did you try to merge those two areas because that came from within you, like that’s who you wanted to be, or because you had an audience picked out over here that you wanted to serve, and you realized that’s who you authentically needed to be to serve that audience? You get the kind of distinction I’m making?

Demian: I think it was more — it was what I was trying to become, in essence. Like I mentioned earlier, I wanted to become the best persuasive copywriter I could become. But I also wanted to become really smart about usability. A lot of that’s just a natural-born curiosity of wanting to learn. But also at the same time, yeah, I wanted to be valuable. I wanted to bring something to the table that other people weren’t bringing to the table.

So in essence, yeah. That was for the audience. But it was more about how I wanted to better myself, and then naturally just pictured, okay, so what are people looking for, and what can I provide that people aren’t getting out there at that moment? Does that make sense?

What techniques help you come across as authentic in your blog posts?

Jerod: Yeah, it does. So we’ve talked about some of these kind of big-picture ideas about authenticity, and look. It’s a big topic, and we could spend a whole lot of time talking about it. But let’s try and get into some more practical ways.

So what are some more practical ways where people can actually — some, even, techniques possibly — that people can actually put into their writing to display their authenticity?

Demian: Yeah. So there are quite a few things you can do, and something I want to mention. When you’re thinking about who you are, a lot of people, they don’t. That’s probably the major kickback. “I don’t know who I am.” Well then, you need to figure out who you want to be, and then aim for that person. For example, here’s a technique. A lot of people say, “What do you want people to say about you when you die?” Right? And so whatever that is, that’s how you need to live your life then, right?

But then, outside of that, what it really means to be authentic, sort of the practical ways, it’s things like just relax. Enjoy yourself. What is it that you’re comfortable writing about? Write like you talk. Be courageous. Don’t use jargon. Definitely don’t try to sound smart. Don’t go out of your way to try to impress people. There’s nothing authentic with that, and people will sniff that stuff out.

And also, you know, practice what you’re doing. You want to experiment about ways like, you know, because that’s the thing. It’s just like people say, “Well, I don’t know what I want.” A lot of times people will ask questions like, “I kind of like web development but I also like writing,” and they say, “Will you look at my writing and tell me if I’m any good at it?” And I’ll be like, “I’m not even going to look at your writing, because here’s the deal. Could you write no matter what? Do you have the sense that you need to write? Because if that’s your feeling, then it doesn’t matter if what you write is crap or not, because you’re going to push through that. But if you kind of feel like this is something I could probably do,” then choose web development instead.

You want to drive yourself into that sort of arena where you’re comfortable, where you feel not like a fish out of water. And a lot of people have to get there just by experimenting.

Is something like a scripted opening to a podcast discussion still “authentic”?

Jerod: Let me ask you this. As you were kind of going through some of those, I started to have a little crisis of my own. So when we do these episodes, I’ll script that opening that we do. Is that inauthentic, do you think? I mean, it’s not necessarily relaxed. It’s not always me writing like I talk. I try and do it to make sure that that opening is clean and crisp and so that I say exactly what I want to say, but is it at all inauthentic, do you think?

Demian: No, not at all. I think it’s being who you are in that sense of this is how you feel comfortable. There are some people who don’t, you know, and these are people that I admire, but I know I won’t be like, I don’t try to be like. They will look at an opening, they will have an idea of what they say, and they just talk, and it comes out and sounds like it’s scripted, but it’s clearly not. And perhaps it’s rehearsed in some capacity, but it’s not.

So that’s the thing. If that’s what you’re comfortable with, like if you like roller skating but you can only roller skate with the little cart in front of you, do that. If you like to roller skate, just do that. Don’t worry about “crutches” you have to use to get it done. It’s okay. Eventually you may get to a point, though, where you don’t have to do that, and you just have an outline.

How can mentors help us develop authenticity (that works)

Jerod: So let me ask you this: How can finding mentors, having mentors, assist or kind of help us develop authenticity?

Demian: Like I said, this is a nebulous topic. And just thinking through my own experience. And one of the things, too, that we talk about being yourself that we cannot not talk about when we’re talking about authenticity, is like finding your own voice. And I mean that.

It’s like it’s Jerod Morris when he writes. It’s like people know that, and people tell us all the time, right, when they get Copyblogger headlines. “Oh, that’s a Demian,” or “that’s a Brian,” or “That’s a Sonia.” That’s your voice. And that takes time to find, but one of the ways that I found that it’s good to help you find that if you don’t know where that is, is to get a mentor. Somebody that can hold you accountable, even if it’s just a friend, a co-worker, somebody that you work with, that you can just say, “Hey, help me out. What is it that people like about me?” What is it that people — it’s that objective set of eyes that looks into your life and says, “Hey, that’s great.”

Another thing, too, is a critique group. Critique groups are really great in the sense that–if you can find a good one, with people who are supportive, but people who are also not afraid to give you constructive criticism, because you need those people, too, to say, “Listen, when you do that it just doesn’t sound authentic. It sounds like — you sound strained, whatever, stop doing that.” But you know, you can also just find a mentor, like someone you look up to, and there are so many programs that you could actually pay, that people actually do this.

I’d recommend people just try to find somebody and e-mail them, and just say, “Hey, you know, can I chat with you for about 20 minutes? 30 minutes? Maybe two or three times a year or something like that?” There are a few guys in the industry that I set aside time with to do just that, to help them think through things, and they’ll rewrite their landing page and give it to me, and I’d say, right off the bat, this is wrong. You’ve got to think about this when you do it.” Help guide them, because they’ve got questions that I had back when I was starting off. And so I just want to give back, in that sense.

But you know, of course, talking about finding mentors–I can’t really say this without talking about Ryan Hanley, who’s got a great podcast called “Content Warfare.” He interviewed me, and it really just dawned on me after that interview what he was doing, really. And it’s not why he does it. But if you look back at all that he has interviewed, he’s really getting mentors for free. He’s talking to some high-powered, influential people, and he’s giving something in exchange. “Here, I’ll give you time in front of my audience if you talk to me,” and he asks them questions about things that he wants to learn about. And that way he’s kind of finding a free mentor in that sense.

Who should we be focusing on when we’re trying to be authentic?

Jerod: Yeah. Well, as our time has run out here, Demian. Think of a final thought that — I think for me, when it comes to authenticity, and I’m going to link in the show notes to a couple of posts that Brian Clark has written about this, because I think they’re very compelling posts. And I keep coming back to the point he makes, that when it comes to authenticity, a lot of times that makes us think about ourselves. Us, right? When instead we need to be focusing on them, the people we’re trying to reach and influence.

And as Brian says, your story absolutely matters, but only to the extent that it helps people tell the story they want to tell about themselves. Again, kind of harkening back to what I said at the beginning.

So I think, to me, that’s the most important part about authenticity, is just how we think about it. Our perception of it. It’s not necessarily us, it’s what’s part of us we’re going to show people that will help people, and so I think that’s a really important aspect to keep in mind when we talk about authenticity.

Any final thoughts for you, Demian, before we wrap this up?

Develop authenticity through practice

Demian: Yeah. So I’ll just piggyback up on that, and just say that that comes down to trying stuff, experimenting, practicing. When I say “practice,” you know, lawyers practice law. Doctors practice medicine. But we know they’re professionals, and so as a writer we’re always practicing being writers. See what works, you know?

There’s a great book out there called “Talent is Overrated” and it is in the line with Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers with this idea of, you know, it’s not necessarily about talent. It’s really about deliberate practice, and that’s the concept that Coleman, out of that book, pushes the most, is this idea of deliberate practice. And just practicing in such a way that you modify. You try something. It doesn’t work. So you modify. You try that again. It doesn’t work, or it might work slightly differently, but you’ve just got to tweak it again.

So it’s modified, deliberate practice towards one thing, and so you learn, and you’re just building this bank of stuff that you see people respond to, you see that people need, and so that you can start delivering that in an authentic way.

Jerod: Well, I think that does it. I don’t know about you, I’m getting a little teary-eyed here. This is the end of our eleven-part series on the essential ingredients. It’s been fun.

Demian: Yes. I agree there, Jerod.

Jerod: Thank you for listening to The Lede. If you enjoyed this episode, and if you’ve been finding our other episodes useful, please consider giving the show a rating or a review on ITunes, and if you’re not the ITunes type, you can tweet about the show or tell a friend. That obviously helps as well. And by the way, if you ever have a comment, a question, just some random thought that you’re just dying to get out to somebody, feel free to send me a tweet: @JerodMorris. You can probably send it to Demian, too, @DemianFarnworth. We love interacting with and learning from our listeners, so don’t hesitate. Reach out to us. Twitter, or anywhere else that you can find us out there online.

All right, everybody. We will be back next week with another new episode. Talk to you soon.

# # #

*Credits: Both the intro (“Bridge to Nowhere” by Sam Roberts Band) and outro songs (“Down in the Valley” by The Head and the Heart) are graciously provided by express written consent from the rights owners.

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